The future of Malay and Bumiputera education should not depend on quotas, but on building the capabilities needed to produce knowledge creators, technology owners and economic leaders, says Higher Education Minister Zambry Abd Kadir.
Zambry said educational success should no longer be measured simply by the number of Malay and Bumiputera students entering universities.
Instead, it should be assessed by their ability to master STEM, develop technology, own intellectual property and build companies capable of competing globally.
“To achieve this, we need to move from access to quality, from qualifications to competencies, from employment to entrepreneurship, and from using technology to owning technology,” he said in his speech at the 2026 Malay Education Convention at the Putra World Trade Centre.
Zambry said universities should not merely produce graduates with academic qualifications, but individuals equipped with knowledge, skills, integrity and the ability to solve problems.
He said issues surrounding higher education must also be addressed at their roots, noting that the urban-rural divide, household income and access to technology could affect a person’s ability to benefit from the economy of the future.
AI can be an equaliser or divider
Zambry said artificial intelligence (AI) could become a “great equaliser” or a “great divider”, depending on the strength of students’ foundations.
“Students with a strong foundation of knowledge will use AI to think further. Those with a weak foundation may use it to avoid thinking.
“We cannot allow AI to replace the processes of reading, writing, calculating and reasoning. We need to produce people who are empowered by AI, not people who are entirely dependent on AI,” he said.
He said Bumiputera youths should be trained to become engineers, researchers, inventors, patent holders, company founders and industry leaders, rather than merely operators of technology owned by others.
Strengthening language and education reform
On language, Zambry said Bahasa Melayu should be strengthened as a language of knowledge, identity and civilisation, while English and other languages should serve as bridges to the wider world.
The convention featured three main discussion sessions covering the educational challenges faced by children from B40 and M40 income groups, the role of Universiti Teknologi Mara, and proposed reforms to the Universities and University Colleges Act.
Zambry said the outcomes of the convention would be compiled into a resolution and submitted to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
