He said this was in line with the statement by higher education minister Zambry Abd Kadir on the government’s commitment to the original objectives of UiTM.

“UiTM will continue to adhere to Section 1A of the UiTM Act 1976, which stipulates that UiTM was established in accordance with the provisions of Article 153 of the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement.

“We will continue to carry out the mission and vision of this institution of empowering the Bumiputeras.”

Shahrin also called on students to focus on their studies and to “use their time at the university wisely” in preparation for the future.

Yesterday, Zambry said the ministry had not considered altering the university’s admission policies, and that speculation about opening UiTM to non-Bumiputera students had been turned into polemic by certain parties, creating unnecessary confusion and conflict.

This followed a call by UiTM’s student representative council urging students to dress in black today to protest a proposal to temporarily open UiTM’s postgraduate cardiothoracic surgery programme to non-Bumiputera students.

The student body said all 214 of its members firmly defended UiTM’s founding objectives as an institution for Malays, Orang Asli, and the Bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak.

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) had called on UiTM to prioritise public health needs by temporarily opening its postgraduate cardiothoracic surgery programme to non-Bumiputera students.

MMA president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz said the country’s acute shortage of specialists, especially cardiothoracic surgeons, had led to prolonged waiting times for critical surgeries and caused fatalities.