EDITORIAL : THE NEW STRAITS TIMES, MALAYSIA

 

 

Bond breakers

MINISTER in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said legal action would be taken against both scholars and guarantors in the event that Public Service Department (PSD) scholarship holders fail to return from overseas to serve in the civil service. Unlike study loans, scholarships, of course, do not have to be paid back. But in the case of the PSD awards, the scholarship still has to be discharged through serving a bond. Even when scholarships come with no strings attached, there is invariably an academic obligation to maintain a certain grade point average throughout the course of study.
In the case of the PSD scholars, when they inked the scholarship contract, they agreed to work for the government for a stipulated number of years and acknowledged the penalty involved in breaking the bond. To be sure, this bond is more of a social obligation to meet the country's human capital agenda. Still, as this is the contract they have signed, scholarship recipients should be prepared to repay the money expended. All the more so as it is a fair assumption that scholars break the bond to work in other countries that bring them higher financial rewards as well as greater personal satisfaction. Should they fail to come back and repay the amount, their guarantors should certainly be held liable as the scholars had accepted the clauses that gave the government due compensation with their full knowledge, consent and approval. All the more when the sureties are related to the scholars through family ties.

Moreover, though it is beyond the powers of the government or the courts to compel scholarship recipients to serve the bond and work for the government, as the scholarship agreement is a binding document, this is a legally enforceable contract. As such, it would be unacceptable for the government to be lax about holding scholars and their guarantors to their promises. All the more as taxpayers have to foot the bill for their expensive education abroad. As the bond breakers are driven by powerful personal and pecuniary reasons to stay overseas, legal action may not serve as an adequate deterrent or a sufficient incentive to lure them home. Nevertheless, they should not be allowed to use public funds to serve private ends. Above all, a contract is a contract, and those who fail to honour their contractual obligations should face the full legal consequences. In addition to becoming more assertive with its scholars when it comes to returning home, PSD should be more enterprising in promptly finding them a job when they do.