malaysiakini and the GREAT SCHOLARSHIP Debate...

The PM has announced the so-called new merit scholarships scheme and not surprisingly many are sceptical about the new idea.
According to this malaysiakini article Kit Siang: 'Pure merit' scholarship award has no merit, the opposition leader is highly critical of this proposal.
I believe that perhaps 70% of ALL scholarships should be based on merit with the remaining 30% being allocated to the needy students irrespective of race.
Anyone else who wants to study at colleges can apply for student loans that must be strictly enforced as far as repayment is concerned.
The authorities have been too slack in collections and that has resulted in billions being unpaid and creating a culture of defaulters; even among scholarship holders who abscond or refuse to return.
Since the authorities have created this non-repayment nightmare, I suggest the following:

The scholarships allocation should be handled by the state governments instead of the PSD. This will have 2 good benefits:
1.The headache of selection will be passed to the states and
2.It reinforces the 1Malaysia concept. Opposition is treated fairly and as equal partners in a progressive Malaysia.