PETALING JAYA -- The 1Malaysia Foundation today called on private and government agencies to drop the word 'bangsa' (race) from forms to strengthen unity and work towards realising the 1Malaysia concept.
Its chairman, Prof Dr Chandra Muzaffar said the word showed Malaysian society was obsessed with race so much so it is considered an obstacle in the application process.However, he said it could be retained to obtain complete information in forms relating to population statistics and racial ratios in the public service such as police and army.
"There are several types of forms which do not need information on race because it is not important, so this must be revised and taken out if it is found to hinder the success of 1Malaysia. However, we will not touch the religion category."People need not worry about losing their rights if the word is dropped because it does not conflict with the constitution and all rights will remain as stated in the constitution," he said during a news conference on Ethnicity In Forms--A Call For Review, here yesterday.
Also present 1Malaysia Foundation directors Lee Lam Thye and Anthony Fernandes.Dr Chandra said the process (of removing the word bangsa) may take time as it was a complicated matter and touched on racial sensitivities.When asked if the foundation would discuss with the government and private agencies on the matter, he said: "At the moment, only banks have shown their interest to take part while discussion with others will follow-up later.""In 2009, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had announced that race would be removed from government reviewing processes, so this is our first move towards that," he added. In relation to that, he said vernacular schools would not hinder the success of the 1Malaysia concept because their academic content was the same as national schools.
Source : Bernama
Its chairman, Prof Dr Chandra Muzaffar said the word showed Malaysian society was obsessed with race so much so it is considered an obstacle in the application process.However, he said it could be retained to obtain complete information in forms relating to population statistics and racial ratios in the public service such as police and army.
"There are several types of forms which do not need information on race because it is not important, so this must be revised and taken out if it is found to hinder the success of 1Malaysia. However, we will not touch the religion category."People need not worry about losing their rights if the word is dropped because it does not conflict with the constitution and all rights will remain as stated in the constitution," he said during a news conference on Ethnicity In Forms--A Call For Review, here yesterday.
Also present 1Malaysia Foundation directors Lee Lam Thye and Anthony Fernandes.Dr Chandra said the process (of removing the word bangsa) may take time as it was a complicated matter and touched on racial sensitivities.When asked if the foundation would discuss with the government and private agencies on the matter, he said: "At the moment, only banks have shown their interest to take part while discussion with others will follow-up later.""In 2009, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had announced that race would be removed from government reviewing processes, so this is our first move towards that," he added. In relation to that, he said vernacular schools would not hinder the success of the 1Malaysia concept because their academic content was the same as national schools.
Source : Bernama
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