Is Malaysia Dropping The 'Race' Column From Government Forms?

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun apologised for the confusion over a report on the dropping of the 'race' column in government official forms that had no value added.

He said in a statement that the matter was discussed at a cabinet meeting but no decision was made.

themalaysianinsider.com

Reports yesterday, he said, had misinterpreted his statement. "The inaccurate report has caused anxiety," he said in a brief statement.

PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet has decided that race categories with no useful purpose in official government forms should be dropped completely.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun said applications for jobs in some government departments like pharmacists and in the Prime Minister's Office did not require one to state their race.

thesundaily.my

Entulu said although there had been no directive or circular issued on the matter, about 120 official government forms have omitted the column. He said among the forms were for the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) and the housing loan scheme forms for the low-income group.

"Application forms for government loans from the lower income group also do not have a race column (anymore)," he said at a press conference to announce the move here today.

thesundaily.my

He added that the racial identification column will be dropped altogether in years to come when the government no longer requires such information.

thesundaily.my

"The government assures Malaysians that if details of one's race are requested, it is because it is necessary and not for racial profiling. We need these details in many instances like in a census and for research purposes," he said.

thesundaily.my

“The column cannot be immediately and completely dropped because in some aspects, stating the race is needed. “For instance when the government carry out census or in land-related matters,” he told newsmen here on Wednesday.

Entulu added that there were three categories of official forms which still retained the “race” column, with one of these related to Article 153 of the Federal Constitution to protect the position and rights of communities in the country. In the second category, the racial identity is required to meet the legal requirements involving land, education, business and those areas gazetted under the acts. In the third category, the racial identity is needed for research and planning purposes such as in disease control, education enhancement, population demography, and facility and development planning.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak denied today reports claiming his Cabinet has decided to remove the racial identification column from government forms as currently practised.

themalaymailonline.com

He maintained that the "race" column in government official forms stays. "The issue was discussed in Cabinet, but we decided to maintain the current norm," he said, refuting a statement by Minister in Prime Minister's Department Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun that the "race" column which had no benefit would be dropped.

nst.com.my

At a press conference after officiating Rumah Umno Taiping, Najib said Joseph admitted he did a mistake and would call for a press conference to rectify the matter today.

therakyatpost.com

"For the sake of statistics, we need it (the race column). Otherwise, we will not have the statistics (by race)," he said. The prime minister said the statistics by race was necessary to facilitate government monitoring of the progress of every community in the country.

astroawani.com

"It is the responsibility of the government to do whatever it can for any community left behind to ensure a balance in the distribution of wealth and opportunities in the country," he said.

astroawani.com