Overzealous officials in the Ministry of Education could not interpret the Article 161a of the Federal Constitution
Summary: Marina Undau, a 9As 1B SPM Sino-Iban scorer with an Iban dad and a Chinese mom, was denied access to matriculation. Apparently Iban was not mentioned as one of the Bumiputera in the constitution. If Iban, one of the largest ethnic group in Sarawak is not recognized as a Bumi, then what does Melanau, Bidayuh, Kelabit, Lun Bawang and other smaller ethnic groups are? And apparently this problem is faced by all children of mix marriages. What happened to the system "If your dad is Bumi and your mom is Chinese/Indian/Other non-Bumi, you are still a Bumi by default.
This misinterpretation explains a lot why my sis, 9As 1B SPM scorer of Sino-Melanau decent was not accepted into ANY of the local institutes she applied. Kesian her because she struggled half-dead for her successes in the silly kiasu race and willing to travel all the way to Kuching for the interview alone. As for me, I don't mind not being accepted as I didn't fare as well as she did so I didn't question the ministry's decision then. However revising the constitution reveals;
After 21 years, I just found out I'm not a Bumi under the constitution. The most shocking discovery after finding out I need to renew my IC upon reaching 21 years old. Then what the hell am I?
And there you go, being Sino-Bumiputera automatically makes you a non-Bumiputera, even if your dad is Bumi. "The constitution says so, you're not Bumi", explained the officials. Even so isn't there a quota for non-Bumi for such tertiary education? Racists.
What a load of bollocks. Way to go promoting 1Malaysia, when even the education system is racially-unfair.
Something is wrong with the system.
Read more:
MP fears for future of children of mixed marriages
Being ‘mixed’ is no privilege
To Marina: Nothing can keep a good lady down
This misinterpretation explains a lot why my sis, 9As 1B SPM scorer of Sino-Melanau decent was not accepted into ANY of the local institutes she applied. Kesian her because she struggled half-dead for her successes in the silly kiasu race and willing to travel all the way to Kuching for the interview alone. As for me, I don't mind not being accepted as I didn't fare as well as she did so I didn't question the ministry's decision then. However revising the constitution reveals;
- Peninsular Malaysia "If one of the parents is Muslim Malay as stated in Article 160 (2) Federal Constitution of Malaysia; thus the child is considered as a Bumiputra"
- Sabah "If a father is a Muslim Malay or indigenous native of Sabah as stated in Article 160A (6)(a) Federal Constitution of Malaysia; thus his child is considered as a Bumiputra"
- Sarawak "If both of the parent are indigenous natives of Sarawak as stated in Article 160A (6)(b) Federal Constitution of Malaysia; thus their child is considered as a Bumiputra"
After 21 years, I just found out I'm not a Bumi under the constitution. The most shocking discovery after finding out I need to renew my IC upon reaching 21 years old. Then what the hell am I?
And there you go, being Sino-Bumiputera automatically makes you a non-Bumiputera, even if your dad is Bumi. "The constitution says so, you're not Bumi", explained the officials. Even so isn't there a quota for non-Bumi for such tertiary education? Racists.
What a load of bollocks. Way to go promoting 1Malaysia, when even the education system is racially-unfair.
Something is wrong with the system.
Read more:
MP fears for future of children of mixed marriages
Being ‘mixed’ is no privilege
To Marina: Nothing can keep a good lady down
1 comment:
After all these year u all filled formal forms and questionnaire by ticking the column "Bumi" whenever they ask about ur races, now baru they inform u that u r not??
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