Bumi status for Indian Muslim never discussed in Cabinet meeting

The proposal to recognise the Indian Muslim community in Malaysia as Bumiputera has never been brought up or discussed in any Cabinet meeting, says MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said that the issue had instead been politicised by certain quarters for their own benefit and that the decision on such proposal required careful consideration and proper discussions as it involved national policy.

Liow, who is also the Transport Minister, said Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties have their own channels to raise any matters of concern or objections should the parties had such disagreement in regards to national issues or policies.

"This is a non-issue, the matter has never been brought up or discussed in Cabinet meeting or even at the BN level. Stop playing with the issue and I think more emphasis should be given on strengthening national unity as Merdeka Day is coming," he told a press conference after officiating 'Internet+', a smart teaching and learning system for Chinese education, here today.

Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the government would carry out in-depth study on the request of the Indian Muslim community to be recognised as Bumiputera.

However, Najib said the proposal required further research in terms of administration or gazettement.

Commenting on Internet+, which is the latest MCA's Belt and Road Initiative, Liow said the new software is a complete e-learning system with a comprehensive learning materials and special live broadcast functions to teach Chinese subject.

For a start, he said 14 national or national-type secondary schools and Chinese independent secondary schools had been selected for the project.

"The system has also been specially formulated based on Malaysian secondary school Chinese syllabus, so there will be no issue raised on the recognition of the system," he said.

The initiative is a collaboration between MCA, China's Huaqiao University and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR).

-- BERNAMA