‘Melayu’ native kids – Don’t blame my ministry, says Wee
By Patrick Lee, Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry is unaware that the race of indigenous children has been quietly changed to Malay through their school report cards.
Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong told FMT this was the first time he had heard of it.
He said that the fault did not rest on the shoulders of his ministry, but on the National Registration Department (NRD).
“It could not have happened under our education system, because the ministry follows the child’s birth certificate,” he said.
“Any correction to this (a child’s racial origin) must be done with the NRD, not us. This has nothing to do with the ministry. We have no right to say if you’re Malay or Chinese. We’ve no right.”
“As far as I know, a child is registered based on the birth certificate, which is downloaded, or based on the system,” he said.
Wee was commenting on a FMT report that native Sarawakian children were classified as Malays in their school report cards. Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian, who raised the issue, said that these children were identified as “lain-lain” in the past.
