Siamese community now regarded as Bumiputeras

(Bernama) — The Siamese community in the country will be looked after just like the other bumiputera communities, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said the government would ensure that the community gets all the privileges provided for bumiputera groups as enshrined in the Constitution.

“The government has recognised the Siamese community as a bumiputera group in the country and will ensure the community is accorded the same privileges enjoyed by their other bumiputera counterparts,” he said when officially opening the Siamese school in Watt Titi Akar here Saturday.

He said the government was also willing to address any shortcomings the community might be facing.

The prime minster said the community was also free to further develop their language and culture so as to ensure their heritage continued to be preserved.

Najib said Malaysia’s unity in diversity was a plus point for the country.

He also said the government never blocked any effort to advance a community so long as it did not adversely affect the nation and was not ultra vires the Constitution.

He added that the government valued the solid support given by the community to the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the last general election as the statistics showed more than 80 per cent of Siamese voters backed the BN in Pendang.

At the function, the prime minister also announced a RM500,000 allocation for the private school which is managed by the community.

The school, which has an enrolment of about 150 students, was built in 1993 with a RM300,000 allocation from the BN government.

Watt Titi Akar a Siamese-majority village in Pendang and has a population of about 3,000.