FMT Staff
May 10, 2011

A retired colonel from Malaysian Armed Forces is upset that a government policy regarding children of mixed mariages in Sarawak has not been implemented.

KUCHING: A storm is brewing over the non-implementation of a government directive regarding the “Bumiputera” status of children from mixed marriages in Sarawak.

An irate father, Suhirtharatnam Kularatnam, a former retired colonel in the Malaysian Armed Forces, is demanding to know “who is running the country” when government policies are not carried out.

“Why is the government directive acknowledging the children of mixed marriages in Sarawak as Bumiputeras not being implemented? Who is running this country? Is it the prime minister or is there someone else?” he asked.

Suhirtharatnam’s daughter, Teresa Clare, who scored 10As in last year’s Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, was not given a seat in the matriculation programme because she was not considered a “Bumiputera”.

Teresa’s mother Pauline is an Iban and the daughter of former Land and Mineral Resources Minister Francis Umpau.

Said Suhirtharatnam: “We were unaware of the constitutional issues involved until last year when the case of Marina Undau, whose father is Iban and mother Chinese, was publicised.

“Marina scored 9As (and 1B in her 2008 SPM examination), but like my daughter, she was not able to do matriculation because of her mixed parentage.”

Following Marina’s case which was widely reported here in October 2009, the government came out with an executive directive for Sarawak.

According to the directive, if one parent is a Bumiputera then the children automatically become Bumiputeras.

However, the implementation of the directive appeared to have been thwarted.

“This situation with my daughter should not arise. In fact, three other students are also in the same predicament,” said Suhirtharatnam, who retired after 34 years of serving in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak.

‘I’m not asking for perks’

According to Suhirtharatnam, federal Natural Resources Deputy Minister Douglas Unggah has offered to take the matter up to the Cabinet.

“Unggah spoke to me on Saturday. He said he would take the matter up to the Cabinet. I don’t want to play this up. I am not asking for anything more than what my daughter deserves,” he said.

“She has done well and I have served this country as a responsible citizen.

“Teresa is the youngest of my four children. Since the government has agreed that the children of mixed marriages are Bumiputeras, the policy must be implemented correctly,” he said.

Suhirtharatnam said Teresa had applied to join the May 23 intake for the matriculation programme but her application was rejected.

The reason cited was that she was not a Bumiputera.

Following this, Suhirtharatnam went to the Education Ministry’s Matriculation Department in Putrajaya on May 4 to make an appeal.

But he was told that his daughter would be considered for the next intake on June 25.

Suhirtharatnam, however, is less irked about his daughter’s intake.

What bothers him more is the failure to implement government policies at ground level.

“I am not asking for perks and privileges. I just want to know what the government machinery has done to implement directives,” he said.

‘Stop segregation’

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Parents Consultative Grouping’s (Mapim) Sarawak chairman, Wan Zain Syed Mohdzar, has called for an end to Bumiputera classification for admissions into matriculation programmes and universities.

Wan Zain said that the segregation of the people into Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera should be stopped as it has “spoilt the concept of 1Malysia”.

He urged the education ministry to review the classification system and instead admit students strictly based on merit.

“Rejecting the application of students (into matriculation programmes) based on race is uncalled for,” he said.

Wan Zain, who is also a social activist, said that in Sarawak inter-marriages involving Bumiputera were common and children from such marriages were always considered Bumiputera.

“Inter-marriages in Sarawak are common since colonial days. Locals here have married Arabs, Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese and Europeans. Their children are regarded as Bumiputera and enjoy the facilities provided by the government.

“Some have even held high posts in the government, including those elected as assemblymen and MPs,” he said