Lam Thye hopes Govt will remove race column entirely

PETALING JAYA: The Federal Government’s move to drop the use of lain-lain to refer to Sarawak bumiputras in all official forms is a “step in the right direction,” said National Unity Consultative Council former deputy chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

He said the existence of the lain-lain section in official forms was not in the interest of national unity and integration.

“The NUCC had previously discussed this, among other things, and had recommended this because it was very divisive and not in the interest of unity,” he said when contacted.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced on Saturday that the removal of lain-lain race category from government forms would take effect immediately.

He said the move was in line with the Cabinet’s decision and that bumiputras in Sarawak could state their respective ethnicity instead of ticking lain-lain in government forms.

Lee also suggested that the Government eventually work towards promoting national unity by getting rid of the race column entirely.

“I hope eventually we will all become one race – Bangsa Malaysia – and there will be no need for racial identification in official forms at least.

“Of course I understand that for research purposes, there would be a need to gather information on races to identify, for example, problems afflicting specific races, and how to deal with them.

“Other than research, I see no other reason for the race column to exist, so hopefully the Government will eventually consider abolishing it from official forms altogether,” he said.