State Cabinet agrees to drop 'Lain-lain' column
Published on: Thursday, January 22, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The State Cabinet on Wednesday agreed to abolish the race column "lain-lain" (others) in government forms.State Secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman said the race column would instead be left blank and filled up by the applicants themselves according to their race and ethnicity.The State Government would also present the list of race and sub-ethnic groups in Sabah to the National Registration Department as reference in processing birth certificates and identity card applications, he said.
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The call for the race column "lain-lain" or others to be abolished heightened following the announcement by Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem that Sarawak was doing away with the column in all its government official forms.Satem in making the announcement had said that the people of Sarawak have their own identity and culture and should not be perceived as "others" although being a recognised ethnic group in the country.He said they should fill it in as Bumiputera Iban, Bumiputera Lun Bawang, etc. When asked for comment, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan had said that Sabahans can just scrap the "lain-lain" column and specify their race or ethnic group in that column.He said this was appropriate as it would provide clarity on the applicants' race and avoid confusion.
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