Nazri: Children of mixed parentage are bumiputras

Nazri: Children of mixed parentage are bumiputras

I read with great interest tonight on the topic (click on the link above) and the affirmation from Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz that, according to the Clause 6 of Article 161A in the Federal Constitution, Sarawakian children of mixed parentage, where one parent is a native, has bumiputra status. He further reiterated that, in Sabah, children of mixed parentage are considered bumiputras.

Now, I am beginning to wonder whether we, Sabahans, have been erred all through the years since the inception of the constitution, or Nazri, who as erred, but "on the right side". In Sabah, a child is accorded bumiputra status if his/her father is a native. Many of my Sabahan friends are not bumiputra for the very fact that their native mothers married non-native.

However, the Sarawak State Constitution states that a child is considered a bumiputra if one of the parents is a bumiputra. But some quarters claimed that the bumiputra status is only accorded to the child whose father must be a bumiputra, and not either.

It is a sad and long standing issue for Sabahans and Sarawakians of mixed parentage, especially where ASB is concerned. By virtue of my father being a Kadazan, I am accorded bumiputra status regardless of my mother's chinese origin. There was no hitch in applying for ASB for my 1st daughter, as she is also a bumiputra, and my wife is a Malaysian of Indian ethnicity. 

However, a year later, when I applied one for my 2nd daughter I received a letter from PNB requesting for evidence of my father's citizenship and copy of IC, my father's father's (my late grandad) documents, and my documents, apparently to provide evidence to enable my daughter to open an ASB account. I was really flabbergasted mostly at the reason they provided, which was to "kemaskini" (update) their records. Who were they trying to kid? Maybe they were gullible once themselves, but not Sabahans nor Sarawakians!

I wasted no time shooting them an email claiming that my daughter has every right under the Constitution to be allowed ASB account, and Lord knows what else spewed forth from my keyboard in the heat of the moment. Barely a week passed by when I received a reply from them that they have waive some conditions and I just had to provide them with my own documents. The trouble we had go through despite the obvious facts!