SHAH ALAM: Five resolutions were presented at the Kongres Maruah Melayu (Malay Dignity Congress) today on education, religion, economy, politics and culture.
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris’ physical education graduate Nurul Fatin Aqilah Rahim who presented on the education cluster called for the gradual abolition of vernacular schools which must be completed by 2026.
“Vernacular schools do not promote unity as they use their respective mother tongue as the main language.
“Instead, the Vision School Policy (Dasar Sekolah Wawasan) should be enhanced in stages.
“The resolution for vernacular schools to be abolished in six years is fitting so that the language and curriculum can be standardised,” she said at Stadium Malawati here today.
The education resolution also demanded the scholarship percentage for the B40 and Bumiputera to be increased as well as setting up a scholarship fund for poor students.
Pasir Mas member of parliament Ahmad Fadhil Shaari, who presented on the religion cluster, urged Putrajaya to ensure that all top government positions to be held only by the Malays
“This includes positions such as Chief Justice, Attorney-General, Chief Secretary, Inspector-General of Police, Chief of Defence Forces and other strategic positions such as the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and Menteris Besar, Finance Minister, Defence Minister and Education Minister.
“This congress also urged the Bar Council, Suhakam and liberal NGOs to not meddle in Islamic matters,” said Ahmad Fadhil, who represented Persatuan Peguam Muslim Malaysia.
Another presenter Muhammad Syafiq Jebat called on the government to clearly outline its Malay economy agenda and other policies, to safeguard the interest of the Malays, empowering their economy.
“The government must be clear on its commitment to improve the socioeconomic wellbeing of the Malays without neglecting the interest of people of other races.
“It is important (for the government to spare no efforts) in reducing the income disparity between the Malays and people from other races.
“This can be done by providing upskilling training for the Malays in order for them to remain competitive in the workforce,” said Syafiq, a law student at Universiti Teknologi MARA.
Syafiq, who presented the economy cluster resolution, pointed out the need for efforts to strengthen the Malay economic institutions and government-linked companies.
“These entities must be headed by a Malay with integrity and possess the Malay spirit to ensure our agenda remains alive.
“At the same time, there is also a need for the establishment of a special commission to monitor these entities to protect the interest of the Malays.”
Universiti Malaya’s Malay Studies Academic Fellow Abdul Muqit Muhammad when presenting on the political cluster resolution said there must be a specific economic agenda for the Malays.
Eradicating poverty agenda, he said, should not be seen as an effort to discriminate other races.
“This is because most of those poor are Malays.
“Our economic policy should not be elite-oriented because the previous policy did not effectively address issues faced by farmers, fishermen and those within the same group,” he said.
Muhammad Za’im Rosli, who is a counsellor at Universiti Putra Malaysia, urged the government to take stricter action against individuals or groups that interfere with affairs and issues involving the Islamic religion.
He described such actions as going against Article 3(1) of the Federal Constitution which stipulates that Islam is the religion of the federation.
“We must reject any effort by outsiders to spread ideologies and teachings which deviate from Islam and the Malay culture,” he said when presenting on the cultural cluster.
Za’im also urged the government to accord the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) full authority to initiate action with regards to the abuse of the Bahasa Melayu language.
The move would elevate the DBP position and subsequently empower Bahasa Melayu as the national language.
“Such a move will ensure Bahasa Melayu is used at all levels.”