DPM: CABINET TO DISCUSS BM WAIVER
Govt to decide after hearing justifications from ministers, says Zahid
THE move to relax the Bahasa Melayu (BM) requirement for medical graduates to be appointed as contract medical officers (Grade UD41) will be deliberated during a cabinet meeting tomorrow.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the motion was never brought up or discussed in the cabinet’s previous meeting.
He said the government would decide on the waiver only after hearing explanations and justifications from Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun, who is in charge of the Public Service Department.
Acknowledging the mixed views voiced by several quarters over the move, Zahid said the government would listen to the explanations of the two ministers before deciding its next course of action.
“This (issue) has become a controversy among polemicists and (language) nationalists.
“I hope we can handle it with an open mind and allow the ministers to give their explanations first.
“I don’t want it to be even more complicated or to trigger any other controversy, as it may create opportunities for certain anti-establishment parties to manipulate the issue, since the (National Day) is around the corner.”
He was speaking after visiting Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas’s Gawai Dayak celebration in Taman BDC here yesterday.
Zahid, however, made it clear that obtaining at least a credit in Bahasa Melayu was compulsory in order to be enrolled in the public services.
“The move to relax the requirement (may only apply to) contract and temporary officers and not permanent staff,” he added.
It was reported that Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said the waiver of a minimum pass requirement in the Malay language at the SPM-level for the appointment of a Grade UD41 medical officer on contract was to facilitate the appointment of qualified graduates who did not sit the BM paper for various reasons.
The group includes medical graduates who had studied overseas, those who sat for the Olevel examinations at international schools and those who took the BM subject at universities.
Meanwhile, when asked to comment on Sarawak’s decision to send a team of lawyers to London to search for and study any references related to the state’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963, Zahid said the Federal Government respected the state’s rights.
“We are always open to negotiations and we respect the rights of Sarawak.
“There’s nothing that cannot be discussed (between the federal and state governments).
“We hope the team can come back with some useful documents.”
Zahid was on a two-day visit to the state in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Gawai Dayak celebrations.
Earlier, Zahid met with Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri James Jemut Masing before proceeding to Astana Negeri to pay a courtesy call on Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud.
He also visited Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan’s home before leaving for Kuala Lumpur.