APPLICATIONS from the Indian Muslim community for Bumiputera status will be assessed individually, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
It would be handled through the normal constitutional process, he stressed.
Anwar also said he would instruct the Home Ministry to investigate the community's grouses, but it is best to treat such applications on an individual basis.
He said that the Madani-concept government would ensure inclusivity and fairness in resolving the issue.
“I have asked the ministry to pay close attention to the concerns raised by the Indian Muslims. We cannot ignore such grievances,” he said.
Anwar had earlier acknowledged that the Indian Muslims, including those of Pakistani and Bangladeshi descent, have played a significant role in the country's nation-building.
The community is associated with many economic sectors, including food and beverage through the widely popular nasi kandar chains, precious metals such as gold and silver trade, entrepreneurship and tourism.
He paid particular tribute to the former league president, the late Datuk Shaik Allaudin Ismail and veteran consumer advocate, the late S.M. Idris.
Shaik Allaudin was instrumental in getting the community to get bin or binti in their birth certificates instead of the son or daughter as was the case for the Indian community. Idris led both the Consumer Association of Penang and the environmental group Sahabat Alam Malaysia for years.
Earlier, the Malaysian Muslim League Datuk Seri Najmudeen Kader, who is also the Penang Muslim League president, said the problems related to their registrations as Bumiputera only began recently.
Najmudeen said that the Indian Muslims qualified as bumiputra by having embraced the Malay culture. and adopt the Muslim way of life.
Currently, there are about 1.1 million Indian Muslims in the country.
Najmudden now claimed that those without bumiputra status had faced problems relating to applying for housing, business permits and admissions into institutions of higher learning.
When addressing the crowd at the Muslim League 70th dinner celebrations at the Setia SPICE Conference Centre, Anwar urged the community to participate in Penang's growth as a main regional hub for digitalisation from chip manufacturing to information technology services.
To Najmudeen's request for funding to guide the community's nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) to become social enterprises, Anwar replied that the community is well off but he would grant some RM250,000 funding for the initial efforts.
The funding is also for the upskilling of the community's youths and educational efforts.
Anwar also said that the Muslim League must work closely with government agencies to bridge economic disparities and prepare for opportunities in emerging sectors such as Artificial Intelligence and digital technology. - December 7, 2024.
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