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Thursday, April 25, 2024

BM test in maternity ward? Surendran drubs Umno Youth chief








BM test in maternity ward? Surendran drubs Umno Youth chief

Published: Apr 25, 2024 9:53 PM


Former MP N Surendran has panned Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh over the proposal to make mastery of Bahasa Melayu a prerequisite for obtaining Malaysian citizenship.

Terming the proposal as “lacking logic”, he said Malaysian citizenship is determined at birth and depended on the nationalities of the parents.

The lawyer also suggested that Akmal, who is a medical doctor, read the Federal Constitution to hone his knowledge regarding citizenship.

On a sarcastic note, Surendran, who posted his comments on X this evening, asked: “So when do we do the BM test? Just after birth in the maternity ward? After cutting the umbilical cord?”

Earlier today, Malaysiakini reported Akmal saying Umno Youth would like the government or the opposition to file a parliamentary motion to amend the law to make it mandatory for one to be able to converse in Bahasa Melayu to be considered a citizen.

“If Bangladeshis who come to Malaysia can speak Bahasa Melayu, how can one call themselves citizens but not speak the language?


Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh


“Umno Youth will use channels available to ensure this motion is presented and made into a law in this country,” he said.

Akmal was responding to a recent case where an immigration officer refused to renew a local woman’s passport in Penang, as she could not speak the national language.

Yesterday, immigration director-general Ruslin Jusoh said the department’s officers are not allowed to reject passport renewals or first-time applications solely because the applicant failed to master the national language.

On Monday, a man expressed his disappointment on social media after failing to renew his mother’s passport at the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) in Komtar, Penang, because she could not speak BM.


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