Criticism of Gagasan Anti-Penyelewengan Selangor (Gaps) is growing louder with a multi-religious body joining the fray to rap Gaps for claiming that only Malays and bumiputera are entitled to scholarships.
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) said in a statement today that Gaps' remarks were "untenable", baseless and without support from the Federal Constitution,
MCCBCHST president Reverend Dr Thomas Philips (below) said, "The only provision relating to special position of Malays in the Federal Constitution relating to scholarships is Article 153...It only talks about special position of the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak. Special rights is not mentioned in the article. The word 'bumiputera' is not found anywhere in the Federal Constitution."
Gaps, an Umno-linked pressure group, had said that only Malays and bumiputera have the right to receive government scholarships based on the Reid Commission, the five-member Commonwealth panel that drafted the nation's constitution in 1956 but MCCBCHST refuted this, saying that the wording of the federal constitution providing for a "reasonable proportion" of the scholarships to be reserved for Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak ruled out giving 100 percent of the scholarships to them.
MCCBCHST president Reverend Dr Thomas Philips (below) said, "The only provision relating to special position of Malays in the Federal Constitution relating to scholarships is Article 153...It only talks about special position of the Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak. Special rights is not mentioned in the article. The word 'bumiputera' is not found anywhere in the Federal Constitution."
Gaps, an Umno-linked pressure group, had said that only Malays and bumiputera have the right to receive government scholarships based on the Reid Commission, the five-member Commonwealth panel that drafted the nation's constitution in 1956 but MCCBCHST refuted this, saying that the wording of the federal constitution providing for a "reasonable proportion" of the scholarships to be reserved for Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak ruled out giving 100 percent of the scholarships to them.
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