Race column in forms, who is lying? – Ravinder Singh

On Wednesday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Joseph Entulu had announced that the Cabinet had agreed to drop the race column from official government forms.

The next day, Najib said the Cabinet never made any decision regarding the race column, adding that the issue was “only discussed”.

Now both can neither be right nor wrong. Only one must be right and the other wrong.

So who is right and who is wrong?

I have serious doubts that a junior person could have taken it upon himself (or as said in Malay, ‘pandai-pandai’) to be the hero and announced that the Cabinet had decided to do away with the ‘race’ column. Surely Joseph Entulu, like others in the Cabinet, must be well versed with Cabinet protocol.

If Entulu had breached Cabinet protocol, then he should be removed from the Cabinet as he has brought dishonour to the Cabinet. He is guilty of insubordination.

On the other hand, if Entulu had been directed by the Cabinet to make the announcement (to test the waters), then it speaks poorly of the Cabinet. Why have to test waters?

If a matter has been discussed in depth, then why the need to see how Perkasa or other extremist groups would react to it before making a ‘final decision’? So who is running the government, the Cabinet, Perkasa, or some others?

Did the Cabinet believe that Perkasa would carry out its threat to sue the Cabinet? Did it believe that the courts would overrule the Cabinet?

That Perkasa’s input is very important for Putrajaya to carry out its work is unbelievable. Might as well appoint Perkasa to the Cabinet.

* Ravinder Singh reads The Malaysian Insider.