No more ‘lain-lain’ category for Sarawakians

Zahid says Cabinet has decided to abolish use of 'other' racial category on government forms.

PETALING JAYA: The Federal Government is to abolish the use of the “lain-lain” (other) racial category on government forms to refer to Sarawak bumiputeras, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

“This is something that has been requested by the state government and Sarawak’s federal ministers. The Cabinet has decided that Sarawak’s bumiputeras can use their respective ethnicities instead of ‘lain-lain’ in all government forms,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid said the move would be implemented immediately. Sarawakians would no longer be regarded as “lain-lain”.

The Dayak community in Sarawak, as the Orang Asal, have objected to being categorised as “other” on government forms, and have rejected being categorised as bumiputera, as preferred by federal bureaucrats, as being seen to refer mainly to Malays and Muslims.

Last year, Chief Minister Adenan Satem advised the community to ignore “lain-lain” and to fill in Dayak as their ethnic category. “How can the Dayak, the Orang Asal in Sarawak, be lain-lain in their own homeland?” he had said in a speech to the community last October. “Here, you have a people with their own culture, customs and traditions and Putrajaya considers them lain-lain.”

A federal minister from Sarawak later announced that the Dayak communities had been given official recognition as a “race” on government forms, with an additional item to be added to the current groups of nationalities.

Ahmad Zahid said the Federal Government would continue to consider requests from Sarawak in line with the good relationship it has with the state government.

He would forward to the prime minister all requests from the state government so that they would receive due consideration by the top leadership, Ahmad Zahid said.