The Malaysian Insight

MALAYSIA will not remove the columns for “kaum” (race) and “agama” (religion) on the registration form of public examinations as the data is required for analysis. 

Education Minister Maszlee Malik said for examinations such as Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) the race of the students was useful in reviews of the tests.

“The race column is only on the exam registration forms. The ministry is not planning on removing the column in the STPM registration form as the column will be used for analysis purposes,” he said in a Parliamentary written reply.

For examinations such as the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3 (PT3) and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) the race column has been replaced with “keturunan”, or heritage.

“From 2017, the race column… was replaced by ‘heritage’ as the term ‘race’ only refers to Malays, Chinese, Indians and Others. ‘Heritage’ refers to a specific sect of a certain race,” Maszlee said.

He said said the column for religion would be maintained as it allowed for easier identification of the students sitting for Islamic or Moral Studies papers. 

“The purpose is for the management to identify the number of Muslim and non-Muslim candidates to make it easier for the preparation of test papers.”

Pakatan Harapan parties, especially DAP, have previously urged the removal of the two columns on government forms. – October 29, 2018.