New BM pass condition against spirit, provision of constitution: Abim

KUALA LUMPUR: The Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) has described the relaxation in the condition for a pass in the Bahasa Melayu (BM) paper in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination for the appointment of Grade UD41 Medical Officers as contravening the spirit and provisions of the Federal Constitution which states that BM is the national and official language of the country.
Its secretary general Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz said under Article 152 (6) of the Federal Constitution, the word "official" referred to anything pertaining to the government, whether federal or state, and including any government authority.
"As such, it is the responsibility of the government through the ministries to always uphold and preserve Bahasa Melayu including implementing certain conditions such as the passing grade for BM according to set standards for staff in government departments, whether permanent or contract," he said in a statement today.
He said all parties should uphold these values which are in the Federal Constitution especially in official government matters which include services and posts, syllabus in government schools and other official matters.
"If the Health Ministry still wants to continue with the new rulings, it would open up opportunities for certain parties to belittle Bahasa Melayu and other provisions in the Federal Constitution," he said.

He added that the relevant parties should provide a specific mechanism to help anyone wanting to take the BM subject and allow those not from the SPM examination stream to sit for it as a single subject.
Yesterday, Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement that on Feb 23, the Public Service Department had agreed to new conditions for the appointment of contract officers for the post of Grade UD41 Medical Officers in the Health Ministry.
Dr Noor Hisham said the new rulings for a pass in BM would allow easier appointment of contract Grade UD41 Medical Officers from among medical graduates who did not sit for the BM paper at the SPM level for various reasons. — Bernama