Certain parties playing up Bumiputera issue ahead of GE14 - Mustapa
JELI, March 25 (Bernama) -- Certain quarters appear to be trying to gain political mileage by playing up issues related to the Bumiputera agenda, says International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
As such, the Kelantan UMNO Liaison Committee chairman urged the Bumiputera community not to be influenced by the strategy to stop or halt the agenda formulated by the government from being implemented.
"There are some parties which are dissatisfied with the country's agenda for empowering the Bumiputera community and want it to be revamped.
"They want to destroy the Bumiputera agenda formed by previous leaders for their personal interests, and we want the people to unite and not easily believe in such issues that can lead to division, because the government has provided various agendas and plans for empowering every race in the country," he said.
He was speaking to reporters after officiating the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Programme with Jeli parliamentary constituency educators at the Lanas Perdana Hall in Politeknik Jeli here today.
The ceremony which was attended by about 400 educators was also attended by UiTM Vice-Chancellor Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Hassan Said.
Mustapa said Bumiputeras should be proud of the government's efforts to empower the community to be competitive with other races.
"For example, UiTM has been our pride for having produced so many national icons, leaders, corporate figures and entrepreneurs.
"In addition, many Bumiputeras have had the opportunity to pursue higher education because of this privilege, and they may not have had the opportunity to study at other universities due to the strict admission requirements," he added.
Meanwhile, Hassan said UiTM's programme with educators was aimed at raising awareness among teachers on the importance of the university to Malays and the Bumiputera community.
-- BERNAMA
