COMMENT MIC Youth welcomes historian Prof Dr Khoo Kay Khim’s urging to Malaysians to use ‘Malaysian' for ' bangsa ’ in official forms.

We also believe that the term ‘ bangsa ’ refers to the nationality of a person and not his or her racial origins.

If the person is Malaysian, then they should just fill in as ‘Malaysian’ instead of ‘Indian’, ‘Chinese’, or ‘Malay’.

Remember, we all are Malaysians.

India is a nation of many races and ethnicity but they all state they are Indian - their nationality.

Likewise, we should only state we are Malaysians and not what is our race. Race has become immaterial in today’s world.

Besides, a Malaysian who is connected to China or a Malaysian who is connected to India are only connected by the origins of their parents or grandparents or great-grandparents.

As Malaysians, we have nothing to do with India or China and we cannot be filling in forms as such.

We should be brave and abandon that practice.

As Prof Khoo said, the term ‘ pendatang ’ (immigrants) is only for those who are not citizens.

It’s a simple question - ‘ pendatang ’ or immigrants is just a term and those who hold other citizenships are called immigrants.

But if they are born here, then they cannot be ‘ pendatang ’.

Don’t let anybody call you a ‘ pendatang ’.

C SIVARRAAJH is MIC Youth leader.