Shouts of racism again marred proceedings in the House today as parliamentarians crossed swords over the issue of government scholarships.

nazri abdul aziz smilling It began when Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said non-bumiputeras are entitled to JPA (Public Service Department) scholarships.

This prompted Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Bukit Mertajam) to ask about the racial quotas under the scholarships.

Sparks began to fly when Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (Umno-Pasir Salak) stood up and shouted: "The constitution is clear on bumiputera rights and we can't compromise that. No more compromises!"

He then questioned the government’s new policy on the JPA scholarships, labelling it a “populist decision".

A number of opposition MPs stood up to protest, among them Fong, S Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) and Chong Eng (DAP-Bukit Mertajam).

tajuddin abdul rahman Tajuddin: This is Malay rights. I have met several cabinet ministers and they agreed me with me that scholarships should only be reserved for Malays. There should be no compromises!

Kulasegaran interjected, “This is racist!”

Loud murmurs from both sides were temporarily silent by Tajuddin’s shouts for Kulasegaran and Fong to shut up.

Tajuddin: You shut up! You shut up! I have children studying in England, Ireland and Australia and they have no scholarships. But I want rural Malays and lower income groups - even in Sabah and Sarawak - to get scholarships, like what is said in the constitution!

kulasegaran Kulasegaran: In Pasir Salak, are there no Chinese and Indians?

Tajuddin: You think you are so smart? Penyokong Hindraf ! Penyokong Hindraf ! (Hindraf supporter! Hindraf supporter!) Anti-Malaysia.

ibrahim ali Ibrahim Ali (Independent-Pasir Mas): I support the Chinese and Indian communities. For them, set up foundations. But what’s written in the constitution is that the right to scholarships are only for Malays and bumiputera.

House deputy speaker Ronald Kiandee tried unsuccessfully to stop the verbal brawl which escalated into Tajuddin asking Kulasegaran to settle the issue outside the hall.

However, the pandemonium later died down when Nazri explained that the government had not forgotten Malay rights and said that the new policy was not populist.

"I am just being fair and I have not compromised (Malay rights), I guarantee you that."

Tajuddin defends remarks

Met later outside the House, Tajuddin defended his verbal assaults on Kulasegaran.

"I'm not racist. I've stated it before, if you want to help the non-Malay students, especially those who are doing well in their studies, by all means do it. But why not do it in such a way that is not at the expense of bumiputera students because if we do that, we will fail in our national integration and unity," he said.

chong eng Chong Eng however had a different take on the shouting match.

"Pasir Salak is racist. He is defending a racist policy. On the other hand, we are opposing a racist policy and yet we are called racists."

Meanwhile, Fong said that racist remarks in the House have gotten worse in recent times.

“He (Tajuddin) speaks as though his constituency is 100 percent Malay. He speaks as though non-Malays are non-existent in this country. When you get elected, you should speak for everyone.”