PM stands firm in appointment of Indian as Customs D-G
Published on: Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Kuala Lumpur: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he stood firm in his decision to appoint Datuk T. Subromaniam as the Customs Department Director-General despite receiving a petition against his appointment.He insisted that the Government would always be fair in the appointments of officers to important civil service posts. Subromaniam, he added, was the most qualified senior officer in the department to be appointed as its Director-General.Najib revealed that the choice for the top Customs post had faced many difficulties.
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"I received a petition not to appoint an Indian as the Customs Director-General."I said 'No'. He is qualified due to his seniority and I stood my ground," he said.Subromaniam, who was previously Customs Deputy Director-General (Enforcement and Compliance), took over from Datuk Seri Khazali Ahmad on March 24 this year.Earlier this year, a letter, allegedly from the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO), surfaced online, claiming that it had tried to lobby the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a Malay to be appointed to the post instead of an Indian.
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MHO-Secretary-General Datuk-Hishamuddin Hashim denied submitting such a memorandum to the King.Meanwhile, MIC has requested Najib to consider a Cabinet decision in 2009 on unilateral conversion, which states that a child will remain in the religion at birth until the age of 18.
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MIC President Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the unilateral conversion issue had yet to be resolved and was a major issue among the Hindu community."While the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 2017 (LRA) has been amended, that has yet to resolve the issue."This has caused dissatisfaction among Hindus and nonMuslims facing this problem," he said.He said MIC had raised this matter in forums and expressed a commitment to find a harmonious solution."I ask for political support and a political decision from the prime minister to consider the 2009 cabinet decision."It was reported that the cabinet's decision in 2009 was that a child "must follow the religion practised at the time of marriage in the event that one of them opts to convert".Later, Najib said the government was against forced conversion, adding that there was no such thing in Islam."However, the best way to do this is to amend the constitution and we need a two-thirds majority to do this. Give us support so we can do more."Parliament passed the amendments to LRA last month after heated debate.It included the passing of Section 51, which mandates that the divorcing couple must have their marriage dissolved in a civil court, but not Clause 88A, which stated the religion of a child which is a product of the marriage "shall remain as the religion of the parties to the marriage prior to the conversion".Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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