MINORITIES in Sabah should stop making “nonsensical” demands and just be thankful they are recognised as Malaysians, said Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali.

The Malay rights group leader, who was in Sabah today to attend the Perkasa special annual conference in Tuaran, said minorities should not cross the line to the point of denying the rights of indigenous people in the state.

“In the context of Sabah, I want to remind the minorities who are Malaysian that we accept them as Malaysians. But, never step on the heads of the indigenous people.

“Now, they are making many nonsensical demands. Demands that are against the Constitution and national policies, such as the recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC),” he said, referring to the Chinese.

There are 32 official ethnic groups in Sabah. Statistics from 2015 showed that the Chinese comprised 311,500 of the state’s overall population of 3.544 million.

The UEC is a standardised test for Chinese independent high school students, organised by Chinese education group Dong Zong.

Recently, there have been calls for Putrajaya to recognise the UEC, allowing those sitting the test to obtain jobs in the public sector and enter public universities.

Earlier this year, Perkasa had threatened to sue the government should Putrajaya recognise the UEC.

Ibrahim, who was barred from entering Sarawak last year, said his statement today should not be taken as being racist, given that Pribumis were the true owners of the land.

“Those who refute Perkasa’s role in defending the rights of the indigenous people are the real racists instead.

“All Perkasa wants is for indigenous Sabahans to unite and set aside their religious sentiments and demand their own rights.”

He said the indigenous people in Sabah must demand their rights in many fields, such as business and education, adding that Perkasa would continue its efforts to be the catalyst of unity and wanted local ethnic groups to have a strong economic standing in the state.

“They should be getting more than the minority races. They must have control in all commercial areas, including economy and land.

“Sabah is resource-rich, and therefore, its administration must be controlled by locals, unlike in some countries, where up to 80% of business and administration is controlled by minorities.

“Sabahans should never become beggars in their own land.” – October 8, 2017.