MALAY Muslims –if they are still unaware – should wake up to the fact that the Bumiputera status is not exclusively reserved for them as such reality has come as shocking piece of news to one particular Maybank staff.
It is alleged in a post by Jasmin Choy on Malaysian Education Info (And Homeschooling too) Facebook page that a very confused and misguided Maybank staff had apparently “interrogated” a Sarawakian customer who professes the Christian faith over his “Bumiputera” status.
Imagine such shock and the horror (after all, Thai or Portuguese descendants are also classified as Bumiputera aside from East Malaysian natives)!
Referencing an unnamed thread, it was claimed that the bank manager had to – thankfully – step in and apologise to the Sarawakian native.
Apparently, this did little to appease the inquisitor who went on to grumble to other colleagues that “since when did Bumiputera include Christians”?
The poster who highlighted this hard truth on the FB site argued that such interrogation which is based on erroneous assumptions has to stop.
This is why Malay-looking friends are unable to dine publicly in peace during Ramadhan – it is precisely due to wrongly held assumptions.
The post has generated 924 likes, 624 comments and 157 shares with many commenters wanting to share their two sen on what is seemingly Malaysians’ favourite topic – race.
Such occurrences are apparently not new. One commenter claimed that she, too, was questioned about her Bumiputera status as she was “not Malay” when conducting an Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) transaction. It was succinctly pointed out a person’s race had no bearing on banking transactions.
However, one seemingly Malay Bumiputera defended that Maybank staff that the bank teller was merely doing his duties by asking relevant questions as opposed to displaying racist tendencies.
This flimsy excuse was dismissed by one commenter who pointed out that this was the job of the government or the National Registry Department (JPN) – not the bank staff.
Another reminded that it is not under the staff’s jurisdiction to dispute the customer’s religious status for his/her job is to ensure the legality of the transaction.
It was also lamented that such a narrow perspective was the result of the Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) narrative that has corrupted many a mind.
The failure of the education system in pushing a certain narrative was also blamed for creating such individuals.
The recent controversial claims by International Islamic University Malaysia’s (IIUM) professor of Linguistic Thoughts Prof Dr Solehah Yaacob pertaining to flying Malays was also cited as proof of a crumbling education system.
The ignorant bank staff was ridiculed for being a katak bawah tempurung (sheltered and ignorant) with one commenter aptly asking if he/she was asleep during history lessons in school which taught that many different people were classified as Bumiputera.
If this allegation is proven true, it is then pertinent for Maybank and all other financial institutions to initiate relevant training programmes for its frontline staff. They need to know what the reasonable line of questioning is and what is not – especially one that is viewed as ‘ultra-sensitive’.
If Malaysians do NOT voice out their opposition to this practice, one risks their identity being swallowed up and erased by these ignorant keepers of the flame. – Nov 17, 2025
