PARLIAMENT The race column is still needed in 198 official forms under Article 153 of the Federal Consitution, which safeguards the special position of Malays and natives in Sabah and Sarawak, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Joseph Entulu.

He said the race column was also needed for research and planning purposes.

The government's intention to keep the sub-ethnic and dialect column, he said, could do justice to the people, especially when they apply to enter public universities.

Entulu, who is also Selangau MP, added that abolishing the race column could help cultivate a Malaysian identity (but only) to a certain degree.

"A cabinet meeting on July 29, 2009 agreed that official forms, besides MyKad and other important documents, be reviewed by government agencies to abolish information related to race, which was not needed.

"In 2011, a check by the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu) on 346 official forms, found that information on race is needed only for 198 forms,” he told the Dewan Rakyat.

He was replying to Mohamad Imran Abdul Hamid (PKR-Lumut), who wanted to know the status of the Malaysian race.

Imran also questioned the need for public universities to require applicants to list out their dialect and sub-ethnic group.

"There are seven Malay sub-ethnic groups, nine Indian sub-ethnic groups, 12 Chinese dialects, and eight orang asli sub-groups. There are 36 and 57 sub-ethnic groups in Sabah and Sarawak respectively," said Imran.

He urged the government to implement its policies in accordance with the spirit of 1Malaysia.