Today I attended a Forum on Challenges to Equality and Non-Discrimination in the Malaysian Context, the first of eight which are planned for the next eighteen months. Organized by Tenaganita, the forums are supported by the Equal Rights Trust, UK which is funded by the European Union to help end discrimination worldwide. Dr. Adrienn Sallai, Third Secretary of the EU Delegation to Malaysia, said equality and non-discrimination are core principles of the EU, whose goal is an egalitarian society.
The Executive Director of Tenaganita, Irene Fernandez opened the forum. In her usual calm yet passionate manner, she reminded us that there is something fundamentally wrong in Malaysia, where discrimination on account of race, gender, religion, labour, poverty, minorities, HIV/AIDS victims, the disabled, etc. is rampant.
Irene was followed by Azmi Sharom of the Faculty of Law, University Malaya. Azmi noted that racism in most countries is “underground,” whereas in Malaysia it is mainstream, with public exponents like Tun Mahathir, Ridzwan Tee and Ibrahim Ali. Azmi noted that Malaysia has refused to become a party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)(1966) and to the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT)(1984). From this Azmi inferred that Malaysia WANTS to discriminate and torture: it’s hard to argue with that inference.
In discussing Customary International Law, Azmi observed that racial discrimination and torture have “become wrong,” under international law, even though Malaysia has not signed the CERD and UNCAT Conventions. He also noted that Malaysia has signed some treaties while expressing reservations on some sections, e.g. in CEDAW, the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Malaysia has not accepted equal rights for husband and wife in marriage and its dissolution. He did not say whether these reservations are typical of all “Muslim” countries.
Azmi was followed by Sivarasa Rasiah, lawyer and Member of Parliament for Subang. Sivarasa began by noting the huge disparity in incomes in Malaysia: of all the ASEAN countries, the gap between the rich and the poor is highest in Malaysia, based on the GINI coefficient. According to Sivarasa, the gap is only slightly smaller than that of Papua New Guinea! He also observed that seventy percent of Malaysian households with income less than RM 2,000 per month are Malays.
Sivarasa focused on answering the question “how did we get to this state of affairs.” He began with a history lesson, reminding us that on 10 August 1947 a coalition of non-Malay civil and political organizations, the All Malaya Council of Joint Action (AMCJA) was formed with Tan Cheng Lock as leader. The AMCJA soon formed an alliance with [Dr Burhanuddin Al-Helmy’s] Malay-based Pusat Tenaga Raayat (PUTRA).
On 21 September 1947, Putra-AMCJA revealed a blueprint for Malaysia’s future, called The People’s Constitution, which reflected a consensus of all the races in Malaysia. Sivarasa stressed two aspects of this blueprint: (1) it conferred equal citizenship rights to all who make Malaysia their home and (2) it called for the creation of a council of races with power to block any discriminatory legislation based on ethnicity or religion. The British however chose to work with UMNO and it’s allies – this produced Article 153 of the current constitution which gives a “special position” to the Malays.
Sivarasa explained that “special position” does not equal “special rights;” rather, article 153 enshrines affirmative action to reduce inequality, not to increase discrimination. Per article 153, the Agung may set quotas for Malays in the Civil Service, education and business. The intent was that article 153 would be in force for a limited time only.
Alas, post-1969, UMNO/BN politicians turned article 153 into a tool of discrimination. Now, institutions such as the army, police, judiciary and the civil service – all of which express state power – are dominated by Malays. And any Malay millionaire can get a ten percent discount on an expensive bungalow!
The Forums are off to a good start – educational and evocative. Also, there was good input from the floor, all given in a very orderly manner, with Ambiga Sreenevasan, former president of the Bar Council, as moderator.
I am excited at the energy behind countering discrimination and promoting equality!
Rama Ramanathan maintains the blog “Rest Stop Thoughts”.
The Micah Mandate is a Christian-based public interest advocacy ministry that seeks a transformation of our nation through justice, mercy and humility.
