What’s your stand on racial discrimination Paul Low?

The minister seems to have confused race-based politics with racial discrimination.

COMMENT

By Kua Kia Soong

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low said recently that Malaysia still needs time to transition beyond race-based politics. He said the abolition of slavery in the UK took over two decades, while the US has faced many social upheavals over the past two centuries to reach its progress today. The reason he gave was that there are entrenched interests involved.

The Minister seems to be confusing two very different issues here. Trying to justify the continuance of race-based politics is one thing. Nobody is denying that race-based politics will persist for some time in our society although the limits of racism have to be set by an Equality Act which is still not in existence in our statutes. It will be interesting to see whether race-based political parties could be permitted under an Equality Act!

Nevertheless, the Minister is avoiding the elephant in the room, namely, racial discrimination which is entrenched in our economic, educational, social and cultural policies. Is he saying that we have to also wait for decades before this “Never Ending Policy” of racial discrimination is abolished? Remember the United Nations has designated the 21st of March as the International day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. We have been participants in the UN General Assembly and we have even chaired the UN Human Rights Council.

Let me also remind the minister that this NEP and the racially discriminatory quota system (Amendment 8A to Article 153 of the Federal Constitution) was only introduced in 1971 when the country was under a state of Emergency. It was not part of our so-called “Social Contract” at Independence in 1957.

When Malaysia became independent and a party to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it pledged our nation to upholding its most fundamental principles, viz.:

“Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status…”

Thus, we do not expect to have to wait for decades before racial discrimination is abolished in this country. The discrimination against non-Bumiputera enrollment at UiTM is perhaps the most evident example of racial discrimination in this country and especially galling when we bear in mind that this institution is paid for by Malaysian taxpayers including non-Bumiputeras! It is all the more shocking at a time when there is a gross lack of opportunities for vocational and technical education for non-Bumiputera youth.

There are further instances of racial discrimination in our institutions including discounts for millionaire Bumiputeras who purchase houses and other facilities.

So Minister, please try not to avoid the elephant in the room and state your stand on eradicating racial discrimination in Malaysia.

Kua Kia Soong is the Adviser to SUARAM