by Donovan Lee Shyun Hyn
There are always pros and cons to an Act of Parliament. The notion that one cannot have the best of both worlds is indeed true and is applicable in this situation as what is good for the Executive may not go down well with the rest of the population. The proposed Race Relations Act is one fine example. Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, the Minister of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage in his interview with the New Sunday Times, contended that the proposed Act is specific in which it would be able to deal better with issues of religion and sensitivities of race as compared to the Sedition Act or Internal Security Act which is too general, thus creating loopholes to prosecute alleged offenders.
One might think why do we need to formulate such Act after having achieved 51 years of Independence? Wouldn’t the world community laugh at us for the failure to govern race relations despite the existence of various policies and bodies which were meant to instill unity among Malaysians of all races and religions? I certainly have my reservations for that.
Great Britain was formed in the year 1707 with the passing of the Acts of Union which merged the two parliaments of England and Scotland while Canada was formed in the year 1867 by virtue of British North America Acts. They have both enacted Race Relations Act in which the former was established in 1965 and the latter in 1991. These countries were created way before Malaysia was born but the Legislatures see the necessity of enacting the Act which makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin. Hence, the issue of humiliation does not arise here.
Perhaps the main issue revolves around the effectiveness of this particular Act in the process of fostering unity and integration. Will it be punitive or deterrent in nature? It may discourage some people from uttering racist remarks or such but what about the majority of urbanites who have liberal thoughts? They will only view it as another draconian law intended to curb their rights and freedom which are enshrined in Part II of the Federal Constitution. Therefore, it will only be redundant if it were to be enacted.
The construction of Race Relations Act alone will not suffice to foster racial harmony. The education system needs to be seriously restructured as in whether or not to continue with the current system of having different co-existence schools i.e. national, vernacular and private schools. Apart from that, parents equally play a vital role by instilling toleration and the respect for the other races and religions in their children since upbringing will determine the conduct of the future generation of Malaysians.
Personally, I am supportive of the proposal by Datuk Professor Dr. Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, the founding director of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Institute of Ethnic Stidues that the government to have a referendum on what is the exact state of ethnic relations in Malaysia before they introduce the motion to be debated in Parliament. I don’t think that the ethnic relations in Malaysia have reached a critical stage to see the creation of Race Relations Act. The culprits behind the racial issues are actually mala fide politicians who want to gain political mileage by playing to their respective galleries. They are the ones who should be dealt with first.
You did a good job, Donovan! Keep it up!!
I agree with you that our race matters is not in such a serious state, but those politicians are making it an issue and create such a big fuss about it. Moreoever, they are representing us, the people! I prefer calling it as a matter, because it becomes a problem only when they made it became a problem.
They like to implement things and do not foresee the consequences somehow. But, when something bad happened, they will start to take precautionary actions miraculously and throw the ball around, waiting for the ball to land on an unfortunate person, so everyone can point the fingers to that poor fella! However, no point crying over the spilt milk!
They are still a lot of room of improvements. Hopefully they can plan and use their time wisely to make our country a better place which is what they are supposed to do, aren’t they ??
If they don’t, the people will wait till the time comes and exercise their rights. We never know what will happen again during the next election?! The people knows what’s best for them.
It’s really depressing for Malaysians, at this time and age, to actually need an Act of Parliament to tell them to be nice to other races.
Thx, deb! =)
“contended that the proposed Act is specific in which it would be able to deal better with issues of religion and sensitivities of race as compared to the Sedition Act or Internal Security Act which is too general, thus creating loopholes to prosecute alleged offenders。”
- First up, it is interesting if we could know what the contents of the proposed Act are. If it specifically deals with the issue of religion and relations between the races, then I would say it is not necessarily a bad thing. From what I observe, the situation in Malaysia is this; whenever there is a sensitive issue regarding religion and the relations between the races, it is always an easy way out for politicians to say that it is a sensitive issue and therefore it should not be discussed openly or at all. This is merely sweeping it under the carpet and not dealing with it. If the Act can lay out some guidelines which are agreeable upon by the people then it may well be a way to actually deal with it. For instance, the issue of converts and their spouse’s rights is an issue which has to be actually dealt with and not just set aside.
“Wouldn’t the world community laugh at us for the failure to govern race relations despite the existence of various policies and bodies which were meant to instill unity among Malaysians of all races and religions?”
- If policies and the relevant bodies are insufficient to instill unity among Malaysians, then there IS the need for something to be done rather than not done at all. I wouldn’t care what the whole world think of us as long as we can ensure the unity and stability in our country. Every nation has racial issues and problems. It is not something to be ashamed of. It has to be dealt with.
“It may discourage some people from uttering racist remarks or such but what about the majority of urbanites who have liberal thoughts? They will only view it as another draconian law intended to curb their rights and freedom which are enshrined in Part II of the Federal Constitution. Therefore, it will only be redundant if it were to be enacted.”
- In my honest opinion, I really don’t think people who have liberal thoughts would make such racist remarks. I do believe people who have liberal thoughts would think bigger and wiser. People making racist remarks do not know how to respect other races and also themselves. These are people with narrow thinking not liberal. I think it is important for someone to think before they speak. Freedom of speech has to be used with prudence and maturity.
“The construction of Race Relations Act alone will not suffice to foster racial harmony.”
- It alone is not enough, but is it necessary or maybe better the situation? Is it better to have it or not have it?
“I don’t think that the ethnic relations in Malaysia have reached a critical stage to see the creation of Race Relations Act.”
- I’m not sure if I see contradicting statements here. Correct me if I am wrong. The two statements above – one saying the Act alone is not sufficient while the other saying it is not needed at all?
“The culprits behind the racial issues are actually mala fide politicians who want to gain political mileage by playing to their respective galleries. They are the ones who should be dealt with first.”
- Hmm, I am not sure how to comment on this statement.
Just my two cents.
It is an arguable question as to what the level of relations between the races is in Malaysia now. The issue of racism and also regarding religion is always there, not only in our country but all over the world. The Act may not necessarily be the solution. But if it is as what Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said and would deal with the issue better, perhaps it is not a bad idea that we have a look at the contents of the Act itself. All I can say is that, issues regarding religion and race may not be debated exhaustively. However, there is a need for open discussions instead of sweeping it under the carpet. But most importantly is the sense of awareness among the society. We have to tolerate in order to achieve unity.