FEAR AND LOATHING OF EQUITY IN MALAYSIA?

 

From former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to some 50 Malay groups, there is concern that abolishing the Sedition Act will be bad for Malaysia – that it would lead to inequality and people questioning each other.

Are we so immature, uneducated and wild that we need stringent laws to regulate our lives, behaviour and speech in everyday life? Or is the old system so good because it has brought us peace and harmony, notwithstanding fringe groups that are louder with each passing day?

Dr Mahathir who once eloquently spoke about the idea of Bangsa Malaysia, says that if passed, the new bills – National Harmony Bill, National Unity Bill and National Unity and Integration Commission Bill would erase all remaining efforts to balance the economic standing between communities through the New Economic Policy (NEP).

“Of course this is quite fair. But there is a huge possibility that a race that is poor, who does not have an environment that fosters learning, who cannot afford private schools, who does not get enough to eat... this race will not have merit to get and will not get anything,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his latest posting on his blog.

Dr Mahathir said that after Parliament passed the three Acts, the NEP, which was supposed to reduce economic inequality between races, could not be implemented any longer.

For the record, the NEP ceased in 1990 but elements were incorporated in the successor National Development Policy (NDP).

A group of Malay-Muslim non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also said today that the Sedition Act must be retained to protect the rights of non-Malays and maintain the interracial harmony Malaysia has enjoyed for decades

“We don’t want to create trouble for non-Malays. We are trying to protect them. It’s not only for the Malays, but the legitimate rights of the non-Malays,” said Tan Sri Mohd Zaman Khan, chairman of the integrity bureau of the Malay Consultative Council (MPM).

“We want to stress to the government that abolishing the Sedition Act is something that is unimaginable. These are vital laws that will guarantee peace, happiness, and progress in our country,” Zaman, who was also a former CID director, said after a meeting with Malay NGOs in Kuala Lumpur.

MPM constitutional and consultative bureau chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Rahman said the Sedition Act prevented Malaysians from questioning Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, which touched on the Malay special rights, Bahasa Melayu as the official language, citizenship and the position of the rulers.

“We have identified that if you question that, it will create trouble. Now these new bills they propose have taken that out. If the new bills come out, everyone will question this and it will create trouble,” said the former Malaysia Airlines chairman.

Really? That such questions will cause trouble? Or will it lead to soul-searching that there must be a better system for a level playing field that is not discriminatory to any Malaysian?

The thing is, these fellows want the Sedition Act and the old system in place so that they can milk and plunder them while still shouting "Demi Agama, Bangsa dan Negara."

It would be trouble for them only, not the rest of Malaysia.

• The three draft bills are the proposed National Harmony Bill, National Unity Bill and the National Unity and Integration Commission Bill, as announced by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri on last May 30. 

 

Source: The Malaysian Insider

From former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to some 50 Malay groups, there is concern that abolishing the Sedition Act will be bad for Malaysia – that it would lead to inequality and people questioning each other.
Are we so immature, uneducated and wild that we need stringent laws to regulate our lives, behaviour and speech in everyday life? Or is the old system so good because it has brought us peace and harmony, notwithstanding fringe groups that are louder with each passing day?

Dr Mahathir who once eloquently spoke about the idea of Bangsa Malaysia, says that if passed, the new bills – National Harmony Bill, National Unity Bill and National Unity and Integration Commission Bill – would erase all remaining efforts to balance the economic standing between communities through the New Economic Policy (NEP). “Of course this is quite fair. But there is a huge possibility that a race that is poor, who does not have an environment that fosters learning, who cannot afford private schools, who does not get enough to eat... this race will not have merit to get and will not get anything,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his latest posting on his blog.
Dr Mahathir said that after Parliament passed the three Acts, the NEP, which was supposed to reduce economic inequality between races, could not be implemented any longer.
For the record, the NEP ceased in 1990 but elements were incorporated in the successor National Development Policy (NDP).
A group of Malay-Muslim non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also said today that the Sedition Act must be retained to protect the rights of non-Malays and maintain the interracial harmony Malaysia has enjoyed for decades
“We don’t want to create trouble for non-Malays. We are trying to protect them. It’s not only for the Malays, but the legitimate rights of the non-Malays,” said Tan Sri Mohd Zaman Khan, chairman of the integrity bureau of the Malay Consultative Council (MPM).
“We want to stress to the government that abolishing the Sedition Act is something that is unimaginable. These are vital laws that will guarantee peace, happiness, and progress in our country,” Zaman, who was also a former CID director, said after a meeting with Malay NGOs in Kuala Lumpur.
MPM constitutional and consultative bureau chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Rahman said the Sedition Act prevented Malaysians from questioning Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, which touched on the Malay special rights, Bahasa Melayu as the official language, citizenship and the position of the rulers.
“We have identified that if you question that, it will create trouble. Now these new bills they propose have taken that out. If the new bills come out, everyone will question this and it will create trouble,” said the former Malaysia Airlines chairman.
Really? That such questions will cause trouble? Or will it lead to soul-searching that there must be a better system for a level playing field that is not discriminatory to any Malaysian?
The thing is, these fellows want the Sedition Act and the old system in place so that they can milk and plunder them while still shouting "Demi Agama, Bangsa dan Negara."
It would be trouble for them only, not the rest of Malaysia.
The three draft bills are the proposed National Harmony Bill, National Unity Bill and the National Unity and Integration Commission Bill, as announced by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri on May 30.
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