Bulletin of LLG Cultural Development Centre Berhad Issue 2012/1
Tel: 03-26971971/2
Web: www.llgcultural.com
Resolutions of Education Equality Act National Roundtable Meeting 14th April, 2012, Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
Preamble In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the deprivation of citizenship of Mr Lim Lian Geok in 2011, a Working Committee launched a yearlong Justice for Lim Lian Geok Campaign on the 8th May, 2011, urging the government to: (1) reinstate the citizenship of Mr Lim Lian Geok; (2) enact Education Equality Act to ensure fair treatment of mother tongue education. After 10 months of nationwide signature campaign, the Working Committee handed 63,848 postcards to the Prime Minister’s Department on the 5th March, 2012, urging Prime Minister Najib to implement the above-mentioned appeal. Education Equality Act is a policy-oriented educational reform program. The 83 Chinese associations united behind the Justice for Lim Lian Geok Campaign believe that legislation is the only means to overcome the existing policy biases and systematic discriminatory measures. A new enactment ensuring equal treatment of schools of all streams by the government and fair distribution of educational resources to primary national and national-type schools is needed. Besides, Justice for Lim Lian Geok Campaign Working Committee regards campaign for mother tongue education as an advocacy for equal rights to language and culture, but also as a concrete expression of the pursuit for equality of education. Therefore it is necessary to be united with other discriminated educational groups, to further broaden social concerns, and to expand grassroots support, in order to join forces more effectively and fight for the rights of all marginalised communities. Consequently, the scope of the Education Equality Act encompasses a wide range of issues and dimensions faced by various groups, such as the indigenous peoples, socio-economic status, rural-urban disparity, gender and special needs groups. We, participants of the Education Equality Act National Roundtable Meeting organised by the Justice for Lim Lian Geok Campaign Working Committee, unanimously approved the following resolutions:
Linguistic Equality 1. For the time being, Malay, Chinese and Tamil streams ought to be provided at least at the level of pre-school, primary and secondary education, as well as for technical and vocational education and adult education. This is in respect for the choice of parents (at the primary level) and students (at the secondary level and above), as well as an expression of the distinctive character of our country as a multiethnic society; 2. When circumstances allow, the multi-stream national education system should be extended to the highest possible level and other appropriate educational fields. 3. The state has the duty to provide for POL classes of for ethnic minorities. 4. Educational institutions of different streams in our National Education System shall have equal status. Different categories of national schools and national-type schools, fully-aided and partially-aided, should be abolished. On
matter of setting up new schools, expanding school buildings, providing school facilities, student intake, teachers and financial allocations, equal treatment shall be given to all streams without any discrimination. 5. Establishment of new schools and allocation of school lands for all streams shall be made fairly based on needs.
Religion and Ethnic Cultures 6. All schools are prohibited from discriminating the culture, religion and diet customs of any ethnic groups; 7. National schools cannot obstruct the religious and cultural activities of students nor forbid the setting up of religious clubs for students.
Social Equality 8. In view of the fact that education is an important resource to ensure social mobility and equal participation of children in the democratic society, the state should provide special assistance to children from lower socio-economic background, such as the automatic exemption of various kinds of fees and provision of scholarships or loans; 9. State provision of extra educational resources for children from lower socio-economic background should not be regarded as unfair treatment of other students, but to ensure students from various social classes enjoy equal educational opportunity; 10. Education at various levels, in particular tertiary education, must take measures to assist students from lower socioeconomic background;
Urban-rural Equality 11. The state must invest more development resources for the benefit of rural students, as many schools situated in remote areas or the interior still do not enjoy basic facilities such as piped water, electricity, land transportation and communication, affecting seriously the quality of education of rural schools and the rate of access to education;
Native Customary Rights of Orang Asal 12. The state should especially set up schools at remote places with a concentration of Orang Asal inhabitants in order to provide for educational opportunity for their children; 13. The state should provide for pre-school education in the mother tongue of the Orang Asal, and integrate curriculum which takes into account of their specific needs into national schools;
in educating children on traditional knowledge of the natural environment.
Gender Equality 16. All schools cannot discriminate against students based on sex or sexual orientation, such as obstructing student enrolment, equal enjoyment of resources, etc.
Communities of Special Needs 17. S chools should set up special curriculum to assist those with learning difficulties; schools should also train professional mother tongue language teachers and provide comparable resources to students with learning difficulties; 18. The state should ensure physically handicapped people enjoy their rights to education and fair share of educational resources;
Multiple and Fair System of University Intake 19. The state must ensure that the curriculum and examinations realised by STPM, matriculation, preparatory courses of the Institute of Mara Technology are of equivalent academic standards, and fair treatment of students from various educational streams; 20. O ur public tertiary educational institutions should allow multiple channels of enrolment, admitting school certificates of equivalent academic standards such as the Unified Examination Certificate, internationally recognised upper secondary school certificates such as A level as qualifications of admission; 21. I nstitute of Mara Technology and University Technology Mara should be open to all candidates regardless of ethnicity, giving priority to students from lower socioeconomic background; 22. The state should be prudent in taking specific affirmative action measures to avoid contestations, and the unit of decision should consist of specialists of various ethnic and cultural background; affirmative action policies should not be based solely on ethnicity, but socio-economically weak groups and the marginalised indigenous peoples should be given the greatest consideration;
Training of Teachers 23. The state should ensure the quality of trained teachers by admitting those with high educational achievement and regardless of ethnic background as its principles.
National Education Syllabus
14. The state should set up autonomous bodies for language and culture which preserve and develop the languages and cultures of the Orang Asal communities;
24. The religions, cultures and histories of the various ethnic groups of our country should all be included fairly in the national education syllabus.
15. The state should systematically safeguard the native customary rights of Orang Asal, respect their oral tradition
25. W orld history textbook should reflect in a balanced way important ancient civilisations and religions of the world and in the Southeast Asian region.
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International Mother Language Day 2012 26. Curriculum advocating social justice and respect for plurality in various ethnic groups, gender, gender orientations and social classes should be introduced, so as to safeguard and promote the plural features of our society.
Non-profit community educational institutions 27. Provided that the National Language is respected and made a compulsory subject, state shall encourage and financially assist any ethnic community to establish their non-profit, community-oriented educational institutions according to the aspirations, need and requirement of
the community to teach their mother-tongue as a subject, or use their mother-tongue as the medium of instruction to the highest stage of education, i.e. from pre-school education to primary, secondary, technical and vocational education, university and other tertiary education, or adult and lifelong educational courses. 28. State shall not restrict or hinder the establishment, expansion and development of the non-profit community educational institutions such as Independent Chinese secondary school and people’s religious school, so far as registration, construction, expansion, medium of instruction, teaching staff, students intake or conducting of examinations are concerned.
The Educational Equality Commission 29. The Educational Equality Commission shall be established to regulate and monitor the implementation of the Education Equality Act. Its members shall comprise of the representatives from both the ruling and opposition parties, as well as various ethnic and religious groups. The Commission shall be answerableresponsible to the Parliament. ( Passed on 14 April 2012, 530pm at Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall)
2012 INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY Approximately 200 people from various ethnic backgrounds attended the International Mother Language Day 2012 celebration on 21 Feb 2012, 630pm-930pm at Dewan Kuliah Angsana, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya. This program was jointly organized by Tamil foundation, LLG Cultural Development Centre, KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall and Faculty of Languages and Linguistics Universiti Malaya. It was supported by Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (Plan of Action Malaysia Coalition) which comprised of 21 NGOs from various background aimed at formulating ideas and ways to tackle social issues beyond racial lines. The Chairman of LLG Cultural Development Centre Dr Toh Kin Woon said that “The government should pursue a path towards a multi-cultural and multi-linguistic society in Malaysia,” Toh pointed out that there were groups who chose to ignore the cultural diversity in Malaysia which he described as an asset to nation building. He said Putrajaya has to reverse its policy of sidelining vernacular schools. “I’m not chauvinistic. But many, and I included, feel that it’s the right of everyone to receive mother tongue language schooling,” he told a packed crowd.
Tamil Foundation president S Pasupathy said being educated in the mother tongue does not make one less Malaysian. “Speaking Tamil or Mandarin doesn’t lessen my loyalty and pride of being a Malaysian,” he said. The co-chairman of Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia Zaid Kamaruddin agreed with Toh, saying that the government had a huge role to play in keeping Malay dialects from the Malay archipelago alive in the face of globalisation. He said the Mandailing dialect from east and north Sumatra could have been his first language if not for his grandmother’s death while Zaid was in his teens. “She taught me the dialect when I was a child, but after she died, no one else spoke it fluently and I lost the language skill as I had no one to talk to,” said the Bersih 2.0 steering committee member, who is also president of Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM). He said the government should ensure that there is no discrimination in the usage of mother tongue languages as they usually belong to minority ethnic groups.
They later went on stage to adopt a resolution calling for the government to give fair and equal treatment to the languages and cultures of ethnic groups. The coalition also called for the prestigious National Laureate (Sasterawan Negara) award to include entries from minority languages as well. They also called for federal funds to be allocated for the performing arts that showcase the language and ethnic backgrounds of minority groups. International Mother Tongue Day is promoted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco). Unesco also holds the event
to remember University of Dhaka students who were killed in 1952 when protesting against the imposition of Urdu as the sole national language policy in Bangladesh.
The other speakers included Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall president Tan Yew Sing and Temuan tribal leader Soeb Miah.
Resolutions on International Mother Language Day 2012
21 February 2012, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya Aware of the fact that at least 50% of the world’s more
than six thousand languages are losing speakers and about 90% of the languages may be replaced by dominant languages by the end of the 21st century;
Recalling the principles proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whereby everyone has the right to participate in their cultural life free of discrimination; Referring
to the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity that urges governments to formulate policies and strategies for the preservation and enhancement of the cultural and natural heritage;
Committed to the concept of ‘Mother tonguebased Multilingual Education’ promoted by UNESCO that supports mother tongue instruction as a means of improving educational quality, We endorse the following resolutions urging the Malaysian government :
1. To formulate policies that recognize, promote, protect and realize multiculturalism and multilingualism as inherent strengths of all communities in Malaysia and dismantle policies that are threat to cultures or languages of Malaysians. 2. To ensure all state linguistic and cultural institutions protect, promote and provide access to the languages and cultures of all ethnic groups, for instance Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Institut Terjemahan dan Buku Malaysia (ITBM) and the others; 3. To ensure all high quality movies, writings, performances and art products produced in Malaysia are equally eligible for the status of national movies/literature/performances/ arts and hence entitled to enjoy the state’s cultural resources, regardless of the language and ethnic background of those productions. 4. To ensure the award of National Laureate (Sasterawan Negara) recognize the literatures of Chinese, Tamil, east Malaysia native languages, English and others languages of Malaysians. ;
5. To encourage inter-cultural and inter-lingual dialogue by forming a special taskforce comprised of multi-ethnic and respected art professionals and experts under the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture; 6. To ensure the unrestricted development of all schoolsnational, mother tongue and religious-by equitably allocating resources to them, as well as recognizing nonformal education based on the oral traditions of indigenous peoples. 7. I nitiate mother tongue education at the pre-school stage as well as Pupils’ Own Language in the national curriculum for the various minority groups particularly indigenous communities as the first step towards a comprehensive mother tongue education system; 8. I ntroduce a “National Ombudsman for Linguistic Minorities” aimed at preserving and promoting the linguistic rights of ethnic minorities and indigenous groups;
International Mother Language Day 2012
UNESCO’s Principles on Language and Education Principle I: UNESCO supports mother-tongue instruction as a means of improving educational quality by building upon the knowledge and experience of the learners and teachers.
3) Education should raise awareness of the positive value of cultural [and linguistic] diversity, and to this end:
• T he
cultural component of language teaching and learning should be strengthened in order to gain a deeper understanding of other cultures; languages should not be simple linguistic exercises, but opportunities to reflect on other ways of life, other literature, and other customs.
•C urriculum
[should] promote a realistic and positive inclusion of the minority [or indigenous] history, culture, language and identity.
1) Mother-tongue instruction is essential for initial instruction and literacy and should be extended to as late a stage as possible. 2) Literacy can only be maintained if there is an adequate supply of reading material, for adolescents and adults as well as for school children. 3) [All] educational planning should include at each stage early provision for training, and further training, of sufficient numbers of fully competent and qualified teachers of the country concerned who are familiar with the life of their people and able to teach in the mother tongue.
Principle II: UNESCO supports bilingual and/or multilingual education at all levels of education as a means of promoting both social and gender equality, and as a key element of linguistically diverse societies.
• Communication, expression and the capacity to listen and
•
dialogue [should be encouraged] first of all in the mother tongue, then, [if the mother tongue is different from the official or national languages] in the official [or national] language in the country, as well as in one or more foreign languages. Emphasis should be given to the formulation of strong national policies designed to promote…languages teaching in cyberspace [and strengthening and extension of international support and assistance to developing countries] to facilitate the development of freely accessible materials on language education in the electronic form and to enhance human capital skills in this area.
Principle III: UNESCO supports language as an essential component of inter-cultural education in order to encourage understanding between different population groups and ensure respect for fundamental rights. 1) Measures should be taken to eliminate discrimination in education at all levels on the basis of gender, race, language, religion, national origin, age or disability or any other factor. 2) The educational rights of persons belonging to… minorities, as well as indigenous peoples, should be fully respected through: the implementation of the right to learn in the mother tongue and the full use of culturally-appropriate teaching methods of communication and transmission of knowledge; the teaching of and through, not only the MT, but also the national or official languages…so that minorities and indigenous peoples will have the opportunity to participate in and contribute to the larger community.
Mother tongue-based multilingual education (MLE) Mother tongue-based MLE programmes enable learners to begin their education in the language they know best. As they use their own language for learning, they are introduced to the new (official) language and begin learning to communicate in that language. At the same time, teachers help the learners develop their academic vocabulary in the new language so they can understand and talk about more abstract concepts.6 In the best programmes, learners continue to develop their ability to communicate and to learn in both languages throughout primary school. The “steps” below help to illustrate the progression of language learning in strong MLE programmes: Having established an educational foundation in their home language, students begin learning the new language, first orally and then in written form. They do not stop using their first language as soon as they have achieved basic competency in the new language. Rather, they continue using both languages for learning, at least through primary school: When children continue to develop their abilities in two or more languages throughout their primary school years, they gain a deeper understanding of language and how to use it effectively. They have more practice in processing language, especially when they develop literacy in both, and they are able to compare and contrast the ways in which their two languages organize reality. The most important features of this process are that:
•E ducation begins with what the learners already know,
• •
building on the language and culture, knowledge and experience that they bring with them when they start school; Learners gradually gain confidence in using the new (official) language, before it becomes the only language for teaching academic subjects; and Learners achieve grade level competence in each subject because teachers use their home language, along with the official school language, to help them understand the academic concepts.
Notes : L1 First language • Native language (see also mother tongue, home language, local language) • R efers to language or languages learned from birth L2 Second language • Non-native language, language of wider communication, or foreign language • Often refers to contexts where the language is spoken in the wider society outside the home; in bilingual education, refers to second (official, foreign) language introduced after the L1 • For ethnolinguistic minorities, the L2 is usually an official and/or national language (Summarized from Advocacy Kit for Promoting Multilingual Education: Including the excluded)
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Issue 4 April 2012
End the Plight of Students of STPM Chinese Language and Tamil Language LLG, KLSCAH & Tamil Foundation urge the government to tackle the severe problems of STPM Chinese language and Tamil language subjects to end the plight of students who love their mother tongue. If the government does not step in quickly to rectify the problems and our society remains silent and unaware, the minority group’s mother tongue subjects in national education system will be closed down one day. It is also extremely unfair to students taking these subjects.
Common issues facing STPM Chinese and Tamil language subjects 1. Number of students registered for examination has been decreasing over the past four years. According to the statistics of Lembaga Peperiksaan, Ministry of Education, from year 2008 to 2011, number of students registered for STPM Chinese language subject from 732 has dropped to 532, an average decrease of 50 students every year. Number of students’ registered for STPM Tamil language subject has reduced from 962 in 2008 to 724 in 2011, an average decrease of 59 students every year. These statistics are alarming since those sitting for these exams are practically very good students who are confident to do remarkably well in their mother tongue subjects. Subject\Year
2008
2009
2010
2011
Chinese Language
732
635
632
532
Tamil Language
962
749
785
724
Bahasa Malaysia
32757
34202
34245
34420
Abnormally High Failure percentage of STPM Chinese language subject It is shocking to know that the failure percentage of STPM Chinese language is abnormally high, 18.58% and 18.11% for 2008 and 2009 compare to 7.85% and 7.75% for Bahasa Malaysia subject. The data of 2010 and 2011 is not available. This has driven students away from taking the STPM Chinese language subject. Subject \ Year
2008
2009
Chinese Language
18.58
18.11
Tamil Language
8.42
8.68
Bahasa Malaysia
7.85
7.75
Analysis There are many factors causing students to turn away from SPM and STPM Chinese language and Tamil language subjects :
2. The full passes percentage are lower than Bahasa Malaysia From 2008 to 2011, the full passing percentage of STPM Chinese language, Tamil language and Bahasa Malaysia is averagely 63.2%, 68.2% and 73.1% respectively. There is always a 10% and 5% difference from the Bahasa Malaysia paper over the past four years. Subject \ Year
2008
2009
2010
2011
Chinese Language
62.16
62.52
63.99
64.14
Tamil Language
68.4
68.09
67.81
68.61
Bahasa Malaysia
73.13
73.01
72.93
73.27
1. There is a 15 student threshold to open a Chinese and Tamil language class in national secondary schools. Therefore it is difficult to form a Chinese or Tamil language class at STPM level. 2. Insufficient trained teachers for STPM Chinese and Tamil language subjects. 3. Most of students have no choice but to go for private tuition, this increases their family’s financial burden. 4. For the Chinese language subject, the high failure percentage and low A attainment percentage have frightened students from taking up the subject. According to senior Chinese language teachers, this is attributed to adjustment of normal distribution chart by ministry officer after the Chinese and Tamil language paper marking. The syllabus, examination and quality of students have very minimal effect to this result. 5. Because of that, the school authority and teachers are not encouraging students from taking up Chinese and Tamil language subjects for the sake of the students’ future in obtaining scholarships and the overall performance of the school. The phenomenon shows the national educational system failed in protecting and developing minority group’s mother tongue subjects. Under the monolingual educational policy of the government, not only other linguistic stream of schools are facing unfair treatment, even the single mother tongue subjects within national education system are systematically discriminated
Issue and suppressed. The government must ensure students’ right to learn their mother tongue in national schools by providing fair resources and a practical conducive environment.
Proposed Reforms 1. We hold the view that, only by abolishing systematic discrimination and replacement of the monolingual hegemony ideology with multilingualism, let education be solely education, only then we can end the plight of students choosing Chinese and Tamil languages at SPM and STPM level. 2. The government ought to form a special taskforce to resolve problems facing mother tongue subjects in national secondary schools. The task force must comprise of experts from various ethnic backgrounds, NGO leaders, academicians in the field of language studies and high ranking officers from the Ministry of Education. The government has the power to instantly summon examination board directors for a detailed explanation and institute new rules and regulations so as to increase the number of students taking
these subjects. 3. The government must reduce the open class threshold to a minimum of 5 students and allow students from other schools in the same district to attend these classes. The mother tongue subject must be taught during normal school hours and not after school hours. 4. The Ministry of Education must temporarily employ senior retired teachers for conducting these classes. The teachers training institute must train sufficient STPM mother tongue teachers to meet the demand. Therefore the need for more students to take up mother tongue language education to provide for the increasing demand of language teachers in future. It is a serious issue that the Ministry of Education must address for the betterment of a multi-lingual, multi-racial, multi-cultural country. Otherwise, the minority groups will slowly lose its identity. 5. The government must disclose the past 20 years statistics and the normal distribution chart of Chinese language, Tamil language as well as indigenous language subjects, at STPM and SPM level to scrutinize its impartiality. 6. The government must review the results of SPM and STPM Chinese and Tamil language as soon as possible.
Restore Mr Lim Lian Geok’s Citizenship! PUTRAJAYA (March 5, 2012): Justice for Lim Lian Geok Movement committee, a coalition of 83 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) want the government to reinstate the citizenship of the late Lim Lian Geok, a well-known Chinese educationalist and social activist. The coalition, led by the chairman Dr Toh Kin Woon submitted 63, 848 signed postcards from the campaign supporters to the Prime Minister’s Department. The committee started collecting signatures nationwide since last May until last month to urge the government to reinstate Lim’s citizenship. Toh said the movement is also demanding an apology and compensation from the government for Lim’s family. When asked on the amount of compensation, Toh said that it is up to the government to decide. “What is important is the principle that the government recognises its mistake, is willing to apologise and pay compensation (to the family). “That is an important and meaningful acknowledgement to us,” said Toh when met by reporters.
“We hope that the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak) will respond positively to our demands,” said Toh. In 1951, Lim was one of the pioneers in setting up the influential United Chinese School Teachers’ Association Of Malaysia (Jiao Zong), and became its chairman in 1953. During his tenure as the Jiao Zong’s chairman, Lim was an active spokesman on issues of Chinese education and civil rights in the country. In 1960, Lim led a movement to oppose the Rahman Talib Report, which had recommended that secondary school medium be in either English or Bahasa Malaysia, and which the movement believed would eventually lead to Chinese secondary schools being abolished. This resulted in his citizenship being revoked on Aug 12, 1961 by the then Home Minister. Lim was also stripped of his teaching permit. Lim passed away in 1985, as a stateless man. Toh said that the committee is also demanding for an Education Equality Bill to be passed to ensure that all streams of education get equal treatment and allocation of resources. Toh said the committee will be seeking opinions from educationalists, politicians and the public on this matter and hopes to complete a report in three months
Hentikan Ancaman dan Keganasan terhadap Aktivisme Sosial dan Politik Kuala Lumpur(2 Mac) 70 Pertubuhan Masyarakat Madani menyatakan kegusaran kami di atas serangan terhadap beberapa majlis yang sah dan demokratik dianjurkan oleh gerakan sosial dan parti politik. Tindakan biadab di majlis seperti Himpunan Hijau 2.0 di Pulau Pinang, forum-forum ABU (Asal Bukan UMNO), ceramah YB Nurul Izzah di Gambang, Pahang dan serangan terhadap kereta YB Anwar Ibrahim di Sembrong, Johor di antara lain membayangkan perkembangan yang berbahaya dalam masyarakat kita. Kami amat khuatir dengan perkembangan ini dan kami percaya ini adalah keganasan terancang berlatar belakangkan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 yang akan datang. Ia adalah petanda buruk suasana politik ugutan dan kekerasan untuk menyekat kebebasan pertukaran ide, wacana dan kepelbagaian pilihan politik. Kegagalan pihak berkuasa untuk bertindak dengan pantas dan tegas akan menggalakkan pelakunya untuk meningkatkan gangsterisme, menjadikannya lebih kerap dan berleluasa hingga boleh menjadikannya tidak terkawal. Ini boleh memudaratkan asas amalan demokrasi seperti yang termaktub di dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan Rukun Negara. Kerosakan pada mata masyarakat dunia tidak terhitung. Kami menyeru YAB Perdana Menteri DS Najib Tun Razak untuk bertindak segera menamatkan serangan-serangan anasir yang tidak bertanggungjawab ini serta mengambil tindakan terhadap pihak polis yang telah berlepas tangan dari menjalankan tanggungjawab menjaga keselamatan awam. Menteri Dalam Negeri juga sepatutnya dikenakan tindakan kerana gagal bertindak tehadap tindakan liar pihak ketiga di dalam majlis perhimpunan yang aman.
YAB PM perlu mengarahkan penyiasatan yang mendalam dan teliti terhadap siri keganasan ini, apatah lagi jika ianya mungkin didalangi oleh anasir yang tidak bertanggungjawab dalam kalangan pengamal politik kita. Sebagai permulaan, pegawai polis yang gagal mengawal keselamatan orang awam yang berhimpun di Penang Esplanade digantung tugas sehingga siasatan penuh dan saksama dijalankan. YAB PM harus menginsafi bahawa akhirnya ini adalah tanggungjawab beliau. Jika keganasan politik dibiarkan berleluasa dengan wewenang dan polis berlepas tangan maka YAB PM akan ditanggapi terbabit atau merestui tindakan ugutan dan keganasan. Kami sekali lagi menyeru ditubuhkan segera IPCMC yang telah dicadangkan oleh Suruhanjaya Di-Raja tentang PDRM pada tahun 2005. Kecekapan dan profesionalisme polis kini diragui. Rakyat semakin hilang kepercayaan kepada pasukan polis kita. YAB Perdana Menteri harus menubuhkan IPCMC sebelum Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 untuk menzahirkan keikhlasan dalam menjaga hak rakyat, dan untuk membenteras dari putiknya, keganasan politik yang boleh mengancam landasan kerukunan negara. 70 pertubuhan ialah Pusat Pembangunan Kebudayaan LLG, Dewan Perhimpunan Cina KL dan Selangor, Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia, Jamaah Islah Malaysia, Aliran, Tamil Foundation, Negeri Sembilan Chinese Assembly Hall, United Chinese School Alumni Association of Malaysia, Suara Rakyat Malaysia, All Women’s Action Society, Writer Alliance for Media Independence and others.
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Human Rights
Pressing human rights concerns in Malaysia A Joint Memorandum to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon
Your Excellency, We, the undersigned Malaysian civil society organizations welcome your official visit to Malaysia on 21 and 22 March 2012. We believe that your visit to Malaysia is a timely one. In this context, we would like to take this opportunity to highlight to you some of the major human rights concerns in Malaysia. When Prime Minister Najib Razak took over Malaysia’s premiership in 2010, he clearly sought to capture the imagination of an election-expectant public by promising reforms. He undertook to abolish the Internal Security Act 1960 (“ISA”), a law that provides for detention without trial, and three Emergency Ordinances, and to review other laws relating to the freedoms of expression, assembly and association. However a legacy remains, of policy errors, human rights violations, and indiscriminate abuses of power that has impeded the progress of Malaysia and its public institutions. This has come at great social, economic and political costs to the nation. The current Prime Minister Najib Razak’s promises of reforms, including the repeal of detention-without-trial laws and guarantees of the right to freedoms of expression and assembly, have thus far proven to be mere rhetoric. The recent arrests in November 2011 and detention of 13 more individuals without trial under the ISA have confirmed our suspicions that the government has no serious intention to abolish this practice. Recently, in 2011, the government, through its majority in Parliament, speedily passed the Peaceful Assembly Bill, which has increased the deprivation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. This new law is expected to further restrict the right to freedom of assembly, which has long been suppressed in Malaysia. In July 2011, for example, more than 1,600 peaceful protestors were arrested during a rally calling for free and fair elections. We anticipate a worsening of the situation after the enactment of the new law. Abuse of power by the police has continued as seen in the rising statistics with regard to deaths in police custody, police shootings and other forms of violence against the public. The government remains recalcitrant in refusing to implement the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) as recommended by the Royal Police Commission a few years ago. The plight of refugees has not been alleviated by the government’s refusal to distinguish the fundamental differences between a refugee, an asylum seeker and an undocumented migrant. Their protection remains illusory while the Malaysian government drags its feet in ratifying the United Nations 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and continues its dismal record in respecting the peremptory norm of non-refoulement. For the last 55 years since Malaysia’s independence, every fundamental liberty enshrined in the Federal Constitution (“FC”) has been taken away or amended beyond recognition. In this regard, we the undersigned civil societies and defenders of democratic rights and liberties, wish to bring to your attention the following key human rights concerns, which we hope will be relayed to
the Malaysian government during your visit in Malaysia.
1. National Unity and Pluralism Pluralism, multiculturalism and national unity have been at best superficial. Malaysia continues to experience increasing levels of racial discrimination, racism, and intolerance related to race and religion. The first commitment to end this is for the government to constitute a Race Relations Commission to combat racism and racial discrimination; Immediately ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
2. Civil and Political Rights Malaysia’s human rights record has been dismal, due to the arsenal of draconian legislation that the Executive has in its hands. The preconditions necessary for the reversal of this trend include the abolition of all detention-without-trial laws include the Internal Security Act, the Emergency Ordinance, and the Dangerous Drugs Act. The abolition or amendments of laws and provisions of laws that violate the fundamental freedoms of speech, assembly and association. These include the Sedition Act, the Printing Presses Publications Act, Section 15 and 16 of the University and University Colleges Act, the Official Secrets Act, the Police Act, the Societies Act and the Trade Union Act.
3. Free and Fair Elections There remains a major problem with Malaysian elections: they have not been conducted fairly or cleanly. Malaysians are well aware of the non-level playing field that characterises our electoral process. We urgently call on the government to ensure fair representation in delineation of parliamentary constituencies, strengthen public institutions involved in the electoral process, including the judiciary, the Election Commission, police, MACC and broadcasting media, ensure free and fair access to the media for all parties and use indelible ink to prevent multiple voting.
4. P rotect the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples Despite voting to adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), indigenous peoples in Malaysia continue to suffer a lack of recognition of their land rights. The government needs to protect the right of the Orang Asal to self-determination, including the right to own, control and use their traditional lands, territories and resources on their own terms, enact or amend state laws that recognise and protect the native customary rights of the Orang Asal to their traditional lands and territories.
5. Women Women make up more than 50% of the Malaysian population, yet many of the rights of women have yet to be realised. Violence against women and sexual harassment at workplaces is increasing. We call upon the government to implement at least a 30% quota for women’s representation in all decisionmaking bodies of government, the judiciary and political parties, incorporate the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)and its provisions into national law guaranteeing equality of women with men
6. Workers Despite moving towards the path of an industrialised nation, many fundamental guarantees have not been made available to Malaysian workers. Hence the government should immediately legislate a guaranteed minimum wage system for all workers, recognise the rights of workers to join and form trade unions especially in the electronics sector; Allow for a national union for the electronics sector to be formed, ratify all remaining International Labour Organisation Conventions,
7. Education The development of mother-tongue education schools has deteriorated in recent years. The lack of academic freedom and freedom of association and expression in the institutions of higher education has compromised the quality of education in the country. There is an urgent need to implement the increase of Chinese and Tamil Schools together with resources and facilities; Amend the Education Act 1996 to reflect the national education policy as originally stated in the Education Ordinance 1957 which ensures the development of mother-tongue education for all, abolish the Universities and University Colleges Act to protect academic freedom and freedom of association and expression
8. The Economy Services
and
Social
Rampant privatisation of public utilities and public projects has resulted in vast amounts of public monies wasted and squandered. The government of Malaysia must immediately stop the corporatisation of the national healthcare system, stop the practice of forced evictions; Increase the number of low-cost housing and give land titles to existing villages and settlements of urban settlers, plantation workers and new village residents.
9. Sexuality Rights We are deeply concerned with the situation where religious and political leaders, as well as the media continue to demonise LGBTIQ activists and communities in Malaysia. The Government must fully decriminalise homosexuality and prevent impunity for all kinds of incitement to or direct harassment, threats and other violations against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, intersex and queer persons, as well as ensure that they are treated equally, refrain from hate speech and ensure the right to freedom of expression to all human rights defenders, including those defending the rights of sexual minorities. This memorandum is endorsed by Anak Muda Sarawak, Community Action Network (CAN), Community Development Centre (CDC), Education and Research Association for Consumers Malaysia (ERA Consumer), Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI), Islamic Renaissance Front, Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (JERIT), Lawyers For Liberty (LFL), LLG Cultural Development Centre, Malaysia Youth and Students Democratic Movement ( DEMA ) and others. [Note : Due to limited space, the following parts (10) Right of Refugees and Migrant workers, (11)Right of Children could not be covered here. Please read the full memorandum on our website www.llgcultural.com]