As long as key ingredients are missing, the 1Malaysia concept will remain a farcical gimmick, says Tota.
Ever since Najib announced the 1Malaysia concept, it has literally been flogged to death by BN Ministers, Chief Ministers and other clueless clods. High- and low-level government officers have added their ignorant voices which demonstrate a total lack of the deeper and nobler meaning of the concept.
Thus far it has been much rhetoric devoid of a firm vision. The mainstream print and electronic media have been mercilessly and shamelessly exploited to promote 1Malaysia. It has been nothing but sloganeering, songs and dances featuring a multi-ethnic crowd. The daily overdose of 1Malaysia over RTM is quite a earful and a ear-ache. It appears that “Malaysia, truly Asia” has taken a back seat because it is evident that “Malaysia is truly West Asia”. The Chinese New Year provided a golden opportunity for BN leaders to toss yee sang to portray undying unity and three sticks of satay and a plate of bee hoon each at open houses – and this was cited as the success of 1Malaysia by our pea-brained BN leaders.
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Institutionalised discrimination continues.
To ask Umnoputras to give up the NEP is like asking the tiger to be a vegetarian. Without meritocracy and complete equality and opportunity for every Malaysian, 1Malaysia will remain a cruel and dishonest trick played on the rakyat.
As of now, the response to the following, the real ingredients for 1Malaysia, is a “tidak mahu!”
- Promote Malaysia as a democratic, secular state as enshrined in the Constitution
- Grant freedom of choice of religion as guaranteed in the Constitution
- Restore the federalist nature of the Constitution with regard to Federal-State relations and funding
- Establish a genuine meritocracy
- Make all Malaysians equal in every way
- Orang Asli: uplift their economic position; respect their hereditary right to their land
- Establish rule of law and one law for all.
- Restore human rights, individual rights and liberties like freedom of religion, freedom of speech, the right to dissent, and the right to assemble.
- Ensure no detention without trial. Abolish ISA.
- Abolish OSA, Sedition Act, Printing Presses and Publications Act and University and University Colleges Act
- With regard to indigenous status, be like Indonesia – legislate to make every Malaysian indigenous.
- Make Parliament democratically functional with an elected non-partisan speaker.
- Dewan Negara: Elect its members
- Like Indonesia, elect office-bearers from kampung to parliamentary levels
- Electoral reform: Redraw constituencies based on a 2:1 urban-rural weightage so that the ballots of all Malaysians are given fair weightage
- Introduce proportional representation
- Abolish all ethnic-based political parties
- Abolish all ethnic-religious based policies
- Abolish the NEP and replace it with needs-based policies
- Get rid of Islamo-fascism in the public sector
- Legislate a Race Relations Act
- Legislate a Freedom of Information Act
- Establish an interfaith body
- Appoint an Ombudsman
- Accord all religions equal importance and respect in Malaysia
- Appoint a fair number of non-Malays as Governors (in Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak)
- Appoint a fair number of non-Malays as state chief ministers
- Overhaul completely the education system – a complete disaster now
- Increase ethnic minority representation among secretaries-general and directors at state and federal levels in the Ministry of Education
- 30.Increase ethnic minority representation among VCs and Deputy VCs in public universities
- Admit more ethnic minorities into UiTM
- Make the Civil Service, the MACC, the Judiciary, the Election Commission, the Police, the Registrar of Societies independent and free from executive control and manipulation
- Establish a public register for government servants and politicians to declare their income and assets
- Institute fair ethnic representation in the Police, Army, Navy and Air Force
- Establish independent print and electronic media to enable all voices and views to be heard
- Establish gender equality
- Introduce a minimum wage for workers in the public and private sectors
- Respect the people’s choice and will – no more Peraks!
- Feature the now shunned Ramli Ibrahim, the famous Bharata Natyam dancer, frequently on television to promote cross-cultural activities
- Celebrate Malaysia Day on 16 September – not 31 August
As long as the above ingredients are missing, the 1Malaysia concept will remain a farcical gimmick.
Tota is a regular correspondent
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
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