Dialog Perpaduan - National Dialogue with the Grassroots of Malaysia

NATIONAL UNITY CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL (NUCC)
(Suara Akar Umbi – Voice of The Grassroots)

The National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) which was established on Nov 25, 2013 is a major initiative of Prime Minister Najib and his administration in fostering national unity and social cohesion in Malaysian society.

The NUCC is mandated by the Prime Minister to prepare a BLUEPRINT FOR NATIONAL UNITY AND SOCIAL COHESION. The NUCC will undertake a national nationwide dialogue with the grassroots with the theme “Voice of the Grassroots’

What is the dialog?

The NUCC members will be going to the grassroots to hear views of Malaysians on national unity and inter-ethnic harmony in Malaysia. It is an opportunity for Malaysians to share and for the NUCC

To hear positive experiences and stories of our achievements in ethnic relations. 

To  hear views on what has gone wrong and what the contemporary critical concerns pertaining to national unity

To hear views on solutions, recommendations and the way forward in strengthening ethnic harmony and making a Malaysia a better nation for all Malaysians

What is the output of the dialog?

The views shared during the dialog will be documented by rapporteurs from a number of public Universities under the guidance of the Institute of Ethnic Studies, UKM which will serve as input into the formulation of the National Unity Blueprint.

When will it take place & where?

A total of 18 dialogs have been organised between Feb 22, 2014 and March 30, 2014. NUCC members will travel to all the states in Malaysia and meet the individuals, groups and communities. The complete list of places and the venues are given

Who should participate in this dialog?

NUCC calls on the Malaysian public, community, social, religious organisations and civil society movements to come to our town hall meeting and share your views with us. The NUCC will ensure that all views will be documented and acknowledged

LAUNCH OF THE DIALOG

Sat Feb 22, 2014 from 9am till 12.30noon at the Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur

After the launch by the Minister for National Unity there will be an opportunity for all to share their views on National Unity and Malaysian Society

----------------------------------------------------------
For more details contact:-
Cik Teh Faridah binti Abdul Jalil, NUCC Secretriate-JPNIN
Tel: 03-8883 7155,         Email: tehfaridah@jpnin.gov.my 

NUCC Media Release Feb 15, 2014

NATIONAL UNITY CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL (NUCC)
National Dialogue with the Grassroots of Malaysia
(Suara Akar Umbi – Voice of The Grassroots)
---------------------------------------------------------------

The National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) met for a second time as a full Council on Feb 15, 2014. Four key matters were discussed:
 
NATIONAL RECONCILIATION AGENDA

NUCC welcomes the renewed call for National Reconciliation by the Prime Minister on Jan 29, 2014. This is a timely pledge by the Cabinet to foster a conducive environment for this development through unity and consensus in Malaysian society

NUCC supports the initiatives announced such as greater youth participation in building a harmonious Malaysia and the establishment of bi-partisan Parliamentary committees to discuss issues affecting national unity. This approach is to effectively reduce the contemporary challenges faced in recent times.

In addition, the NUCC sees its role in the Dialog Perpaduan and in formulating a National Unity Blueprint as complementary initiative which can enhance the Prime Minister’s national reconciliation objectives.

 
DIALOG PERPADUAN

NUCC at the second meeting reviewed the preparations for the Dialog Perpaduan. This is a nationwide dialogue with the theme “Voice of the Grassroots”

The effort here is for NUCC members to go to the grassroots to hear views on national unity and inter-ethnic harmony in Malaysia. We like to hear positive experience and stories of our achievement in ethnic relations. We also want to hear views on what has gone wrong and what are the current critical concerns pertaining to national unity.

At the same time we want to hear views pertaining to solutions and recommendations especially as the way forward in strengthening ethnic harmony and making a Malaysia a better place for all Malaysians.

All the views shared during the dialog will be documented by rapporteurs from a number of public Universities and will serve as input into the formulation of the National Unity Blueprint.

A total of 18 dialogues are being organized between Feb 22, 2014 and March 30, 2014. NUCC members in small teams will travel to all the states in Malaysia and meet the individuals, groups and communities.
 
NUCC calls on the Malaysian public, community, social, religious organizations and civil society movements to come to our town hall meeting and share your views with us. The NUCC joint-secretariat comprising the Department of National Unity & Integration and the Institute of Ethnic Studies, UKM will ensure that all views will be documented and acknowledged in the blueprint.

The general public can also submit their views, suggestions and recommendations on national unity in writing to the NUCC Secretariat at kapli@jpnin.gov.my.

 
LAUNCH OF DIALOG PERPADUAN

The Dialog Perpaduan will be launched on Saturday Feb 22, 2014 at the Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur from 9.00 am till 12.30 pm. Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, the National Unity Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department will officiate the event.

We welcome all to come and share your views at the dialog session on national unity and Malaysian society. The NUCC members will listen to the views.
 

PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS AND DIFFERENCES

NUCC acknowledges that Malaysia is a peaceful and harmonious nation. As Malaysian citizens with diverse ethnic, religious, and cultural identities we must seek to address our differences with humility, reasonableness and fairness.

NUCC encourages all parties to ensure peaceful resolutions as the best way forward in conflict resolution and community engagement.

We are delighted at the many citizen initiatives to promote peace and unity such as Walk in the Park, Solidarity in Kajang and “Solidariti Untuk Malaysia” and would like to encourage more such initiatives.

The NUCC urges the Government to uphold the Rule of Law and to actively promote national unity by taking prompt action against incendiary statements and actions which are provocative and can lead to conflict and tension with serious consequences affecting peace, harmony and national unity.
 
 Issued by the National Unity Consultative Council
Feb 15, 2014

HUMAN RIGHTS PRIORITIES FOR MALAYSIA BASED ON THE FINDINGS OF THE UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW (UPR 2013)

Proham Document

Edited by

Denison Jayasooria & Rama Ramanathan

PERSATUAN PROMOSI HAK ASASI MANUSIA

Society for the Promotion of Human Rights

Introduction

The Universal Periodical Review (UPR) is a peer review system introduced by the United Nations where all the member states will undergo review of their human rights situation in their respective countries. This State-driven process provides an opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations. It also provides stakeholders to provide their analysis and assessments including recommendations for improvements. This is a very transparent process with all information accessible to all. A useful data base can be found at http://www.upr-info.org

Malaysia underwent the UPR in 2009 and more recently on Oct 24, 2013. The recent UPR drew much attention in Malaysia especially with the differing views by both political and civil society groups.

Proham hosted three Roundtable Discussions to review the submissions made for the UPR discussions as well as the outcome document. In addition we sought to identify the priorities for 2014 and beyond for Malaysia especially before the next UPR review due in 2018

The Proham document entitled Human Rights Priorities for Malaysia is an attempt to capture the key issues, concerns and recommendations for the Malaysian agenda. It is divided into three parts. The first containing two press statements, part two with the three RTD reports and some papers and part three with a collection of review articles by Rama Ramanthan from the Proham secretariat.

On behalf of Proham I take this opportunity to thanks all who participated in the discussions and to our rapporteurs Ms Susan Tan (RTD Oct 22& Nov 14, 2013) and Chuah Siew Eng (Dec 9, 2013). Grateful thanks to Raman Ramanathan for the analysis articles on the UPR 2013 outcome document and for his role in co-editing this document.
Proham’s dream is for Malaysia to develop a National Human Rights Action Plan which will place human rights at the centre of public policy and administration. In a multi ethnic, religious and diverse society, adopting a human rights approach which has a built in commitment for a needs’ based development agenda and protection for all is most essential for building social inclusion and cohesion.

Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria

Proham Secretary General
Jan 23, 2014

Request for a soft copy of this report:  prohamsecretariat@gmail.com

PREVENTIVE DETENTION & SERIOUS CRIME: PREVENTION OF CRIME ACT (PCA)

Proham Report

Edited by

Denison Jayasooria & Kuthbul Zaman Bukhari

PERSATUAN PROMOSI HAK ASASI MANUSIA

Society for the Promotion of Human Rights

Introduction

The pro-democracy and pro human rights statements by the incoming Prime Minister in 2009 were initially viewed in positive light. We appeared to be embarking on the road to greater compliance with international human rights norms and standards. However the strong call made by the Police and sections of the political elite in 2013 for special Police powers to detain for long periods without open trial has raised many concerns and dented the initial euphoria.

The call for reintroduction of preventive laws (detention without trial) was articulated as a response to the rising crime rate, violence, and gang membership. It was alleged that the repeal of the Emergence Ordinance made it difficult for the Police to effectively discharge their crime prevention role.

Proham issued three press statements and hosted two Roundtable (RTD) discussions on this theme. Datuk Kuthbul Zaman, a Proham Exco member who was a member of the Police Commission and who was for a period Chairman of the Bar Council, acted as the Proham resource person providing legal arguments about the reintroduction of preventive laws.

The first discussion focused on whether the Police needed preventive laws (detention without trial) to address serious crime in Malaysia. Some argued that it is necessary to return to an Emergency Ordinance (EO) type of legislation in order to address the rise in crime in Malaysia.

The second discussion focused on the proposed new legislation, i.e. the Prevention of Crime Bill 2013. This bill was passed by Parliament after an extended debate in Parliament.

This Proham compilation documents the key findings of the RTDs which worked on the principle that two key objective must be met: (1) public law enforcement must be carried out effectively and (2) ensuring public law enforcement must comply with human rights norms and standards.

It is our hope that this report will facilitate further discussion in strengthening the role of the Police in crime prevention through effective investigations. We advocate a tough stand on crime. At the same time we call on the Police to be an institution which defends human rights and justice.
The fight against crime is a joint effort. We must support the Police to enable them to do their work effectively. We are confident this is possible with checks and balances. It does however require bigger allocations of human resources, funds, equipment and facilities for strengthening the capabilities and capacities of the Police without the need for preventive legislation.

Proham takes this opportunity to thank all the speakers and participants at the two Roundtable Discussions. Proham also thanks the Law Faculty of University Malaya for co-hosting the July 25, 2013 discussion. Appreciate the role played by Ms Susan Tam, a free-lance writer who assisted in preparing the two RTD reports and to Mr Rama Ramanthan for his assistance in the preparation of this document.

Proham hope that this documentation will put into the public space the issues and concerns for greater human rights compliance by enforcement agencies in their role in crime prevention and control.

Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria

Proham Secretary-General
Jan 25, 2014

Request for a soft copy of this report:  prohamsecretariat@gmail.com

NEW CONVERSATION FOR BETTER SOCIETY

Edited by

Denison Jayasooria & Saifuddin Abdullah

 Global Movement of Moderates &

Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (PROHAM)

Introduction

There has been an escalation of insensitive racial and religious behaviour among Malaysians. This is very unlike Malaysians as we pride ourselves as One Malaysia and is inconsistent with our socio-economic history which is rich in diversity.

In this environment PROHAM and the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) hosted two roundtable (RTD) discussions to consider ways to foster greater appreciation and understanding in Malaysian society.

The first RTD was on Jan 20, 2014. In this RTD we honoured the passing of Nelson Mandela by reflecting on his leadership in building a non-racial South Africa with the key themes of forgiveness and reconciliation.

The second RTD was on Feb 05, 2014, during the UN Harmony Week (Feb 1-7, 2014). In this RTD we collected views on the state of harmony in our society and ways to foster greater harmony.

This booklet entitled ‘New Conversations for Better Society’ provides a comprehensive documentation of the thoughts shared by the panel speakers and participants.

Both GMM and PROHAM believe the nation must provide the democratic space for open and rational discussion. We believe sharing and learning from one another fosters harmony.

The press statements issued jointly by GMM and PROHAM provide a good summary of the five main concerns and ten recommendations which emerged from the Dialogue for Harmony. We acknowledge that we have many Malaysians with many good and practical suggestions on how to address our common concerns.

We take this opportunity to thank all speakers and participants for their inputs.  We extend a special word of thanks to Ms Susan Tham for taking notes during the meetings and writing the two RTD reports and to Mr Rama Ramanathan of the PROHAM Secretariat for editorial assistance

It is our prayer that we will continue to share our views and hold our leaders accountable for the common good of our nation. We hope that this publication will further motivate you to take concrete steps to prevent further decay and to light a clear path to peace and harmony in these dark times.

 Saifuddin Abdullah & Denison Jayasooria

Feb 8, 2014


 
Request for a soft copy from : prohamsecretariat@gmail.com

Renewed calls for revival of interfaith council

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Malaysiakini Feb 8, 2014

 

In light of escalating racial and religious tension in the country, a call has been made for the interfaith council proposal to be revived.

This was among the issues raised during the ‘Dialogue for Harmony’ on Wednesday organised by the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) and the Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham).

Among others, participants called for greater networking and collaboration between different faith organisations and the formal religious institutions of both the federal and state governments.

“The interfaith council must be revived urgently as part of a concerted effort to reduce religious tensions,” read a joint statement issued by GMM chief executive officer Saifuddin Abdullah (left) and Proham secretary-general Denison Jayasooria.

The interfaith council was mooted during the tenure of former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Following objections from PAS and other Islamic organisations, Abdullah put the proposed council on hold and its proponents were advised to focus on interfaith dialogue instead.

The Muslim groups which objected to the council, among others, disagreed with the issue of apostasy being discussed openly.

Five key concerns

Some 60 people from 29 organisations of different faiths, together with representatives of foreign missions, attended the GMM-Proham dialogue in Kuala Lumpur.

According to the press statement, participants noted that Malaysia previously enjoyed greater levels of religious tolerance, appreciation and understanding.

The participants also noted five key concerns, which were:

1. Failure of the political leadership to-date to recognise the urgency of the situation and intervene in consultation with all parties to urgently issues and conflicts. Political leadership is seen as unwilling or unable to put aside political and religious differences for the common good of the nation.

2. The absence of elder statesmen and women from all communities who work for the best interest of the nation, to foster greater collaboration and resolve conflicts.

3. Contradictions in public policies and weak implementation of efforts to address interfaith concerns, especially from the point of view of fairness to all. One example highlighted was the promotion of identity-based behaviours in schools instead of appreciation for diversity.

4. Unwillingness of federal and state religious officials to participate in interfaith dialogues and discussions.

5. The restricted formal space for discussion of sensitive issues between civil society and formal institutions of the state both at the federal and state levels.

Show political will

Apart from the interfaith council, the other suggestions made were:

1. Show the political will to take firm and appropriate action at all levels of government. Leaders must urgently consult all stakeholders and take the lead in fostering harmony in the nation.

2. Provide space to promote new conversations among peoples of different faiths, for example, through engagement and dialogue. Introduce the proposed Harmony Act in Parliament after wide and thorough consultation of all parties as way of fostering greater dialogue and understanding.

3. Promote and strengthen working together in community activities such as voluntary service, social work, community service, medical camp, sports and cultural events.

4. Foster better inter-religious understanding among the people, especially the youth.

5. Enhance positive public opinion through advocacy work and better media coverage of not just contested issues but also good examples of harmony in community.

6. Review policies and legislation to assure that they promote harmony. Formulate new policies and legislation as appropriate. A suitable platform for this review is the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) and the recently announced national reconciliation process.

7. Establish and announce an effective mechanism to urgently and transparently resolve and/or mediate conflicts through community mediation and resolution with moral courage and wisdom.

8.Promote tolerance and moderation more actively (versus passivity and reactionary responses) in the international arena, for example, with the United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), European Union and the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).

Source:

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/253808

Rights group want police protection for Teresa Kok after threat by protesters

A human rights body has slammed yesterday's open threat to DAP Seputeh MP Teresa Kok by members of a Muslim group as a clear act of inciting hate and violence.

The Association for the Promotion of Human Rights, or Proham, said the incident in Jalan Pudu, where chickens were slaughtered and a RM1200 reward offered to anyone who could slap Kok, had gone beyond democratic violence and was clearly against the law.

"It is an irony that during this Global Harmony Week, a group calling themselves the Council of Muslim NGOs have slaughtered chickens, taken part in a blood smearing ritual, and also made reference to the May 13 riots of 1969," Proham said in statement signed by Datuk Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari and Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria.

 

It urged the Home Ministry, police and the Attorney General's Chambers to take immediate action, while calling for police protection to Kok.

 

PKR politician Zuraida Kamaruddin said the protesters did not represent the Muslim community and the ‘offer’ of the reward for slapping Kok was un-Islamic.

"They are giving Islam a bad name and the reward offer is alarming and disturbing.

"I strongly urge them to withdraw the  offer to commit violence and apologise to all Muslims for the misinterpretation of Islam," said Zuraida, the Ampang MP and PKR's women chief.

Some 50 members of the Muslim group caused a stir in Jalan Pudu when they slaughtered two chickens and offered a RM1,200 reward to anyone who dared to slap Kok, to show anger towards opposition leaders who they accused of insulting the Malay leadership and Islam.

They then smeared the blood of the slaughtered chickens on a banner featuring photographs of Kok, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and Machang Bubuk PKR assemblyman Lee Khai Loon, who led a protest poking fun at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over the latter's now famous "kangkung" statement.

They then stomped on the banner, which also contained reference to the May 13, 1969 racial riots.
The focus of the group, which called itself the Council of Islamic NGOs, was Kok and her recent Chinese New Year greeting video, "Onederful" Malaysia CNY 2014, which angered several Cabinet members and pro-Umno groups who claimed it was seditious.

The groups making up the Council of Islamic NGOs are Pertubuhan Permuafakatan Majlis Ayahanda Malaysia (Permas), Pertubuhan Kebajikan Islam dan Dakwah (Pekida), Pertubuhan Kebajikan Insan Bakti Malaysia (Perkib), Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM) and Martabat Jalinan Muhibbah Malaysia (MJMM).

Zuraida called for action against the protesters for inciting hatred and for threatening peace.
"No proper Muslim will encourage violence in the name of Islam as Islam is a religion of peace," she added. – February 7, 2014.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/rights-group-want-police-protection-for-teresa-kok-after-threat-by-proteste