by Theleaders-Online | August 19, 2019 7:48 am
SUBANG: Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar said that the government had failed to implement International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) simply due to the political arrogance that Pakatan Harapan had post GE-14.
“It was a new framework of Malaysia Baru presented by Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah. I asked on the implications but my questions were brushed aside,” said the Umno lawmaker.
“There was arrogance post general election. There was no humility and he lost ground,” he said in response to a question posed Malaysian Bar’s constitutional law committee co-chair Andrew Khoo.
Khoo questioned the contradiction in Khairy opposing ICERD while pushing for a centrist political agenda.
Khairy said this at a forum entitled Beyond 2020: Fresh Views, New Visions that featured Deputy Defence Minister, Liew Chin Tong and Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar of PKR.
Meanwhile in response to another question, Khairy said that the Malay dilemma of today has to be resolved by the Malay themselves.
“The Malays need to resolve their Malay dilemma. The constitution explicitly provides for the special position of the Malays through the Article 153.
“How do you deal with this? For different people, it means different things. To some people, it is carte blanche. To some it refers to job opportunities.
The two-hour forum was hosted by Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia and the latest think tank, The Centre.
Ratification of ICERD is among the promises listed in Pakatan Harapan manifesto. The ratification was however was withdrawn due to overwhelming opposition from the Malay community.
The Malay Rulers too opposed the ratification.
Meanwhile when approached by the media, Khairy distanced himself from the Umno Youth rally in Kluang that turned its MP, Wong Shu Qi’s name into an indecent term.
“Those who attended made a statement that is impolite. I don’t think such things needs to be done. It is fine if you want to criticize her statement.
“If you want to say her statements are wrong or doesn’t take into account the sensitivities of the Malays, that is fine.
“Using her name in reference to indecent materials is vulgar and not acceptable.
On Saturday, Umno Youth leader Asyraf Wajdi Dasuki led a protest rally in Kluang where participants equated Wong’s name to a derogatory term in the Chinese language.
This was in reaction to Wong’s presentation to the Chinese community that Jawi was even used in the publication of sex literature in the 1960s and 1970s.
Earlier on, during his speech, the MP who also is behind The Centre, called upon Malaysians to have moonshot goals.
The term moonshot goal was first coined in the 1960s when the US initially wanted to launch itself to the moon.
“Maybe Malaysia needs our moonshot. It can be about killing our new car and supporting public transport,” he said in reference to the latest national car venture that is spearheaded by DreamEDGE.
“It can be about having multiple Nobel prize winners.”
He added that when one aims for the moon, they would forget the gutter on the sidelines.
“That is why we need a centrist political platform with sensible political realities.
He also spoke on the education as a way of uniting Malaysians based on a conversation he had with the founder of Singapore, the late Lee Kuan Yew.
“If we wanted a single school system, intuitively the people would be more united.
“I once had a conversation with the late Lee Kuan Yew. He said three things – national schools, national service and a mixed housing development board (HDB).
“We have missed on education. We have allowed vernacular so it is difficult to undo it. That would be a policy nightmare.
“The moonshot goal is to make national school so good that you want to be there.”
By: K Pragalath
Source URL: https://theleaders-online.com/kj-government-lost-icerd-due-to-political-arrogance/
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