Govt spent millions promoting unity, says academic

Chan Kok Leong Chan Kok Leong Updated 4 years ago · Published on 2 Aug 2019 7:20PM · 4 Comments

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Associate Professor Shamsul Amri Baharuddin says a study has found that the government had spent RM700 million for programmes promoting unity in the past 5 years. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, August 2, 2019.

THOUGH there are no formal programmes to promote ethnic relations, government agencies have in their own way spent millions doing such work over the last five years, said an academic today.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Associate Professor Shamsul Amri Baharuddin said a study found that RM700 million have been spent by government agencies over the past five years on such programmes even though there are no allocations for it.

“These programmes are like jogathons and family days. Although they are simple programmes, these are anthropologically significant as they forge unity,” said the Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA) founder.

Another example, said Shamsul, are the various wedding gatherings that are held at housing estates.

“Some of these people cannot afford to hold big weddings in hotels and therefore hold them at home, and you see this throughout the country every weekend. 

“This is significant as it is a form of unity building. Malaysians are conscious of their differences and hence create their own integration platforms,” said Shamsul. 

Shamsul said the findings were part of KITA’s two-year study called the National Unity Index (IPMAS).

The senior professor in ethnic studies, however, declined to reveal more from the study as it is due to be released later.

Shamsul was speaking at UKM’s “Political Analysis in Malaysia: Between Academia and Mainstream” forum in Bangi today. The other panelists’ were UKM’s Kartini Aboo Talib and Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Prof Sivamurugan Pandian.

Shamsul told the forum that there are two layers of unity in the country – one realistic and the other imagined.

“And in reality, you see people arguing over small things but they do not resort to violence. This to me is mature politics as they are able to do it openly,” he said.

But this did not mean that Malaysians are a divided lot, he added.

He said race relations were seen as worse off because of the politics that is practised in the country. – August 2, 2019.

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Comments

  • Prof, itu banyak wang pun sudah masuk poket orang

    Posted 4 years ago by SY L · Reply

  • Kalau tidak muncul umno, semua keadaan bagus.

    Posted 4 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • On the other hand we have given permanent resident status to someone who is creating disunity by disparaging non-Islamic religions and claiming that Islam is the only true religion. So end of the day, has unity improved or disunity increased??

    Posted 4 years ago by Ravinder Singh · Reply

  • Looks like a bunch of UMNO apologists to me.

    Posted 4 years ago by T E · Reply