POLITICIANS and their parties must discard harmful ethno-religious politics and prioritise people’s needs to create a more inclusive society, an umbrella body for civil societies said today. 

The politicians can start this at the coming general election, said Ngo Sheau Shi, an exco member from Malaysian Academic Movement (Gerak). 

Speaking at a press conference to unveil an initiative called People’s Agenda for GE15, Ngo urged politicians to commit to eliminating all forms of discrimination and exploitation ahead of the next election. 

“I think in the next general election, we want a government that is scientifically, technically as well as morally capable of building a resilient policy across our diverse communities in terms of gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion, age, ability as well as location.

“So we want to call on Malaysians to support political candidates and parties that are able to put forward an executable vision with an equitable programmatic election manifesto,” Ngo, who is also a senior lecturer, told the press conference.

Five key points highlighted at the unveiling of the People’s Agenda today were upholding the dignity and quality of life of the people; promote equitable, sustainable development and address the climate crisis; celebrate diversity and inclusivity; save democracy and uphold the rule of law; and fight corruption and cronyism.

Besides Gerak, the other sponsors of this event were Aliran, Pacos Trust from Sabah, Save Rivers from Sarawak, Suaram and Undi18. 

The People’s Agenda us endorsed by 53 civil society and public interest groups. 

Ngo said that political leaders must redress persistent inequality in the society, particularly among the least privileged communities. 

“We believe that political leaders of tomorrow need to acknowledge and understand the strength of decentralisation at the macro level of policy making and be inclusive in designing programmatic objectives at micro level actions,” she said. 

Referring to one of Gerak’s reform proposals of the education institutions in Malaysia, Ngo said it was aiming to replacing ethnic-based criteria with a fairer measure. 

“So Gerak actually proposed that university and higher education admissions be based on merit along with an affirmative presence given to students from disadvantaged and special needs backgrounds. 

“We believe that enrolment of university students should reflect the diversity of Malaysian society in terms of class, gender, ability and religion and location,” she added. 

Other speakers at the press conference were Anne Lasimbang of Pacos Trust, Peter Kallang of Save Rivers, Seven Doraisamy of Suaram and Tharma Pillai of Undi18. 

Aliran president Anil Netto called on Malaysians not to be disheartened at the state of the nation and said it was time to fight for the country’s survival more than ever. 

He said Malaysians should vote for candidates and parties who show commitments to the five points. 

“We call on political parties and candidates to put the people and the nation first. 

“They should work together in an electoral pact based on these five points and avoid multi-cornered fights for the sake of the nation,” he said. 

Netto said that the People’s Agenda would still remain open for endorsement by other civil society groups until the general election, so that it reaches a wider audience. 

He also said that the People’s Agenda will be sent to all political parties at the end of the month and once again when the general election is announced. – April 25, 2022.