To Bring in ICERD peacefully we have to first get rid of Venarcular Schools.

 THERE MUST BE A MINDSET CHANGE FROM ALL QUARTERS.

Recently there has been a spate of provocative incidents involving mostly UMNO and PAS influenced groups about ICERD.

The people at large are asking why the police are not taking action,  criticisms abound  on the PH government  and no one is spared.

The way I look at it there is a massive amount of ignorance on both sides of the divide, it is communal and it has been developed since the days of the British and advanced not only by the BN but the political system by and large, it reflects on both sides of the house the government and the opposition since independence.

Has he found a way of getting out of the trouble he is in?

The  UMNO/PAS leadership's  fanning of  discontent and discord  over ICERD among  their members, the majority of whom  do not have clue of what ICERD is, but go on and get incited by this leadership on the premise of what is told to them that it is a threat to the Malays, the Royals and Islam, that is what they have been told, they accept it  and it  only goes to show how ignorant these grassroots are.

Making the grasroots ignorant seemed to be UMNO's strategy in the NEP to control them. 

Mahahtir has said and even Zahid and Hadi should know it is  an impossibility to Ratify ICERD, as we'd require to amend the Constitution first  and to do that the government has to have a two third majority voting in favour, which means PAS and many UMNO MPs will have to vote for it and to make matters worse there are even people in PH who are against it, so how are we going to get there.

 Why the Hurry?

I think the real issue of ICERD has to be discussed and understood across the board and as Anwar has put it very rightly:  why the hurry? 

After all  Rome was not built in a day, and I really think that P Waytha Moorthy has jumped the gun. The new government has not even setteled in and he brings out such a controversial issue, it reflects on his political abilities.

Why the Hurry

I'd like to ask him if we can do away with Tamil schools, and Chinese Schools too?
 

If we are to be one people should we not have a single single school system, so that our children grow up together and and foster racial unity first?

I remember writing in an earlier article about HINDRAF that the Tamils who are marginalised are marginalised the day they go to Tamils schools. 

Why, even when they come to the secondary schools where it's no longer a Tamil school they find it difficult to even associate with the Tamil boys who have spent all their primary education in the normal Government schools. They stick to themselves, talk Tamil among themselves an eventually get more marginalized. 

Well I'll admit the situation is improving in Tamil schools but that is not the answer, getting out of the Tamils schools and putting a stop to this segregated educational system  is.  

I am sure there will be many who will come and ask why?

Why?

Because we need our children to begin mixing and learning and playing together in close harmony with Malaysians of all races in one school system so that the  the mindset changes to that of Malaysians and not Chinese, Indian and Melayu,  they grow up as one and learn to appreciate each others point of view, then things will become more cordial. 

Over time they'll learn to live as one. Over time of course if we began that from Independence we'd be there today. Lets start now so that our children's children will enjoy that one day.

This is where the education policy has to be seriously  looked into and revamped, turn the present thinking upside down, the changes have to be drastic.  

I am sure we can gain  useful contributions to this from the present crop of Tamil and Chinese School boards too  and this can be done if there is a real will to unite everybody in this country as one people and one nation.

There is certainly a lot to learn from the Chinese schools to improve the quality of education for the children as much as  the Chinese Schools can learn from National Schools as well and the current crop of Tamils schools which have improved leaps and bounds in the quality of their students and curriculum now,  use that learning experience from all the types of schools to come out with a  single efficient and dynamic system led by a value system like the Rukun Negara.

Our biggest problem stems from the education system that allows the vernacular an Tafiz Schools to  segregate our students,  it  fosters division to the extent that it is almost enmity among Malaysians of different races from a very young age, what are we trying to do? 

That is the root cause of all our problems.

If we can get that right,  we'll get this (ICERD) right then we are certainly on the road to unity and a unified country.

Excellent single stream education should  be our topmost priority. education cannot be discriminatory, equal opportunity should be given to all students with special care for rural schools.

Religion should be the domain of the various religious groups and there should be no coercing.coveting  and forcing minors with religious education not of their respective religions. 

I am not talking about the Muslims alone, I am talking of the Christians too as it does happen in some cases.

After 61 years of Independence we are a  divided nation, more so now then at the pre-independence era and all this can be attributed to the educational system we fostered and promoted all these years, and all of us have to take the blame not the BN alone we allowed it to happen by bickering and promoting the vernacular system.

Pupils own language:

There are two sides to this coin, and I'd like to take the Sikhs as the example.

There are no Punjabi schools in this country, I mean regular Punjabi schools as there Tamil and Chinese Schools. 

They have classes in their Gurduwaras where the language is taught, the parents who are keen that their children know their mother tongue make sure they attend and they learn the language well supervised..

There may be  some who may not be keen but they are not forced to do so, it is their choice of the parents, but going by percentage in population more Sikhs are committed to their Children learning Punjabi then Tamils having their Children learning Tamil and Chinese learning Chinese. 

Any Introduction needed?

The Sikhs have made it a point to have Punjabi education for their children and they have catered for it, they even provide teacher training for Temples who require and do not have Punjabi teachers, All Sikhs speak Punjabi, Most in fact almost all speak Malay, many English and even Tamil and are Malaysians thru and thru and although a small community are very visible in the country, from the Courts to Parliament to Hospitals, the Police Force, Other branches of Government Service and of course the Bars all "Big Strong and Friendly."

Distinctly visible

If the Chinese and Tamils are really interested in their respective languages for their children they should make the necessary options available, based on demand the government could cater fo a third language .in the country, or leave it at two and let them choose between Bahasa which will be compulsory,  then English, Chinese or Tamil, this will strengthen the Bahasa.

If we are sincere about ICERD this is the route we have to take. 

The poor education system in the country, the divisive nature of the system is what has brought this negativity about ICERD and where we are today in race relations.

Our History has to be really looked into and it should be focused on the truth too.

On the other side of the divide we see the ignorance of the UMNO and PAS influenced Masses, they are so narrow in their thinking that UMNO and PAS are actually using them the way the instigators of suicide bombers get innocent young people including children to blow themselves up with bombs.

This has become possible because UMNO with its NEP actually churned out not second class but fourth class graduates from universities, not all of them but a significant portion that you can tell them any nonsense and they'll buy it, as long as you tell them that  race and religion are a threat they will jump and start reacting they have made sure that Race, Religion and the Royalty are the flash point.

These people do not have an inkling about what they are talking about, in the first place they do not even understand what ICERD is but are effectively used by the leadership of these provocateurs, and as Mahathir rightly put it there will be no trouble unless Zahid starts it.

The likes of Zahid, Najib and even Hadi are keen to see the investigations into corrupt practices, money laundering and Criminal Breach of trust disappear and the one way they now probably see that as possible is by creating trouble - Big Touble.

The Police rightly are not acting they do not want to give these trouble makers the opportunity to start trouble on a big scale, all responsible Malaysians from both sides of the divide  have to keep calm and not give trouble makers the opportunity of inciting trouble.

Don't give them that Opportunity

It is therefore not surprising that some of the agitators we see today are even threatening people with the recurrence of May 13th and to me that is to be expected, this kind of talk and behavior because we are dealing with.   After all we know the architect of May 13th don't we?

If we are serious and show we are serious about improving our education system and if we are prepared to make the sacrifices of nation building then surely there is a possibility of a non Malay Education Minister as well in the future, it will take time,  people who  are truly qualified because once that trust is built,  the Malays will only be too happy to have the best man on this job after all it is eduction.

Are we ready for Nation Building?

Rejecting ICERD forfeits our right to lecture Aung San Suu Kyi

 What is ICERD?
 It is;

"The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third  generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discrimination and the promotion of understanding among all races."

As of May 2015, 189 states have ratified or acceded to the treaty,

Malaysia and Myanmar in the same league

 Membership of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination:

  Recognise competence under Article 14

  Do not recognise competence under Article 14

  Signed but not ratified

  Neither signed nor ratified (Note the Grey Countries it includes Myanmar and Malaysia)

Malaysia is  contemplating on whether it should ratify The International Convention of All forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and this is rather an issue of concern.

If one studies the reasons given by the various groups on the rejection of ratifying ICERD two issues stand out more than anything else;one is the Malay Race and the other is Islam. In fact if you narrow it down,those are the only two issues so far.

Clueless just following the leader

Now before I go on to address these issues brought forward we must realise one cardinal principle.

If we do not ratify ICERD or if we have no intention to ratify ICERD we, from this very moment loose our high ground of trying to be morally correct with the Rohinga issue in Myanmar, our criticism of Israel on the Palestinian issue, our stand on issues affecting peoples in other lands because we ourselves are involved in this kind of behaviour and sometimes even on a worse scale.

The Radical  Islamic Stamp

Let me visit the issue of Jamal Kashoggi for instance, whilst the whole world has made such an issue of the murder of this man, and rightfully so, the same world just forgot that in Malaysia 2 Pastor Joshua and wife  Ruth Helmi,  Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat.



All these missing persons had one common denominator, they were " falsely accused of activities which were reportedly against Islam and yet no evidence was forthcoming against them regarding the same, these allegations were merely picked out of the air as nothing substantial has come out of these allegations, even after investigations by the special branch. 

Police reports were made regarding Pastor Koh, that he was attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity and yet not an iota of evidence has been produced about the same.

In Pastor Helmi's case, yes the Pastor was a Muslim who converted to Islam, he was reported to have wanted to flee the country with his wife Ruth and they were wanting to go to New Zealand, but because his wife is a foreigner she required a visa to go to New Zealand and although she had told him to leave first he decided because of his religious convictions to stay and get his wife's visa first before leaving. He quotes Mathew; where Jesus says, "and the 2 shall become 1" and says he would have to leave with her as they were one as husband and wife.

In Pastor Koh's case there were numerous allegations that he was converting Muslims to Christianity, and not a single one of those allegations were  true and yet he went missing. The operation to get him was very similar with the way Anwar Ibrahim was arrested by the Police, the modus operandi differed only in one way and that was there was a motorcyclist in this case.

Missing Abducted and all  had one thing in common Allegations made about Islam

In the case of Syed Amri the allegation was that he was spreading Shia Islam, even  ASP Razman, the Head of the Special Branch from the Division of  Social Extremism - Perlis, told the special inquiry set up to look into these disappearances that Syed Amri was being monitored over his alleged Syiah links prior to his disappearance.  

ASP Razman testified that  that since he helmed the department, Amri was not found spreading Syiah teachings.

All these goes to show that all these innocent people have gone missing over false allegations agaisnt innocent people made in the name of Islam.

To this day the Police have not been able to tell us anything of what happened to these missing persons. 

Many Malaysians fear the worst, but the families of these people have every right to have closure in these issues.

Very few doubt that it was not the  Police behind these abductions as it was carried out so professionally, number plates were all doctored or so they say and to this day they have no clue.

Khalid Abu Bakar the former Police Inspector General (PIG) had said on many occasions that they were working on clues and information and did not seem to be really interested in the case, he was too preoccupied arresting the likes of Maria Chin and allowing trouble makers like Jamal Yunos to create havoc in the country.

The lack of Police concern in the cases of these people gives us cause of grave concern. There has not been any real effort to have this case brought to closure. Even Altantuya who was blasted into smithereens suing C4 was discovered,  but not these people.

Coming back to ICERD there are many cases of Indonesians, Bangladeshis, and people of many other different nationalities who have gained citizenship in this country whose children automatically become Bumiputra or Malay for that matter because they speak the language, follow the customs and are Muslims, whilst Malaysian s who have been here for three four and five generations are not Bumiputras and are treated as second class citizens.

The Obvious Stirring Emotions

Is this what PAS and others like Nazri Aziz  want to protect? Why is it ICERD is not welcomed and not long from now I can assure you the children of Zakir Naik if not him will become Bumiputras, why even now he is enjoying perks other Malaysians can't even hope for.

Now with all these, can we really tell Myanmar how to treat the Rohingya?

Pope Francis washes the feet of Muslim refugees.

The plight of the Rohingya, the plight of Syrian and other North African refugees in Europe, the hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees around the world are of grave concern not only to Muslims but to everybody. Pope Francis has taken a stand on these refugees himself when many Islamic countries themselves have not, and some idiots in the the so called first world  countries who speak like the idiots in ours are silenced and rubbished, even the American President is no exception, he is  attacked and rebuked  everyday on the American media, the media gives them no credibility whatsoever.



Yes there are those in Europe and America who have condemned these refugees as Muslim terrorists, who say they do not want Muslims in the country but the very government of the countries in Europe defend the rights of these defenseless   souls.

North African refugees offered Protection in Europe from Rightwingers

In Malaysia one of the most confounded idiots who once was screaming in Parliament calling an MP a "Bloody Racist" over and over again today shows his true racist colours, he is quoted as having said, “ICERD is a no way (for me).
As a Malay Muslim I have rejected it from the beginning and I have never questioned the rights of others. Can I accept it if my rights are taken away due to discrimination? The answer is no.”.........Nazri Aziz


Notice the emphasis on two issues here coming from a man who was a minister  in the Mahathir, Badawi and Najib Governments, a lawyer by profession and who was once the defacto Law minister. Yes I am quoting Nazri and he had the cheek to call others racists.

Malaysia has effectively lost its high ground and has to cease to tell other countries what to do, till the extremist Malaysians come to their senses.