H-Net* People's Manifesto unveiled

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People's Manifesto unveiled Seeking a just and free society in Malaysia PEOPLE’S MANIFESTO INITIATIVE The People Demand Change We the people of Malaysia representing the various sectors of civil society put forward our sectoral demands, critical concerns and collective aspirations for a equitable, democratic and just Malaysia. We make the following demands after careful study of the current socio-economic, cultural and political reality of the nation. We recognise that we are a united people enriched by our differences and diversity. Our demands and aspirations have implications for the future of the nation. Thus the suggestions put forward here should be perceived as solutions to the problems and difficulties experienced by the nation. The People’s Manifesto proposes a development strategy that places the people at the heart of any economic development and political system. Such a system would require and result in a non-communal political system, an equitable distribution of wealth, community ownership of public resources, the supremacy of people over government, people’s participation in the political life of the nation and spiritual growth. We put forward the People’s Manifesto – The People Demand Change - as a step towards upholding the principles of justice, equality and democracy – values rooted in the various traditions of our country, our religions and enshrined in the constitution of our country. To achieve this we demand the following: 1. Guarantee the Functioning of Democracy. The government must improve representation and checks and balances by undertaking to: limit the Prime Minister, Menteri Besar and Chief Ministers to two terms in office. restore local government elections reserve at least 30% of all decision-making positions in government for women. establish the Senate as a real House of checks and balances by making it an elected body. ensure the independence of the Judiciary. 2. Repeal, Review and/or Amend Oppressive Laws. Oppressive laws violate the basic rights of the people to freedom of speech, association and assembly. The government must therefore undertake to: repeal laws such as the Internal Security Act, Official Secrets Act, Emergency Regulations 1975, Printing Presses and Publications Act, University and University Colleges Act Public Order and Prevention of Crime Ordinance and Squatter Clearance Act. amend, review and/or delete offending sections of the Penal Code, the Police Act, Trade Union Act, Societies Act, Land Acquisition Act, , Sedition Act, Education Act and the Aboriginal 1. Guarantee the Functioning of Democracy. The government must improve representation and checks and balances by undertaking to: limit the Prime Minister, Menteri Besar and Chief Ministers to two terms in office. restore local government elections reserve at least 30% of all decision-making positions in government for women. establish the Senate as a real House of checks and balances by making it an elected body. ensure the independence of the Judiciary. 2. Repeal, Review and/or Amend Oppressive Laws. Oppressive laws violate the basic rights of the people to freedom of speech, association and assembly. The government must therefore undertake to: repeal laws such as the Internal Security Act, Official Secrets Act, Emergency Regulations 1975, Printing Presses and Publications Act, University and University Colleges Act Public Order and Prevention of Crime Ordinance and Squatter Clearance Act. amend, review and/or delete offending sections of the Penal Code, the Police Act, Trade Union Act, Societies Act, Land Acquisition Act, , Sedition Act, Education Act and the Aboriginal People’s Act. set up a Law Reform Commission, comprising members from the Attorney General’s Office, Bar Council, interest groups and retired High Court/Appellate Court judges, to review and reform all laws that are unfair and unjust. 3. Guarantee the Independence of Civil Institutions Civil institutions such as the Attorney-General's (AG’s) office, the Judiciary, the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), the police, the Election Commission and the Human Rights Commission, must be independent, transparent and accountable to the public. Key appointments within these institutions, their functioning and reporting must be directly linked to the Parliament. In addition: the AG’s office must not hold absolute discretion in prosecuting. Members of the public or interest groups can prosecute if the AG fails to. the ACA must be able to prosecute independently of the AG’s office. the Chair of the Police Commission cannot be from the Executive senior positions in the civil service must reflect the diversity of Malaysian society. the Human Rights Commission must check and balance abuses of power by the other civil institutions and must have representation from the various civil sectors of society and NGOs. 4. Eradicate Corruption, Cronyism and Nepotism. Corruption, cronyism and nepotism robs the people and erodes accountability. These must be eradicated at all levels of the government and civil service. Businesses must be allowed the opportunity to compete on a fair basis. We demand that: a law be enacted whereby all elected representatives and senior civil servants must publicly declare their assets. 5. Guarantee Free and Fair Elections and Electoral Processes. Although the definition of democracy is not limited to elections every five years, free and fair elections are an essential component of a democracy. In order for the public to be able to effectively participate, monitor, and appraise the electoral process, we demand that: the date for the elections be fixed permanently on a date agreed upon by Parliament. the duration of the campaign period be at least 30 days. voter registration be continuos and not take more than 30 days before the registrant can vote. voters should be able to register anywhere and vote anywhere in Malaysia. Electoral boundaries be redrawn to reflect true geographical representation without any gerrymandering. The difference in the number of voters in constituencies should not be more than 15%. Postal voting be discontinued. Those applying for identity cards be registered automatically and be able to vote on reaching the age of 18 years. Government machinery and resources not be used, directly or indirectly, for campaigning purposes,. Candidates have equal access to the media. Public interest groups, including non-governmental organisations be involved during discussions regarding the electoral processes in Parliament and in monitoring elections. 6. Uphold and Advance the Rights of Women. Women face discrimination, violence and hardship in many aspects of their lives. We, therefore, demand that the government undertakes to: eradicate all policies, laws and practices that discriminate against and disadvantage women, both in public and private spheres. acknowledge, uphold and improve the participation of women at all levels of social, economic and political spheres, especially in decision-making and leadership positions. pursue a national strategy to address all forms of violence against women through adequate laws, enforcement, public education, services and funding. pass a uniform Family Law for all states and resolve the conflict of jurisdiction between the Civil and Syariah laws. provide adequate support systems and legal recourse for particularly vulnerable groups of women, especially single mothers, disabled women and younger women. 7. Guarantee Minimum Wages and Safeguard Employment. Workers are providers for families and are the backbone of the development of the nation. To ensure that all workers in the country have a good standard of living, the employment laws must be amended to incorporate the following: a minimum, monthly living wage of RM900 (current rates) for all sectors of employment, especially for plantation workers, foreign and local. wages/salaries for both foreign and local employees should be the same in all sectors. a 5-day, 40-hour work week. the right to organise a union of their choice. employers must be made more accountable in providing safe working environments. appropriate and high quality child care facilities must be provided at workplaces. there must be equal opportunities and services for disabled people to join the paid workforce. the informal sector must also be covered under the Employment Act. set up an Equal Opportunities Employment Commission to address all forms of discrimination in the workplace. appropriate safety net schemes must be instituted to assist those who are unable to be in employment. the abolition of child labour. 8. Never Privatise Or Corporatise Basic Essential Services. The provision of basic essential services such as health, water, basic education and electricity is the obligation of the state and this must be enshrined in the Constitution. Privatisation and corporatisation represents a loss of democratic rights of the public to decide on the management of the resources of the country. Therefore: the government must undertake to stop and reverse the privatisation and/or corporatisation of basic essential services, especially health, water, electricity and sanitation. The pricing of services, whether in the public or private sectors, must not burden the poor but at the same time must not subsidise the rich. 9. Guarantee Independence of the Media. The media should be able to operate freely without intervention from the Government and political parties, either through harsh laws (i.e. the Official Secrets Act, Printing Presses and Publications Act, Sedition Act) or unfair ownership and control by dominant political parties. We demand that: all segments of society, be they opposition political parties, NGOs or the marginalised, have equal and fair media coverage. all actions which threaten a civil society's basic right to fair comment be stopped. 10. Reduce Police Powers and Ensure Professionalism of the Police. The police force is crucial in maintaining peace, stability and security of the people and nation. They are mandated by the public to safeguard life, property and dignity. However, in recent years there have been several cases that reflect a lack of professionalism, independence and accountability in the performance of the police due to laws that have given the police too much power without sufficient checks and balances. To develop a professional police force so as to better serve the public, we demand that: the powers of the police to arbitrarily search, arrest and shoot people be stopped. police procedures be revised to eliminate the possibility of police brutality. all reports of police abuse of power be handled by an independent commission, which is answerable to parliament all commission reports must be made public, and all police personnel found to have abused their power be punished. anyone involved in reporting or assisting in the investigation of cases be protected from persecution by the state. 11. Provide Security Of Tenure Of Land. There must be a balance between the use of land for development and the use of land for daily life including housing, farming and subsistence. No one should live in fear that they will be forcibly moved off their land without open and fair consultation and compensation. We, therefore, demand that: that the rights of indigenous communities to land be recognised and that all laws that infringe on the rights of urban settlers, rural and indigenous communities be abolished or amended. where land is required for development for public interest, local communities be effectively involved in all negotiations. forced evictions, violence and threats never be used against anyone and that the current use of force and threats, especially against urban settlers, indigenous, rural and plantation communities be stopped immediately. all reservation land must be replaced with land acceptable to the party concerned. 12. Provide Housing as a Right for All. Public housing should be provided by the state. Affordable, accessible, safe and quality housing must be ensured for especially the lower and middle income groups. We demand that: land titles be given to existing villages and settlements of Orang Asli, Orang Asal, urban settlers, plantation and new village residents. amenities such as water, electricity, waste disposal and transportation be provided to existing villages and settlements. adequate, good quality low-cost homes of a minimum-livable size be available for purchase for low-income groups through manageable loan and purchase schemes. low-cost homes must not exceed RM25000 (at current rates). where replacement houses are offered as compensation due to evictions, permanent homes must be provided and shifting completed before any demolition work is carried out at the eviction site. 13. Respect for All Races, Cultures and Freedom of Religion. Every effort must be made to promote knowledge, respect and sensitivity among Malaysians on issues of culture, religion and race. In fact, cultural studies, race relations and religious studies should be made compulsory in the school and university systems. We demand that: all places of prayer and worship be gazetted free from any encumbrance. No mosques, temples, churches and indigenous people’s place of worship should be demolished without prior consultation, consent and sanction of the local respective communities and without proper replacement. There shall be no arbitrary restrictions on the facades of new or renovated places of prayer and worship. the government establish a Race Relations Commission to ensure equal opportunity, participation of all communities in decision-making and to promote better understanding and respect among the races. All races should be proportionally represented at the upper levels of the civil service. the state adopt and promote a liberal and diversified cultural policy and every effort be made to promote multi-culturalism in the country. Specifically, the state should ensure an equitable representation of the various Malaysian cultures in official cultural bodies and the media. 14. Ensure Equitable Distribution of Wealth and Poverty Eradication The distribution of national wealth must be based on needs, with the most vulnerable groups in mind. We demand that: Public money, like Employee’s Provident Fund, Petronas and Lembaga Urusan Tabung Haji, not be used to bail out private businesses and to support mega-projects that do not benefit society in a tangible way. Government policies aimed at reducing the income disparity between the rich and poor be carried out regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, disability or political affiliation. 15. Provide Education for All. Basic education is the right of all Malaysians. To ensure fair access to and high quality of education, we demand that: primary and secondary education be made compulsory and free. the state provide enough schools for everyone in the country and ensure enough public universities to accommodate all those who qualify for and want a tertiary education. all public schools have a minimum standard of facilities that are financed by the state. There should be no discrimination according to locality or neighbourhood. This support should also extend to public vernacular schools at all levels of education. mother-tongue education be recognised and offered at all public schools which give it equal number of class hours, trained teachers and importance that is given to the national language. textbooks be given free to students in all public schools. The public schools should also offer nutritional food to students at subsidised rates to aid in the physical development that is crucial to learning. the content of education reflect the true purpose of education, the history and struggles of all peoples in the country and a respect for women. 16. Preserve the Natural Environment and Ensure Well Built Environment. Development must be environmentally sustainable so that future generations of Malaysia will have an intact natural heritage. Development projects must not damage the ecology and livelihood of communities who depend on the natural environment. We demand that: all gazetted water catchment areas, forest reserves and wildlife reserves not be de-gazetted and forest reserves that have been de-gazetted be regazetted consultants preparing the Environmental Impact Assessment report be appointed by the Department of Environment (DOE) and not the project proponent, to ensure impartiality. The DOE must be well resourced in order to be able to carry out its functions without hindrance. EIA reports must be made more accessible to the public. environmental laws be better enforced to protect air and water quality. sufficient and accessible public parks and recreational areas. buildings, roads, public transport and other public amenities that are safe and accessible to all groups of people, especially the disabled, the elderly, the infirm and children.