PROTECTING and promoting human rights must be set as a national priority and not be viewed as a threat to national policies, said an MP.
Kasthuri Patto, who is MP for Batu Kawan said that as Malaysia is now a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, there is much to be expected and even more to be achieved by the nation as we grapple with a myriad of crises in health, economy and politics.
“The subject of human rights is one that must be viewed as upholding universal values of peace, respect, cohesivity, democracy, equality, freedom, justice and righteousness and never one that endangers national or nationalist policies,” said the International Secretary for DAP.
“The Government need not fear human rights concepts such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, the right to education, the right to healthcare, the right to equal pay and the right to be treated as equals.”
According to Kasthuri there will always be naysayers and those who are “afraid of their own shadows” who will object to Malaysia ratifying a convention that is essentially anti-racial discrimination.
“But we must rise above ourselves and shed the siege mentality and remember that human rights is for all and not for the elite alone or the powerful or the privileged. And this image and tone must be set by the Government,” she stressed.
“The Government must lead by example to irrevocably punish those who drive wedges between race, religion, gender and class in Malaysia and not perpetuate it further for the sake of popularity by playing to the gallery. After all, haven’t we all been taught that no one is above the law?
“After 64 years of independence, we are still talking about the colour of our skin, identity politics and segregationist policies – the wretched recipes in a disaster known as apartheidism.”
Kasthuri went on to express her confidence that Malaysians will rise above all as ‘Bangsa Malaysia’.
The question, she said, was whether the Government would be able to match the courage, patriotism and drive by peace-loving Malaysians to become a defender and protector of human rights and to reject all forms of discriminatory practices in Malaysia.
“What Malaysians need is for the Government to have political will, endurance, gumption and to spark the imagination of all – to take us, all of us, together on this journey of self-discovery of our right as ‘Anak Bangsa Malaysia’,” she concluded. – Dec 10, 2021
