Eliminate employment discrimination in all sectors, including discrimination in public services

Joint Press Statement by 5 Civil Society Organisations, March 13, 2019

5 civil society organisations urge the government to comprehensively eliminate employment discrimination in all economic sectors, rather than selectively eliminating discrimination in specific areas. This should include discriminatory practice in public services.

We support the statement of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Waytha moorty, who vowed to eliminate employment discrimination in the private sector, that "Malaysia should not have any form of discrimination.... I hope that employers will focus on uniting all ethnic groups through employment, because this will maximize our workforce."

But we would like to remind Waytha Moorthy that the government is the largest Malaysian employer which hires 1.7 million employees, which is 10% of the current 16 million labor force in the country. Eliminating employment discrimination by excluding the public service sector will raise doubts about selective justice. The current composition of public services and top civil servants completely fail to reflect the demographic of Malaysia.

Stop Cross Over, Respect GE14’s Result!

31 Civil Society Organisations Joint Statement on 31 October 2018

We, the undersigned civil society organisations, are deeply troubled by the revelation of UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that the Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had allegedly demanded dissolution of UMNO (baru) and crossover of UMNO (baru) MPs to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) in a meeting. PPBM supreme council member Abdul Kadir Jasin also claimed that 40 UMNO (baru) MPs might join PPBM.

We believe that any crossing over of MPs from an opposition party to a ruling party, or vice versa, is an act of subverting the collective democratic decision made by the Malaysian voters in the GE14 to bring about our country’s very first regime change in history.

Malaysian voters sent a clear signal in the GE14 that they rejected UMNO (baru)-led Barisan Nasional (BN) for returning to power and instead elected the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition who promised a series of institutional reforms. Therefore, the purportedly cross-over of 40 opposition MPs to the ruling coalition will be a betrayal of people’s mandate, serve only for the self-interest of PPBM and UMNO (baru).

Take responsibility, stop hillslope development, return our third vote!

Press Statement by Agora Society on 25 Oct 2018

We remained saddened by the latest tragic landslide that happened at Bukit Kukus, Penang Island on19th October. A total of 9 bodies have been recovered and 4 are still missing thus far. We stand together with other fellow Penangites in the vigil for the victims who lost their lives, Malaysian and non-Malaysians alike, unnecessarily. We offer our deepest condolences for the families who are now left devastated without their father, mother or loved ones. Days have passed but, regrettably, not a single party or authority has taken responsibility for what had happened in the latest episode –did anyone in power ever say ‘Sorry’ to the affected families?

This tragic news came barely one week after the news that a worksite ‘mishap’ and structural collapse occurred at the same site, followed by a stop work order issued on 11th Oct. Unfortunately, it was reported that the contractor still went on their operation probably until 19th Oct. Clearly the weak enforcement was also a big issue. The contractor who went against the order must be named and shamed and, should the case be established, be made to face the most severe possible legal punishment.

This tragic incident reminds us of the landslide at the Granito construction worksite at Tanjung Bungah almost a year ago, which shares some similarities in that the authorities had failed utterly in their duty to ‘monitor’ and ‘control’ the soil erosion and slope integrity.

Could the by-election in Port Dickson be model for fair elections in the future?

Joint Press Statement by Malaysian Election Observers Network and Agora Society on 16 Oct 2018

The interests on the by-election in Port Dickson can be about the political, that is, how much mandate could Anwar get from the local electorates to push for his Prime Ministerial ambition. And also, in a longer term, about election conduct or fairness standards for instance irrespective of who win in an election, can it be obtained without abusing government/public facilities? That Anwar the candidate and PM-in-waiting reportedly promised to stay away from abusing government facilities –he actually claim this by-election to be the 1^st election where government facilities will not be abused, focus considerable attention on the challenge!

Now that the by-election has come to an end, did Anwar keep his promise? Regrettably there are well-documented reports from credible observers that there were numerous instances where government facilities were indeed abused to advantage Anwar the candidate! This does not cast doubt on his capacity to pull off a victory otherwise, but simply means that we are still facing a future where our election system, while unreformed, is open to such abuses and its integrity is less than even how a regular football game is refereed!

社長林奕慧說故事

The story of Agora Society, written by the Agora Society Chairperson Lim Yi Hui.

群议社的故事

魏月萍老师的这篇文章提到群议社是「反马派」的代表，在感慨之余，我不禁想要说说群议社的故事。当然，这纯粹是我的个人观点，并不是组织的立场。

在发表「马来西亚拒绝贪腐与独裁领袖」声明之后，我和一群朋友认为，马来西亚的公民社会普遍失去了自主性，因着急切改变政局的渴望而选择拥护马哈迪回归，并且失去了对于政党应有的批判性距离。所以，我们决定成立一个超越政党的独立组织。

要在狂澜中作砥柱，谈何容易。如果不愿被排山倒海的大局论吞噬，就要禁得起寂寞。那一阵子，我们无论在公在私，都受到各种讥讽和挞伐。尽管如此，我们还是以有限的能力去分析政党宣言、发表文告、举办政策改革讨论会等等。明知道群众的激情是抗衡不了的，但我们还是秉持原则，发出理性的诉求。

BN Manifesto: The Promise of a Dim Future of Divided Society, Dysfunctional Nation and Flight of Human Capital

Press Release by Agora Society in Kuala Lumpur on 20 April 2018

The newly released Barisan Nasional Manifesto for the 14th general election on 7 April 2018 is a great disappointment for Malaysians. As this election is supposed to be a close contest between the ruling and the opposition parties since independence, the reluctance of BN to directly tackle political and social turmoil plaguing the country suggests that BN is either incapable of overcoming these problems or there are benefits to be gained from perpetuating these problems.

The BN manifesto promises Malaysians status quo, as it offers very little significant improvement in governance. Instead it is embellished with distracting election goodies. This raise the questions about effectiveness of the government transformation programmes and economic transformation programmes that have cost Malaysian tax payers millions of ringgits. Have these programmes failed to deliver what they were designed to do? Where will TN50 actually lead the country, with policies which do not deliver results?

The Constituency Redelineation Exercise is Opaque and Undemocratic

Press Release by the Agora Society on 31 March 2018

The Agora Society condemns the recent redelineation exercise undertook by the Election Committee, and passed by the Parliament that further aggravate the malapportionment and gerrymandering of electoral constituencies in our country. Similar malpractices in the past has essentially tilted the scales of our election in the GE 13 where the popular votes won by the Pakatan Rakyat failed to translate into a majority in the parliamentary seats. It is extremely sad to see that the new redelineated electoral boundaries were already gazetted with an unprecedented speed yesterday.

The redelineation exercise is opaque and undemocratic. Despite many valid and fair objections, as well as constructive counter-proposals have been raised by our civil societies, especially by Bersih 2.0, the EC had decided to turn a deaf ear and submit a flawed amendment to the parliament nonetheless. This decision had necessitated multiple corrections subsequently.

Racialisation of Pakatan Harapan

Press Statement by Agora Society on 17 March 2018

Agora Society congratulates Pakatan Harapan for releasing the GE14 manifesto Book of Hope that embodies significant reforms such as the decentralisation of federal power, abolition of draconian laws, electoral reforms, introduction of EPF for housewives and anti-sexual harassment bill.

However, we regret to note that the Book of Hope also shows complex characteristics of populist, welfarist, reformist and racialist that compartmentalise Malaysians along racial lines. The 203 pages of manifesto has mentioned in total 25 times the term Bumiputera, 35 times Malays, 5 times Chinese, 48 times Indian and 24 times Orang Asal. Many preferential social and economic policies for Bumiputera were openly stated.

On the contrary, the PR’s Orange book back in 2013 vowed to shift the focus of the government policies from ones that are based on Bumiputera equity to ones that aim at the increment of household income of all Malaysians. It also stressed that affirmative actions should be need-based rather than race-based. While the Orange Book also upheld the constitutional protection of Islam, Malay language, special position of Malays and the Monarchy, most of its policies were based on universal rights for all citizens and classes.

Citizens Call for Restoration of Local Council Election

(26 motions passed in the policy reform discussion are listed at below)

As the 14th General Election is looming, a group of citizens called upon the federal government and state governments to restore local council election and return the third vote to the people.

They argued that the local council is most relevant to the daily life of ordinary people, it is crucial for a community to elect qualified and competent representatives who can serve the people.

Unfortunately the right to elect people’s local representatives was usurped by the federal authority in 1960s.

Civil Society Caucus for Policy Reform

Joint Statement by 12 Civil Society Organisation in KL on 2 March 2018

When the 14th general election is just around the corner, it is sad to see that the major political parties are either busy squabbling over seat allocations or trivial issues or making contentless media gimmicks.

We, as the civil society organisations, hold the view that the current power struggle among major political players has derailed from the political and economic reforms agenda.

Under the Najib administration, democratic space has been shrinking, draconian laws were enacted to stifle freedom, and corruption is rampant. The one-party state has been refusing to initiate any policy reform to democratise Malaysia.