With ‘strong minded and independent’ representatives of civil society on board the newly-formed National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), the government looks set to receive an earful in dealing with inter-ethnic issues.

The 29-member council announced yesterday by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak consists of politicians, lawyers, academics, writers and civil rights activists among others.

Najib said many of them were chosen because they have demonstrated readiness to cross political lines for the sake of national unity.

NONE Among them is Mujahid Yusof Rawa, the PAS parliamentarian for Parit Buntar who had tried to conduct an inter-faith dialogue with the Christian community in Butterworth in September.

Calling his appointment  "a chance you cannot miss," Mujahid told Malaysiakini that the NUCC will now allow for all views to be aired.

"It is a council, independently advising the government on national unity issues, where we can contribute our thoughts," he said.

He said the PAS leadership had agreed to his participation, similar to the party’s representation in the Malay Economic Action Council previously.

Asli Centre of Public Policy Studies chairperson Ramon Navaratnam described the NUCC as a "action-oriented panel which means business" and which intends to contribute towards national unity.

NONE Ramon, who has been on ‘unity advisory panels’ in the past, said the council has a different feel to it.

"It's a new commitment after a few years of lapse. It is a smaller group with a minimal number of government officials ... (in the past) it was a bigger group with a majority of government officials,” he noted.

In addition, it will have strong "secretarial" support from research done at Institute of Ethnic Studies and University Kebangsaan Malaysia.

The one-time civil servant praised the choice of former chief secretary Samsudin Osman as head of the NUCC, saying “he is known to be a man of broad and liberal disposition".

Members will serve for two years each but have been given just six months to produce their first interim report, Najib had said.

Asked if they can meet the deadline, Ramon said the group already knows what the problem is and that a lot of views have already been garnered on national issues.

‘Not beholden to the government’

Former Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee, asked what changes he hopes to see, said: "I am merely Lim Chee Wee. I hope to make a difference and contribute towards improving our country which is facing a trust deficit and incompetence in policy and governance.

NONE “I am an eternal optimist (who feels) that, if enough good people do good, our nation will be better.”

Lim (left) described the NUCC members as being "independent, strong-minded, and not beholden to government".

Other members include former Temerloh MP and CEO of Global Movements of Moderates Saifuddin Abdullah, Asli co-founder Dr Michael Yeoh, writer and activist Marina Mahathir and Sabah representatives Clarence Bongkos Malakun and John Sikayun.

                

“Its formation is timely because we seriously need to strengthen unity among the rakyat,” Saifuddin said.

NONE “In a multi-cultural and multi-religious country like ours, unity is the most important pillar in nation-building. In the light of the advent of ultra voices and pressure groups of late, all the more reason we need the NUCC.”

Saifuddin (right) said that he agreed to the appointment because the NUCC promises to be “a new conversation that will discuss old issues from a new paradigm”.

“I hope it will not be another talk-shop. We must engage the rakyat in the process through dialogues and on the social media. We must also be brave and bold in our articulation and the proposals that we are to pass on to the government.”