YOURSAY 'Najib, how much money is going to be wasted on this unity council to give you the same inputs that most netizens have been telling you daily?'

PM: New unity council free to discuss anything

your say, Yoursay Unspin: It is hard to take PM Najib Razak seriously when he simultaneously talk about Malay and Islamic unity with PAS, and national unity with the formation of yet another ‘task force' - on the same day.

For national unity to happen, sincerity and honesty are prerequisites but unfortunately, the PM has none of these attributes.

When elections are near, all it takes is for the ultra Malays to whisper and Najib will broadcast it to the gallery.

There is a very high probability the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) will end up just as hollow as his 1Malaysia slogan.

Cala: I find the formation of such unity council a waste of taxpayers' money and a waste of time. If unity is indeed the concern of the Najib administration, is not the Parliament the place to discuss such grand topic?

Clearly Najib is not in the position to indulge in any serious discussion. In the end, all these yesmen and yeswomen in the unity council will deliver a report that Najib wants to read. Who does not know how a Third World state operates?

Pissed Off: I am skeptical about everything Najib and his colleagues do. It looks like this is another placebo and a piecemeal response to the rakyat's ever increasing anger and frustration against the ruling government.

Since most of those in the council are known BN sympathisers/supporters, coupled with the closed-door meetings, it looks like a definite eyewash to me.

Najib, how much of the rakyat's money is going to be wasted on this unity council with a "broad range of expertise" to give you the same inputs that most netizens have been telling you daily?

Sali Tambap: Setting up this council is commendable. It may not be an answer to everything but at least the so-called sensitive subjects can be discussed among the protagonists here.

If half of the members would really do their job without fear and favour, it would be considered successful, considering how much Malaysians are under the yoke of Umno's patronage.

Anonymous #21828131: I was born in this country, and I could say I had given my best for Malaysia, both in the armed forces and the private sector, but sadly my feelings for the country isn't the same as 50 years ago.

Maybe this unity committee is about 50 years too late because so much divisions and unfair treatment has been dished by this government for so long that in my opinion, it would take another generation to realign the thinking of the Malays and to a lesser extent, non-Malays.

Indeed, discarding the term ‘bumiputera' should be first on the NUCC agenda.

Blue Forest: NUCC, I hope you can go beyond race, religion and political inclination to really focus on nation building.

More importantly, the government must have the political will to implement the recommendations made by NUCC. I sincerely hope this is for real and not a political charade. This is for the future generations of Malaysians.

Onyourtoes: Najib, please don't hope the NUCC will give you credibility to discuss unity issues if the views of the opposition/independent-minded activists are not explicitly considered and taken into account.

We have had National Unity ministers, we have had National Unity Department, and we have had numerous consultative councils before this. Tell me what have they accomplished so far?

ThisLandIsMine: A committee to foster national unity? Only four broad topics - laws, the federal constitution, values and programmes - to be covered. Why are the two important pillars, education and economics, ignored?

Fogbom: This is a talkshop to create an air of respectability for the racist and hegemonic regime.

The continuous non-Muslim bashing carries on daily, the ‘ketuanan' mentality remains strong with powerful institutional backing and thousands of officials reinforcing it, and with periodic volcanic outpourings before each Umno election.

If activists Haris Ibrahim, S Ambiga and Kee Thuan Chye were in this group, it would carry some credibility.

This effort is in the realm of the Nazi village Theresienstadt, created in 1944 to perpetrate a hoax that the Germans were treating the European Jews humanely when in fact they were being gassed and cremated, and the human fat of the victims was used to fire the crematoriums to save scarce petrol for the war effort.

Of course, there are no gas chambers or concentration camps (except maybe Kamunting) in Malaysia. There is no need for this council - just dismantle all racialist laws and regulations and eliminate the ubiquitous ‘race' box in forms.

Oh Ya?: If the ruling elite has not been tearing apart the social fabric to serve its political agenda, there would not be any necessity to have this so-called unity council making up of mostly Tom, Dick and Harry who do not have any credentials of being truly Malaysians and colour blind.

2zzzxxx: Another ‘consultative council' which will waste taxpayers' hard-earned money. Mark my words it will soon be known as ‘No Use Consultative Council' (NUCC).

Paul Warren: Good luck to the council members and best wishes, too. Should I prematurely congratulate you for coming out with nothing that has not already come out before?

Unity council a waste of money if no political will

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