The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) is indeed a ray of hope in a country where violations of human rights are legitimised generally under the framework of 'our Asian way', which has brought some disrepute to Asia.

As if Asia does not have traditions of participatory and deliberative democracy that lie outside what many political leaders in the region today define as democracy and human rights.

Suhakam has done well and provided the nation some confidence that we may be able to take a step ahead in reclaiming what are our inalienable rights, those rights that have been appropriated from us by the state claiming to do the Asian thing.

Its maiden report, which has received the support of many concerned Malaysians, seems to cover a number of critical areas and issues very pertinent for citizens' political survival in this nation of ours.

In the report, as a number of new coverages convey to us, the Commission has concluded that many laws in Malaysia infringe or restrict basic human rights.

Among the many laudable suggestions, the Commission has demanded for relaxation on tight curbs on public meetings, asked for a transparent and accountable government, removal of the perpetual 'state of emergency' we are in, suggested an independent commission for the appointment of judges, raised our attention to gender discrimination and the infringement of the rights of indigenous people faced with a development that has displaced them.

By asking for all these, Suhakam's report can be placed within a universe of texts that have emerged in Malaysia in the recent past animated by an imagined future that is authentically democratic and a genuinely Malaysian.

These texts, which are all publicly available, offer, if not for us immediately, at least for the future generations, a pathway to a society unlike the one we are living in today.

Wrong signals

But sadly, the Commission has looked away from a reality that hurts human rights and the quality of social relationships in this country. That reality is racism, racial discrimination and hate crimes.

By doing this, Suhakam has missed a historical opportunity to help contribute to directing the country to correct a situation that officialdom has so far refused to accept. It lost the power of dramatic intervention in terms of its first report to draw racism, racial discrimination and hate crimes into official discourse.

By doing this, it has sent wrong signals to many concerned Malaysians. Its failure on this matter is really puzzling.

Racism, hate crimes and racial discrimination are serious problems faced the world over. Its seriousness has been recognised by the UN, which is holding an important conference on the issue, the 'World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance' in Durban, South Africa from Aug 31 to Sept 7 this year.

Here are three items in the draft declaration and programme of action of the Conference issued in March 2001, which the Commission may want to look at (emphasis added):

- We also understand that intolerance and racial discrimination breed and fester in inequitable political, economic and social conditions , and that genuine equality of opportunity for development is fundamental for the eradication of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. We therefore call for urgent national, regional and international measures to provide the chance for a decent life for all the peoples of the world in their magnificent diversity.

- In reviewing progress made in the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we note that despite the development of international, regional and national laws underpinning equality, racist attitudes remain deeply entrenched and that political, economic and social conditions often inhibit their implementation . We also note with sadness that minorities, indigenous people, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees and others still suffer from widespread inequality and racial discrimination . The obstacles to equality lie in the mind and the spirit as well as in political, economic and social conditions. Education, development, and the faithful implementation of international human rights norms are the keys to future action for equality and non-discrimination.

- We recognize that certain persons and groups may experience other forms of discrimination on the basis of their gender, age, disability, genetic condition, language, religion, sexual orientation, economic status or social origin , and that in addition they may experience acts of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. We note that this situation can result in such persons being victims of multiple forms of discrimination, and stress that special attention should be given to the elaboration of strategies, policies and programmes, which may include affirmative action, for such persons.

Blind to reality

In the conclusion and recommendations section of the document produced by the Asia-Pacific Seminar of Experts in Preparation for the 'World Conference against Racism: Migrants and Trafficking in Persons with Particular Reference to Women and Children' which met in Bangkok in September last year, one will find the following observation:

'The Seminar noted that there was no country in the region which was free from racism and racial discrimination as defined in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.' Though this preparatory conference focused on the migrant communities, the point made on the pervasiveness of racial discrimination in Asia is all too clear.

In fact, one fails to see how an August body like Suhakam can miss the point that a multi-racial society like ours with so much of inequalities can possibly escape the social outcome of racism or racial discrimination, either as retail incidents or as institutionalised practices or both.

Even if we give the Commission the benefit of doubt about its refusal to investigate the Petaling Jaya Selatan issue on the basis of lack of evidence, one fails to understand how it is possible for it to be blind to the reality as a whole.

While it has addressed all kinds of possible human rights violations in our nation - relating to undemocratic laws, gender discrimination or violation of the rights of indigenous people in the name of development - the Commission's blindness to racism, racial discrimination or hate crimes is not comprehensible. It, in fact, raises a question - why has Suhakam not addressed the issue at all?

First, Suhakam's first report carried just about all forms of human rights violations but did not recognise human rights violations through racial discrimination and therefore it was not included in the report. This implies that, as far as Suhakam is concerned, there is no racism or racial discrimination or hate crimes in Malaysia.

To believe that in a multi-racial society with a clear ethnic division of labour highly influenced by serious levels of inequality expressing itself, among others, in terms of ownership, patterns of educational achievements and employment and residential locations, there will be no racism or racial discrimination is, to say the least, nave.

To believe that in a society that imports a large group of non-professional, unskilled or semi-skilled migrant workers from the neighbouring countries, there will be no racism or racial discrimination or hate crimes is to put an unrealistic faith on Malaysians in their treatment of foreign labour. We need only examine some newspaper reports closely to find out how much it is wrong.

Who is 'Malaysian'?

Second, among the many directions it will have to take to seek the causes, addressing the race and ethnic issues in terms of racism or racial discrimination will certainly take a path straight back to the New Economic Policy and into the issue of the affirmative action policy for the majority racial and ethnic community.

It will eventually lead to questions related to the affirmative action policy based on exclusive racial categories rather than inclusive economic categories.

In addition, the career of this inquiry has far reaching implications. It will reach into the examination of many public and private institutions and their behaviour. It will raise the issue of who is a 'Malaysian'.

It will lead to action to harmonise the principle of citizenship based on equality with the reality of human rights based on universality. All these will become a serious problem to deal with on what has come to be categorised as a 'sensitive issue' not a 'human rights' issue.

Yes, it will open a Pandora's box, but if it helps straighten the human rights situation in this country, then is that not the brief of Suhakam?

Third - perhaps optimistically speaking - Suhakam is aware of the problems but does not know how to address the issues. If this were the case, perhaps it would be a worthwhile effort for it to look at the working of race commissions and human rights commission across the globe that have recognised the problem of racial discrimination almost as a norm and have sought to deal with it directly and indirectly both at the level of individuals and public institutions.

It needs to establish and encourage a proper reporting system and it needs to work out a way to evaluate the reports in which there may have been human rights violations (as a result of racism or racial discrimination).

If Suhakam had a discussion on the issue and had decided to drop it from inclusion in the report, perhaps the public should know about it and its reasons. Response to Suhakam can then be more considered.

If it did not consider the issues of racism, racial discrimination and hate crimes in the everyday life of Malaysians worth considering seriously , it is time that it takes another more critical, reflexive look.

DR M NADARAJAH teaches sociology and organisation theory at Stamford College and is involved in activities related to sustainable development and urbanisation.