A coalition of non-governmental organisations will hand over a declaration calling on Malaysia to outlaw racism and racial discrimination at a United Nations conference in South Africa next week.

The document contains 36 resolutions calling for non-racial solutions to various sectors such as politics, education, economy and social development.

The coalition, made up of 20 NGOs who call themselves the Joint Action Committee Against Racism (Jacar), launched the declaration at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur today.

The declaration will be presented at the UN World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance which will be held in Durban from Aug 28 to Sept 7.

Landmark document

Human rights group Suaram said the declaration was a landmark document as it was an important initiative by the country's NGOs and civil society to present a non-racial alternative to Malaysian problems.

"We believe it is timely for all Malaysians to seek a new consensus on non-racial solutions to the country's problems," said its director Dr Kua Kia Soong.

"It is time to outlaw racism and racial discrimination from the Malaysian society and build real unity based on adherence to human rights, equality, non-discrimination, and the interests of the country's masses," he added.

Kua explained that the principle of non-discrimination on race issues covered not only different ethnic communities, but also migrants, foreign workers and indigenous people in the country.

"With this declaration, we recognise that racism is present in all facets of Malaysian life. Racial stereotyping is common-place. Private businesses often exhibit racist employment policies.

"However, the attitude of the state underpins the continuation of racist sentiment. We hope this declaration will necessitate a radical shift in the manner in which Malaysians perceive and deal with each other," he said.

Among others, the declaration called on the government to ratify the UN Conventions on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to ensure that all legislation in the country abide by international standards.

Political parties formed on the basis of race to further the interests of their respective races should also be outlawed as such practices are inconsistent with international conventions against racism and racial discrimination, the declaration said.

The declaration stressed that national-type schools be built as long as there was a demand for them.

It also called for the introduction of a 'means test' for granting loans and education grants for those who qualify to enter tertiary institutions, regardless of race.

Transparency and accountability

In the economic sphere, the declaration stated there should be full transparency and accountability to ensure that contracts and shares were not dispensed on a racial basis through nepotism, cronyism or corruption.

Government policies must strategically aim at reducing income disparity between the rich and the poor, it added.

According to Jacar co-ordinator Yap Swee Seng, the committee is in the process of getting more NGOs, trade unions and political parties to endorse the declaration.

Among the organisations which have already endorsed the declaration were Suaram, Malaysian Human Rights Association (Hakam), Policy Research Institute, Indigenous Peoples Development Centre, Group of Concerned Citizens, Women's Agenda for Change, Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall and the Chinese Elections Appeal Committee (Suqiu).