Tackling discrimination faced by Malaysians on a multitude of matters such as housing, education, job opportunities, and citizenship is a major theme in the Pakatan Harapan manifesto.

Often, these policies appear to also complement other pledges the coalition makes on socioeconomic matters.

For example, in an effort to tackle urban poverty, Harapan is pledging to create more low-cost and medium-cost affordable housing, as well as housing that is affordable to rent in addition to expanding on rent-to-own schemes.

However, for many Malaysians - particularly those of Indian descent - the property and rental market is often one rife with discrimination.

A survey on rental listings in 2020 found that 45 percent of advertisements showed a preference for Malay and Chinese tenants, while 19 percent were open to Indians and 37 percent stated no racial preference.

With a pledge to tackle discrimination against renters, Harapan vowed in its manifesto to set up a special housing tribunal that would safeguard the rights of both owners and renters.

The Harapan manifesto also pledged to tackle discrimination in the job market, not just along racial, religious, or gender lines but also physical and mental capacities.

It also pledged to close the wage gap between genders. According to the Department of Statistics Gender Gap Index 2020, for every RM100 in wages received by men, women received RM97.50.

Meanwhile, efforts to strengthen the workforce also extend to Harapan’s education pledges - one of which is to have a “zero reject policy” for any student who wants to join a technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programme.

Harapan also pledged to increase access to TVET programmes for underprivileged groups including Indians, Orang Asli, and East Malaysian Orang Asal communities.

Citizenship discrimination

Discrimination in citizenship is also something Harapan plans to address.

One broad pledge is to grant automatic citizenship to any senior above the age of 60 who has at least one child who is Malaysian.

They also pledged to amend the Federal Constitution so that any Malaysian parent, regardless of gender, is able to pass down citizenship to their children - wherever they are born - and to grant automatic citizenship to adopted children as well.

Harapan also vowed to direct the Social Welfare Department to present a report to Parliament on the problem of stateless Indians so that aid to them can be streamlined until they attain citizenship.

The manifesto also pledges to tackle period poverty among women by providing free sanitary pads in all schools, as well as at strategic locations in B40 (bottom 40 percent of income earner) communities.

For disabled Malaysians, the coalition has pledged to set up a new agency to specifically oversee issues faced by this community, such as weaknesses in the education system or infrastructure issues.

They also pledged to appoint a disabled commissioner to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) to further safeguard the community’s interests.

They also promised to make public facilities, public transport, and new developments accessible to disabled people.

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