FORUM ON URBAN POVERTY & INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN MALAYSIA

Wednesday, 19 June 2013

Roundtable Discussion on
A NATIONAL AGENDA FOR INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT & NATIONAL RECONCILIATION: PERSPECTIVES FROM MALAYSIAN INDIAN COMMUNITY

Date: June 2, 2013 (Sun)

Time: 2.30pm to 6pm

Venue: DIGNITY INTERNATIONAL, A-2-7 Pusat Perdagangan Seksyen 8, Jalan Sg Jernih 8/1 46050 Petaling Jaya, Tel/Fax: +603 7931 0741

Special Guest Datuk A Vaithalingam & Dato Siva Subramanium

RTD Facilitator Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria (Principal Research Fellow, KITA-UKM)

Organised by: Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Framework for Discussion

GE 13 was the most heavily fought elections in Malaysian history. We must now move on with relevant public policies, programs and effective delivery agencies in addressing community concerns and meeting human needs.

During the campaign period political parties made many promises especially though their Election Manifestos. Now it is time for us to review these in order to ensure that over the next five years (2013 to 2017) we will have a clear action plan of delivery at the Federal, State and local government level for socio-economic advancement of all communities.

We recognise that we are a very diverse community and also divided. However we recognise that all groups (political, social, religious & cultural) are seeking to do something good for community upliftment especially for the poor & low income (bottom 40%) of the Indian community in Malaysian society.

While recognising these divergent realities, we have the confidence that there are some common denominators among us which can enable us to network and cooperate for the sake of the disadvantaged in our society.

We can have some consensus in the agenda for social, economic, cultural, civil and political development. This RTD seeks to provide such an opportunity over the next few years.

Objectives of the Discussion

To discuss the agenda for National Inclusive Development & National Reconciliation

To encourage civil society and public intellectuals to play an effective role in inclusive development

To establish a civil society monitoring panel for inclusive socio-economic development

Invited Participants: About 30 people

Participation is by inviting. We are inviting Members of Parliament, community leaders of civil society organisations, media personal and academics.

Hope you will join us in this process. For more details and registration email:denisonkitaukm@gmail.com / 019 381 0914

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FORUM- URBAN POVERTY & INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

This Forum is a community project which has a strong focus on monitoring delivery and implementation.

The action research component is coordinated by Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria, Principle Research Fellow, Institute of Ethnic Studies, UKM

A voluntary team including Datuk A.Vaithilingam, Dato Siva Subramanium, Prof KS Nathan & Mrs Jasmine Adaickalam are working together with a wider group of volunteers to ensure the sustainability of this initiative.

As a team we are non political and will work with all persons and agencies at a Federal, State and local government which have a public responsibility to serving the poor and low income families

We believe that all citizens are equal and have the same human rights and human responsibilities as defined in the Federal Constitution & Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

For further details contact:
Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria

Email: jayasooriadenison@gmail.com
or sms 019 3810914

Postal address:
P.O.Box S-15, Sentul, 51700 Kuala Lumpur

Declaration on the Rights of Ethnic & Religious Minorities

Article 1.1 States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of
minorities within their respective territories and shall encourage conditions for the promotion of that
identity.
.
Article 2:1 Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, and to use their own language, in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form
of discrimination.

For more details:
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuideMinoritiesDeclarationen.pdf

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

Article 1:1. In this Convention, the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.

Article 1:4. Special measures taken for the sole purpose of securing adequate advancement of certain racial or ethnic groups or individuals requiring such protection as may be necessary in order to ensure such groups or individuals equal enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms shall not be deemed racial discrimination, provided, however, that such measures do not, as a consequence, lead to the maintenance of separate rights for different racial groups and that they shall not be continued after the objectives for which they were taken have been achieved.

For more details:-
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CERD.aspx