It is worth noting that the conference 'The Malaysian Indian in the new Millennium: Building Communities', is taking place at the same time as the Fourth Preparatory Committee Ministerial meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Bali, Indonesia.

Both these meetings are responding to critical issues of our times, one at the national and the other at the global level. Furthermore, these meetings acknowledge that the social and political environment in which their respective issues are being played out have worsened and have become unsustainable.

The link between these meetings is established when we place the Indian Malaysian situation in the context of sustainable development. Among other critical influences, sustainable development is influenced by notions of the right to human development (economic, social, and cultural) and human rights (civil and political), collectively known as the Right to Development.

Both of these ideas are placed on equal footing. They are mutually reinforcing and they collectively expand people's capabilities and choices and at the same time protect people's rights and fundamental freedoms. Without the recognition of these rights and without provision for enabling their exercise, sustainable development cannot be achieved.

Serious violation

The Right to Development analysis indicates that poverty and discrimination suffered by Indian Malaysians (and others like the Orang Asal), is a serious violation of their human rights and it contributes to unsustainable development of the community. This is because poverty denies people the right to basic needs to sustain a decent standard of living and quality of life.

Furthermore, poverty and violence in the Indian Malaysian community (as in other poor communities) are linked to a general lack of control over resources, land, skills/competencies, credit and capital, knowledge and social connections. It also indicates the lack of influence of the Indian Malaysian poor over government decision-making.

Without these resources, the poor are neglected by policy makers and have limited access to enabling institutions, markets, employment and public services. Clearly, then achieving equitable progress requires acknowledging the interdependence between respect for human rights, sustainable development and democracy.

The Right to Development strategy provides the basis for moral legitimacy and social justice to the objectives of human development. It allows us to evaluate a government on the basis of its contribution to the Right to Development. It allows us to determine the legitimacy of a government based on its ability to realise the Right to Development of all citizens, particularly the poor and vulnerable communities.

Strategies for creating an enabling environment for the sustainable development of the Indian Malaysian community in the new millennium.

1. The Right to Human Development should be at the heart of countries' development strategy.

  • The notions of right to development as a human right should lie at the heart of any national development or poverty elimination strategy. When a government fails to protect its citizens from poverty, the need to protect and enhance economic, social and cultural rights becomes an imperative. The present development strategy is seriously unsustainable as it discriminates and promotes further marginalisation of politically weak minorities such as the Indian Malaysian and Orang Asal communities. Thus, for the minority Indian Malaysian community, the Rights approach becomes central to its development process.

  • The Rights approach transcends race-based development and poverty eradication strategies. This is because the Rights approach is an inclusive approach. It responds to and encompasses all communities and people who are classified as poor and vulnerable and thus does not segregate or discriminate based on race. A Rights approach is color blind and is built on the principle that all human rights are for all people.

  • In this regard, it is important that the government of Malaysia recognises that Indian Malaysians are legitimate citizens of the country, on equal footing with other communities, and distribute national wealth equitably. The government should recognise the historical role and contribution of the Indian Malaysian community in nation-building. Directly or indirectly, it should not consider the Indian community as children of a lesser god and it should not take advantage of its political vulnerability.

  • The socio-economic deterioration of the community has significantly influenced the quality of political participation among Indians. Specifically, a significant number of Indians feel marginalised from the political processes and as a result the community has inherited a weak citizenry with a growing mass practically disenfranchised. Society in turn, is deprived of these people's contribution. In short, to continue denying the Indian community the Right to Development by creating and sustaining a disenabling environment for their development will be not only a violation of their human rights but also a lost of human resources.

    2. A National Bill of Rights

  • The Malaysian government should consider A National Bill of Rights consistent to poverty eradication and Right to Development. The Bill of Rights should entail economic, social and cultural rights relating to income distribution, access to land, housing, health care, adequate safe, and nutritious food, water, social security and education.

  • The Bill of Rights should ensure that poverty eradication becomes a legally binding responsibility for which the state is responsible. Moreover, the government must be legally mandated to report to Parliament on the measures it has taken to realise the Bill of Rights.

    3. Suhakam and the Right to Development

  • The National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) should play an important role in the protection and promotion of the Right to Development.

  • Suhakam should assist and encourage the embracing of the Right to Development through:

    a) the scrutiny of existing laws, administrative decisions and state policies as well as draft bills in order to ensure that they are consistent with the demands of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966 (but came into force in 1976);

    b) the promotion of education and awareness on the Right to Development among the public, government services, the private sector, the judiciary, labor movement, etc;

    c) the identification of national level benchmarks against which the realisation of Covenant obligations can be measured; and

    d) the conducting of research/ inquiries, and monitoring compliance in order to ascertain the extent to which particular economic, social, and cultural rights are being violated in relation to communities of particular vulnerabilities such as the Indian Malaysian community.

    4. Voter empowerment and political purchasing power

  • An urgent and immediate task of the Indian community is to enhance its political strength. More Indians need to be registered as voters. A general increase in the number of Indian voters coupled with a decisive role in critical states and constituencies could lead to the Barisan Nasional and opposition taking the community seriously. All this points to the fact that there is a need to begin a massive voter registration exercise.

    5. Establishing benchmarks to evaluate the government's performance

  • There is an urgent need for the government of Malaysia in consultation with other stakeholders (local communities, NGO's, political parties including the opposition etc) to establish specific benchmarks against which they propose to measure their performance in promoting the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights, especially of vulnerable minority communities, in the areas of adequate food, housing, health care, primary, secondary and tertiary education.

  • The Indian Malaysian community urgently requires a national plan of action to be put forward that involves clear targets, indicators, financial resources, institutional arrangements, and coordination between state agencies. Only such a national plan with short and long term goals can improve the condition of the community and promote sustainable development. Such an effort also needs to be benchmarked.

  • There is also an urgent need for improved civil society access to information and decision-making that has implications for poor communities like the Indian Malaysian community. The role of the state here is to establish the social and economic arrangement and policies that promote access to these Rights.

    • 6. Monitoring and reporting obligations of various ministries

  • At the level of planning, a closer link should be established between the various ministries and agencies. Law should mandate monitoring and reporting obligations for the various ministries and agencies that relate to economic, social and cultural rights of minority and vulnerable communities.

  • Ministries dealing with social development, housing, health, education, finance and food should be part of a task force. These ministries should report to parliament on an annual basis in the context of benchmarks and targets that has been mutually agreed upon. Reporting to parliament will introduce the notion of accountability of state institutions organising to realise policies vis--vis economic, social and cultural rights of vulnerable communities.

    7. Empowering the poor through civil society action

  • Civil society, particularly NGOs, need to work on building participatory democracy at the grassroots in order to influence and shape state policies. This process could involve trying to increase the level of awareness among the people, especially the poor of their rights and of the legal instruments that are available, which protect and promote these rights.

  • A Rights perspective means empowering poor people into tackling poverty. It entails ensuring poor peoples' voices are heard on decisions that affect their lives. It ensures their intervention in policy making. A Rights perspective makes the people the rightful 'authors' of policies.

    • 8. A Pro-poor development framework

  • The Right to Development approach requires policies that are pro-poor growth and are supported by institutions. This of course requires good governance practices, again properly benchmarked, that ensure that resources are used efficiently. Furthermore, it requires the development of medium and long term plans which are premised on realistic targets and practical strategies of action.

  • The participation of civil society in the development, monitoring and evaluation of action plans and targets at the national and local level must be established as necessary condition. This increases the responsiveness of the state to the needs and aspiration of poor minorities such as the Indian Malaysian community and ensures that their rights are realised.

    • Critical social investment

    In conclusion, the single most important challenge facing the Indian Malaysian community in the early years of the millennium is critical social investment in a people who can and must take charge in order to shape their own destiny.

    For this challenge to be realized, a new paradigm of development — a sustainable development paradigm with the right to development as its central mechanism — has to be structured, one in which an enabling environment is created so that there is a widening of choices people can make about their lives in order to enhance their well being. And the well-being of the generations to come.

    CHARLES SANTIAGO is an economist and human rights advocate. He is one of the coordinators of Group of Concerned Citizens, an initiative committed in addressing socio-economic issues. This paper, originally titled 'The way forward — a new rethinking towards an equitable and just development strategy for Indian Malaysians' was presented at the two-day Indian Malaysian conference in Kuala Lumpur which ended yesterday.