U-turn on Race Relations Act

The government has decided not to pursue the proposed Race Relations Act - just four months after saying that the cabinet had agreed to do so.

The change of heart was announced today by Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Shafie Apdal.

He said that the cabinet has now agreed that there was no need for the Act, according to reports.

Shafie said that the cabinet had studied the matter thoroughly and has decided not to proceed with the proposed Act.

"Race relations is something that comes naturally and cannot be forced through legislation," he told reporters today.

"That is why everyone in the cabinet agreed there was no need for such an Act."

Shafie added that so many experts were against such an Act being implemented in this country.

The minister also said that he had studied similar acts in several other countries and found that such an act was not suitable here.

To overcome any religious tensions, the minister suggested that everyone respected each others' religion and race.

"We have lived in harmony for more than 50 years. Why can't we continue to do so? You cannot force someone to like you. It must come naturally," he added.

Cabinet's previous approval

In September, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar had said the cabinet has approved the proposed Race Relations Act.

He had said that the proposed Act would be brought to the Parliament as soon as its finer details have been ironed out.

The matter was then passed to Shafie's ministry so that it could work with the Home Ministry in collecting the information needed for the Act to be drafted and tabled in Parliament.

Shafie himself was quoted by the media as saying last September that his officials would provide details on how the proposed Act could function.

He had also said that the Act, when passed, would be handled by the Home Ministry to ensure that it is effectively enforced.

The Act would have banned racism, managed justice and fair play among all races, and punished offenders.

The Ahmad Ismail controversy

The Race Relation Act proposal came hot in the heels of the Ahmad Ismail controversy where the Penang Umno chieftain had allegedly labelled the Chinese minority as "squatters".

Ismail refused to apologise and was subsequently suspended from his party for three years.

The racial tension surrounding the controversy led to the arrests of several people under the Internal Security Act, including a reporter and an opposition lawmaker.

In the effort to assuage concerns raised over the issue, the government said it was mulling a special race relations legislation and that such a law was the solution to rising racial tension.