Indonesia Moves In The Right Direction - Passing Bill Against Racism

Indonesia’s House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill that terms ethnic and racial discrimination as serious crimes.

The House proposed the bill as part of its effort to ratify the International Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination, enacted in 1999.

Under the new law, leaders of public institutions found guilty of adopting discriminatory policies would face jail terms one-third more severe than those stipulated in the Criminal Code.

My Comment:

I am optimistic Malaysia will do the same in the years to come.

But I also hope Malaysia ‘adopts all the cultural progress that Indonesia has been undergoing since the fall of Suharto’.

Indonesia has far stronger anti-racist, anti-fascist credentials than us.

The trouble with Malaysians, too much ‘tidak apa’, I mean apathy.

We can bury our own history and culture, whereas Indonesia preserves it.

Malaysians are a forgetful lot, not Indonesians, not Singaporeans.

Sometimes, I feel future PMs should be advised by Lee Hsien Loong’s grandchildren and Sukarno’s great-grandchildren.