Due to the extraordinary circumstances in 2021, the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pusat KOMAS’ national conference took on a new form. We organised the conference in two parts: the first, a virtual conference on Zoom; the second, a hybrid conference in Sheraton Hotel at Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Among the objectives of the conference were to take stock of social cohesion and national harmony in Malaysia, and to engage with stakeholders on racism and its connection with extremism.
The first part of the national conference featured a dialogue with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Religion or Belief, Mr Ahmed Shaheed. Mr Shaheed discussed how racial discrimination acts as a precursor to extremism, and called for the state to respect fundamental rights and freedoms for all, as it must promote inclusivity, cultural, ethnic and religious diversity. He strongly promoted the building of social cohesion as a way to combat extremism.
The second part of the national conference took place at Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya, Selangor on 22 March 2021. We had participants from government officials/civil servants, academics and communities/NGOs joining us both in-person and online. There were two panel discussions – the first one on “Staying Separate, Fomenting Suspicion—A Fractured Nation” and the second one on “Growing Racism Enables Extremism”. All the panellists touched on the importance of the role of individuals in combating racism and extremism. Speaking out against hate speech, having honest conversations about racism among their circles, and always being kind to the other are practicable and necessary actions towards that end.
The panel discussions were interspersed by a breakout session where participants themselves formed groups to discuss strategies to respond to extremist ideologies. By the end of the breakout session, participants identified politicisation of religion and the government’s use of the race trump card as the root of the fracture in Malaysian society. All stakeholders, from individuals to businesses, and government to NGOs, have a role to play. Where state responsibility is concerned, there was agreement on the need for mass education on human rights and inclusivity.
The conference was also accompanied by the announcement of Pusat KOMAS’ maiden virtual run event, Race To Equality, as well as the launch of the Malaysia Racial Discrimination Report 2020.
