PETALING JAYA, 6 Nov 2009: The public’s response to programmes by Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM) has been more encouraging than from political parties, a SABM core group member said.
Jayanath Appudurai said “grassroots response has been very encouraging” to previous public activities organised by SABM.
However, in a recent attempt to engage political parties on the SABM charter, only representatives from three political parties turned up, out of 22 parties that were invited.
They were PAS, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), and the recently-launched Human Rights Party.
Expressing disappointment, Jayanath, however, said that SABM had a good dialogue with the three political parties. “They have agreed to work with us to promote our charter,” he said in a phone interview today.
The SABM charter was launched on 16 Sept 2009 and upholds the ideals of a constitutional democracy where all citizens are “first and foremost Malaysians”. The movement has been described as “non-partisan”.
Apart from the political parties, SABM has also held dialogue with its partners to promote the charter.
Additionally, SABM is kicking off a nationwide roadshow in Penang on 15 Nov.
“As we gain momentum, we hope the other [political] parties will join in our effort,” Jayanath said.
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Merah Silu says
Well, I just laughed. Who is this guy anyway? If you are very confident as anak Malaysia, you do not ned to inform Malaysians that you are Malaysian too. You need to study the history of this country, and you will realise that the baba and nyonya are well accepted. They behave and run their life as the real citizens of this country. The rest are just with their immigrant mentality, and are not confident enough of their Malaysian identity. […]
Hwa Shi-Hsia says
Merah Silu is missing the whole point. The point is – not to point the finger at one ethnic group or another whether they be bumiputras or descendants of immigrants. The point is that we have real and serious divisions among Malaysians, which are getting in the way of democracy, justice, and social relationships. Hopefully the SABM movement will be another small step forward to better race relations.
koko says
If you are really sincere to be anak Malaysia, abolish Tamil schools la! And Chinese schools too. […]
Gopal Raj Kumar says
If there ever was a naked truth sopken about the embarassment called Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia, it is to be found in the simplistic yet powerful truth of Merah Silu’s comments here.
What a load of hogwash from confused, attention-seeking troublemakers. Anak Bangsa What?