Unity council to be consultative council for people’s harmony
KUALA LUMPUR: The National Unity Consultative Council is to be rebranded as the Consultative Council for People’s Harmony as part of the efforts to enhance racial harmony in the country, the Dewan Negara was told yesterday.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator P Waytha Moorthy said members of the council would be appointed for the 2018-2020 two-year term and the council would focus on efforts to enhance and strengthen unity among the people.
“The absence of specific laws pertaining to race and racial discrimination does not mean that efforts to foster unity are neglected. The efforts will continue to be intensified,” he said in reply to a question from senator Chandra Mohan S Thambirajah on the efforts of the government to maintain racial unity and harmony.
Waytha Moorthy said the government would also draw up a National Unity Action Plan through the collaboration of the National Unity and Integration Department with individual consultants from the Institute of Ethnic Studies of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
The plan would become the yardstick to gauge the effectiveness of national unity activities and programmes carried out by the government departments and agencies, he said.
Responding to a question from Senator Datuk Zahari Sarip, on whether the government intended to introduce a new subject in primary schools to enhance unity among the people, Waytha Moorthy said the proposal was being looked into and awaiting a Cabinet decision. — Bernama