ALOR STAR: Parti Amanah Negara (PAN) today proposed to table a Private Member's Bill to address hate crimes based on race and religion.
The party also proposed to table two other private bills on racial equality and national harmony during Dewan Rakyat meeting, which starts tomorrow.
PAN delegates passed a motion to table the three bills at the end of their party’s national convention here.
PAN vice-president Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusuf Rawa said a law was crucial to take action against anyone who instigated racial and religious hatred among the people.
“Anyone who instigates racial or religious hatred can be considered as committing a crime and any attempt to disturb racial harmony should he handled proactively,” he said.
The bills - the Criminal Hatred of Race and Religious Bill, Equality Bill and National Harmony Bill - were unanimously passed by the 898 delegates at the convention.
Mujahid, who tabled the motion, said the bills were designed to complement existing laws such as the Sedition Act, Penal Code and Multimedia Act.
"The existing laws are very broad and do not specifically address issues concerning hate crimes, so we wish to propose specific bills on this," he said after the winding-up speech by PAN president Mohamad Sabu.
Mujahid said under the Criminal Hatred of Race and Religious Bill, it was proposed that a person who committed the offence be punished up to seven years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of RM20,000 upon conviction.
He said the Equality Bill was proposed to be an anti-discrimination law based on the spirit of Article 8 of the Federal Constitution, which spells out that no citizen should be discriminated against based on race, religion, colour, disability.
"This bill is designed to weed out racial and religious discrimination, such as when a person is denied a job because of his race or religion."
"However, there is some exemption for jobs which are inherently religious such as an imam as this is only reserved for Muslims," he added.
As for the National Harmony Bill, Mujahid said he proposed for the setting up of a National Harmony Commission as a proactive measure in handling sensitive issues concerning race and religion.
Citing an example on the recent incidents involving Muslim-only launderette services, he said the matter could be handled by the proposed commission through consultation, instead of pressing criminal charges against the parties concerned.
Mujahid said he had submitted the bills to the Parliament secretary early last month and hoped they could be tabled in the current Parliament session.