50 years ago, we were promised democracy. We were promised justice. We were promised equality. We were promised to be treated with human dignity. We were promised freedom.
In 1963, we became Malaysians and the notion of a Bangsa Malaysia was born. This was given form and substance by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his Vision 2020 that set out 9 challenges for Malaysians to achieve a developed country.
No mention is made of Bangsa Malaysia by the Abdullah administration. Is the concept of Bangsa Malaysia still important or relevant in the light of failed promises in our original social contract?
The DAP is holding a Dialogue in conjuction with the 50th Merdeka Anniversary celebrations this coming weekend.
Date: 19 August 2007 (Sunday)
Time: 2.00pm
Venue: Crystal Crown Hotel, Petaling Jaya
The panel of distinguished speakers include:
*Tunku Abdul Aziz, former President, Transparency International Malaysia
*Datuk Param Cumuraswamy, former Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, United Nations
*Yeo Yang Poh, former Malaysian Bar Council Chairman
*Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Opposition Leader
*Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General
Following the session, a dialogue will be conducted with the participants hosted by another distinguished panel (subject to change):
M Manogar, President, Malaysian Tamil Education & Research Foundation
Haris Ibrahim, Human Rights Lawyer
Jeff Ooi, Prominent Malaysian Blogger
Oh Ei-Sun, East Malaysian Socio-Political Analyst
To ensure sufficient seats allocation, please register in advance with Lim Swee Kuan (03) 79578022 or via email at limsweekuan(at)gmail.com.