No Harmony Commission after all: Putrajaya to lean on existing unity bodies, says minister

Putrajaya has decided against establishing a new National Harmony Commission, opting instead to bolster existing structures for managing social harmony, such as the Department of National Unity and National Integration, the Rukun Tetangga communities, and community mediators.

This decision, made after consultations with various stakeholders, aims to avoid redundancy and costs associated with a new entity.

The move reflects discussions at the National Unity Advisory Council's 2026 meeting and responds to concerns about overlapping functions with existing agencies.

This decision reverses earlier government plans to revive the commission amid concerns over unity issues.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — Putrajaya has dropped its plan to set up a National Harmony Commission as a new body, National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang said.

Instead, the National Unity Ministry will focus on strengthening existing institutions to manage social harmony, namely the Department of National Unity and National Integration, the Rukun Tetangga neighbourhood communities and community mediators.

In a written parliamentary reply, he said the decision was made after the ministry held two engagement sessions with civil society groups, government agencies, academics, community leaders and other stakeholders.

He said the sessions assessed the need for the commission as well as its scope, implications, challenges and feasibility.

He said the ministry decided against a new entity after weighing stakeholders’ views and conducting further review, in line with what was discussed and decided at the National Unity Advisory Council’s first meeting of 2026.

“This approach can also avoid overlapping functions and the cost of setting up a new entity,” he said.

He said the ministry would instead draw on structures and networks already built by the department, from the Rukun Tetangga communities and community mediators to other initiatives and unity officers at state and district levels.

Aaron was responding to Batu Gajah MP V. Sivakumar who asked the minister to state the status and timeline of the commission, its proposed enforcement powers, and assurance that it would not overlap with existing agencies in addressing discrimination and racial tension.

In April, local media reported that the federal government had revived the plan for the commission, with the ministry backing the new proposal amid growing concern over unity issues.

The proposal followed a recommendation by activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, and built on efforts dating back to 2015, when the advisory council drafted three Bills.

The Bills covered racial and religious hate offences, national harmony and reconciliation, and the setting up of a commission.

In 2019, the government then rejected two of the Bills because they overlapped with existing laws and provisions of the Federal Constitution, including Article 8 on non-discrimination.

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布城决定不成立新的国家和谐委员会，而是选择加强现有的社会和谐管理机构，例如国家团结和国家融合部、社区和谐原则和社区调解员。

该决定是在与各利益相关方协商后做出的，旨在避免因成立新实体而造成的冗余和相关成本。

此举反映了国家团结咨询委员会 2026 年会议上的讨论，并回应了有关与现有机构职能重叠的担忧。

这项决定推翻了政府早前因担心团结问题而重启该委员会的计划。

吉隆坡，10月7日讯——国家团结部长拿督亚伦·阿戈·达甘表示，布城已放弃成立国家和谐委员会这一新机构的计划。

相反，国家团结部将着重加强现有机构以管理社会和谐，即国家团结和国家融合部、Rukun Tetangga 邻里社区和社区调解员。

他在一份书面议会答复中表示，该决定是在该部与民间社会团体、政府机构、学者、社区领袖和其他利益相关者举行了两次磋商会议后做出的。

他说，会议评估了成立该委员会的必要性、范围、影响、挑战和可行性。

他表示，该部在权衡了利益相关者的意见并进行了进一步审查后，决定不成立新的实体，这与国家团结咨询委员会在 2026 年第一次会议上讨论和决定的内容一致。

“这种方法还可以避免功能重叠和设立新实体的成本，”他说。

他表示，该部将转而利用该部门已经建立的组织和网络，从 Rukun Tetangga 社区和社区调解员到州和地区级的其他倡议和团结官员。

亚伦是在回应峇都加惹国会议员V. Sivakumar的提问，后者要求部长说明该委员会的现状和时间表、其拟议的执法权力，并保证该委员会在处理歧视和种族紧张局势方面不会与现有机构重叠。

今年 4 月，当地媒体报道称，联邦政府已重启成立该委员会的计划，在对团结问题的日益关注下，该部也支持这项新提案。

该提案是根据活动家丹斯里李霖泰的建议提出的，并建立在2015年咨询委员会起草的三项法案的基础上。

这些法案涵盖了种族和宗教仇恨犯罪、国家和谐与和解以及设立委员会等内容。

2019 年，政府驳回了其中两项法案，因为它们与现行法律和联邦宪法条款（包括关于非歧视的第 8 条）重叠。

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不警告，只逮捕：市长表示，吉隆坡市政局就是这样处理停车拉客者的。

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