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

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.