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Affirmative action ban heads for ballot in 5 states

(CNN) — Come election time in November, voters in five states might have a decision to make as big as whom to elect president.

Ballot initiatives have been proposed in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma that would give voters the chance to decide whether they want to do away with affirmative action in government-funded projects and public schools.

Ward Connerly, who heads the American Civil Rights Coalition — a nonprofit organization working to end racial and gender preferences — and the main backer of the ballot initiatives, says the 37 word initiative would read: The state shall not discriminate against or grant preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting.

It would forbid any state or local agency or special district from engaging in preferential treatment, Connerly said. Watch what Connerly says about the initiative

Connerly, who is of African-American and American Indian descent, said affirmative action causes resentment. He criticized cases in which a Caucasian student might be denied a college slot in favor of a black student with a lower grade-point average.

It’s foolish not to think that the kid who is turned away is not going to … resent that, Connerly said.

Connerly, who grew up in Leesville, Louisiana, said he experienced oppression because of his skin color during his youth.

If it was wrong when I was born in ‘39 … it’s wrong now, he said. If it was wrong to do it against a brown-skinned man, it’s wrong to do it against a white man.

Shanta Driver, National Director of United for Equality and Affirmative Action Legal Defense Fund — an organization dedicated to integrating minority students in educational institutions — said the ballot initiative is a mistake.

It places us in the position of denying … equal opportunity to blacks and Latinos, she said. Watch Driver explain her position on the initiative

Driver and other affirmative action supporters believe this movement would erase the progress made since the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

It’s obviously a huge step backwards, she said.

The ballot initiative, dubbed the Civil Rights Initiative, has already passed in California, Michigan and Washington.

Some 140,000 signed petitions have been submitted in Oklahoma. Backers in the remaining four states have until late March to early July to collect enough signatures for the initiative to be on the November ballot.

If successful, the ballot measures would cut off tax dollars for programs offering preferential treatment based on gender or race.

The issue may have some support in the Supreme Court.

In June, justices threw out public school choice plans that relied on race. That leaves many states uncertain about whether their affirmative action policies will stand up in court and against political scrutiny in this election year.
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Malaysia polls open amid tensions

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysians voted Saturday in parliamentary elections that could see gains for Malaysia’s opposition amid anger over race and religion among minority Chinese and Indians.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s coalition appeared certain to win the balloting as it has for decades.

However, analysts predicted the opposition would win between 35 and 38 seats in parliament, nearly doubling its 19-seat share of the 289-seat body amid growing disenchantment among ethnic minorities who complain of discrimination.

Abdullah, dressed in a long blue button shirt and accompanied by his wife, was among the first voters to cast ballot in northern Penang state.

We need a change, said R. Munusamy, a 70-year-old ethnic Indian who voted in Kuala Lumpur. We are not happy with what is going on. Watch why the Indian community is angry

A first-time voter, Michael Lim, said corruption remains a problem. They have not taken care of the people. A lot of promises were made, but nothing fulfilled, he said.

Abdullah has been accused of failing to properly manage inflation, crime, corruption and, most importantly, ethnic tensions between the majority Malays and ethnic minorities.

There should be a swing in these seats, said Tricia Yeoh, director of the Center for Public Policy Studies think tank. The Chinese and Indian votes will be the important swing votes.

A reduced majority for the National Front would be seen as a personal rebuke for Abdullah, who has lost much of the goodwill he had when he replaced longtime leader Mahathir Mohamad in 2003.

On Friday, Abdullah met fishermen and visited a mosque in the northern state of Penang, while his deputy, Najib Razak, inaugurated a health clinic and met schoolteachers and senior citizens in eastern Pahang.

Every time you face the election, you get some degree of anxiety because we cannot assume that victory is in our hands, Najib told reporters.

At stake are 222 seats in parliament, along with legislatures in 12 of Malaysia’s 13 states.

Muslim Malays make up 60 percent of Malaysia’s 27 million people and form the bulk of voters for Abdullah’s United Malays National Organization. The party dominates the National Front coalition, which includes Chinese- and Indian-based parties in a power-sharing arrangement that has ensured racial peace in this multiethnic country.

The National Front has won every election since independence in 1957.

Minorities object to a 37-year-old affirmative action program for Malays that continues despite their rising standards of living. The program, instituted after deadly race riots in 1969, gave Malays preference in government jobs, business and education to help them catch up with the wealthier Chinese.

The Chinese and Indians are also angry at a string of court decisions in religious disputes that have gone in favor of Malays, and Indians were infuriated by the demolition of Hindu temples by authorities last year.
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