Chapter 1 - Report of the Education and Public Relations Group I. EDUCATION AND PROMOTION DIVISION My great-great-grandmother taught my greatgreat-grandfather how to read at the peril of their lives. They could have been killed for that. Why? Because if a person reads, of course, you will find out that the wrong things being done to you are wrong, that slavery is wrong. You will read opinions. There will be an exchange of ideas, and to maintain slavery you can’t have an exchange of ideas. To maintain any sort of restrictive system, you cannot have an exchange of ideas. James Earl Jones To improve society’s acceptance and practice of human rights, the Education and Promotion Division provides education, training and information. Building on relationships and past efforts, it has strengthened its capacity to extend knowledge among government officials in particular and the community in general. The Division added to its school-based programmes over the year under review, this time involving teachers from Special Schools and Sekolah Agama Rakyat. This is in line with the Commission’s goal to expose all Malaysians to human rights principles from a young age. It continued with events like exhibitions, road shows, workshops and seminars to promote human rights, as well as sustained interaction with government agencies, universities, NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs), National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and United Nations agencies. 18