MALAYSIA - SOS

I run a business that requires a fair amount of travel. I don’t profess to have travelled the whole world sufficiently enough to know which country has the best combination of the weather, political climate, economic conditions and social harmony. What I do know, based on my observations, is that Malaysia is still by far the best country to live in.

Of course, which country does not possess its weaknesses, its failures, and its share of occasional episodes of lunacy? Of late, Malaysia is in the news for all the wrong reasons– the gruesome murder of a foreign citizen; racial understanding being stretched to its breaking point; political intrigues and scandals that would provide Jeffrey Archer with enough bestseller materials; ; and unexplained deaths that basically drained off whatever little faith the average Malaysian still has in Malaysia’s public institutions, namely the police force and the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission.

The perception that that the National Front’s leaders seemed immune to serious allegations against them, while the Opposition are being systematically persecuted for lesser crimes are being reinforced day by day. No one will be surprised if no big names are charged in the PKFZ scandal. Nor will anyone be surprised if nothing come out of the “Correct,correct, correct” judge-fixing allegations. The public has such low faith and trust in the judiciary and especially the ruling political masters that even a not-guilty verdict to a innocent person with connections to BN will simply scream “INJUSTICE!” in the public arena.

MCA; MIC; Gerakan; the major Peninsula-based component parties of BN, have fallen deep into the abyss. The notion that these component parties are nothing more than foot soldiers of UMNO, without any real teeth and are used simply to aim their guns at their Opposition counterparts are not farfetched when their priorities and sensibilities seemed to be terribly muddled. Reports of a former UMNO chief minister’s palatial mansion and his nonchalant explanation of how he can afford it is not being pursued by the component parties, instead they turn their energies to decrying the Penang’s Chief Minister rental of a bungalow. Go figure. Is it no wonder that MCA/Gerakan/MIC is no longer worth even talking about, since it is a virtual certainty they will be wiped out in the next General Election? Superman or not, Ong Tee Keat is steering a ship that is already half sunk; Koh Tsu Koon is captain of a shipwreck; and lets not even bother about MIC.

So the next Election will essentially be UMNO against the “rest of us”. No wonder UMNO is eager to enter into a unity pact with PAS. There lies its strongest chance of hanging to power. But the consequences of the pact, if it does materializes, will only tear apart this increasingly fragile multi-racial country, where even the pretext of power-sharing among all the major races will have shoved for the sake of power preservation, come what costs.

Well, so we have all these troubles. And even more gruelling tests await this nation. But no one in their right mind should want to see chaos. The unfortunate death of a young Chinese political secretary must not be allowed to be politicized. The Opposition, especially DAP, must not paint this as a race-induced death. Neither should the Government treat this tragedy lightly without utmost sensitivity and diligence.

So what is my point exactly? Sure, it all seemed in a mess. Where is the paradise that is Malaysia? But each country has its own troubles and shameful past. Malaysia is successful thus far because of tolerance. I grew up practically knowing only one Prime Minister. In the past 5 years or so we have had 2 different Prime Ministers. Whereas before we have a token Opposition, now we have a strong one who sees federal power as a very real possibility, if not inevitable.

Now is that a sign of political maturity? Of course it is. Democracy works bests when there is real competition for our votes. Therein lies our greatest opportunity to take Malaysia to the next level. But beneath that lies a great danger as well – if we allow those with will stop at nothing to preserve or change the status quo by playing the race card to obtain power, whether they are from the ruling party or the Opposition. If we succumb to racial-based rhetoric, surely this blessed nation will be torn apart at its seams and may take decades to come together again. Then we would have squandered a once in a lifetime opportunity to realise this country’s fullest potential – and instead ignite a dynamite.

So my fellow Malaysians – play smart. Look out those with smart ideas, give them your support. Shun those that appeal to your emotions via fiery rhetoric laced with racial divisiveness. We must not deprive our children of the same opportunities that we have enjoyed, nor should we allow the chance to transform this country to slip us by. Don’t be swayed by the divide-and-conquer tactics of any politicians. At the end of the day, it is up to us, the people, to bring about 1Malaysia.