In any democracy, the fact that thousands of people are denied a national identity card and hence be unable to vote in an election will be nothing but a gross violation of human rights.

Not so in Malaysia, a developed nation wannabe.

In Sarawak, the Penans have been facing practically insurmountable hurdles in getting a Malaysian ID card. To apply for one can cost one as much as RM300 - a hefty sum for the poverty-stricken indigenous people - and the money only ends up in the deep pocket of the corrupt official who will in turn do nothing about the issue.

I am not talking about migrant communities in the peninsula or the street children in Sabah, whose identity cannot be easily verified without a tumultuous process. The Penans are native to the Land of the Hornbills and have been living there for centuries, long before the Brookes set foot on the soil and the politicians who are now engaged in the fiercest state election ever.

One Penan man interviewed by Survival International - a non-governmental organisation working for tribal rights worldwide - expressed deep sorrow that it had always been a futile attempt to apply for a Malaysian ID card, and he had no clue why this was so. His plight reminds me of the Rohingya who are persistently denied citizenship by the military junta in Burma.

The Malaysian government may rebut the allegation by accusing Survival International of being a stooge of a ‘western conspiracy’, and explain that logistical complications often make it a daunting task to penetrate the interiors in the vastest state.

However, one must not forget Malaysia has been able to build the tallest and the longest structures that make the eyes of many developing countries green with envy, even having sent an astronaut into space, courtesy of Russia.

Furthermore, come election, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu and its free-rider the Sarawak United People’s Party suddenly find the magical tools to take them to even the innermost areas to dish out goodies and cash while fishing for vote.

Logistics obviously is not an issue, and the widespread deprivation of Malaysian ID to the Penans only proves one thing: these people are least likely to vote for Barisan Nasional given that their land has been taken away to build the gigantic Bakun dam and to make way for other ‘development’.

Carrot-and-stick approach

BN has been able to maintain its rule for this long thanks to its carrot-and-stick approach that has worked time and time again. As of today, 20,000 or more Indians who were born in Malaysia to Malaysian parents are still denied citizenship, as highlighted by a good many Indian NGOs over the years. This is a well-known reality within the Indian community and one reason that turned Indian voters against BN in the last general election.

Still, all that the MIC can own up to is that ‘at least 4,000 Indians’ are made stateless due to the lack of a legal document in Malaysia. Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam has been avoiding the tricky issue for as long as he can, but he knows full well he cannot dodge it forever.

BN has therefore been putting on cosmetic changes in the hope of arresting the declining support among the Indians. Based on the results of the several ‘buy-elections’ recently, I am surprised this tactic has again been effective!

Meanwhile, Umno in the 1990s was generous enough to hand out ID cards to migrants of Muslim origin under a programme called Project M in Sabah.

The objective was to increase the Muslim population in the multi-racial, multi-religious state with a view to altering the demographic pattern there to make it more favourable to the ruling government in light of the then hugely influential Parti Bersatu Sabah, largely made up of Christian Kadazandusun members.

Through this electoral engineering, Dr Mahathir Mohamad together with - ironically - Anwar Ibrahim - was incredulously successful in introducing the racist politics of the peninsula to Sabah, and the Sabahans still suffer from the consequences from the plot.

Let me make it clear: unlike other non-Muslims, I have no problem if Malaysia continues to extend citizenship to Muslims from other parts of the world. But the government must ensure its nationality policy is implemented regardless of religion and ethnicity, rather than being exploited as a mechanism for political gains.

Absence of transparency

What I am deadly against is the absence of transparency in a process that is imbued with irregularities and injustices which has been victimising the non-Muslims, especially the indigenous peoples and the Indians in Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula. If Umno and its cohorts are so desirous of being perceived as upright, they must do their utmost to prove that this is the case. Playing ethnic/ religious communities against each other can never be just and religious.

Abdul Taib Mahmud, Mahathir Mohamad and Najib Abdul Razak have indeed their shares of achievements and failures, but their adherence to racist politics and refusal to tackle corruption root-and-branch will eventually bring the country down with their decadent regimes. One may thank them for the bowl of rice that they have ‘provided’, but let's not forget millions of people have become worse off or even marginalised consequent to their unjust rule.

For this alone, I cannot but again call on the people of Sarawak to send out a strong and clear message by voting against BN so that we may begin to see the ray of hope for national reconciliation. However dim the ray may be, it is still brighter than the bottomless darkness that we now find ourselves in.

JOSH HONG studied politics at London Metropolitan University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A keen watcher of domestic and international politics, he longs for a day when Malaysians will learn and master the art of self-mockery, and enjoy life to the full in spite of politicians.