I refer to the Malaysiakini report Mahathir a ‘racist’, says Nazri .

It is surprising that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz took almost four decades to realise that Dr Mahathir Mohamad is a racist. Mahathir’s racist thinking and beliefs can be traced back to the days when he provoked and promoted racism through his book titled ‘The Malay Dilemma’.

In that book - which was banned by Tunku Abdul Rahman - he had clearly demonstrated to the world that he is a hardcore racist. But during his premiership, he cleverly and cunningly camouflaged his racist beliefs under a nationalist cloak.

In any case I admire Nazri’s courage in condemning his former boss in the most direct and daring way. He said what most Malaysians - especially those in my age category - think of Mahathir.

Mahathir’s comments on the National Civic Bureau (BTN) training modules are certainly not welcome in multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious Malaysia. The allegations made against BTN warrant serious investigation.

Perhaps the modules might appear alright but not the speakers who might be inclined towards creating racial hatred. There should be a set of codes and rules to check and govern the conduct of the speakers who deliver their ‘sermons’ during the BTN training.

This if at all the government wants to retain these modules. In my view, BTN should be scrapped and sent into the dustbins of history.

Our leaders past, present and future should be mindful that Malaysia is a multi-racial country. Even if fifty percent of the Malaysian population is made up of Malays, the other half is still made up of the other races that make up Malaysia.

Fifty percent of the other half of the population, as it stands now, would amount to more than thirteen million people made up of Chinese, Indians, the natives of Sabah, Sarawak and the other minorities. Collectively, the other half of the population cannot be categorised per se as ‘minorities’.

Bearing this reality in mind, our leaders from both sides of the political divide should aggressively embark on building a nation that will become a role model of a multi-racial country. Instead of harping on racial issues and racist tendencies, they should inculcate patriotism amongst the populace. Every citizen should become patriotic to this beloved nation of ours and not fall prey to racial rhetoric that is destructive.

Every citizen irrespective of their race, religion and creed should stand united to fight and shed blood for this nation and that should be the call of patriotism. Nazri, I salute you for your courage. I hope you could also deliver your message to your cabinet and party colleagues and change their sense of direction towards unifying this nation and not divide it along racial and religious lines.

Racial polarisation and racism should be dismantled and discarded before it becomes a monster. Racism and xenophobia only destroys and we have witnessed this throughout history.

Let us build a nation that is strongly founded on unity, solidarity and patriotism. A nation that can withstand any storm. Let us identify ourselves as patriotic Malaysians. Let everyone under the Malaysian sun have equal rights and opportunities.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s ‘1Malaysia’ concept would remain a mere concept if it is not fully and visibly implemented. The ‘1Malaysia’ concept should not end in failure just like Mahathir’s often-chanted mantra ‘Amanah, Cekap dan Bersih’.

The direction this nation is heading and the ambitious ‘Vision 2020' will end in up tragic failure if basic fundamentals like unity, solidarity and patriotism are not inculcated in the minds of populace.

For this to materialise, racism and racial polarisation in any form should be discarded and this certainly is a prerequisite for a unified Malaysia.