Why does the BN government fear Keadilan so much? Why does it think that its massive daily use of national television and the newspapers will be no match to a mere party organ like Suara Keadilan that it has to suppress it by not giving it the long-requested permit?

Surely it is not about Anwar Ibrahim, is it? After all, BN leaders have come out with many pronouncements that Anwar is no longer relevant. Or don't they believe their own words?

Is it because they see Keadilan as the first truly multi-racial and multi-religious political party in Malaysia, with its attendant widespread appeal to the non-Malays as well as the Malays? In the BN, the various races interact and communicate only at the leadership level. Even then it is mainly to agree on how to divide the cake.

The grassroots do not mix or talk to each other. Multi-racialism is a mere political slogan in their case. In Keadilan, on the other hand, all racial and religious groups talk and work together at all levels, from the top leadership down to the branch levels, in struggling for justice for all. It provides the first demonstrations of the workings of real multi-racial politics. And this is feared because it is something new in Malaysia.