Vince Chew's letter is quite depressing partly because it is true. It is a sorry state of affairs for Malaysia and Chinese Malaysians. However, perhaps I am a stupid optimist who chooses to believe that there is dawning of something of new era for the opposition.

In 1999, when PAS held the position of opposition leader, the nation was not seen to be divided along racial lines. It was perceived to be divided along ideologies and social structure. I, as a Chinese born post-Merdeka, was awakened in 1998 after attending several 'ceramah' by 'reformasi' leaders who spoke about injustices, corruption and racism.

For the first time, I felt the swelling of patriotism in my gut and it was spontaneous. I backed the fight for the freedom of a Malay man who had been wrongly persecuted and jailed.

Then in the last general elections, DAP won back the position of opposition leader and Terengganu fell back into the hands of the BN government. Without realising it, the opposition played right into the hands of the BN politicians who are out to keep this nation racially divided.

This is achieved by reminding the Malays that there is a struggle and that the Malay party needs to be united to maintain its dominance. The non-Malays are always reminded of the social contract agreed to by our forefathers and that we need the other component parties within BN to fight for our cause. Perhaps, Sarawak, too was engineered in such a way.

We have to intentionally build bridges. Whether crooked or straight, the non-bumiputeras of this country must fight alongside our Malay friends for justice, irregardless of race, for the protection of our sacred constitution and for the accountability of the government.

I do not support a political party based on a particular religion but a secular, multiracial party that has its place in Malaysia. From my observation Party Keadilan Rakyat deserves careful attention and analysis of its position and manifesto.