As a Malaysian, I am very proud of the courage the voters showed in the 2008 general elections. They dared to do the unthinkable in Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor. If only the BN government had listened to the voices of the people and read Malaysiakini's Letters to the editor and its news coverage daily, the BN-led coalition will not have lost that badly.
The BN-led government has been in state of denial ever since they won the 2004 general elections. During Umno general assemblies, speakers talked about keris-waving related matters to protect their power bases and were not sensitive about the feelings of the Malays, Chinese and Indians.
The mainstream media should take a look at themselves for what they have been reporting to the government all this while and for not keeping track of these winds of change. The BN-led coalition does not listen to the alternative voices for change and reform.
Many promises made by BN in the last general elections were not kept. It is clear that an increasing number of Malaysians are voting for equality, good national governance, justice, economic growth and long-term stability.
I hope that all Malaysians regardless of race will accept these results and move on to build a solid Malaysia built on equality and good governance. Our country will never fail if all Malaysians are treated equally regardless of race, religion, background and sex. I salute Anwar Ibrahim for the courage to talk about equality even though he is Malay.
Malaysians are lucky and we are developing. We have resources, and Malaysians are peace- loving. We will never regress if we uphold equality and justice, and come together to solve problems and enjoy the fruits of our hard work.
What Malaysians need further is to strengthen further our political system so that the system protects the interests of all races and cherishes equality for all regardless of race. I hope that all political parties, after the elections, will now work together to advance further the concept of equality for all Malaysians. Malaysia will grow multiple times if all Malaysians accept the fact that all citizens are equal and no one particular race should be given superior opportunities in education, university places, scholarships, business licences, government jobs, etc.
By all means, the government should help the poor whether they are Malays, Chinese or Indians. No particular race should be given special treatment. Everyone should support equality and a nation that is built upon equality. Every race should be given equal opportunities and no race should be discriminated against.
With sound economic management and their fair share of the economic pie, all races will be included and no race will be left behind. I really hope that all Malaysians will embrace their fellow Malaysians and tell them that we are all equal under the Malaysian sun. Malaysians should work together as one Malaysia and not as Malaysians of different races so that Malaysia can compete well with other countries.
With this kind of solidarity and unity, there is no reason why Malaysians cannot move forward by leaps and bounds. I know of Malaysians, whether they are Malays, Indians or Chinese, who are intelligent, smart and educated. When we all work together as Malaysians and not as Malaysians of different races, nothing can stop Malaysians from achieving enormous successes from our hard work on the world stage.