The Bar Council's forum on ‘Conversion to Islam’ was forced to a premature end by mob-like protests by Islamic groups. It is not the first time such a civil forum had to be abruptly stopped by aggressive and angry protesters, and we have yet to learn from previous experiences.

It is sad that civil dialogue had to be halted because of the unruly behavior of a small group of protesters claiming to be acting in defence of their religion.

All sorts of opinions have been expressed but sadly the whole fiasco goes to indicate that the nation is not ready for such open civilised debates. When we are not ready for debates even on general issues, how can we expect to debate on sensitive racial and religious issues? This can be attributed to the political system that ruled the country for the last 50 years, a system based on race.

As a result, instead of becoming more Malaysian, the people have unfortunately become more Malay, more Indian and more Chinese. In fact this has created a situation where, after 50 years of Merdeka, we now have two nations in one, a Malay and a non-Malay Malaysia, where each group is suspicious of the other.

The various ethnic groups have their own fears to justify their actions aimed to protect their race and religion. The Malays fear that the non-Malays are threatening their special rights and their political dominance. Out of this fear, they resort to measures that over-protect their race and religion which begin to deprive the non-Malays of their dues.

On the other hand, the non-Malays fear that their rights as guaranteed in the federal constitution are ignored by the ruling majority and they genuinely fear for the future of their children. They are not questioning the special privileges of the Malays but questioning why theirs are not honoured.

Both these fears may be justified to a certain extent and the political system must find ways to allay them. It is time for the Malays to accept the non-Malays as rightful citizens and being the majority, the onus is on them to cater for all their needs. At the same time, the non-Malays must accept a Malay-dominant political system. In short, everybody must uphold and abide by the federal constitution that is of paramount importance.

Dialogue is the only peaceful way to overcome the inter-ethnic and inter-religious problems that are inevitable in our country. We must strive to promote dialogue and debate but we have to take into consideration that the Malaysian society is so divided along racial and religious lines and that certain sections of the society are ill-prepared for such open dialogue. Unless the government and people take deliberate steps to allay the fears of each community, such dialogues will never bear fruit.

After years of despair, we are beginning to see signs that things are to change for the better. As responsible citizens who yearn for a united nation, we must not let our selfish racist attitude stand in the way. The March 8 verdict of the people has given new hope. Racist policies are being rejected by all the people, the Malays, Chinese and Indians alike. We have waited 50 years why can't we wait a bit longer? The changes we aspire need to be brought about by evolution - not revolution.

Meanwhile, we must continue to strive for a time when Malaysians of all ethnic groups will be able to accept one another as Malaysians. It may take time, a really long time, to change the mindset of the people to accept one another as Malaysians. We need patience and plenty of goodwill to succeed, which I am sure we will one day. To realise this dream, there is a need for sacrifice on the part of all the races, sacrifice that will one day result in a win-win situation for all.

A lot of goodwill, tolerance, and unselfishness and above all love for fellow men regardless of race and creed is needed for inter-faith dialogue. I am afraid Malaysians in general do not yet adequately possess these very virtues that are propagated by all faiths. Until we do so, inter-faith dialogue remains a just a fanciful term.