I refer to the Malaysiakini report Mahathir: Race-based politics still relevant .

Dr Mahathir Mohamad laid bare his thoughts about race and politics in the Malaysian context. He insisted that BN's dismal performance was not due to our rejection of race-based politics. It was our dissatisfaction with weak leadership and the increasingly blatant bullying, perceived or otherwise, by a certain race-based party that made us change our minds about the BN.

As usual, this master wordsmith provides only a partial picture. It is true that many voted against a government that was perceived to have failed in its mission to weed our corruption. There was also a lot of dissatisfaction about the way the BN ran the country and how Umno dominates the BN.

All that is water under the bridge and there is no point crying over spilt milk. It is more important to focus on what has happened since March 8. Why is that date considered a watershed moment?

For Mahathir it signifies the failure of the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi government, the lowest ebb in BN's history. Now that Abdullah is resigning in March, a year after the elections, the road to recovery is at hand. All that is needed is strong leadership and the erection of the barricades of race.

Hence the so-called ‘bitter discussion’ about Malay privileges, the appointment of judges etc. Incidentally, Mahathir forgot to mention that these issues were brought up by BN component parties. In Penang, the Umno-Gerakan altercation has not yet resolved itself. We now know how the BN operates.

But there are other developments that have thrown the BN into a conundrum. March 8 showed the country that if we vote in a particular way, we can change the government. A momentum has began that will be very difficult to reverse. The attempts to resort to the ISA have borne more bitter fruits.

The votes, as Mahathir suggested, have shifted to the opposition. It can be re-won if the country reverts to its old way of thinking. Mahathir said that race still matters and it must be managed. The BN has a 50-year track record of managing the races. Moreover, we should not kid ourselves about the opposition. They are just racists in sheep's clothing.

But we all know the real reason why PAS, DAP and PKR are parties dominated by a particular race. This is due to the stranglehold of the BN which institutionalised ethnic differences in the civil service, schools and in almost all spheres of public life.

Non-sectarian political parties are circumscribed and forced to appeal to narrow ethnic demands to secure votes. Not anymore for March 8 broke that grip.

The anti-ISA movement is one example. Bersih is another. Even Hindraf, which began as a Hindu movement, now attracts non-Hindus. The logic of Mahathir's arguments is based upon a deeply embedded cynicism about people and an adversarial complex (someone is always out to get the Malays).

If Hindus are unhappy and take to the streets with a petition, they must be anti-Malay. When Tan Lian Hoe of Gerakan traced the history of the Malays to the islands of Indonesia, she must be challenging Malay rights and privileges.

The reality is quite different from what is imagined. If, as Malaysians, we demand for proper implementation of the NEP, more Malays will be helped. If schools were properly built and if government contracts were given based on merit, more Malaysians will be able to receive a proper education.

If there is a demand that the appointment of judges be more transparent, why must it be perceived as racism? If we want professors to be promoted based on merit, we are not being anti-Malay.A judicial system that is fair and a higher education system that provides the best for all cannot possibly be bad for Malays or anyone else in the country.

Mahathir's biggest mistake is that he still equates criticism of the way Umno and the government do things with being anti-Malay. This is particularly fanciful especially when Umno was never the sole representative of the Malays!

Umno aside, what is more important about March 8 is that it woke us all up to the reality that there is a choice beyond race-based parties. Unlike Mahathir, we should look beyond the present ethnic composition of Pakatan Rakyat.

What really matters is their party constitutions. They can do what Umno, MCA and MIC can never do – they can transform themselves into genuine non-sectarian parties. A powerful enabler of change and minus the cynicism.