I refer to the Malaysiakini report Victory in KT will reinvigorate takeover plan .

We have been told that the Chinese are the king-makers in Kuala Terengganu. The BN machinery went into over-drive to emphasise this ‘fact’.

The MCA and presumably Gerakan (albeit on a smaller scale) are out to woo these voters. All they have to do is to win them over and a KT electoral victory is guaranteed for BN.

However, a casual glance at the last election results indicates that the independent candidate got 680 votes and this helped turn the tide against the PAS candidate.

So, it is not surprising that this by-election features an independent candidate as well. This is good as a Malaysian citizen is free to exercise his right to stand for elections.

So what does it really mean when politicians trumpet the idea that the Chinese are the king- makers in a parliamentary constituency that is nearly 90% Malay-Muslim? They are stating the reality that to their minds, ethnicity will carry the day.

They are telling Malaysians that the Malay vote is divided and due to this, the Chinese are the king-makers. One can see how racial politics creates anxiety and fear, dividing this nation into ethnic silos.

For the people of Kuala Terengganu, after this by-election life, will go on as before. They cannot be held to ransom for otherwise they will vote differently in the next general election when the stakes are even higher.

It will be sheer folly for the state government to refuse to improve roads, maintain schools etc, in this capital city. So the people of Terengganu will vote for whomever will best represent their interests at the federal level. They can do this without fear or favour.

What does this by-election mean for the rest of us? It gives an indication at how the prism of race distorts real issues of the day. The campaign for Kuala Terengganu is not about hudud , the divided Malay vote or the Chinese as king-makers.

It should be about good governance, a clearer and more inclusive national agenda and concrete next steps to improve living standards in Malaysia.

The MCA, being a party in the thick of reforms, should campaign thus. It must give clear indications to the people of Kuala Terengganu how electing an Umno parliamentarian will strengthen the BN and better the government.

There are many issues that the MCA can help clarify, particularly those that involve alleged corruption practices, and it must do this convincingly.

For the ruling parties of the BN, this by-election is an indicator of whether Umno and its component parties can still pull in the necessary votes based on their racial platform. If they succeed, the BN might continue to feel that there is nothing wrong with it.

But if the voters decided to vote for the opposition, then the BN must seek to reform more meaningfully. By then, the MCA and the component parties would have painted themselves into a corner as ‘race politics’ fades further.

It remains to be seen if Chinese voters, dubbed the king-makers, continue to make race ‘king’?