COMMENT | Imagine this. On May 10, 2018, the largest political party governing Malaysia will be a multiracial party. This has never happened before.

In GE14, Bersatu will contest 52 peninsula seats, PKR 51, DAP 35, and Amanah 27. While Bersatu will be contesting the largest number, most of their seats are tough seats at Umno strongholds.

And while PKR has one seat fewer than Bersatu, most of its seats are highly winnable marginal seats. This means that when the tsunami hits the shore, PKR may be the first and biggest beneficiary. Thus, in all likelihood, PKR will be the largest political party to govern the country.

This is a big deal. Because the dream all Malaysians have longed for – a truly multiracial society where all races can see beyond colour – might finally come true.

One of the biggest reasons for racial polarisation in our country is because our politics mainly revolve around single-race political parties.

From the very beginning, Umno, MCA, and MIC were given guardianship and protectorate roles for their respective racial communities.

All political parties have to cater for their own members first. Without the goodwill and reciprocity of their leaders, race-based compromises are hard to come by. Even with goodwill, necessary compromises will be viewed as ‘betrayal of their race’. This is a broken model...