I refer to the my previous letter Don't be naive, race-based politics here to stay .

The current issues concerning conversions to Islam and the validity of the act - as far as the religious authority is concerned - only serves to highlight again my point that the formidable forces of political Islam will likely dominate our volatile political landscape for a long while.

What do Pakatan Rakyat in general and Anwar Ibrahim in particular have in store to remedy such ‘injustices’ if I may be allowed to be presumptuous in thinking that they intend to find a solution to these matters that affect us all?

As long as the status quo remains, we Malaysians will continue to be plagued by stories such as Banggarma, Indira Gandhi, Lina Joy, et. al. The absence of any clear legal framework that oversees the courts in hearing conversion cases and the related grievances is not so much the inability of the powers that be to institute such a system, but the blatant refusal to do so.

The question is, can Pakatan - or Anwar for that matter - really put to rest such issues for good, if they/he really want to? One must not forget the forces that come into play with regards to political expediency and appeasement - the fault lines that will cause the schism between secular DAP and the pro-Shariah PAS with PKR oscillating in between - as far as the opposition is concerned.

Some may believe that it is only incumbent for any Muslim to want to pursue Islamic statehood as part and parcel of the faith but to date, not one single model has been cited as the gold standard of this concept while various scholars continue to debate and interpret ad nauseam the true essence of an Islamic state.

The concept of an Islamic statehood remains an abstract highly susceptible to political manipulation and maneuvering as is being played out by all governments that claim to be ‘Islamic states’.

The writer who, in response to my previous letter, stated categorically that I did not offer any solutions to the issues at hand. Any reader should first note that my letter was not intended to ‘offer any solutions’, real or imaginary to our predicament. It is simply a reality check.

A reality check to remind Malaysians that we do have a long and treacherous road ahead towards achieving that Malaysia that we supposedly clamour for. It was also a sobering reminder to not over-celebrate the political ‘tsunami’ of March 8, 2008 as a triumph over race-based politics that are perpetuated by BN.

I say don’t over-celebrate given the lack of strategy, planning and tangible action on the part of Pakatan Rakyat or any of its components to eradicate race-based politics back then and even today. May I humbly ask you what are your solutions?

It did appear that I was lionising Dr Mahathir Mohamad in citing his rise to power and his maverick-like methods in steering his ship through uncharted waters but that was simply an objective analysis that describes and rationalises the power play of Malaysian politics. Nothing in the letter stated that it was all justified.

To draw parallels to Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa is simply barking up the wrong tree. If anything, the stories of Adolf Hitler and South Africa only serve to underscore my points that racialist politics is a very powerful and effective tool in the consolidation of power and the engineering of political leadership.

This as evidenced by the meteoric rise of Mahathir and the sad fall of Onn Ja'afar. DOnn was a true Malay gentleman who embraced multi-culturalism and was faithfully followed by any and all who shared his pluralistic vision of a truly united Malaya.

He was also a man before his time but his policies were unacceptable to many who claimed to be ‘champions’ of their race/religion/mother-tongue. The rest is history.

One should also realise that as long as the arbitrarily established principles of political Islam remain the staple of our statehood, Umno will continue to maintain control of power and hence continue to hold us all to ransom, irrespective of race or religion.

Once again, allow me to stress that the political tsunami of March 8, 2008 was nothing more than a power shift that only resulted in the creation of a viable two-party system and that is nevertheless a desired outcome. But the politics of race and religion continues to proliferate and rear its ugly head, even in the form of opposition members bickering among themselves.

Is Pakatan Rakyat genuinely serious on pursuing pluralism/ ecumenicalism while nonetheless respecting Islam as the ‘religion of the federation’ assuming that such an arrangement is in the best interests of the majority of Malaysians?

It is well known that DAP had been aggressively pushing for secularism but has lately toned down their pursuit as a ‘compromise’ in order to form what can be seen as a marriage of convenience with PAS and PKR to battle BN. However, will this remain the fixture of opposition politics?

Compromises may not be the best option but necessary in light of the tussles of realpolitik. However, is this the intended power play that will come to define our national psyche should the opposition rule? Once again my fellow Malaysians, where do we go from here?