The former menteri besar of Selangor, Mohd Khir Toyo, has said the Chinese voters are not receptive to the ‘1Malaysia’ concept and the NEM. He shallowly, as reported, goes on to say that rather than (Chinese voters) supporting the power-sharing concept of BN, they are more inclined to increase their political might in Selangor through Pakatan Rakyat.

For starters, let me say that his analysis that only zeroed in on the Chinese electorate is nothing less than flawed, ignorant and shameful. Khir Toyo must not use his brand of racial politics and extrapolate them on the way the rakyat votes. Further, why did Khir single out the Chinese only? How about the Malays and Indians who voted for PKR?

I shall, for the sake of keeping this letter in context, articulate specifically on Khir’s comments on the Chinese. Intrinsically, he refers to the Chinese electorate as if they are not deserving of anything from the BN government. For every school built for them, Khir tells them that they should be grateful for it.

Schools, clinics and roads are the very basic needs of the rakyat . The rakyat should not beg for it and then later told to be grateful for it. It is the government’s duty to provide it. The rakyat asking for it is not like beggars. Let me posit an answer for Khir on why he is no longer and should never be the menteri besar again.

If Khir practiced a rakyat-oriented approach to governance, if Khir prioritised transparency and resisted the temptation of corruption, he would still be menteri besar. Should the above suggestions be practiced, building schools, roads and liberalising sectors in the economy would be automatic without having the electorate make pitiful pleas for it.

The truth for Malaysia is that when it comes to the country’s governance, race will definitely play a part. It is how you deal will it tactfully that matters. The concept of power-sharing in BN is outdated and yet Khir wants voters to accept it out of ‘gratefulness’. Additionally, Khir’s grasp of politics in Malaysia baffles me.

It seems to me that he is telling the electorate what kind of issues they should or should not be concerned about. If he is a true politician Khir would address the electorate’s concerns and not ask the electorate to be concerned about his worries. Khir should do what the rakyat tells him to do. Not the other way around.

From what I see, Khir still harbors hope of being menteri besar again. The platform on which he wants to propel himself back to Shah Alam is through ‘1Malaysia’ hence his half-baked attempt to promote it.

Khir should not be a hypocrite of ‘1Malaysia’ and should go and practice the ‘8 Values’ his party promotes before he tries to preach them to the rakyat . Should Khir do so, he will learn to accept that BN’s ‘1Malaysia’ will allow the rakyat regardless of race to choose who they want to vote for. In choosing who the rakyat wants to vote for, they should not be harassed on why they voted the way they did.

Further, he should also note that he has a lot of baggage from his once-powerful past and is not weighed down by negative preconceived notions. Remember his huge mansion? What can the rakyat look for in him to offer? Asking us for gratitude perhaps?

Politicians like Khir Toyo sum up BN and its warlords. Well-meaning policies, lousy and skewered execution. I am afraid that in the end, if Khir Toyo really aspires to be menteri besar again, he will have to get his own policies sorted out and his party sorted out and offer a vision for the country’s future - not a vision that would take us backwards.