In response to all the comments on Merdeka and racism, it is incredible to me how so many miss the obvious - it is one thing to the difficulty in eliminating racism, it is another to institutionalise it on purpose.

While history have thought us that it is inherently evil to do so, Malaysia have the distinction of doing it on purpose and then denying it has racist policies.

The difference between unconscious racism and legal legitimacy to discriminate, is that the former indicates human failing, while the latter is human injustice. Ultimately no good can come from legitimising injustice as a means to an end. It's just plain Orwell's 'Animal Farm'.

Contrary to what Shaukat Ali said , there are few places that legitimise racism like the way we do in Malaysia. We are hugely unique in the sense that a minority with less political power is being discriminated against legally.

Nothing in our current laws and constitution guarantees that ultimately everybody will be treated equally. Our founding constitution was flawed from the start with contradictions set by the turbulence of its time.

The intentions of the founders, especially Tunku and his immediate cohorts (and I mean of all races) were idealistic but they failed on the technicality of the constitution.

As a very young man, I personally saw the likes of Tan Siew Sin, backed by Tunku, challenging the likes of Syed Jaafar Albar and Tun Razak about the constitutionality of 'Malay rights' like the New Economic Policy, and hearing the promise of limitation of such rights, only to see their successors reneging on these. Politicians today try to repaint the history of those compromises as "their rights".

Tunku never intended to have any special rights but believed - like other partners in the Alliance - in the special position of the Malays which required intervention. If there was a Malay special right, the MCA and PRM would have sided with PAP, and not just Singapore would have separated from Malaya.

As I watched the parade at Putrajaya, it reminded me of the parades we used to see in China, North Korea and Russia. While it may not be exactly the same, as there were sparks of individualism in some items, but the grand planned buildings, uniforms, the overwhelming celebration of communal symbols and the lack in individualistic floats tells me that our country is only deepening its institutionalising historical lies.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's reluctance to proclaim outright that meritocracy and equality must be held as the ultimate goal is disappointing, despite his retirement. To me, this is the final nail in the coffin of Tunku's dream, rather than a celebration of it.