The recent pronouncement by Chan Kong Choy in the Star newspaper that the Chinese community in PAS-controlled East Coast states often experience difficulties conducting business, and in maintaining their traditions and cultural practices is pure racial and ethnic scare-mongering at its worst.

His pronouncements appeared in the Star two days ago, and appeared to suggest that the Chinese are leaving these two East Coast states to live elsewhere. It is revealing that these pronouncements appeared soon after PAS started a unique initiative to get more Chinese Malaysian tourists to visit the two East Coast states.

When PAS encourages non-Muslim Malaysians to see with their own eyes life in Kelantan and Terengganu, BN-MCA tries to belittle their efforts.

This open invitation to all Chinese Malaysians by PAS is revealing.

It shows that PAS has nothing to hide where race relations, clean government, and inter-cultural and inter-faith tolerance is concerned. It shows that PAS believes these non-Muslim tourists will be suitably impressed. It shows that PAS wants non-Muslims to interact with other non-Muslims as well as Muslims in Kelantan and Terengganu to find out the truth for themselves.

The bold attempt by PAS, a major Malay political party in Malaysia at inter-racial, inter-cultural and inter-faith bridge-building is to be applauded. Unfortunately and predictably BN has responded in the way that it knows best - that is, by playing to the fears and prejudices of its ethnic constituents.

In short, the MCA with tacit consent and approval of Umno tries to demonise PAS in the eyes of the Chinese community.

This smear campaign by the MCA is no different from what Umno does when it demonises the Chinese Malaysian community as foreign economic, cultural, linguistic and racial threats in the eyes of the ethnic Malay community come every election time.

I have had nothing but contempt in the past for any politician as unscrupulous and as malicious as to want to demonise me in the eyes of the dominant ethnic Malay community. In equal measure, I have nothing but contempt for any Chinese politician in the present who tries to demonise East Coast Malays in the eyes of the Malaysian Chinese community. It is ethnic and racial politicking at its most crude and immoral.

I say let everyone visit the East Coast states to see for themselves life as it is lived under a PAS-led government before casting their votes.

As a Klang Valley resident, I have nevertheless had the opportunity to visit the East Coast towns and islands on holidays, and have always had great food, great hospitality, and a good time. Regardless of how individual tourists wish to vote come election time, at least they will be able to see with their own eyes instead of relying on our selfish crony racial politicians to interpret reality for us.

I have many reservations about living in any proposed theocratic state. Nevertheless I respect PAS for their efforts at inter-ethnic bridge-building. I regret to say that nothing has changed in Malaysia where BN, Umno and MCA is concerned.

I am still waiting for the day when the rakyat will be adequately protected from our unscrupulous racial politicians.