The days are daunting

The haze a grim reminder

The failure of the governor

The crux of the matter

The murder of Altantuya

The state of corruption

The kidnapped victims

The botched investigations

The town is painted red

The public scandals galore

The fires of change burn

The nation is in uproar

So tell me what's going on?

If Malaysians see red at the lawlessness on rampage in their country, they know why. How can the naked acts of aggressiveness and the vile language of vulgar racism be consistent with the celebration of Malaysia Day?

How can those who act like bullies hold a nation to ransom? How can treachery hijack a nation's auspicious day? How can leaders be so naive, duplicitous or complicit?

Blood if spilt, limb if broken, property if damaged by lawless 'red shirts' will be on the head, shoulders and hands of the government.

Let us hope it is all bark and no bite and the most vociferous displays of vain political posturing will pass like a harmless evening tropical thunderstorm.

The government is responsible for maintaining law and order and public safety and can't afford to be seen as helpless when violent hooligans overrun the policemen performing their duties.

The death of a woman in an accident is no grounds for a mob to attack an innocent bystander or the motorist doing the right thing. Lawlessness and beating up motorists is the work of criminals running amok.

News that shops have to close on Malaysia Day and that groups of NGO's will position themselves at strategic locations to keep the public safe leaves one ambivalent. If anything untoward happens to anyone, the government and the police will ultimately be held accountable.

Prevention is better than cure. Unlike Bersih 4, there is an underlying aggression, a sinister motive, in the counter-event and the police must know that because everyone else does.

When wrongdoers are not stopped,they will be emboldened to do more wrongs. The police can't say they have not been warned and cannot treat those who act like thugs and threaten or harm people with kids' gloves.

Why do law-abiding citizens have to put their own safety at risk when it is the job of the government and the police to keep the public safe and allay their fears?

But there is a positive side

But there is a positive side. It is not a racial conflict, but conspiracy to create chaos. Everyone knows that and that is why May 13 will not recur because there are Malays standing up to defend the Chinese.

The Chinese must also stand up in solidarity with the Malays and this was demonstrated during Bersih 4. One has to be blind or deny the truth not to have noticed the countless Malays walking alongside their non-Malay counterparts. The figure was high and one source quoted 100,000.

The Malays and Chinese are one and always will be - all who love their nation and love one another.

Bersih 4 was a global event of the rakyat, for the rakyat and by the rakyat. It was momentous event and the genesis of the new spirit of the nation when Malaysians from all walks of life and from all races come together in a spontaneous and unified show of common protest against corrupt governance and a scandalised leader.

It remains the country's most solid and convincing proof of the spirit and aspirations of all Malaysians. No other event shares that honour, not in nature or in magnitude.

The countervailing anti-Bersih 4 demonstration is a vain pursuit. If at all it occurs it will be a Pyrrhic victory, for what good will it do for a country built on the ideals of nationhood - one law, one people - to celebrate the rise of communalism and racialism?

In fact, some think it is absolutely unpatriotic and treacherous for those who advocate any other doctrine than a 'Malaysia first' concept. Even former Umno minister, 'Iron Lady' Rafidah Aziz, has been outspoken in upholding the same idea.

Those who promote disunity sin against God

Moreover, many Christians and Muslims believe those who promote race and racial disunity sin against God, who teaches us to accept one another of diverse races.

There is no racial conflict, no racial animosity, no recurrence of May 13 but only the conspiracy. The conspirators, the cowards and the corrupt are out to create trouble. They will be exposed, shamed and sent into political oblivion when the rakyat decide enough is enough and demand the return of their nation under good and clean governors.

When evil triumphs no one is safe. Not the whistleblower, not the honest policeman, not the incorruptible judge, not the decent Umno member, not the G25, not an outspoken Mahathir et al.

The tsunami of abuses of power, lies and incitement to hatred and riot will overwhelm the country, but its power wll be short-lived and will run its brief and short course and die a natural death.

The fires of hatred will burn, but only in the hearts and minds of the self-condemned.

When all settles, in time the rakyat will reclaim what they have lost. Justice will punish the corrupt and flow like a river. The corrupt will be brought to judgement and shamed. The wicked and violent will reap what they sow. And all the cowards and conniving will go into hiding but they will not escape their ultimate judgment and punishment.

I urge those in the silat group to rein in their delinquent brothers who are led astray and betray and break the vows of the silat creed. True silat warriors do not use their learned skills for evil but for good, like all decent and principled practitioners of martial arts. They do not brag about their physical prowess and use them to cow anyone. In fact they are humble and humility is a cultivated virtue among followers.

This is the silat practitioner's three vows and creed:

  • I am an individual with a noble mind and character.
  • I am a person who honours his fellow man and seeks in silence for friendship and peace.
  • I am a knight who upholds truth honesty and justice always resilient in facing life’s toughest situations and temptations. I am a silat player.

Things get from bad to worse. A dirge is a sorrowful song people usually sing at someone's death. Right now many Malaysians are singing a dirge for their country. But Bersih 4 has proven a new day will dawn. And the corrupt will be no more.

A good and worthy leader will save his country and make personal sacrifices. A bad and unworthy leader will destroy his country and make the rakyat pay and make the sacrifice. There is an old story about King Solomon that confirmed his renowned wisdom when judging a case of two disputing women who claimed the baby in a tussle belonged to them.

To discover the real mother King Solomon suggested the baby be cut up into two halves and be shared between the two arguing women. The thieving woman agreed. But the real mother cried in horror and was prepared to surrender the baby to the other. Guess who the real mother was and who King Solomon gave the baby to? The baby stealer was shamed.

Any leader who is not only prepared to see his country split by racist subversion but conspires to incite to hatred and fuels the flames of ethnic unrest is like the thieving mother who thought she had nothing to lose if the baby is destroyed.

The traitor will destroy his nation to save his own skin and like a psychopathic emperor, have the city burn while he fiddles and casts the blame on the innocent.

The world will see red at a leader's treachery.

STEVE OH is the author of the novel ‘Tiger King of the Golden Jungle’ and composer of the musical of the same title. He believes in good governance and morally upright leaders.