Many, including myself, who are citizens of Malaysia, live under a shroud of fear. If you do not believe this, ask yourselves why you lower your voice when you speak about politics in public places. Why is it that we are so afraid to attend marches or rallies to show that we, the ‘rakyat’, are not happy?

Why are we so afraid to host, attend or participate in opposition politics? This fear is real and has been conditioned in us by those in authority since the ISA crackdown known as ‘Operation Lalang’ in 1987.

This subtle fear which exists in us as Malaysians is a form of oppression. This should not be the norm and I think we have to put those in public office in their places. We, the ‘rakyat’ are the bosses and whether we form the majority or the minority, we are to be respected.

We should not be intimidated by the government’s threat of ISA use. We should be free to attend any event or say whatever we want as long as it is not vulgar or disrespectful to any party. We should not be afraid of losing our businesses or not getting approval for our neighbourhood projects or being harassed by the Special Branch. This is just not the way to live as Malaysians in a country which espouses democracy.

The way out of this is to have a two-party system in Malaysia. We have to allow two strong political parties to exist in Malaysia so that we, the ‘rakyat’ have a choice. In business this is known as a healthy competition which is good for consumers (the ‘rakyat’). We have to allow the opposition to govern and if they are no good, we can remove them at the general elections.

Let us overcome this fear together and fight for the long-needed change in our nation.