Now that nomination day is over and the list of candidates standing for the 12 General Elections is known, it is time to reflect on the stand of certain parties.

In my last letter , I mentioned that Gerakan's fate lies in the selection of the next chief minister. It is now clear that the party agrees that only a Chinese-educated individual can best lead Penang.

This means that the party under the leadership of Dr Koh Tsu Koon has ruled out the eligibility of half of Penang's population. We do not know where certain individuals found the figure that 90 percent of Penang's Chinese population is Chinese-educated. Or that only the Chinese-educated are fit to lead Penang. In a state where nearly all Penangites are Malay-speaking and that has some 47 percent non-Chinese residents such thinking is parochial and racist.

Yet this is the party that actively advocates the concept of ‘Bangsa Malaysia’, calling itself the ‘conscience’ of the BN. Perhaps that was just Dr Lim Keng Yaik and not many else. The party is now at a crossroads. Its dependence on Chinese votes has changed it beyond recognition. It should then be true to itself and merge with the MCA.

Gerakan has a great opportunity in this general election. It could have benefitted from the political landscape with a naturally expanding middle ground. The Malay, Chinese and Indian formula is clearly not working. Hindraf and Bersih are only two extreme products of Malaysia's racially-based political system of governance.

Go to the ground and you see a very different picture. Most Malaysians are not racist by nature. But we are increasingly staying away from each other due to the actions and words of politicians. We are, however ,united in a global consumer culture. There are no malls limited to a single race and urban Malaysians are mostly mall-rats!

It is true that 95 percent of Chinese school-going children are in Chinese-medium schools. That 54 percent of Malaysians are under 24 years of age. Their future, some believe, lies in a resurgent China. But most will never make it in Beijing or Shanghai. By the time they come of age, they will have to compete with native Chinese English speakers. To tie oneself to such a narrow and parochial way of thinking is to ride an old identity.

In Malaysia, by 2020, the Chinese population will at best be only 20 percent. They will form majorities in no state or parliamentary constituencies. Even now, if all the non-Malays voted en block, they cannot hope to form the government. To not partake in the creation of middle-ground non-sectarian politics is to give up a great opportunity to have a stake in Malaysia's political future.

If Gerakan had remained true to its 1968 or even 1974 constitutions, it would have had good prospects of winning support away from non-Malay parties like the MCA and MIC. This election will show that the Indians really have no political future as a single political constituency. That Gerakan did not field a single Indian candidate shows the end of the road for the Indian community in a race-based political landscape.

Under Koh, Gerakan is painting itself into a corner and appealing to a shrinking constituency. But then again, Koh has his roots in the Association of Chinese Educationists. That was the platform that propelled him into politics. His supporters come from that background and now they are demanding some form of payback. If this is the future direction of the party, it cannot hope to hold on to the CM-ship for long. Even if it wins this elections, its fate is sealed.