I refer to the Malaysiakini report Najib: Take Umno-PAS merger step by step .

‘Such a move, he said, should not only contribute to Muslim unity but also national unity as a whole, reflecting the spirit of racial tolerance that Malaysia was known for all this while.’ - Najib

It's not escaped my attention he and his fellow Umnoputeras alike are still using the word ‘tolerance’. Here's what the meaning of ‘tolerance’ carries - a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc, differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.

Now comes the question I always have in my mind. In a country like this, why should I be tolerating other races? Have races, other than mine, done something so disagreeable that I need to ‘tolerate’ them so unbearably?

What has a half-century of race ‘tolerance’ brought us? Well, I leave to your objective minds what we, Malaysians, have been tolerating ever so tirelessly.

Seriously, what are we all tolerating? Tolerance certainly carries a negative connotation, doesn't it? Why not list down the things we have been tolerating so far?

Should we not look at mutual respect? I would think respect for another race and person would be more useful and carries greater weight than tolerance. Hey, I don't tell other races you cannot do this and cannot do that. I would use respect to carry out my actions.

I hold fast to ‘do unto others what you would others do unto you’. This simply means, before you do something, think what is the consequence and whether what you’re doing is something you want others to do unto you. I think before I act.

Furthermore, this way would ultimately find a just and fair solution without me even having to ask for it. I believe the difference is that I think of others, rather than having others forced to succumb to my own liking.

It's not uncommon we always say that we are in the right, and since someone else's opinion, religion, etc (refer to ‘tolerance’ definition) differs from ours, we need to ‘tolerate’ them. For all I care, you can do what you want. Just take a step back and look at what you yourself are doing and how your actions, opinions, and what not, affect other people or races around you.

It's always easier to point the finger at others. Hey, I've been guilty of that sometimes. I admit it. But looking back, there's always one mistake that I kept on repeating in the past. I failed to pull up a huge mirror and look at myself in it.

Then I learnt to make a point to get other people's shoes and wear them. Only when I was in their shoes, could I see the fault lies with me. With this realisation, I no longer pursue something that would be detrimental in my relationship with the people around me.

Unless there is no clear resolution, then it now comes down to agreeing to disagree (tolerance). Something of a give and take. I'm pretty sure you cannot have everything you want.

It's time we become more mature. If you still think that there are no injustices in Malaysia when we go over race-relation issues, then the people of Malaysia might want to try to look at things from a different angle.

Some people say the non-Malays are overstepping boundaries and demanding what's not supposed to be theirs. The economic and opportunity pie doesn't seem to be enough for everyone. It is said the non-Malays can survive on their own and only Malays need the help, therefore they deserve the bigger share of the pie.

Malay unity will ensure that a very large portion of the pie is secured. If race unity is the sole purpose in life, then this beggars the question what is there to be uniting against? Shouldn't it all be about Malaysian unity?

We failed to achieve this after 51 long years. To summarise, only fairness and equality will bring all Malaysians together no matter what their race is. This is where you don't unite under race. On the other hand you would unite under the issue.

This is where Malaysia is not scoring points. You can't make everyone happy all at the same time. I stand by this statement as well.

At the end of the day, at least try to make everyone happy some or most of the time.