Right now, many Malaysians are swirling in the throes of sweeping political change that is happening at an unprecedented speed in West Malaysia where the delicate balance of power is tipped almost every other day.

Court suits are filed at breakneck speed as though the end of the world is at hand, threats come in all forms and manner, intrigue intensifies at a greater dramatic intensity than any Korean drama and even the royalty is not spared in this tussle for power as the pawns of various power houses propel themselves to the forefront to see who can win the race.

The past one year or so has seen ethnicity been manipulated by some Malaysian public figures for their own gain to the detriment of the masses. Even agents of socialisation and social control such as the mass media, the judiciary and the police force are embroiled in controversy after controversy.

When surfing the Net, the ordinary layperson can reel in shock at the intensity of sentiments expressed, predominantly negative ones of course and one wonders when and how this will all end. In the first place, how did it begin?

Its origin can be traced to colonialist times and the polarised conditions that were never really put to an end but instead, were buried in lies, denial, cosmetic policies, myths, pseudo-harmony, farcical and fallacious theories, rhetorical speeches and to a certain extent, a Machiavellian hand that controlled many other almost robotised hands.

Despite what some theorists may proclaim, Malaysia is not a model of multi-culturalism and the current state of governance or lack of it shows that the colonialist divide and rule policy that has been perpetuated under the veneer of a certain policy with a more people-friendly name (which of course, led to cronyism and corruption).

This has left the people swooning as the shock of the actual state of affairs unfolding before their very eyes in the midst of an economic downturn is more than the layperson can bear to see, hear or even dream of in their entire lifetime. The hard truth which is most difficult to accept is that for over five decades, ethnicity has been officially institutionalised and the people have been living peacefully together but in a polarised state.

However, do those in power want to admit this? Are they willing to change the tide of events and listen to the rakyat and in particular, to the ballot box?

Is it not tragic that such a situation exists in a country which has been independent for almost 51 years? For a long time, the voices of discontent have been getting louder but the louder they became, the greater the pressure to conform, to accept and to stop questioning issues of integrity, accountability and even the nobility.

On one hand, one group could declare that everything is alright, we are all one happy family and then suddenly, out of the blue, after a series of unfortunate incidents, propose a Race Relations Act which goes against all their proclamations of self-righteousness. Why is there the need formulate such act after having achieved 51 years of independence?

Such a preposterous proposal would probably make us the laughing stock of the community- worldwide as it is indirectly a public proclamation of the failure to govern race relations despite the existence of various policies and bodies which were meant to instill unity among Malaysians of all races and religions.

I am not going to discuss what is happening in the country at the moment because cyberspace is filled to the brim with such discourses. What I want to do is to ask people to think about is why such a depressing situation has happened. For the past few years, what has the government done to foster integration and unity?

Maybe I should rephrase my question. What has been said or done by certain powerful and influential people that has undermined harmony, integration and unity? Is it the masses who have uttered racist remarks or is it the leaders? Why is there so much intrigue in the air?

With the current situation, I am concerned about the following issues:

  • What are our leaders doing to defuse the situation? Can they refrain from exacerbating matters by not making so many statements that could create more animosity?

  • Leaders must go down to the masses and explain why this is happening (the truth please, thanks,) instead of some residing in the ivory towers.

  • Those in power must refrain and rebuke certain leaders from making racist remarks that have worsened the situation.

  • Can leaders please study the law and constitution carefully, to keep to it to ensure that the leaders uphold the law and are fair to the citizens?

  • Can the government take steps to ensure that democratic principles are upheld in our country?

  • Can the authorities concerned direct the country's monetary resources in the right direction to help the rakyat in tangible ways, especially during such bad times?

  • Can leaders of the various groups in conflict meet and mediate objectively to help all parties who are in conflict with one another reach an agreement that is favourable to the rakyat so that our country can live in harmony, unity and prosperity?

  • Can our government take firm steps to reject and remove the destructive nature of communal politics so that issues of class versus race and race-based communal politics will be put aside forever and never again be manipulated by selfish persons?

  • Can the leaders of this country ensure that they do not wash dirty linen in public and that watch-dog organisations do not do the bidding of a few persons but serve the rakyat ?

  • Can there be fairness in investigations of those people who have abused their seats of power in the past and also those who have allegedly done the same in the present? Can the authorities concerned be fair and refrain from public disclosure on the findings of any investigation before prosecution begins?

  • Why is there a need to sue this person and counter-sue etc? It is indeed very bad publicity for our country. What can be done to ensure that the courts attend to more important and pertinent cases?

  • Are truth, justice, integrity, morality, equality, accountability etc, so difficult to maintain in our country? Surely not. Or is it?

    • The list is endless which means that a lot has to be done at this point of time to build our nation and to reduce whatever damage that has taken place. What is important is the well-being of people of this nation which should supercede the need to maintain the status quo.

    The time has come for our citizens to pray, to intercede for this nation to be steered out of this depressing scenario and I earnestly pray that the light will shine soon at the end of this dark tunnel.