Victory attained by violence, the philosopher in Mohandas Gandhi once said, is "tantamount to a defeat, for it is only momentary".

This is what we must keep in our minds when reading about the torching of a church in Desa Melawati.

There is no reason to jump to conclusions about it although our sympathies are with the members of the church concerned. We can only hope that the police will do a thorough investigation.

Naked power like the torching of churches cannot be sustained and if one cannot win the people over with ideas and deeds, one cannot hope to remain in power.

NONE Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. In the case of the burnt church, that reaction may be felt at the ballot box.

There are four compelling reasons why we need to be united as a nation: The environment, the economy, our education system and our children.

As Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said, we are at the cross-roads and we need to be reforming instead of merely being seen to reform. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, the climate is changing.

Runaway consumption

Even those of us who are young can tell that the weather is not the same. Heavy downpours and erratic weather patterns are piling pressure on our infrastructure.

NONE More importantly, runaway consumption has resulted in the depletion of our natural resources and widespread pollution.

We cannot bequeath to a future generation a country that is

beggared because of our actions today.

In terms of the economy, we are in the so-called "middle-income" trap.

No need to explain that our income gap is so wide that only one million Malaysians qualify to pay income tax! We are addicted to petrol dollars and migrant labour.

In short, we are economically unsustainable. The government has yet to produce a blueprint to get us out of the middle-income trap.

They now have the added challenge of raising the living standards of Malaysia's multi-ethnic population equitably plus provide basic healthcare services to a big number of migrants.

Education is key to our progress as a nation and as an economy. We have to realise that education has two primary objectives - nation-building and the provision of economic opportunities.

Unfortunately, the school system is in shambles. Somehow we cannot even agree on a single school system.

How do we expect Malaysians to think as one if from the age of 7, they are divided up and ncreasingly along ethnic lines?

Because of our preoccupation with language, we have neglected other fundamental areas of education.

The result: A sub-standard and middling workforce unable to add value to the economy.

If we do not get the three 'Es' right, we have to ask what sort of country the children will inherit.

Religion as the trump card

Malaysia is a young country and those under the age of 40 constitute a large majority.

In the next general election, this generation will probably decide on the direction this country will take.

It is our responsibility to make sure that whom-so-ever governs Malaysia will be able to tackle issues related to the environment, the economy and our education system.

Whilst the issues above seem disconnected to the first two paragraphs of this article, it is because they are.

Instead of spending valuable time uniting the nation, there are forces out there trying to maintain their hold on political power by dividing Malaysians.

Because all attempts to play one race against another have failed, they are playing their trump card: Religion.

Desperation will drive people to madness and the most obvious sign of madness is repeated action without any ability to acknowledge change.

There are a number of Malaysians who feel very upset that the name of God is being used by Catholics.

They are not used to sharing. Instead of being upset, they should explain in theological terms why the name of God should be exclusive to Muslims-only.

Pre-emptive explanations like "it might be abused" and that "it is sensitive" and "a threat to national security", do not stand up to the test of time because the term has been used and the nation has not disintegrated.

If the BN is serious about winning the next general election, it is time they started concentrating on ideas and deeds.

There is no point having ministers in-charge of KPIs if the government cannot motivate wider Malaysian society to support its initiatives.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad is right. There are some things the government has to do to demonstrate leadership.

The PM has to decide once and for all if 1Malaysia is really what he wants us all to achieve.

If so, he must demonstrate it with the political will to do away with race-baiting and the abuse of he name of God for short-term political gain.