ANALYSIS We can take this country back. It may take a week, a month, a year or even ten, but we can and we will.

I will indulge in three quotes. The first is by Martin Luther King Jr: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” The second comes from the Muslim tradition: “ Sabar itu separuh dari iman (Patience is half of virtue).” The third I heard from my sister: “Don’t get mad... get organised.”

The first and most important step in reclaiming Malaysia is to understand Malaysia. I will thus begin by briefly examining where we fell short the most in GE13. I will thereafter in the course of three articles discuss the major challenges and opportunities faced by BN, Pakatan Rakyat and finally, everyday citizens.

The Great Divide - geographical, not racial

The first words out of the mouth of re-elected Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak that most of us will remember are “Chinese Tsunami”.

Many of us were disgusted by the racialisation of the general election outcome, and understandably so.

Distasteful articulation aside, let us ask objectively: how fair is such an analysis?

NONE There is undoubtedly a mega Chinese trend towards voting Pakatan. Nevertheless, concluding that GE13 was about Chinese vs Malay would require for instance that almost all Malay majority seats fell to BN.

This is obviously not the case. A great number of seats where Malays make up well above 50 percent of the voters went to Pakatan. So while it is technically accurate to say that the Chinese tend to vote for Pakatan, it would thus be as mischievous as it is stupid to conclude then that GE13 signals a great Chinese vs Malay political landscape.

Whether or not Malay votes in general swung towards BN throughout the country or on average would require the type of rigorous statistical analysis that will take more time.   

What is much more obvious and consistently true is that urban areas voted for Pakatan, while rural areas voted for BN. It only takes a single glance at the electoral map to see this obvious, glaring truth.

This is what has indisputably defined the last two general elections at least.

Discussing the rural-urban divide in full would also require much more time and space, but for now, suffice to say that I believe a proper understanding of Malaysia’s political divide requires first and foremost a much, much deeper understanding of the difference between urban and rural Malaysians in terms of culture, outlook, mentality and priorities than we currently possess.

(As an Internet enthusiast, I cannot help but wonder at the role of the digital divide plays in this regard. It has been said that the Internet drove 2008. Perhaps it will drive 2018 as well.)

Simply put, when it comes to politics, every result suggests this one fact about urban and rural communities in Malaysia: they do not think alike.

BN post-GE13 - raceless or more racist?

If the analysis above is correct, then BN and Najib have certainly not started off on the right foot, given the unfortunate “Chinese Tsunami” comment.

We hope BN realises that it stands at a definitive crossroad.

When I began writing many years ago, I considered the two biggest problems in Malaysian politics to be racism and corruption. Not much has changed.

Back then, I often said: “As long as Malaysia’s ruling coalition is racially defined, Malaysia’s politics will be racially defined, and we will consequently forever suffer racial division.”

Umno has a rare opportunity now. It faces two options in dealing with the political realities it now faces: It can evolve in a non-racial direction, or it can retreat into its shell, and decide “forget the non-Malays, let’s become even more ultra Malay.”

One reason why they might decide for the latter is because despite this self-styled “Chinese Tsunami”, they were returned to federal power with 60 percent of the seats. You can bet that right now, the many Umno hardliners are asking their leaders: If that’s the case, what do we need the non-Malays for?

NONE If this ideology becomes dominant (championed perhaps by pretender Muhyiddin Yassin), then we will see BN become a bevy of little Ibrahim Ali’s, and Malaysia will be more poisoned with racism than ever before.

Within just two days of being re-elected, Najib clearly signaled a move to the right with firstly, the “Chinese Tsunami” comment, and secondly in defending Utusan Malaysia’s ‘Apa Lagi Cina Mahu?’ headline while insisting that this was a Chinese-Malay problem, not an urban-rural one.

Clearly, Najib did not miss a beat in switching from general election mode to Umno elections mode. Once again, we are looking at a politician, no less than the prime minister himself, willing to stir racial animosity to protect his personal political career.

Will BN merge for national unity's sake?

If BN surprises us all by later on taking the high ground, it may have the opportunity to take a huge first step in eliminating racism from Malaysian politics.

Opponent or not, let us offer BN’s component parties sincere advice on how to best do service to Malaysia: merge.

Nothing would be more in the spirit of the “national reconciliation” bandied about by Najib the morning after.

Short of the racist hardline approach described above, merging is the only way to solve the huge problem they face: how to form an ethnically representative government, in this Parliament sitting and the next.

najib umno mca mic gerakan bn coalition parties 250707 There is no doubt that MCA, Gerakan - and to an only slightly lesser extent, MIC - have demonstrated their utter uselessness. By themselves, they bring nothing to the table, because the year is 2013, and the rakyat have no use for ‘lapdogs’.

BN as a single party and entity, however, may stand a chance of incorporating their non-Malay members in a slightly more effective manner.

I will not lie, it is not as if this alone will increase their seats or automatically improve their chances in urban areas. For that they would need to undergo much more serious reform, and tackle first and foremost the other major thorn in BN’s side: rampant corruption.

It is their opportunity however, to begin removing the stigma of racism that people attach to BN in its current form. Disabuse Malaysians of this poisonous notion that it is okay to define our politics - and in turn our nation - racially. Be brave enough to do that, and deal racism it’s death blow.

Malaysians will likely win either way: if BN merges, there will be that much less racism; if they do not, then BN will never retain their former glory.

Part 2: Whither Pakatan?

Part 3: Post GE13, what can you and I do?

NATHANIEL TAN believes in #TsunamiCintaMalaysia. He tweets @NatAsasi .