COMMENT | After my ten years of activism, which finally saw the removal of the BN government, I am prepared to call it a day.

Although I have been an activist-writer, troubleshooter and an underdog for a number of cases nearly all my adult life, the first part of my fight was against Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 

Since 2006, at a time when the nation was about to enjoy a bout of fresh air after Mahathir’s retirement from his first premiership, many of us were disappointed that he had interfered with Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration.

Therefore, despite his “Tun” title, I had very little respect for the man then. Titles do not always draw respect from me. However, Mahathir has, since departing from Umno, earned my fullest respect especially after he has proven to himself that he wants to make amends before he leaves this world.

Combination of factors

This last general election has been the most historic in the 54 years of my life.

Although at one point, I was upset and saddened by the level of apathy amongst my fellow Malaysians, I am truly amazed by the silent majority who voted overwhelmingly for Pakatan Harapan.

The people of Malaysia have indeed spoken. The stage, which had been set since 1998, with the sacrifices of our warriors during the early Reformasi movement, and the Hindraf movement, followed by several versions of Bersih, is now set for us to take it to the next level.

In this last election, I also saw for the first time the shift of ground in the traditional Bidayuh villagers in Sarawak. Ten seats won by Pakatan Harapan and another two by independent candidates is a sure testimony of this.

What angered many of us in civil society was the jailing of Anwar Ibrahim. Many of us were resolved to fight for justice of this one man who had rocked the nation.

That is why I sensed that, if any harm had fallen on Anwar during his imprisonment, it would have caused a major revolt in the same way it happened in the Philippines after the murder of senator and opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr.

If I had written this earlier, I would have been called by the police or charged for sedition. After all, a man who is involved in a major scandal involving 1MDB went scot-free, and is still at large, while Anwar’s case was the first and probably the only case of sodomy that went all the way to the apex court.

Sodomy 2 was therefore the biggest mistake then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s administration committed.

Justice has to take its course.

If truths are unearthed about the death of certain individuals in recent years, justice has to be seen done. Those who have breached the law should now be hauled up to face justice.

The one single factor that caused most of us to vote against BN was not only the 1MDB scandal, but the imposition of a six percent goods and services tax (GST) and the removal of fuel and other subsidies. While 1MDB reflects the extravagance of our leaders, GST hit us below the belt.

Then, came Mahathir and his team. He alone could not have achieved this political earthquake, but Mahathir proved to be the power capsule which, once put in place into its slot, lit up the entire nation. For once, darkness had no place to hide.

GE14 spelt Najib’s downfall and the sinking of the Titanic which he captained. I have always believed in the universal principle: “Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap.” Even Mahathir tasted some of his own bitter medicine.

Do not revert to old ways

With the birth of a new Malaysia, which we had all waited for long enough, we should no longer revert to the old ways. I have written personally to a long list of "Yang Berhormat" in my capacity as an ordinary man on the street, but I would like all of us to stand in solidarity on a few points.

1. Meritocracy, no more race-based policies: As a Malaysian Chinese, I do not disagree with the special privileges given to the bumiputera. I reaffirm that the underprivileged bumiputera must be given special assistance.

However, it has become a crutch, rather than helping the community to pursue social and economic advancements based on integrity and sheer hard work.

For example, the bumiputera discounts for purchases of houses should be given only to bumiputera with a certain income level. Instead of benefiting the rich bumiputra, this discount should be extended to other Malaysians, especially the marginalised Indian community so that they too can afford to own their own homes.

Focus must be given to improve the living standards of the lower-income community. The sad state of our public housing should be given immediate attention.

We should no longer produce policies based on race and religion. Post-GE14, Malaysians have proven that we can be together as a people, regardless of race or religion, when we have a common objective. At best, both coalitions should form a two-party system instead of having so many splinter parties.

2. Return the rights of freedom of religion to the people: Very close to my heart are the rights of the Christian community and the use of the name Allah. Interference of religious authorities into non-Muslim religions should stop immediately.

This does not need further elaboration, as there is enough rhetoric out there to defend freedom of religion. At best, we should impose the doctrine of separation of state and religion, a doctrine that has been around since Martin Luther’s Reformation in Europe.

The church is not interested in having a Christian nation. Instead, we are talking about kingdom values such as integrity, charity and justice in the hearts of the national leaders.

Islam can continue to be the state religion as enshrined in the Federal Constitution, but the freedom of other religions should not be curtailed.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has proven that Penang Muslims will vote for the ruling coalition, so long as their welfare and their religion is being protected.

I have always believed that a country can only be great, when we as a people believe in a great God, and instead of allowing “noisy” cymbals to make the most noise in the public arena, we should take responsibility of the situation and be prepared to give account to God what we have done to rectify the situation.

Cases involving the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh and others should be opened again so that the rakyat will finally know the truth.

3. Devote our resources to quality education and healthcare: In order to build this nation again, we need to focus on building our human capital.

For the first time during the recent election campaign, I heard a voice that reverbates well with my soul. I quote PKR Wanita Selayang chief, Salasiah Disa: “Bahasa Malaysia will continue to be the unity language, but at the same time, we want to enhance the command of the English language and other mother tongues.”

Building on our human capital, ensuring that our young people reach their full potential, while taking care of their health, is the only way we can achieve the status of a developed nation.

Vision 2020 is just 18 months away. Can we become a developed nation overnight? Once again, believe in miracles. The platform is already there. It just takes a team of the right people to reassemble things to make miracles happen again.

I believe in you, my fellow Malaysians. We can all be proud of our nation, to make it great again! Meanwhile, I will retire from my level of activism, and focus on other passions that I have.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.