In the United States, Senator Barack Obama’s nomination as the Democratic Presidential nominees heralds a new milestone in American nation-building and race relations but in Malaysia, the UMNO proposal for Umno-PAS talks marks a regression in Malaysian nation-building and the Vision 2020 objective of a Bangsa Malaysia.
The latter repudiates March 8 “political tsunami” where for the first time in half-a-century of nationhood, Malaysians transcended race, religion and political affiliation to vote for change to give primacy and priority to justice, freedom, solidarity, integrity and progress.
The March 8 “political tsunami” marks a bold and visionary stride forward by Malaysians to rise above their communal selves to reach out to a common national identity.
It is a great tragedy if the transformational message of March 8 to stride forward to a new politics of justice, freedom, solidarity, integrity and progress is nullified by a throwback to the old, narrow and divisive politics of race, religion and class.