The formation of Pakatan Harapan yesterday is an important milestone for moderates and patriots to reclaim and save Malaysia from the racists, bigots, extremists and the corrupt in the country.
Never before has race relations in Malaysia become so fragile and brittle. Every day, racial epithets, slurs, intimidation and even explicit threat of “bloodbath” are uttered with immunity and impunity.
The latest is the threat of a racial riot in Kuala Lumpur Chinatown, something which had never happened before in the past 58 years since Merdeka in 1957.
Where is the twitter-happy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar?
No lie or falsehood was too far-fetched in the evil campaign to try to racialise issues and create a Malay-Chinese confrontation, even events which have nothing to do race, like labelling the 34-hour Bersih 4 overnight rally on August 29/30 as a DAP-dominated or a Chinese rally to challenge Malay political power when the hundreds of thousands of Chinese, Malays, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans who gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu came out to support good governance and clean, free, fair elections which had nothing to do with race – and there was no inter-racial suspicion, distrust or hatred in the two-day Bersih 4 rally by true Malaysian inter-racial camaraderie, goodwill and friendship.
From the standpoint of promoting inter-racial harmony and understanding, there should be more Bersih 4 rallies as they can contribute to greater inter-racial understanding and goodwill but definitely not the Sept. 16 Red Shirts Perhimpunan Maruah Melayu which was full of distrust, hate, venom and discord.
In fact, the racial situation became so serious that the recently-sacked Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had to issue a reminder-cum-warning of the importance of the constitutional framework to protect and promote racial harmony, social peace and national unity.
Muhyiddin said that political parties that question the special position of the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak do so at their own peril for they will lose the majority support of the electorates.
Likewise, political parties that undermine the legitimate interests of the other races will risk losing significant percentage of votes in elections and will fail to form the national government.
Let the formation of Pakatan Harapan be an important step to rally together all the moderates and patriots in Malaysia to reclaim and save the country from the racists, bigots, extremists and the corrupt in the country as only moderation and tolerance are the salvation for the country.
It is, however, not just the moderates and patriots in DAP, PKR and Amanah who must stand together to save the country, but also the moderates from the ruling Barisan Nasional parties, whether the 3.5 million UMNO members or the Barisan Nasional MPs, leaders and members in Sabah and Sarawak.
I call on all Malaysian moderates and patriots inside or outside the government coalition to stand together in the national mission to save Malaysia from racialism, bigotry, extremism and corruption which could end with only one outcome: a broken, divided Malaysia joining the ranks of the rogue and failed state in the world where there is no democracy, rule of law, good governance or economic progress and prosperity.