In the end, it will be the Malays who lose most

Malaysia is 54-years old. But to many of its citizens, the country sure doesn't seem to be as matured as it should be. And Prime Minister Najib Razak - who at 58 is 4 years older - sure doesn't behave his age either.

His strategies have created the impression that Malaysia is little more than a flighty teenager, pimply and full of adolescent urges that destabilise public and investor confidence, from within and overseas.

Najib's Barisan Nasional has been the government of the day since independence from colonial rule in 1957. BN is a coalition of 14 race-based political parties where communal lines are sharply defined.

Pakatan Rakyat, the opposition alliance led by Anwar Ibrahim, is structured more along multiracial lines where communal groupings are not encouraged.

Snap polls are about to be called. BN not only wants to renew its mandate to rule but also wants to regain its two-third majority in Parliament and increase its grip on the nation. PR wants to trump BN for the federal government, install new laws to prevent political monopoly, boost democracy, abolish oppressive laws and clean out the endemic corruption overtaking the country.

Malaysians from all walks of life will exercise their right to vote in a new government soon. Unlike before, Malaysians today have a choice. BN is unsure whether Malaysians are going to support them or their rivals. The ruling coalition is very worried that Malaysians are going to kick them out, and to pre-empt that, it has embarked on a sickening propaganda to scare Malaysians against such a move.

Soap-opera and childish politics

Lately, all kind of controversies have surfaced. Noisy demonstrations with fiery racial rhetoric, ugly confrontations and religious conflicts have taken place with distressing frequency, shattering the peace and quiet of the country. The religious card is being played to the hilt.

Non-Muslims are being told that the BN government has treated them too graciously by giving them citizenship, the right to vote and to have political representation. Non-Muslims are being rudely reminded they owe BN a living and that they need to repay the government with full responsibility. Christians too are being made the scapegoat in this nasty political tussle.

As for Muslims, they are warned to be on their guard and to be sure not give an inch of their rights or their political dominance will be stolen away by the unscrupulous non-Muslims.

Point-blank, Malaysian Chinese and Indians are also being told to go home to China and India by agents of the BN if they are not happy. The BN itself - or rather UMNO, the coalition boss - looks on in amusement as the abuses continue unabated. MCA and MIC are helpless to lift a finger, embroiled in their own internal power tussles and hiding behind UMNO’s shadow.

Sad to say, all this is not new. Perhaps it is exaggerated by the impending GE-13 but ever since April 2009, when Najib Razak became prime minister, the Malaysian political scene has been rocked by some of the stupidest and most destructive scandals ever imagined and played out.

Often, Malaysians have felt they were living in a bad remake of a terrible soap opera with absurd script and plots that defied logic. The most ridiculous part of it all is that the drama is being created and inflicted by his own advisers.

Reforms wanted, not bluster and play-acting

By now, citizens in this country have woken up to fact that there are 1st and 2nd class citizens. 2nd class citizens are not welcome in the political arena and they are free to pack up and leave. Suddenly, a Malaysian citizenship is not worth its weight in gold anymore. In fact, it is going for a dime a dozen. Citizenships are allegedly being handed out freely in Selangor, Sabah and Kelantan without any thought given to the threat it poses to national security.

Yet, BN continues to wonder why Malaysians are not supporting it anymore. Their leaders have grown fat, useless and immobile. They are clueless and helpless to mitigate the situation that is being created by a core group of the most powerful in UMNO. The UMNO elite have proven themselves to be ruthless and have no qualms in resorting to radical ways and means to ensure their power.

It does not help that the rest of BN also think that Malaysians owe them a living. On one hand they kneel and beg the people to return them to power, and on the other, they plot and scheme plan Bs and Cs just in case plan A falls through. But once the people return them to power, they will start reneging on their pledges as past records have documented and show.

Actually, all Malaysians want is for their government - regardless BN or Pakatan - to treat them with dignity and respect. And of course, to stop the daylight robbery immediately and leave people with opinions different to theirs alone. Stop hoodwinking the public and stop all the funny tricks, such as treating the people as fools, are some of the most common wishes expressed in cyberspace and tabloids that dare to print them.

All Malaysians want is some sort of CAT government, and little more. No harm in borrowing the DAP's prototype. As long as there is Competence, Accountability and Transparency, Malaysians will be very satisfied. They want nothing more than the fact that their government is transparent and accountable for their actions. But despite such simplicity, it appears that it is still impossible for the BN to grant the people their humble wish.

PAS has moved on, but not the Umno elite

Instead, coalition boss UMNO goes about setting little fires to disturb the peace. There will come a time, very soon, when these fires grow too big for BN to control. Not only will the flames grow higher and start ravaging the land and its people, the damage could be irreversible.

When this happens, civil war may break out. But if UMNO expects the same outcome that followed the May 13, 1969 racial riots - which many pundits say was fanned by UMNO leaders wishing to oust the then-premier Tunku Abdul Rahman - then it should think again.

In 1969, PAS was on the same wave-length with UMNO and perhaps even more right-wing and fundamentalist than ultra groups Perkasa and Pembela are now. But fast-forward to 2011, PAS leaders have moved on.

They have pledged to the non-Malays and non-Muslims that in the event of any attempt to create chaos by the UMNO elite, PAS members will do their duty as good Muslims. They will form a human shield around their non-Malay fellow citizens.

Not more than two months ago, PAS president Hadi Awang issued a stern warning to UMNO not to try and pull another crackdown. Perhaps, it is time the more thick-skinned leaders in UMNO accepted his advice and open their eyes to the fact that, time waits for no man or woman.

UMNO is left behind by its own inability to evolve and progress to the current century. To the UMNO elite, corruption is their opium and they badly need to go to rehab and detox.

Whether Malaysians vote for BN or not, if the UMNO elite are returned to power, it is for sure Malaysia will burn to the ground. When this happens, it is not the non-Malays who will suffer the most, but the majority in the country - the Malays.

- Malaysia Chronicle