Aiyoh, 50 years of BN’s race-based politics not enough, ah?

Malaysiakini reported about 2 weeks back that Ambiga was concerned about the “the lack of Indian representation in the Pakatan Harapan line-up”.

A subsequent report a few days later had it that Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy and my friend Gobind Singh also shared the same concerns.

I have a few questions for both Ramasamy and Gobind.

In the governance of this nation, do we still need to continue to see the rakyat through ethnic lenses?

Malaya, post independence, had Alliance, comprising UMNO, MCA and MIC, supposedly to look into the needs of the Malays, Chinese and Indians governing. This obviously was not working out for the average man on the street, be he Malay, Chinese or Indian as reflected by the 1969 general election results.

Post-May 13, Razak scrapped the Alliance and, in its place, crafted Barisan Nasional comprising the founding Alliance parties, and many of the other opposition parties, including those from Sabah and Sarawak.

The scheme : parties would represent the interest of their various ethnic groups so that there would be adequate representation in the coalition to safeguard each ethnic community’s interest.

The result : for over 50 years, leaders of these political parties have only looked after their own interests and that of their cronies, whilst keeping so many in an oil and gas producing country living in abject poverty, and divided so that BN could maintain the status quo come every general election.

We still need this?

Or should we not be looking to leaders who have the courage to build a nation of a single people, all equal?

Let me close this with one more question to Ramasamy and Gobind.

If the current Penang state government had no Indian or Malay representation, are they concerned that Guan Eng would ignore the legitimate rights, needs and interests of those communities?

-The People's Parliament