A Malaysia for all

I got up on the morning of May 10, realising that I am breathing a splash of new air and I felt I am reborn in the country that I had lived for 69 years. I also felt proud that I became part of the history of this country to change the road map of Malaysia for the good of all Malaysians, particularly for our children and grandchildren. I can now live out the remaining of my life peacefully with the contention that I did not leave behind my children or grandchildren in the in clutches of an insensitive, inconsiderable and unfair BN/Umno government.

As I drive in the streets today I could see and feel the new-found happiness and contentment on the faces and eyes of all the people. It seems as though they all had patiently and tolerantly waited for sixty years to rescue this great nation from the clutches of some draconian leaders and they succeeded in putting the nation on the right path for a progressive and promising Malaysia for all citizens of this beloved country.

They all wanted to bring back the harmony to this country in the manner as what the late great Malay film director and actor P Ramlee had conveyed to the people or similarly the comic narration by cartoonist Lat on the Malaysian way of life. When we were young, we use to pull a joke on one another but we never got angry and ended the day happily with a drink at a "kopi tiam".

Today what we say or joke will be sensitive and we have stopped mixing with one another but proclaim to the whole world that we are a multinational country. Who and what is the cause for this disharmonisation of the Malaysia people? Is it the rakyat or the system of government that nutures this kind of social environment?

It all boils down to the brand of government practiced by BN/Umno inflicting racial and religious sentiments against the people of Malaysia and setting up one against the other just to secure their position and to enrich themselves and their downline cronies who know next-to-nothing but political survival. Trivial issues will be blown up disproportionately giving it a sensitive racial and religious overtone to cause fear and hatred among the innocent and ignorant people. To make matters worse all the major pro-government media both print and electronic will spin these issues disproportionately to incite one section of the population against another and at the same time instil fear and hatred in others.

The people of Malaysia could have continued with this system of government which had been a norm all over the world but what happened in Malaysia was beyond what the rakyat could stomach and digest. The political parties like MCA, MIC and Gerakan which were supposed to represent the voices of the non-Malays were mere puppets in the hands of the Umno/BN government and they illiterately had no voice or power to genuinely raise the plight of the Chinese and Indians populations.

During GE14, Umno was distributing "ang pow" to voters at their booth to Malay voters. When a group of five Indian family members approached to collect their "ang pow" from the booth they were told to collect it from MIC as they come under the Indian category. The five family members were sent from one booth to another and later directed to go to the MIC chairperson's house and he in turn told them to go to MIC headquarters. The MIC HQ was locked. This is a fine example as to how MIC all these years had used the Indian to collect funds from the government and but secretly kept it to themselves.

We were told that we were “pendatang” and that we should just quietly take whatever that is thrown to us. Our children were not offered enough seats in public universities, application for jobs in the civil services were declined, there were less or no promotions for Indians in the civil services, no business licenses or opportunities were given to Indians, no job opportunities in the GLCs, Indians who were once the sporting heroes of the nation were not recognised for their talents and this list goes on and on.

Like all other Malaysians, the vigour, energy and determination in the minds of all Malaysian Indians to change this Umno/BN government ran in their blood. They linked up with one another on social media and made viral all important messages about the election and they checked and countered any messages that MIC attempt to convey to the Indian community.

The Malaysian Indian community had patiently and tolerantly waited for 61 years for this change and they had put their future and trust in the hands Dr Mahathir Mohamad to bring some new wind of change that will treat all Malaysian equally and fairly within the confinement and provision of the Malaysian constitution. The Malaysian Indians are not demanding what is not theirs but what is rightfully theirs.

Malaysia is a land of gold and that what the ancient historian says. God has blessed this country with plenty of sunshine, plenty of rain, good soil, plenty of resource and no natural disasters. What else we need to turn around this beloved country?

The type of damage done by the Umno/BN government to every walk of life in Malaysia for the past 61 years is massive and it will take a very long time to put this house into order and we foresee a very challenging job ahead for the Pakatan Harapan government. Most of the present leaders who had formed the government today were leaders who once challenged the then BN government on all wrongdoings and we hope they will put back Malaysia onto the most progressive path and that we will be once again known as the Tiger of South East Asia.

As for Mahathir, I believe in the "karma". Dear Tun, you will note that you are the first person on this earth to become a PM of a nation at the age of 92. All Malaysians will be praying for your good health and your long life. God has blessed and given you an opportunity that no other man in the world has and that is to make good on all the mistakes that we as human makes. At your age, you will only think and do the righteous. I end with this quote from the great Mahatma:

“The wealth of this nation is enough for the needs of all men but won't be enough for the greed of one man.” - Mkini