WE hold these truths to be self-evident! East or West Malaysia, we all want change!

What the people of this nation wants is to be able to do work that pays them a living wage, good education for their children, clean water, decent health care and the ability to retire with dignity and respect. And in all this they want their government to help.

These are the common needs that bind our people together to unite them against a government they no longer trust and a government they now want passionately to change.

So why the schism between our people if what we want are the same thing?

Do we not all have a stake in each other’s life? Are we not responsible for each other’s future? In the well-being of our neighbour? Are we not our brother’s keeper? Surely our respect and reverence for each other has to be far greater then the hate that could drive us all apart because of race and religion! If we believe in this truth then why can’t we act together and do something meaningful to save this country of ours from a fate worst then death: Another term under an UMNO led Barisan Nasional government?

We know that there are many amongst us that still feel the need to have this division of race and religion. Why is this so? Is it because they know no better? Maybe. But hate and contempt for another human being – for any reason – still abounds in the time that we are now living in. And more worrying is the thought that we have a government that is complicit in the promotion of this hate and contempt amongst its own people because it serves their political agenda to do so. A political agenda that divides and rule what we hold dear within our society – our race and  our religion.

So how do we, as a nation, work together towards reconciling this schism within our people?

Is the harmony between the races a myth? Do we really have shared ideal and common values that have carried us well since Merdeka but has since been wrecked asunder by the policies of this UMNO led Barisan Nasional government? Or are the fundamental differences in race and religion so entrenched that 1Malaysia can merely be an illusion never a reality?

What I offer here is merely my personal reflection on what we are facing as a nation. The overriding consideration is to see how we can bring about change that will be for the common good. 

But do not forget that I am bias. I am against the corrupt and abusive policies of the UMNO led Barisan Nasional government. I am not against Pakatan Rakyat but I firmly believe that within this PR coalition, PKR could be more a disruptive force then a cohesive one to the opposition unless it institutes fundamental changes within itself to reflect the aspirations of the people for open and responsible governance. So if by my reflections you say that I am bias, then I plead guilty as charged.

I am against using government to impose any religious beliefs on its people. I believe in free speech. I cannot help but at times view all this through the eyes of a Malay – for that is what I am – but I am committed to the notion that if you call Malaysia home, then you are one with me. I believe that a government must be a force for good rather then for evil. I reject totally politics based on race, gender, corruption, nepotism and the self-interest of any dedicated grouping within society – be it racial, religious, political or economical.

How we shape our individual and collective destiny will depend on our choice of who will govern us after the 13th general election. This is our personal responsibility to our future and our children’s future –and the future of our country for generations to come.

Today this UMNO led Barisan Nasional government has become too adept at spending our money for purposes that advances their political and personal cause not ours.  They are oblivious to the costs of their madness to our nation future and well-being. So much so that those of us who have worked hard to earn a living, respect the rule of law and revered our King and Country have found ourselves on the wrong end of our government charity . While those who are the political elites and their cronies become fat and wealthy and complacent courtesy of this same government.

This state of affairs have continued too long and caused too much pain for our people.  Now in quiet fury we demand change – change to an open, responsible and accountable government. A change we are determine to have even at the cost of having our peace disturbed, our physical self harmed and our time and effort expanded in the pursuit of this change.

How all this will pan out is still an unknown. Who will form government is anybody’s guesses. Our Prime Minister could be a number of possibilities. Malay or non-Malay, East or West Malaysian, of any gender of any religion – such is the possibilities that this wind of change may bring to our nation – and I am sure our people are ready for anything that comes our way – for anything must be better then the UMNO led Barisan Nasional government that we now have!  Nothing is given and nothing is sacred. East or West Malaysian may decide our future. This will be a general election of unknowns and even now those who will be its final participants is still a work in progress. 

The rabid quest for political power will determine to what lengths UMNO and Pakatan Rakyat

Let us say that it would, in all probability be a level playing field because the whiff of a conspiracy to defraud or abuse the electoral process, by any party, would drive the masses to a frenzy that could probably escalate into a physical assault on the guilty party. Such is the commitment of the masses to having a fair and open electoral process – they not only wish it but demand for it.

What is left now is to see the maturity of our people being translated into the giving of government to a party that will govern for our common good. In this process people like me and those who make it their work to have a say on matter that should be said, will continue to do our work quietly but firmly. If UMNO or Pakatan Rakyat do wrong we will write about it. If they do good you will hear about it too.

But as I have said before we are bias. We cannot help that we are of a certain race, or a certain religion  - that our priorities differ and our needs varies – but these differences pales in comparison to our common need to change our country for the better. It is these common needs that will hold our people together over and above that which will divide us.

If you are a Chinese and you eat what I do not, you are still my brother. If you are Indian and you worship what I do not, you are still my brother. If you are East Malaysian and I am from the West that only binds us closer because never before in the history of our country have the East Malaysian been able to play a more decisive role in the future of who will govern this country of ours!

Men and women, young and old–from any state within this nation of ours–it no longer matters if you are rich or poor–we are all one in this 13th general election. We all want change. Najib, Anwar, Mahathir, Ku Li, Pak Lah, Karpal, Kit Siang, Hadi, Tok Guru, Nurrul, PKR, RPK, DAP, PAS, MIC, MCA  or UMNO will all be silent when it is time for you to decide who shall govern us. Vote wisely. Vote with your head not with your heart. Vote for our common good. You are one. With me we are two. Together we can move heaven and earth! Divided we fall!

Vote so that when all this is over you and me can have our tarik over our roti canai and tell each other that WE did what we had to do to bring change for the common good of our nation. And as we argue over who should best be our Prime Minister and our Ministers we know we will not be talking about race, religion, and gender, East or West Malaysian – but about who will best serve us. A dream? Maybe! But surely a dream within reach – a dream you and I can make happen!

And no one tells it better then the Americans: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.

Yes we Malaysian have a Life but what a Life – if we disagree with our government on matters they consider to be of national security – we are put away in jail without trail. Liberty is only for those within the Barisan Nasional government who plunder and pillage our nation coffers at will. And the pursuit of Happiness for most of us can only begin when we are able to take back our nation from a government that chooses to abuse the trust we have place in them for the past 50 over years! Today we all understand this for we have lived under the burden of not having a decent life, nor our civil liberty or the ability to pursue happiness because of UMNO. We will no longer subject ourselves to the whims of an abusive political master! No more, we promise ourself – no more!     

If you had told me last year that Sharizat would no longer be Minister by the middle of this year I would have called you mad. If you have declared that DSAI will be acquitted of sodomy two – again I too would have called you mad. Politics is now the art of the impossible in Malaysia. A noble art once but a noble art no longer. This 13th general election will tell us what it has become once the votes are counted. The natives are restless tonight….now what will the morning bring? So my friends walk softly but carry a big stick to take care of yourself until the morning comes…