When the spirit of Malaysia suffocates

COMMENT | “Let’s not talk about politics in the car. The driver is a Malay man,” said a non-Malay friend of mine right before we hopped into a Grab car a few days ago.

“Why?” asked a liberal Malay friend who was accompanying us.

“We never know. He could be a supporter of the new government. I don’t want to take the risk of offending him, not when the three of us are inside his car. These days we should always be careful of what we say in front of others – we never know who we can trust,” she replied.

Since the backdoor government was formed recently, many non-Malay friends of mine are quite worried about their future in this country of ours.

“Perhaps it is time I surrender my Malaysian citizenship and accept the Singaporean citizenship offered to me,” said a friend who has been holding on to his Malaysian passport despite travelling the world and building a successful career in our neighbouring country.

Another friend who left the United States to return home a couple of years ago had a similar thought.

“Remember when Pakatan Harapan won? Remember how we saw joy in the faces of strangers we met the next day? Remember how we ended up shaking hands and hugging those strangers as we celebrated Malaysia’s new government?” she said in a sad tone.

“It’s all gone now. The same regime we tried to get rid of is back. And look at them - they do not represent the minorities, we have no voice in the new government. Oh Fa, it makes me want to return to the US!”

Yes, my non-Malay friends may sound a bit too...