LETTER | Unity remains an elusive dream

LETTER | With a government in place and a set of cabinet ministers under a PM who leads by example, there exists now a generally calm atmosphere whereby all eyes are trained on the outcomes that will manifest in the coming months.

The new government’s immediate task is to nurse the country’s economic health back to a more comfortable level. This will need some innovative policies and effective implementation, and it would not be easy to achieve the aspired level of success, given the prevailing international economic environment.

The Ukraine-Russia War is still ongoing and the supply chain of many important food items and raw materials is still seriously affected. The tension between the US and China is still unabated. All these ugly events point to the looming recession which will spare no one.

Hence, navigating out of our economic woes is indeed a monumental task. As if these are not daunting enough, we have our own set of internal problems, the toughest one being the racial and religious narrative.

Judging by the results of the 15th general election, the influence of this highly divisive narrative seems to have increased. The government needs to come up with strategies to curb this narrative in order to achieve greater harmony amongst the races.

Despite the fact that we have all the Malay rulers firmly in place, and the government and all major critical institutions such as the police, judiciary, armed forces, and government departments helmed by Malays, the influence of racial and religious narratives not only thrived but has expanded.

This trend is indeed worrying and unsettling. As has been proven since independence, the country flourished in racial diversity. We need to work together in a harmonious environment in our quest for greater heights. We need each other to progress.

Harmonious interaction among the various ethnic groups is a prerequisite for progress. Each group has its strengths and we must capitalise on these strengths to forge ahead.

It is very sad to see politicians using these narratives to divide and rule for their own selfish gain. Policies and steps to neutralise this divisive influence appear to be the government’s biggest challenge and a rather sensitive one too.

Religious sensitivities need extreme care as they have very notoriously low flashpoints. The Unity Ministry has to study these issues and come up with programmes to negate these divisive narratives. We have the law on sedition but harsh implementation of it might trigger unwarranted reaction, and probably strong dissent, to the point of violence.

Hence, the steps being studied and implemented have to be carried out with extreme caution. Violence must be avoided at all costs.

How I wish to have the same peaceful environment as experienced during the post-independence years. The international community was full of praise for our peace and harmony despite our racial and religious diversity. We were the envy of many nations whose days were filled with racial and religious violence.

Let us be practical and live together without suspicion. The non-Malay communities are aware of their minority status and are only interested in making a decent living in this country.

Most of us have very simple objectives – to be able to earn a decent income and to afford a good education for our children. Most Chinese believe in having good education for their children as education is a means of not getting trapped in the poverty cycle. In short, education is a means of changing one’s life.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.