LETTER | Come Merdeka, let’s embrace one another as Malaysians

LETTER | Every time political leaders glorify Malaysia, they will talk about how “rich” the country is due to its diverse population.

They will describe Malaysia as the melting pot of culture, tradition, language, race, and religion.

But look a little deeper, and we see the same politicians somersaulting to pit us against each other using race and religion as a compelling narrative.

The play of race and religion on politics was the signature of the Umno administration: a cleverly manipulated rhetoric to keep us divided. And today, we are still seeing the consequences on the ground.

It’s our 66th Merdeka come Aug 31, and unlike the yesteryears, I hardly see any enthusiasm in Malaysians flying the Jalur Gemilang.

Political grievances

There is much friction and hostility among the diverse people who make up the society. And I see the potential of such animosity escalating, with the reason being multi-factorial - from the lacklustre economy and diminishing purchasing power to political grievances.

The Malays have been led to believe they are on the verge of losing their superior position as the rightful citizens of Malaysia.

The Chinese and Indians feel marginalised and deeply frustrated with Malay supremacy, which translated into the rise of ethnonationalism on top of positive discrimination policies.

Malaysia has great potential if only it is not plagued by rampant greed for power, abuse of power, the use of preventive laws, the rise of hate speech, and the continuing effort by some prominent individuals to put Malaysians in competition with each other based on their race and religion.

In this continuing toxic political game, key figures are moving their chess pieces to clinch even more positions of power while the rakyat struggles to make rent, pay bills, be gainfully employed, afford tuition for the children, and the list goes on.

Celebrate unity in diversity

Oblivious to the suffering of the people, or should I say dismissive of the ground realities, political bigwigs continue mud-slinging and indulge in character assassinations despite being fully aware that such actions will frighten away investors and create political instability.

Another name for such toxicity is vendetta politics. But we can’t let these political figures win. We can’t allow them to dictate terms. We can’t allow them to divide us.

As I said earlier, we will be celebrating our National Day tomorrow. And as we do so, let’s free ourselves from hate, so we can come together as one people.

Let’s break the shackles of racism and xenophobia and instead celebrate unity in diversity.

And let’s embrace one another as Malaysians.

Salam Hari Merdeka

CHARLES SANTIAGO is the National Water Service Commission (Span) chairperson and a former Klang MP.

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