Race-based politics is... racist!

The infamous Ali Tinju has done it again. After being detained and released on a sedition charge, he has been reported by the media, spewing racial hatred yet again.

As quoted by a local news portal, Tinju warned the MCA not to defend the Chinese race who according to him cheat, blackmail and intimidate the rakyat.

But let’s not get too much into such an individual. It brings no benefit whatsoever to nation building and for improving race relations. So forget him.

The bigger picture is that this is the problem I see being caused by an archaic system where political parties are created based on race and it seeps into the minds of the people too much.

In a country where there are many different races and religions, the best way is to be inclusive and integrated rather than divisive and selfish.

The core of race-based politics such as what we have in Malaysia is so that each race’s interest and well-being will be protected, preserved and represented.

First of all, in a Parliamentary democracy, every Member of Parliament (MP) needs to have an obligation to every single individual in his or her constituency.

And if an MP is from a political party of a particular race, how would he or she represent his constituency fairly and objectively? Unless, of course, his constituency consists of only one race.

And how would we select the Prime Minister or the head of the country? Just like the MPs, he or she would be a member of a political party of a particular race.

Would he or she be able to represent all Malaysians fairly and objectively or will he be obligated to represent the interest of his own race first and foremost?

Today, we have so many politicians (and individuals who are trying to gain political mileage) who are pitting one race against the other for their own benefit.

All this because we have, ever since independence, cultivated a mentality whereby each race needs to be wary of the other in order to survive.

And today, we are reaping the fruit. And what a bitter fruit it is. The-race based political system is simply racist. There is no justification for it.

As far as I can see, there are probably three kinds of people who would defend such a system:

Racists It’s hard to believe that people like these still exist. They are just plain hateful and close-minded. All they want is for their own race to survive.

The selfish and power crazy There are a large number of people like these. They couldn’t care less about the protection and preservation of any race. They just want to manipulate the system to their advantage.

The insecure These are people who have no self-confidence or who have just really bought into the indoctrination that the system is responsible for.

They actually believe that they need the system to survive or that Malaysia isn’t ready for a change. These people, I believe, are the majority out of the three types.

Actually, this issue is also a bit more personal to me (and I’m assuming for many others too because I may not be that rare a breed!) because of my family heritage.

I come from a mixed-race family. My family consist of members from all the major races in Malaysia and the different religions too! So how would the political system represent me?

Can’t there be a Malaysia for Malaysians? Can’t all Malaysians be automatically represented in the government regardless of their race or religion?

And here’s a thought. Maybe there is a need for affirmative action to ensure that there is a change and that the indoctrination that has taken place for more than half a century can be reversed.

All I know is that I (and many others too) am sick and tired of all the negativity that has been going on in the country. Something drastic needs to be done.