An open letter to Najib – A Citizen of Malaysia

You were sad at the calamity that had befallen Malaysia. All those Malaysians lying dead in an Ukrainian field. You rushed to ensure their bodies would be brought home and given a heroes' welcome. And so it was that we joined hands in a show of unity that many had believed was no longer possible. We stood for a minute's silence, to show our solidarity; no ethnic or religious bar to our sense of loss.

The mood was carried over into our Merdeka celebrations and we felt a new dawn was rising from the ashes of that wrecked plane. It was not to be: a headline in a newspaper daily screamed "Non-Malays getting arrogant." and so the euphoria ended with a crushing blow.

The love and unity generated by the arrival of the remains of MH 17 vaporised by an Umno vice-president who laid out the official line: Watch out non-Malays, this land is not yours. It belongs to the bumiputera and you are here on our goodwill; at any time we can ask you to leave just as we would with a tiresome guest who has outlived his/her welcome. The sceptre of the unpatriotic non-Malay bogey man was once again raised 57 years after independence.

My question to you PM, is this: Who is a patriotic Malaysian?

Here are my answers.

A patriotic Malaysian understands that there is no Malaysia without Malay, Chinese, Indian and others working together in a cohesive whole for the good of the nation. When we retreat into our ethnic groups and refuse to work with other groups of diverse backgrounds, we become weak and ineffectual in our endeavours. Our strength lies in our diversity.

To be truly Malaysian is to make sure that our elected representatives do their job and not rule at their whim and pleasure. Instead we chose to turn a blind eye to the unbridled corruption that has destroyed the soul of our country and therefore we reap its fallout; legislation couched in the guise of anti-patriotism: the sedition act, enacted to snuff out even the whiff of criticism, for the Government is all knowing, all seeing and therefore unquestionable. They hold the fate of the people in their hands and we must give them obeisance.

To be Malaysian is to ensure that every single citizen is allowed to earn a living wage that ultimately leads to the eradication of poverty.

To be Malaysian is to ensure that every child has the best education, and not one that money can buy.

To be Malaysian is to have the best medical care for every citizen and not a service that places no value on the life of the poor.

After 57 years PM, we have a vice president in your party who chooses to berate 50% of the population " We allowed them to be indebted to us without needing them to pay it back" but surely it is the ruling party who are indebted to the citizens of this nation for giving them the mandate to rule in our best interests? Does the Govt. feel it is entitled to do as it pleases, that our needs are to be ignored while they build an empire for themselves at our expense? If we look around at our neighbours: Singapore, Thailand and even Indonesia, it is very clear that we are regressing while they are moving forward in tackling issues that undermine the fabric of society.

Our first finance minister Tun Tan Siew Sin put it succinctly when he said in a speech, "In order for Malaysia to succeed, the Malays need to be less Malay, the Chinese need to be less Chinese and the Indians need to be less Indian". He was talking about give and take, about forging a true Malaysian identity that encompassed 100% of the population and not 50% of the pop.

After 57 years of independence 1 Malaysia remains a beautiful advertising slogan that remains a mirage on the horizon so long as we have ministers trying to detract the populace from the very real problems of unemployment, low wages, rising food prices, poor education, poor medical facilities and most importantly , an end to freedom of speech. The aim is clearly to disrupt unity with misguided nationalistic sentiments that play on time worn insecurities.

Surely, PM, the time has come to work towards the Malaysia we all want and desire, where every citizen is considered a stakeholder with equal rights and privileges. Let us make that dream a reality.

*A Citizen of Malaysia reads The Malaysian Insider.