Not fear of a united Malay majority as what the President of Parti Wawasan Negara, Datuk Sri Hamzah Zainuddin was trying to assure the non-Malays.
Non-Malays are citizens too.
Chants are often heard saying non-Malays especially the Chinese Malaysians are not grateful.
Grateful?
Please be specific.
If the politicians and those bigots meant that Malaysians should appreciate peace, stability and the country we share, then of course.
Every citizen should.
But if “gratitude” means that non-Malays must permanently behave as though their citizenship was a personal favour granted by another ethnic group, then the non-Malays disagree.
Malaysia has constitutional arrangements recognising the special position of Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.
At the same time, the Constitution also protects the legitimate interests and citizenship rights of other Malaysians.
These two principles exist together.
Recognition must work both ways.
So what exactly is expected when people demand that the Non-Malays “be grateful”?
Grateful that we are allowed to live in their own country?
If citizenship and constitutional rights already exist, then surely they cannot depend on whether another community feels sufficiently appreciated.
The politicians and bigots cannot read only the constitutional provisions they like and pretend the others do not exist.
And they certainly should not replace constitutional discussion with threats, emotional accusations or historical guilt.
Malaysia was always intended to be a diverse federation when it invited Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia.
If someone has genuinely done something wrong, show the evidence and criticise the person responsible.
Just like what Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said in explaining the scandal at Tabung Haji revealed in the RCI report, it is unfair to associate an entire party with corruption because of an individual's wrongdoing.
Don’t use imagination, fear or anger to condemn millions of fellow citizens.
We are all Malaysians
We can disagree strongly.
But at the very least, we should disagree rationally and treat one another as equal citizens worthy of basic respect.
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