The politicians on both sides started all this, and you will see more along the way leading up to the 16th general election.
The proliferation of parties has fragmented Malaysians specifically, the Malay community and set them against one another.
We have come down to this stage because our government didn't dare to do the right thing.
When they face the opposition, including their own friends in the unity government, playing race and religion in elections, they backed off and let it be to be politically right.
If one is a nobody and you stir up race and religious hatred, I think you might be in jail the next day.
By the way, where is the national unity minister? This cabinet is so weak.
We are Malaysian, but certain politicians and leaders fear that if we call ourselves Malaysian, they will lose their tools to gain influence over their race
It is a common irony in politics when leaders who create division ask the public to unite. People often feel frustrated by this double standard.
Ordinary Malaysians want sincere actions instead of empty words.
Real unity starts when leaders change how they behave.
Malaysian politics has been coloured by the same group of people for the last 50 years. Majority are in the 70s and 80s in 1 or 2 years.
The older these politicians get, the more divided is the country.
Nowadays, we wonder which political party our neighbors are supporting.
We see what cars they drive more than greeting each other.
We worry more on who would steal or scam our money than the welfare of our families.
The sin of dividing the nation is not done by ordinary Malaysians.
In every taman or township, all races live in harmony with one another.
There is no hatred nor bitterness among us.
We accommodate each other's race and religion respectfully.
Each allow others to peacefully celebrate and observe others celebrating in the same neighbourhood.
Yes, at times, the fireworks go beyond midnight, or even 2am.
But this is Malaysia.
Yes, we will complain about the fireworks every now and then, but over the years, we have been living in harmony and will accommodate.
There is no longer any hope for this country – especially made worse when successive prime ministers become more and more toxic, proving themselves as corrupt and as disloyal as their own opponents.
It is another group that tries to divide us Malaysians by using a narrative that is imaginary yet harmful and effective.
That is the group that needs repentance and re-learning.
They need to be more honest, progressive in their thinking, and have more integrity. Ordinary Malaysians?
We are doing alright.
And we unitedly hate the 3R narrative propagated by some people.
Merdeka is a hollow celebration and loses its purpose when the one day of staged unity cannot offset how politicians – they know who they are - exploit race and religion to divide and drive disunity and distrust across Malaysia's diverse communities.
They should instead be embracing diversity as a strength to drive the nation forward.
In fact, the older Malaysia gets, the more malu and divided Malaysians are.
FLK (leekhean.foo@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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