Urban Sensibilities versus Rural Perspectives

I had the opportunity to get away for a week in the east cost to the beautiful island of Redang off the coast of Trengganu; after enjoying a lovely 3 days of bliss away from all the politics and talks about politics helped me gain a better insight when I spent 1 full day touring the city of Kuala Trengganu interacting with the locals there.

Going to a Malay heartland, where 95% of the population consist of Malays, and 4% Chinese. It does strike me in a realization that in the eyes of these folks; how important the perceived Malay Special Rights are to them. It also dawn on me that it would be very difficult for an Urban Chinese from the big city of Kuala Lumpur to understand their needs and challenges they are facing. Indeed perhaps to lead them as a Prime Minister or Menteri Besar that you will have to understand their customs and religious needs a little more indepth than at the cursory level.

Speaking to these folks, its easy to understand their confusion on the so called "New Economic Policy" has helped them or rather not helped them. Most of them see the daily survival and economic issues as key priorities. They are concerned about getting jobs, able to conduct business and low inflation. All which as I see it, the NEP does not address these important issues. The people are fed up with the politicians who are playing the race card, and declaring that the Malays need NEP. But really, who really needs and benefit from the NEP. It is the politically connected, and cronies of those in power who help themselves to the benefits to extend of taking the poor peoples land and building for themselves private palaces and fiefdoms.

I had a wonderful time in Kuala Terengganu with an elderly taxi driver named Pak Uda who was so kind to be my tour guide for the day Terengganu who showed me around town and to the various beautiful Mosques such as the Crystal Palace, and the Floating Mosque.

And also I had an interesting chat with the Malay taxi driver who took the travel time to send me home to give me his two cents about how corrupted the BN-UMNO government; and he mentioned that he was happy that the Selangor state government is now led by the opposition and he and a bunch of his Malay friends voted for DAP and that some chinese in areas where PAS was contesting the chinese voted for PAS. Truly, this came from a Malay then time for racial politics is indeed over.

The future of Malaysian Politics

I would like to think time has come for new breed of politicians that are sensitive to the needs of the people: a politics of Equality, Acceptance, Justice, Liberty and Freedom!

Its time we stop thinking and acting along racial lines, no more politicizing religion. It's a time to restore democracy and to be truly what we as Malaysians can be. To be a country where people want to come to live and bring up their children. To be truly a place to live in peace and harmony, a shinning example to all peoples around the world what a model nation should be, and they will know that this is MALAYSIA, a land of diversity, peaceful harmony, and acceptance.

There will be no more talk of tolerance, why tolerate? Tolerate is such a negative word, it projects a sense of uneasiness, a sense of dissatisfaction, and a sense of divisiveness. Why cant we accept each other, after all we are all the same beneath the skin; peel of the skin and you can see that we are all flesh and blood; there's no difference ... my flesh is the same color, and my blood is no redder than yours.
Lets look at each other and accept that each of us born of this country will love this country as much as the other as we pledge loyalty to the king and country; and to what this country will stand for. For Diversity, peaceful harmony, and acceptance.

My Manifesto:

• Equality of all citizens irregardless of race and religion.
• Abolishment of stratification by race and religion, all peoples should be equal in the eyes of the law.
• Discrimination by race and religion will be criminalize. Persons found guilty of discrimination will be subjected to penal code.
• Citizens have equal rights of access to education, opportunities of work, freedom of speech, medical care, conduct of business, goverment services, legal representation
• All citizens have a right to choose and practice their own religion
• All citizens have a right to freedom of speech; and a right not to incriminate himself
  
• Abolishment of detention without trial
• Separation of powers of Government, the Government shall be fully secular
  
• Restoration of Judicial Independence
• Separation of Religion from the State
• Press Freedom, by outlawing ownership of the media by political parties, owners who are members of political parties, and the government or government agencies
  
• Government for the people by the people
• the government shall be run as a service to the people, with the highest professionalism, and will attract the brightest and morally upright citizens
• the government shall reward its public servants based on merit and measureable performance vis-a-vis private sector remuneration standards.
• the government facilitate and encourage commerce without restrictions of quotas of equity rights
• restoration of city and town council elections, to enable the citizens to choose their own Mayor and councilors, to ensure the highest standard of accountability and representation of the peoples' wishes; to ensure proper city and town planning for sustainable development and conservation of environment.
• Social Welfare
  
• a Social Welfare Ministry shall be established to formulate services and programs to eradicate poverty by setting up job matching agency for unemployed people and training centers to train or re-skill unemployed people, to raise the standard of living of people by setting up minimum wage requirement, to ensure all people citizens and non-citizens will have access to the best health care available.
• Abolishment of taxes and duties for healthcare equipment and medication, to ensure that the people have access to cheap and affordable healthcare; and to encourage setting of hospices for health care tourism.
• Education
• People's right to education in the light of Globalization, the government shall encourage the setting up of private education institutions, and shall not intervene running of such educations provided they conform to the highest international education standards.
• National Language
• Bahasa Melayu shall be the preferred language for all internal correspondences not restricting the use of other languages provided if accompanied with a translation to Bahasa Melayu; and the English language shall be the preferred language for all external and public correspondence; with required translations for Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin to be attached.
• Reorganize and restructure Royal Police force into a professional and respected force, by recruiting the brightest and morally upright citizens through attractive remunerations that consumerate with the level of professionalism and commitment needed to ensure no corruption will exist in the force.
• Establishment of a world class professional workforce with focus in intellectual property, information communication technology, and finance.
• Establishment of citizen corporate trust, for corporates managing countries resources, this will ensure that all citizens will benefit from the countries resources by allowing each citizen to own a share of the corporate trust. This citizen corporate trust, will be an extension of the Employees Providend Fund. All working citizens will contribute a percentage of their funds as part of their retirement fund into the corporate funds.