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WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE 1 MALAYSIA A SUCCESS
A clear understanding of the shortcomings of previous national unity initiatives isessential in order for 1Malaysia to make a difference, writes RITA SIM
PEOPLE are weary. How will the present leadership make
1Malaysia
work in a society thatis highly and openly polarised. The proof of these rifts lies in the very existence of BangsaMalaysia, Rakyat Malaysia and now
1Malaysia
.The yearning search for a collective identity would be moot if we were on a focused andconvincing path to commonality. But we are not, and so
1Malaysia
has a great deal of hardwork to do.Has the current situation alienated Malaysian politics from the culture, heritage and traditionsof democratic practice that combined to make up the social contract and led to the foundingof this nation?Malaysians today face the serious risk of becoming completely turned off by the politicalprocess as they struggle to deal with concerns about the economy and frustrations over prolonged party-political conflict.
1Malaysia
must address the fact that party supporters on all sides are being forced awayfrom dialogue and the possibliity of cooperation.Political parties are unable to work together in a unified political environment where diversityof opinion is counted as a benefit for the people rather than an "enemy" that must besuppressed or destroyed.If the country is to move forward, political leaders must reestablish relationships of trust withthe general population and, particularly from the Barisan Nasional's perspective, trust mustbe re-established with those (including Malay swing voters) who deserted the coalition for the opposition on March 8.To this end,
1Malaysia
was unveiled. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's concept isbilled as a renewed vision of national unity.In Parliament on June 15, Najib said
1Malaysia
would uphold the basic provisions of theConstitution, especially the often contested special position of the Bumiputera andguarantees for the protection of Chinese and Tamil vernacular education.He also asked through bis website — designed to reach out to the Malaysian public —thatdefinitions of 
1Malaysia
should come from the rakyat.The question, however, will be how and when these conceptions are formed into a concreteplan of action. The government must make full use of the opportunity to involve the rakyat atall levels in this process.Najib said
1Malaysia
differs fundamentally from the DAP's Malaysian Malaysia but it bears astriking resemblance to the MCA's vision of Rakyat Malaysia, which was formulated in 2005as a roadmap to the "fair and full partnership" of all Malaysians in a "common and shareddestiny" spelt out unequivocally in the Vision 2020 statement.If we are to ensure that the concept succeeds, we must first understand why previousnational unity initiatives have been less than successful. The reason is fairly straightforward :national unity must be all-encompassing and all-inclusive.
1
 
The DAP has not been able to attract significant Malay support because of its perceiveddoctrinaire stance on the special position of the Bumiputera.Since this position is protected by the Federal Constitution, is the party in fact pushing for constitutional amendments?If we are tooling a national identity, surely the first step must be to call a spade a spade?What have been considered "special rights" are not rights
 per se
but a protected position—itis time that all parties are clear on this.And what of the MCA's Rakyat Malaysia, mooted during the tenure of president Tan Sri OngKa Ting? Like
1Malaysia
, it is grounded firmly in the Constitution and Rukun Negara, clearlyrespecting the notion of special rights.But unlike
1Malaysia
, it is a policy expressed by an exclusively-Chinese political leadershipas a part of the MCA's own action plan for political evolution.In both cases, the missing ingredient has been multiracial and multireligious dialogue —Malaysian Malaysia was too caught up in ideas about race and ethnic interests to commandwider support and Rakyat Malaysia was perceived to be an internal initiative of the MCA for the benefit of Chinese and other non-Malay communities.Today, non-Malays regardless of their political affiliation face theadditional concern of havingto deal with increasingly agitated expressions of Malay unity and the incorporation of Islamisation into the Malay political mainstream.How will
1Malaysia
reflect the essentially pluralistic nature of Malaysia's religious make-up?Islamisation was once a concept that defined only Pas, and mainstream non-Muslim votershave long thrown their full support behind BN or the DAP for this reason (especially in the1999 general election).But that situation changed ahead of the March 8 elections with Pas becoming significantlymore "mainstream" and with parliamentary seats in Malay-majority constituencies no longer seeing a straight fight between Umno and Pas, but a fragmented contest among Umno, Pasand PKR.As talk about a unity govern-ment between Pas and Umno rattles on, a crucial questionabout our identity is this: How would
1Malaysia
work in prac-tice when our demographicsare moving towards a Malay-Muslim and Bumiputera majority of no less than 70 per cent?Islamisation creates and maintains headlines and current discussions about Malay issuesare rarely conducted without specific references to Malay-Muslim unity.What implications on national unity do these and other very real and serious divisions have?Questions about equitable ethnic representation persist in the civil service (where almost 95per cent are Malay) as well as in the annual award of government scholarships.At the same time, government delivery systems leave much to be desired when it comes toreaching out to disad-vantaged and disenfranchised communities in Sabah and Sarawak, aswell as in Peninsular Malaysia.
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