/// It is incomprehensible for him to sponsor two conflicting concepts — 1Malaysia and Ketuanan Melayu /// – Dr Chen Man Hin.

1 M’ysia is but a mere political slogan – based on an aspiration, not the reality. Its intended to be “catchy”, easily memorable repetitive idea or mantra, if you will, pursued by a new administration to address a national problem (ntional unity) or the other facet of it, to address the ruling coalition’s immediate problems of how to retain dwindling support (from non Malays voters) to maintain its traditional façade of being a multi-racial government with minorities being represented in the government by their respective component parties (principally MCA, Gerakan MIC etc under UMNO’s hegemony).

Façade is premised on these parties truly represent interest and aspirations of their respective constituencies but the 2008 general election (308 political tsunami) debunked this façade and pretension with (probably 75% to 80% of minority voters voted Opposition than BN component parties). Many of them voted PAS even if they feared PAS theocratic agenda. No surprise for they would have voted a dog or monkey if it had stood for election (against a component party’s candidate) – that’s the extent of alienation growing out of 50 years of progressive marginalisation.

When marginalisation of non Malays reached break point, pushing to 80% withdrawal of voting support for BN’s component parties, the very pretension of BN’s multi racial representation is put to severe challenge. 1 M’ysia is to intended to address and reverse this problem of Non Malay voters’ feeling of alienation and to maintain BN’s traditional facade of multiracialism in the face of Ketuanan pursued to retain Malay Muslim votes.

But here to comes another big problem. Inspite of Ketuanan & NEP, a substantial portion of Malay vote bank esp of the younger set are withdrawing support because of the “class” issue linked to political corruption ie perception that only UMNOputras and the connected reap benefits of these policies ….That is why MACC & hype about tackling the scourge of corruption perceived to negate the benefits of NEP/Ketuanan and exacerbate class divisions!

However a political system evolving over 50 years is hard to reverse gear or re-invent its character. Hence the imperative to fight political corruption/money politic is no sooner debunked/contradicted by the imperative to put up a tainted candidate in Bagan Pinang to ensure a win and avert the warlords’ boycott. Tun Dr Mahathir pointed this out – win the battle but lose the war!

Coming to 1M’ysia, when aspiration of multiracialism is a stark mismatch against reality of the ground – when it is extrapolated further into global stage to lecture the world about 1 region and 1 world – then such a slogan instead of achieving its purpose will instead attract the opposite : attract ridicule when potshots are taken by the alienated to expose the hypocrisy. It is not helped by component parties like MCA (already marginalised by both UMNO and its own constitutency) refusing to acknowledge its dilemma and responding to it by intra party feuds with one faction calling itself 1 MCA! Soon a MIC faction will also call itself 1 MIC as the man on the street makes it a 1 Joke or calls it 1 hypocrisy! Just like MACC, a symbol to fight corruption has been ridiculed by jokes like it stands for Mafia Association of Corrupted Commisioner etc..

Judging from the ridiculing of these acroynms (MACC)/slogans (1 M’ysia), it is clear than the ruling coalition has not yet convinced many that it has summoned the political will or found the formula to counter voters’ demystification of (1) the facade of multiracialism and (2) the facade of tackling corruption to reverse the trend of withdrawal of support evinced in 308 12th GE.

Sorry for typo omissions – re 4th para, “1M’ysia is to (intended) to address” without word “intended”; re 5th para, “But here TOO comes another big problem; re last para – “demystification ‘with’..” not not “of”.