I believe Malaysia is heading for a major political change in the forthcoming 14th General Election as never before in the nation’s 60-year history is there such widespread and deep-seated restiveness and unhappiness among the people, including the 1.6 million-strong civil service, against the UMNO/BN Government.

The time has come for Malaysia to become a normal democratic country, where the voters can peacefully and democratically change the Federal Government in Putrajaya through the ballot box, as in countries recognized as normal democracies, whether the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the European countries like Germany, France, Italy and others, or even Asian countries like Japan, India, South Korea, Philippines and Indonesia.

The voters should not be threatened with chaos, riots or undemocratic and authoritarian measures to frustrate the democratic will of the people expressed in a general election, as the UMNO/BN leaders are trying to do.

In trying to cling on to power, UMNO/BN politicians have resorted to the politics of lies, fear and hate to disseminate the fear among Malay voters that if UMNO is defeated in the 14GE, Malays will lose political power and their rights in the country.

This is of course rubbish and nonsense, for the Pakatan Harapan coalition comprising DAP, PKR, AMANAH and Pribumi Bersatu want to win, not just the 14th GE, but the 15th, 16th GE and others so that it could continue to form the Federal Government – which means that the Pakatan Harapan government must demonstrate that it could deliver results and do better than the UMNO/BN government to protect and promote the rights and interests of all communities in the country, including the Malays.

Recently, there has been an escalation of the UMNO/BN demonization campaign against Pakatan Harapan leaders which, among other things, sought to describe me as a devil and a monster – anti-Malay, anti-Islam, a communist, a stooge of foreign powers, a puppet-master who have made Tun Mahathir, Anwar Ibrahim, Wan Azizah, Muhyiddin Yassin, Azmin Ali, Mohd Sabu, among others into my puppets and stooges.

What other monstrous things have the UMNO/BN “demonisers” not thought of so as to demonise me?

Only political simpletons or idiots will believe in such political rubbish and gibberish, which have become the staple diet of UMNO leaders including Ministers – but the intensity in the escalation of such UMNO/BN demonization campaign against Pakatan Harapan leaders is a reflection of the weakness, vulnerability and fear of UMNO/BN leaders that UMNO/BN coalition could lose Federal power in the 14GE.

Hence the latest move by the Prime Minister, Datuk Najib Razak to appoint Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein as the Minister for Special Functions, apart from retaining his portfolio as Defence Minister – a clear political ploy by Najib to appoint Hishammuddin as the de facto No 2 after Najib, displacing Deputy Prime Minsiter Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi.

A new Federal Government in Malaysia after the 14th General Election will be the best news for Malaysia.

This year Malaysians will be celebrating our 60th National Day to commemorate the nation’s attainment of Independence on August 31, 1957.

In the past six decades, Malaysia failed to live up to the promises of Merdeka in 1957 for the country to be an example and showcase to the troubled world as to how diverse races, languages, religions, cultures and civilisations could successfully co-exist and integrate to build a united, harmonious, purposive, democratic, just, progressive and prosperous nation.

The 60th National Day anniversary is a fit and proper moment for the nation to undertake a “Malaysia Reset” movement, where we keep policies and measures which had done good to the country but correct or even abandon policies and measures detrimental to the nation or which had damaged the nation building process.

The incumbent UMNO/Barisan Nasional government will not conduct any such “Malaysia Reset” Movement, as a new political coalition in Putrajaya is the precondition for any “Malaysia Reset” movement and transformation in Malaysia.

This is why all Malaysian voters, regardless of race, religion, region or political affiliation, should unite in the 14GE to “Re-Set Malaysia” and Save Malaysia from a global kleptocracy, a failed and rogue state!

(Speech at a kopitiam dialogue at Kota Alam Shah, Klang on Thursday, April 13, 2017 at 5 pm)