YOURSAY 'In GE13, out of 7.3 million Malays who voted, only 3.4 million voted for Umno-BN but 3.9 million Malays voted for Pakatan.'

56 years later - a fractured, polarised nation

Wg321: Today Umno is not interested in promoting racial harmony and unity. They are very vindictive because believe the Chinese did not want to ‘cooperate" with the Malays anymore. That is why they are determined to show the film ‘Tanda Putera'.

But they forget that Umno does not represent all Malays in this country. In GE13, out of 7.3 million Malays who voted, only 3.4 million voted for Umno-BN but 3.9 million Malays voted for Pakatan Rakyat.

The Chinese also voted overwhelmingly for Pakatan because they wanted a clean government, cheap cars (without excise duties), toll-free highways and other promises as specified in the opposition manifesto.

Indeed, the Chinese still wanted to cooperate with the Malays - those in Pakatan - for a clean government. The Chinese reject Umno-BN because they are synonymous with rampant corruption, cronyism, nepotism, etc.

TehTarik: Many signs point to a downward spiral in Malaysia:

1) Soccer ranking - from 75 (1993) to 159 (2013).

2) Largest drop in Maths and Science score (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) amongst 42 countries. From 1999 to 2011; Maths - from 519 down to 440, Science - from 492 down to 426.

3) A total debt to GDP ratio of nearly 250 percent, which is among the highest in Asia.

4) Nearly one million Malaysians, some the best and brightest have migrated over the last three decades.

5) Third highest in world for illicit capital outflow (Global Financial Integrity). Nearly US$285 billion has flowed out from 2001 to 2010.

6) Plunge in exports of manufactured products as percentage of total exports - from 63 percent in 2000 to 38 percent in 2012.

Unless drastic reforms are implemented, we will soon become another Argentina or Greece. Argentina was even more developed than Europe 50 years ago, but today is a sad basket case because of unsustainable debts. We are dangerously living on borrowed time.

Anonymous_5fb: The GE13 results, where Pakatan Rakyat got 51 percent of the popular votes shows that a big number of the Malays have awakened.

Umno leaders are stupid if they didn't see this and chose to not to acknowledge this 'awakening' by reforming their parties as well as the government machinery that they control.

At least Pak Lah (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) has awakened from what I read in the book 'Awakening', but not the so-called warlords and the grand old man, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

This awakening is feared most by Umno which will result in the party losing political power in time to come. The biggest obstacle for Umno to reform is Mahathir. With Mahathir still alive and kicking, you can forget about implementing reforms.

Swipenter: This country was fractured and polarised by design by Umno-BN. Since the 70s institutionalised racism and religious intolerance have flourished in every aspect of our lives.

We have wasted more than 30 years of nation building but have not lost one day in dividing ourselves according to our race and religious beliefs. Now race and religion seems to be more important than what is right and what it takes to do things right.

The nation is now bearing the burden of Mahathir for many generations to come. We may never recover from his policy failures, connivance, pervasive corruption, institutionalised racism and religious intolerance and opaque governance.

DontPlayGod: Politicians, from Umno and other race-based parties know that they have to play the race card to win votes. In this respect, Umno knows the game very well. They are the master at this, and they are the ruling party.

To stop all this racial politics (and religious politics), Umno must first be stopped. Otherwise, race and religious politics will continue until the end of time, or until the Malays wake up to Umno's deceit.

Anticonmen: The social contract or bargain between the races and also as agreed by the British was embodied in the original 1957 constitution. This constitution was the only contract between the races whereby equality and fair play was promised.

Subsequently, a group of leaders slowly dismantle and renege on the original contract by abusing their two-thirds majority in Parliament to amend the contract many times to benefit their pockets, resulting in the marginalisation of the non-Malays and the relegation of citizens into two classes of citizens.

Greed, jealousy and lack of honour lead to policies of institutionalised racism. This was craftily shielded from the outside world by cunning politicians who masquerade a closet dictatorship as a camouflaged democracy.

Peacemaker: With the greatest of respect to the comments from eminent author-lawyer Tommy Thomas, we have no knowledge of the so-called social contract in Malaysia.

That contract was a creature that existed and had effect in pre-Sept 16, 1963 times over the people of the territory known as Malaya.

Malaysia is not bound by this virtual contract if there ever was one. We Muruts, Bidayuhs, Kadazandusuns, Penans and Ibans refuse to be bound by a contract to which we were never privy.

So Thomas, you are out of sync with the political realty of the day. We are all equal citizens before the law and any party preaching otherwise is acting against the spirit and letter of that agreement.

So never do we ever want to hear about the social contract again, especially its use to decimate the legitimate rights of Malaysians today.

OMG!!: This is not only a fractured and polarised nation, it is also a failed nation. A nation whose institutions have been relegated to the ruling elite's apparatus, a nation whose education system produces graduates that can't think and are unemployable, a nation whose administrators are chosen not on merit and are totally inept, a nation whose majority race still depends on clutches and rent-seeking, and worst still a nation whose ruling elite is resorting to fraud and even treacherous act of giving citizenship for votes to sustain their hold on power.

Louis: Fifty-six years on, our country is divided further and further, thanks to Umno unrelenting racial attack on other race. How not to be?

Besides the numerous affirmative policies, its leaders never fail to invent phantom enemies, you know who I mean, in almost every speech to the Muslim or Malay audience. Who are the enemies?

We are not at war with any country. If young minds are bombarded with this doctrine so frequently, how can they grow up to love other race? Tommy Thomas, your analysis cannot be more correct.

Anonymous #82651881: After 56 years of Independence, I hardly see any Jalur Gemilang on Merdeka Day. And at 3pm on Aug 30, I finally saw my first ‘Jalur Gemilang' - on Google search international page.

Voice: There will be no hope of a true racial unity and harmony as long as Umno is in power. Simple as that.

Here's why so few Jalur Gemilang this August

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