"A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority."

― Henry David Thoreau, 'Civil Disobedience'

COMMENT | Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy’s piece 'Harapan being bullied by extreme forces' could have been a clarion call for reform from a political insider but instead ends up playing the victim card. That does nothing to further the progressive agenda in this country.

Of late, Ramasamy has been shining a spotlight on issues which deserves public attention and this should be commended.

However, Harapan is developing a habit of blaming everyone but themselves for their political inertia. It has gotten so bad that now it seems that every time Harapan announces a new policy direction, they are just waiting for the Malay far-right to object so they can scupper their plans.

The matriculation fiasco is a fine example. Ramasamy did right when he highlighted the racial inequality of the matriculation programme. It doesn’t matter what you may think of this programme, what is important is that it is just another example of the blatant discrimination that non-Malays face in this country.

After all the false starts, backtracking and weasely retreats, what Harapan could have done is adjust the odious quotas to reflect the reality of the diverse ethnic demographic and honour a campaign theme of racial equality, even if it is just baby steps...