LETTER | Never before in six decades of the nation’s history have Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or station, been so concerned about the future of the country as we had clearly taken the wrong turn in nation-building at variance from the bedrock principles of the Malaysian Constitution and Rukunegara.

This is best illustrated by the following developments:

• The failure of the federal government to fully honour the Malaysia Agreement 1963 for Sabah and Sarawak, with the Keningau Batu Sumpah standing as an indictment of such failure, particularly the three core issues of religion, land and local customs.
• In the Cobbold Commission Report 1963, the Malayan representatives made the commitment that the Malaysian Constitution “in effect would be secular”, and it is most shocking that such constitutional safeguards had been so undermined in recent years, that the Federal Government is openly funding activities of organisations which attacked the “secular” principle in the Malaysian Constitution and the Rukunegara principle on the supremacy of the Malaysian Constitution.
  Land which embraces territorial waters raises the question of Sabah and Sarawak’s rightful share of oil royalties, while Malaysia’s unique asset of linguistic, religious and cultural diversity has come under intense attack in recent years.
• Even the Malay rulers are concerned that the Malaysian nation-building process has gone awry, resulting in three statements by them in the past two years, the first one in Oct 2015 expressing concern on the 1MDB scandal, the second statement in Feb 2016 on the National Security Council (NSC) Bill with its impact on democracy and human rights and recently, the third statement in Oct this year expressing the Malay rulers’ concern on national unity and harmony.
• The concern of former top Malay civil servants, diplomats and corporate chiefs resulting in the formation of G25, which in a recent statement, said: “While there is much to celebrate, there is also much to be concerned about the growing intolerance for our differences. G25 observes that tolerance and respect for our diversity in languages, religions, cultures and traditions have been declining.
  "This is regrettable considering that diversity is universally recognised as a valuable asset among the factors for successful development. Indeed, it is for this reason that there is emphasis in the Rukun Negara to uphold the constitution and rule of law so that we can protect the multicultural character of our population and human rights in the country. This will also ensure moderation in the application of Islam in the daily life of Muslims.”
• The formation of the National Patriots Association comprising retired military and police officers concerned at the failure by the authorities to uphold the bedrock constitutional and Rukunegara principles of moderation and tolerance and about the basic structure of the nation.
• Growing numbers of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, politics or region, who have come around to the view that the present direction of nation-building must be halted before the country is trapped in the trajectory leading to a failed, divided and rogue state.

The forthcoming next general elections in the first half of next year is probably the only chance to save Malaysia before enormous harm is suffered by Malaysians.

It is an uphill but not an impossible job to defy the odds to bring about change in Putrajaya, which will be the first time in 60 years, to save Malaysia and destroy kleptocracy, and stop the country from hurtling towards the trajectory of a failed, divided and rogue state.

These concerns were very well captured in a poem by a former top civil servant, octogenarian Alwi Jantan, whose public career spanning 32 years had served as a director general of the National Archives and Library; state secretary of Selangor; secretary general of the Ministry of Local Government and Federal Territory; secretary general of the Ministry of Health; secretary general of Ministry of Agriculture; and from 1987 to 1990, director general of the Public Services Department.

I commend Alwi Jantan’s poem for all Malaysians who love Malaysia to inspire them to save Malaysia:

THE CLARION CALL

Where are my brothers and sisters,
My friends of yesteryears?
Who together built this nation
With a democratic constitution?

The time has come for us to rise
In unison and in one voice
To save our beloved nation
For our future generations.

We have to fight against corruption,
And call for clean administration.
We have to fight against nepotism,
And abuse of power and cronyism.

We have to install good governance,
And law and order maintenance.
We have to fight religious bigotry,
And preserve racial unity.

We have to get rid of corrupt leaders
As well as their bootlickers.
We have to remove kleptoracy,
And re-establish true democracy.

Only then can the future be assured,
And our progress be measured
As a multi-racial country

Living in peace and harmony.

I dread to think of what is in store for Malaysia if the Umno/BN coalition can steal the 14th general election!

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.