By Prof Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi

The Perak political impasse may be the destruction of one idea of Malaysia and a birth of another. This other is the much talked about co-operation between BN and PH more specifically Umno and DAP. Many in the Umno camps at both the leadership and grass roots are against any co-operation with DAP. Many grass roots and leadership of DAP are against working with Umno. For the life of me, I do not see any reason why such two political parties cannot be together in a coalition. Once PAS was with the DAP. Now PAS is more extremist and ultra than Umno. What Malaysians fail to make a distinction is between individual politicians and the long history of their party.

For me, an ordinary citizen without parties or voters, I have always separated the person from any entity. When the Menteri Besar of Kedah destroyed shrines and stereotype Indians as drunks, I separated him from his party and his religion. I am a Muslim following the teachings of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. I do not know where Muhammad Sanusi learns his version of Islam for him to destroy shrines and treat others with such crude and crass attitude. But Sanusi is not the whole PAS 60 year history. Nor is Najib, Mahathir the representation of Umno's six decades of contributions to the Malays and Malaysians. PPBM has no history except for political expediency and it is still now a party that has no ideology except political survival at whatever cost. PPBM and its leaders will not stop at using Emergency powers to survive nor stop at meddling with parliamentary procedures to ensure Malaysians loose all rights, dignity of choice and peaceful co-existence. What matters are individual positions of power and influence. We, Malaysians, are now facing the single most dangerous threat to our precious liberty and freedom. With religious extremism becoming the battle cry for the ruling coalition, Malaysia is set on the road to total destruction economically, politically and risk becoming a pariah state the world would not want to know nor do business with.

Why are Malaysians so vengeful to not allow new ideas and relationship of political allegiance to take root? We have seen how the Malays reacted at seeing an equal representation of Malay and non-Malay cabinet presence. Tun M was the architect of the cabinet and perhaps he had had a far sighted strategy to appoint members that would create severe unrest in the Malay community. That is why we must look at political ambitions of individuals and not mistake it for the whole entity of political parties.

For me, Umno is the most important party that had raised Malays like me to a position of wealth, education and dignity. Period. That some politician robbed RM40 Billion or enrich his children with billions are all the work of individuals who care only for themselves and not for the others. In the Islamic Hereafter, all these individuals will be taken into accountability with the money they took from millions of deserving Malays and Malaysians. I am very happy not to be in their wealthy shoes for the Hereafter will not be a comfortable place for these people.

We Malaysians must also look at the pragmatism of things and not let individual actions or history of self-interest politicians dictate our decisions. We Malaysians must learn to fight one terrible enemy at one time and bide our time until all enemies are destroyed. If we were to just decide that Umno and DAP will never be able to work together, we might as well declare a clear and open war between all Malays and all Chinese. Are we willing to do that? Some say, well we are not in a racial war but a political war. But can't we think that in war there are alliances to be formed and strategies to be made and friends to be killed for the sake of the prize of victory? Well, that's how the world works at a fundamental level. The world is not made of awakened and clear thinking sages but filled with herds of humans that think slightly just above the animals they rear.

Let us be clear that the single important enemy of Malaysia are those who wants to take our freedom away and also allow leaders who put their values above our nation's constitution and Rukunegara. These politicians are those who treat our country as their back pocket handing out salaries upon salaries to unqualified personalities without due regard to what contributions they could make to the people of Malaysia by using the money meant for the B40s and needy numbering in the millions. These same leaders are they who care not an iota of thought to stateless children and children deprived of an education that could secure for them a dignified future. If we, Malaysians want to once again dream of a country we can proudly call ours, where all citizens are treated with the same dignity, then we must dare to think of different possibilities and not just one idealized vision. Perak represents both an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, if we can angle the throw correctly. But if our aim and throw were always in one traditional direction, we will miss both the birds and, worse, the stone might ricochet back to out forehead.

(Professor Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor at a local university.)