Middle Malaysia or 1Malaysia, a Win for All

I'm somewhat optimistic about the direction that we are heading now. The pressure from both sides of the political divide have been enormous but our politicians showed political will. They showed that they will not bow to the pressure and the interest of ordinary Malaysians will come first.

Firstly, our Prime Minister showed tremendous political will in announcing the end of repressive and restrictive laws like the ISA, the need for renewal of permit for media and so on. He chose a grand occasion in announcing the such move, his Malaysia Day address to fellow Malaysians.

Let us hope that he will fulfil his promise and that the laws replacing those outdated acts will not be the same or worse than the current acts. Despite certain groups within his party that are calling for continuation of such acts, he showed the cynics and sceptics that transformation is indeed his agenda for this country. Hopefully it is transformation for the better.

On the other hand, the opposition too, was under pressure from from politically strong pressure groups within their respective parties. The recent row over Hudud, where the hardcore secular and Islamist group clashed with bravado over their respective beliefs, to the extent of threats to leave Pakatan Rakyat by some was defeated by level-headed leaders of Pakatan Rakyat.

Together they stood their ground and say it's okay to disagree, but Pakatan Rakat will only move with the consensus of all parties. This is similar in relationships where a good relationship is not that there is no disagreement at all, rather the ability to move beyond the disagreement and build consensus. DAP had in the past talked about Middle Malaysia, this is a clear indication that indeed there are seriuos about it.

This proves that Pakatan Rakyat is more than a marriage of convenience, but rather a romantic marriage with all the twist and turns, conflict and drama not forgetting the I'm going to leave you threat that is commonplace in relationships. Where else can you see a marriage between secularists and Islamists that can last this long, this is truly a Malaysian story. Malaysia Boleh!

With Perkasa running around shouting racist rhetoric, pressuring the government to be ethnocentric, and the conservatives whether in PAS or DAP that is imposing their way of doing things in the opposition, one wonder whether change can happen in this country. But with the way these leaders from both the government and opposition handle these pressure groups, I can say we are headed towards the right direction, whether it is Middle Malaysia or 1Malaysia...:)

In Conclusion, we must remember that Malaysia is a country that is diverse, therefore we cannot be dogmatic in our thoughts and actions. This country is successful and will only continue to be successful if we follow the footsteps of our forefathers that used the melting pot approach rather than create hegemony in this country.

Malaysia is a "rojak nation", a mixture of a little bit of everything. The same goes to all of us Malaysians. It is important that we remember that. We, the people of Malaysia must defend this Malaysian way, because this is the only way, this is our way....:)