Can 2024 be the first year where the 2R issues of race and religion are not exploited – five years where the 2Rs were exploited to the full creating national disharmony for political objectives?

Malaysians will welcome a New Year in less than ten days.

2023 had been the worst year in the last five years because of untrammelled exploitation of the 2R issues of race and religion for political reasons.

Can we look forward to 2024 to a year where the 2R issues ceased to be exploited to the full for political advancement of individuals and political parties but instead all national efforts and energies are focused on making Malaysia a great world-class nation?

For its first nine months, the Anwar unity government fought for its life, as Perikatan Nasional (PN) turned 2023 into the worst of the last five years where the 2R issues of race and religion were exploited to the full for political ends.

The Malays and Muslims in the country came under the intense and continuous pressure that they were facing a last battle to avoid extinction of race and religion and loss of country, and for the first time in Malaysia, the social media was fully exploited to spread lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech to cause unprecedented polarisation of race and religion in multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-civilisation Malaysia.

The six state general elections in August was a crucial test of survival for the Anwar unity government, as the PN was confident of winning Selangor or Negri Sembilan state government, but when this did not materialize, it represented the high water mark of the Green Wave triggered by the PN in the 15th General Election.

PN is in trouble. Although it still talks about replacing the Anwar unity government, the cohesion and credibility of PN have come under increasing test.

Five Bersatu MPs have declared support for the 10th Prime Minister and talk is that more Bersatu MPs are to follow suit.

The first year after the 15th General Election have also shown up the weaknesses and fragility of PAS electoral success, in particular:

• The thundering silence of the PAS President, Hadi Awang to challenges to substantiate his wild and preposterous allegations that DAP and I were anti-Malay, anti-Islam, anti-Royalty, communist and spreading Islamophobia;
• The abysmal failure of the PAS leadership, whether national leaders or MPs, to demonstrate that they do not abuse the social media to spread lies, falsehoods, fake news and hate speech in the pursuit of their political goals;
• The shocking example of the PAS MP for Kepala Batas, Siti Mastura Muhamad, who was not only media illiterate but cannot different between truth and falsehood, right and wrong, although she is a PhD holder – reflecting the deplorable level our education system has fallen.

The four states run by PAS and PN are also the poorest in Malaysia, as shown by the following data from the Department of Statistics:

When Malaysia achieved independence in 1957, Kelantan’s GDP per capita was about half that of Malaysia. After over three decades of PAS rule, Kelantan GDP per capita has fallen to less than one-third of Malaysia’s GDP per capita.

I do not think any rational and patriotic Malaysian will want to see Malaysia continue in national decline as in the last quarter of century, instead of become a role model for the world in inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisation dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony and as a great world-class nation as intended by the Malaysian Constitution whether in 1957 or 1963, the Rukun Negara and Vision 2020.

Only Anwar and the political parties in the Unity Government are talking about leading Malaysia into a great future, rising up again to become an example to the world.

Why are the PN leaders of PAS and Bersatu eerily silent on reversing the national decline in the last quarter of a century?

If PN has plans and programmers in making Malaysia as a great world-class nation, they have not been revealed in the last five years.

Let PN of Bersatu and PAS do so now.

Let Malaysians know and judge their plans to make Malaysia a great world-class nation Aagain or confess that they have no plans whatsoever in this regard and their only forte is to exploit the 2R issues of race and religion and to abuse the social media.