Who is not a racist,Samy or Dr.M?

Work to unite not divide the people

It is distressing to read of the on-going dispute between former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his once trusted senior minister and the leader of the Indians, Datuk Seri S. Samy Velu.It is very disgusting that each is accusing one another of being racist and dictator. It is deeply regrettable that leaders like these have been ruling us for over 2 decades for whom we had so much respect and admiration.

There is no doubt that both are racists in their own ways, in fact who is not a racist anyway. We are all racists to a certain extent as we are taught and brought up to fight for the welfare of our own race. It is sad that we are brought up to blindly support those of our own race even if they are wrong. Being brought up in such an environment, how can one be considered a racist if he sympathizes with plight of his own community? It is regrettable that we have become more concerned for those from our own race and have little or no sympathy for those of other races.

Everywhere we go; school, government and private offices, places of sports and recreation, restaurants and even places of worship we are constantly being reminded of our ethnicity.Infact there is emphasis on the few differences that divide us rather than on the many commonness that unite us as Malaysians.

Our own system of the governance is racially constituted, where each community is being represented by its own leaders of same ethnicity. That is the way the BN functioned and is continuing to do so even today.

After 50 years of living and working together side by side the people have voted to do away with racial politics but unfortunately the politicians are far from showing signs of heeding their calls for multiracialism.

It is time the politicians realize the wisdom of discarding this politics along racial lines and adopting a more multiracial approach to administer the country. It is time to replace the race-based political parties with multiracial ones where every member is identified as a Malaysian instead as a Malay, Indian or Chinese. Everyone regardless of race or creed has his rights that are clearly enshrined in the Federal Constitution and these rights must be respected by all and not questioned for whatever reason.

Dr.M,Samy Velu and other senior leaders who have been at the helm before could serve the nation better if they devote their time and energy to forge closer ties between the various races in the country instead of trying to out do each other in race politics. They should use the influence and power to unite rather than divide the people.Their actions today will determine their standing in the nation's history history for the future generations.

Dr.Chris Anthony