I wish a happy Malaysia day to the people of Malaysia, a country that we love very much. Actually, this day is blessing from the Creator to the people of Malaysia and we should all be thankful.
Malaysia was formed on September 16, 1963, was built on the spirit of cohesion in order to develop the economic potential and to preserve the political stability of the nation from Perlis to Sabah.
However, after the establishment of the country with the aim of preventing communist influence from growing due to the risk it represented to the stability of the nation, however after the defeat of communism, I can say the country is still facing the same risks.
Today, the gap in the distribution of wealth in the country – a problem that the current Umno-BN regime has failed to contain – is a new burden that has created the same risks that we faced with the threat of communism.
Let me quote from a book written by a local scholar Dr. Muhammed Abdul Khalid entitled ‘The Color of Inequality’, in which he says “the inequality created by the huge economic gap among the people is a time bomb that can result in bloodshed, social unrest, and political instability”.
He also revealed the surprising fact that the income gap between urban and rural households in 2012 was the same as in 1957!
Although Prime Minister Najib Razak has repeatedly expressed the desire to make Malaysia a high-income nation, what I fear is that in the end, only the nation (in terms of GDP) will achieve that level of income but not the people.
Of course, with the economic pressures faced by the people at this point in time, especially with the steady rise in fuel prices and prices of other goods, there is the risk that these could serve as an explosive combination triggered by the people’s anger at any time.
The Pakatan Harapan’s (Coalition of Hope) leadership and I we reject any form of violent revolt that will result in bloodshed. Hence Pakatan Harapan is offering a fresh and effective new administrative alternative for the people in the coming general election.
Pakatan Harapan offers a government of transition to fix the mess that the UMNO-BN’s is leaving behind, as part of their failure to manage the development of the country’s wealth which is only going into a few hands under their rule.
Tackling the gloomy Malaysia with the narrow racial and religious sentiments that UMNO-BN’s new ally is playing and the crumbling of the country’s crushing, it’s time for the people to rise to make a change through a democratic platform.
To tackle the stirring up of the narrow racial and religious sentiments that the Umno-BN and its new allies (She did not mention the PAS Islamists) amid the crumbling wealth of the country, it is time for the people to rise and make the change possible through the democratic platform.
DR SITI MARIAH MAHMUD
Member of Parliament AMANAH Kota Raja
Chief of the NATIONAL AREA
The letter was sent to TISG in Malay and this is the nearest English translation we can present to our dear readers! – The message is to commemorate the Malaysia Day on Sept 16.