BY: NICHOLAS LIM

Now that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is Caretaker Prime Minister and Malaysia looks to have a new PM there seems to be a divisive discord among the Malay community as they are divided in their allegiance to a growing list of Malay-based parties.

What really ails the Malays? What is their concern now that they are so hard to appease and satisfy? They seem to be so ill-at-ease with almost everything that is going on in the world today, affected even by things mundane which most people don’t bother about.

When the Tunku was fighting for Independence from the British in 1957 there was only UMNO as the political party which nearly all Malays put their weight behind and made the rallying cry of Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

The Malay Rulers and the royal households stayed in the background and hardly intervened in the political affairs of the country. Now more than six decades later UMNO or United Malay National Organization is still trying to unite the Malays.

It looks like since Merdeka things have gone from bad to worse. If UMNO was virtually the only Malay-based political party in 1957, today you have PKR, Parti PAS, Amanah, Bersatu, Pejuang, Muda and a number of other splinter groups notably Perkasa and GPSM.

Factionalism is so evident among the Malays that it is obvious that they cannot come to terms with each other. But the question on the minds of right thinking Malaysians is what really do the Malays want?

Malays should be urged to think with their minds and not their hearts. They should do soul searching that is secular in nature and decide for themselves what they really want to see done and accomplished in Malaysia.

Since Malays form the bulk of the local population they should decide explicitly what needs to be done and convey their wishes and aspirations to Malay leaders. Unless and until they become decisive and united there is nothing much that can be achieved in this country.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher