AFTER a short lull of a month, Malaysians were just about to return to life without the protracted, racially charged, vitriolic exchanges between political leaders when we had “minor” reminders about how ingrained race is in our everyday discourse.

This time, the reminder came in the form of an assertion by Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy and racist rants by two Malaysian athletes.

Firstly, we need to stop digging policy wells based on racial lines.

Unexamined assumptions need to be thoroughly studied if the usual tropes are perception or otherwise, and strategies set in place to counter them if necessary.

Issues that do exist have been due to policy failures and misalignment since the 1970s and cannot be fixed by knee-jerk reactions and outbursts. The same applies to both sides of the fence.

Secondly, we need to bring the conversation back to things that matter.

Focusing on actual problems would give the people, agencies, civil society groups and politicians something to work towards.

If the desire to yield results are great enough, it will drown out the noises and force even detractors to embrace the concept.

This is what successive prime ministers have been trying to do under the umbrella slogan concept.

The last “big” breakthrough was probably “Malaysia Boleh”. Can “Malaysia Madani” outdo its predecessors – Keluarga Malaysia, Malaysia Prihatin, 1Malaysia, each turned out a mixed bag of results, supplanted by the next.

Strategies need to be beyond slogans and ostensibly, beyond the tenure of any prime minister.

Vision 2020, for example, spanned 30 years, while the Malaysia Plans have been in iteration since the 1950s. 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim could consider merging the Transformasi Nasional 2050 and Kemakmuran Bersama 2030 initiatives into his Malaysia Madani concept to provide it with a wider framework and context.

Technocrats involved in all three previous plans could provide invaluable input, especially to ensure the longevity of it.

Thirdly, to quickly arrest and reverse fast regressing issues.

Low-hanging fruits include cost of living, shortage of certain food item and employee shortage in certain sectors.

Efforts such as Rahmah Menu need to be stepped up, more than mere branding, but scaled up into a sustainable, comprehensive, consistent initiative.

Aid and relief for our B40 and gig workers, assistance for struggling students in university. 

More than re-education, Malaysia’s workforce, especially the middle-liners, would need to be re-imagined. 

Of course, stop-gap measures need to be followed by substantive and concrete strategies, but the quick wins will improve general confidence and mood, creating a more stable environment for middle- and long-term strategies to be better received.

Socio-economics is the more visible part of a two-sided problem.

On the other hand, we have breakdowns in communication between communities and growing mistrust between adherents of various faiths.

While that is ongoing, the goodwill generated should be spent to improve these two aspects, which has been eroded by petty politics.

The understanding we have should extend beyond festivities and celebrations, rather to use them as conversation points to be had about deeper issues and to seek compromise and mutual understanding on a growing number of sensitivities, starting with, perhaps, offensive statements against each other.

By now, we should already be past that, yet years of drifting apart has done that.

Certain topics should be off the table, regardless how heated the politics may get.

Malaysians need to learn to disagree maturely and without the tainted lens of race or religion.

The government needs to fix our political instability, economy and race relations, in that order, and needs the well-deserved, overdue space and time to do so. – February 15, 2023.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.