CONGRATULATIONS, Anwar Ibrahim, on becoming the 10th prime minister of Malaysia. May God be your guide and protector. Congratulations to you and the entire cabinet members. 

Forming your cabinet was no easy task as most of us were aware. You have done a good job with your limitations as you were and are walking on a tightrope. 

Some of us are not happy with one or two of your appointments but you had no choice because you had been “pressured” or felt that this was inevitable or more so crucial for “unity”. 

I do not think any of us could have done better than this without offending anyone for several reasons or even heading for a collapse of the current scenario. 

I noticed that several people have their views on your appointment, which may not be what they expected. Let us now as Malaysians give the 10th prime minister all the breathing space and time to perform his role and duty with as much clarity, peace of mind, and focus, and most of all, let us pray for his success in governing this country.

Yes, he did promise a lot but was unable to keep all of it because Pakatan Harapan (PH) did not win a simple majority of 112 seats. The outcome turned out to be a hung parliament.

If Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional had united, PH would be the opposition today. Some of us ought to be blamed because we did not do our part or did very little to ‘campaign’ or influence or even encourage voters by enlightening them on the position of our nation.

What I heard from some voters are as follows: 

“I am fed up with voting.” 

“I am disappointed because of the Sheraton Move.” 

“Let the politicians fight it out.” 

“I have not seen the politicians in our neighbourhood or even in the town or village for years.”

“The government was running on its own with hardly any positive move by the ministers.”

And many more.

I do not blame the voters for the way they feel. The blame lies within each one of us for the result of the 15th general election more so than the politicians.

Now the outcome is not as expected, let us give the new unity government a chance to perform. Just reflect on the past few years of governance and appreciate what we have today

It is going to be a very slow process of progress. We have to remain steadfast, optimistic and patient to allow this government to rebuild a nation of unity with absolute respect towards one another, be it ethnicity, faith, gender, age, political belief, financial status, etc.

Tolerating one another is insufficient but respecting one another in all areas is important and required.

We used to be a great multiracial, multicultural and multi-whatever-you-may-call-it nation once upon a time.

Can we see and experience it again? For this to happen, our mindset has to be realigned, meaning we have to think in that very manner – unity. It should not be just lip service, but should come from the heart. 

This process has to start from grandparents and parents and be taught to children as small as toddlers. This should also be done through teachers and educators. Only then can we enjoy this life and leave a great future for the generations to come. 

I would like to highlight funds given to civil society groups by various ministries. I have been with these groups in the past. I feel it is being wasted on unnecessary or irrelevant programmes with hardly any benefit. Funding of this sort has to be relooked carefully. It should enhance unity. 

We should be admired by the rest of the world for the peace, natural resources and self-worth we are blessed with. Instead we are afraid of one another’s genuine success. Without holding any weapon, we are being insecurely threatened mentally and emotionally by one another. 

Life is moving at a rocket’s pace, therefore we ought to do the correct things to rebuild this nation. Our focus should be right here, right now. 

No one who yearns for power, wealth or publicity should be allowed to be in politics. They should be worth their salt. Let us vote wisely in future. 

Now it is time for each one of us to do our part in housekeeping – cleaning our minds of contaminants and keeping the environment clean and safe. This would enable our 10th prime minister and our government to make the necessary positive changes. They need our support and cooperation. 

I call on all my fellow Malaysians to work towards achieving a new Malaysia. – December 4, 2022.

* Margaret Pius Vendargon reads The Malaysian Insight.

* 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.