GEORGE TOWN (May 10): Barisan Nasional (BN), in the October 1990 general election, won 127 out of 180 parliamentary seats; still losing almost 30% to the opposition.

Soon after the 8th general elections, all eyes were drawn to the impending annual general assembly of Umno - the lead party in the coalition.

This was not only because BN had managed to rake in only 53.4% of the popular vote - a decrease of 7.8% from the previous general election. It had faced a stiff challenge from the Gagasan Rakyat coalition headed by DAP and Semangat 46 - a formidable offshoot of Umno itself - and also by the Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU) comprising Semangat 46, PAS and some other Islamic parties.

Significantly, BN was defeated in Kelantan where the APU went on to govern the state, and also lost power in Sabah to Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS).

In Penang, the DAP mustered a record 14 of the 35 state seats, while BN managed to sweep up the remains (Umno won 12 and Gerakan raked in nine).

When the Umno general assembly began in late November, the then Youth chief of the party - (now Datuk Seri) Najib Razak - reportedly addressed the gathering by openly asking what it was that the Chinese in Malaysia wanted.

To this, DAP's Tanjung elected parliamentarian Lim Kit Siang, retorted to Najib's outburst in his own speech in Parliament on Dec 5, 1990. Lim took exception to what he said was an "accusation" by the Youth chief against the Chinese for being "ingrateful" (sic) in not supporting BN in the elections.

"Najib Tun Razak does not understand the meaning democracy, for the question of gratitude does not arise when voters exercise their constitutional right of the vote," Lim said.

"Voters exercise their constitutional right to vote; if voters can be punished or discriminated because they (are) exercising their constitutional right to vote; then such a constitutional right does not have much meaning.

"It is very sad that 33 years after Merdeka, top Umno leaders should be publicly asking, what do the Malaysian Chinese want, and no Chinese Cabinet minister could give an answer!

"The Chinese," Lim stressed on that day, "like other Malaysian citizens, want 5Ks - Kemakmuran (prosperity), Keamanan (peace), Kestabilan (stability), as well as Keadilan (justice) and Kebebasan (freedom)."

Some 23-years later, Lim had a creepy déjà vu of sorts when Umno's response to the outcome of the 13th general election on May 5, was strikingly similar.

This time, though BN won 133 of the 222 parliamentary seats, it managed only 47.38% of the popular vote compared to 50.87% surmounted by the Pakatan Rakyat parties of DAP, PKR and PAS.

The very next day, Najib, now Umno president and Prime Minister, seemed to repeat the very assertion Lim had argued against in 1990, labelling the BN's increasing rejection by voters as a "Chinese tsunami."

If this was not enough, on May 7, Utusan Malaysia, the Malay-language newspaper owned by Umno, splashed a headline that was seamlessly spread across the front and back pages of the paper which read: "Apa lagi Cina mahu?" (What more do the Chinese want?)

What made the particularly rhetoric uncomfortable and inconsistent for many was that immediately after the results had been known, Najib had spoken of reconciliation.  

"He said there is a need for reconciliation, but talks the narrow racial politics of the past," Lim commented while in Penang on May 7.

"I hope Najib will stop this dangerous lie. It is not a Chinese tsunami. It is an urban tsunami.

"If he denies that there is a rural and urban divide he is living in the past," Lim said.

According to the DAP, Lim could not have won the Gelang Patah parliamentary race in Johor against former menteri besar BN's Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, without support from the Malays, Indians and Chinese.

"I believe I got 30% of the Malay vote," Lim said, emphasising that the result of the elections should not be seen through racial aspects.

While the electorate is said to have moved on, with emerging younger generations especially in urban areas caring less about racial backgrounds of political candidates in making their electoral choices, the ruling party is still leaning provocatively on a racial excuse for the voters' choices.

"He asked the question 23-years ago, and now Umno, under his rule, is asking the same question," Lim said.

"If Najib wants to be prime minister for all Malaysians he must take off his racial spectacles, and look at the issue from a Malaysian perspective, transcending race."

"Najib must set an example, to see things from a Malaysian perspective, not a racial perspective."

It remains to be seen, however, if this same disposition will persevere, as political parties from all sides will need to continue to reckon with the new wave of sensibility among Malaysians that are increasingly moving forward - away from the racial profiling of the past.