SPECULATION has been rife that new political alliances will emerge following the unmaking of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition and the recent stresses affecting the ruling Barisan Nasional.

One focal point in these discussions is the likelihood of a non-racial political front developing, and perhaps even capturing the parliamentary majority. The chance of setting the country free from the domination of race and religion-based politics certainly appears inviting and could draw together a rainbow coalition that is committed to a new vision for the nation.

Some observers are anxious that a new coalition should be established quickly so that voters will have time to accept it before the next general election is held. While such haste is understandable, it reflects a failure to recognise that building a new political framework that is not defined by race or religion cannot be achieved in the short term.

Therefore, it is important to realise that certain goals, such as cleaning up the electoral process, must be pegged to the immediate future in order for public confidence in the democratic process to be maintained, while others, which amount to a societal transformation, can only be expected to fructify much further down the road.

Nevertheless, it is vital that the nation’s best talents be inspired to drive what may really be the most important enterprise of our lifetime, which is the creation of a new national consciousness that can unite all interest groups under the Malaysian sun.

The plain fact is that while it may be possible to set up quite soon a political organisation that espouses universal values and sets a goal of uniting all Malaysians irrespective of race and religion, it is altogether a different thing for such an entity to rally the majority of voters behind its cause, given the country’s political history.

No thanks to the constant harping on race and religion in every sphere of our lives, the people’s consciousness has become saturated with the idea that it is “us versus them”, and the seed of the concept that we are all one people will likely fall on barren ground.

For a new dawn to break on our political horizon, therefore, much work must now be done to prepare the ground.

Not only must we take pains to restore the key institutions of democracy and good governance to a state of health, we have also to change the dialogue of society to emphasise our commonalities, rather than what sets one against another in every moment of our lives.

How this can be achieved against the backdrop of an all-pervasive government agenda that is defined by race and religion is the nub of the issue.

The starting point for this transformation must be an adamantine belief that our fellow citizens will one day wholeheartedly support the idea that the nation with all its blessings belongs to every one of us, regardless of how weak or insignificant any one group is as a political or economic force.

Next, we need to identify the various methods at our disposal for cultivating the idea that no one ought to be deprived of the benefits of development, regardless of their race or religion, communal identity, regional location or for that matter, any other criteria for distinguishing one group from another.

It is said that education is the great equaliser, so one line of inquiry can examine how education can be made into an effective tool for the common upliftment of the people. Another is the role of entertainment in promoting empathy in society, driving change in social mores and creating role models for inculcating positive cultural traits. Travel is another proven method of opening people’s minds to other cultures and forging ties of kinship. Other promising approaches include volunteerism and mentoring as tools of social transformation.

No doubt, the task at hand is truly enormous and complex, and will require us to draw on our ingenuity, resourcefulness and determination to succeed. The question then is how we can systematically explore all these tools at our disposal to achieve the transformation that is being sought.

Further, this unifying agenda must be propagated among all stakeholders in our society so that all the agents of change can internalise their goals and contribute their time, energy and resources to the fulfilment of this vision.

It must also be recognised that such a transformational agenda would be strenuously opposed by conservative and reactionary forces in society which may feel that their control over the status quo is being threatened. Nevertheless, stoicism in the face of such resistance will yield success in the long run, as the tide will ultimately turn in favour of an inclusive, forward-looking movement.

The reformists among us should be heartened that new initiatives that are in line with this social transformation agenda are coming to the fore with increasing frequency in recent times.

The latest reports of such an initiative have linked prominent banker Datuk Seri Nazir Razak and progressive leader Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah to a new non-governmental organisation that is in the midst of being formed. Nazir’s statement that the organisation would aim to address the country’s socio-political environment and its impact on the economy by enabling moderate Malaysians to voice their views, concerns and suggestions shows that the movement for change is well in motion.

So, far from being daunted by the monolithic face of the conservative establishment, those who are dreaming of a Malaysia where the people are no longer afraid of others in their midst may live to see that day during their lifetime.

R B Bhattacharjee is associate editor at The Edge

This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on June 22 - 28, 2015.

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