"I am a Malay – born a Malay, I had no choice to be otherwise when I was born. But now I am a Malayan citizen – a citizen of a free and independent Malaya just like any one of you here. In other words, I am a Malay by accident but Malayan by choice. You may be of Chinese, or Indian or Eurasian origin, but I want every one of you to consider yourself first and foremost a Malayan. It is only through that attitude of mind that we can resolve our differences and prejudices and work solidly for the good of the country." – Tan Sri Mohd Khir Johari (1958)

"There has been systematic erosion of fundamental rights in this country since independence in 1957. The ruling party has been continuously arming itself with laws which make more and more meaningless the constitutional guarantees on fundamental rights. To the government, limitations and restrictions of these rights have become more fundamental than the rights themselves ... Malaysians must demand for the restoration of fundamental rights and liberties to the people of this country." – P Patto (1986)

THE quotes above are taken from speeches made by two of the country's most notable political figures of the past.

The first, Tan Sri Mohd Khir Johari, was the nation's first education minister, who also represented Malaysia as its ambassador to the United Nations.

The second, P Patto, was an inspiring activist for civil liberties and human rights causes, and a key member of the opposition vanguard during the turbulent decades of the 70s and 80s.

Both have passed away and are unfortunately not as familiar to the present generation as they should be. Progressive and sincere in their ideals, their vision and leadership bore the hallmarks of a Malaysia that many people today yearn for.

However, their voices seemed to have risen again during the recent 13th general election when their own children, now in their 30s, contested and campaigned to win two parliamentary seats in Penang under the DAP.

Zairil Khir Johari, 31, won the Bukit Bendera seat, and Kasthuri Patto, 34, wrested the Batu Kawan seat.

Uncannily enough, the manner in which they campaigned – airing their views and appealing to the populace – was plainly reminiscent, to those who did know of their fathers, of the personas of the two leaders of the past.

Addressing a crowd at a campaign rally in George Town's Bangkok Lane, Zairil spoke of the inspiration he drew from his father: "He was Malayan first, or Malaysian first, even before the DAP... Today I am very proud to continue his work, I am very proud to be also Malaysian, and to fight for a Malaysia for Malaysians."

Advocating the multi-racial Malaysian dream, Zairil spoke of the race-based system inherited through the divide-and-rule policies of the old British colonialists and which are being perpetuated till today for political power.

"The Malays take care of the Malays; the Chinese take care of the Chinese, the Indians take care of the Indians," he mocked, calling on the electorate to seek a government that discards such institutional barriers of the past.

"And I believe the time has come," he said, to applause from the multi-racial gathering.

When Zairil was born, Khir Johari had already retired. But the influence of his father and friends who were politicians rubbed off on him, to such an extent that following the 2008 general election he became inspired to participate in politics and promote the very values that had been imbibed in him since young.

In a similar vein, Kasthuri also stirred memories of many in the community in mainland Penang who had seen her father campaigning and serving people in the past, as she went on her rounds in the Batu Kawan constituency. Those in the older generation could not miss the resemblance in the manner she enunciated her words, coupled with the vigour and force of her convictions.

At an estate area in Valdor, for instance, she held audiences attentive while she spoke atop a makeshift wooden podium; speaking of the dangers of graft, racism, abuse of power and wastage of public funds.

Kasthuri herself shared with the people how she had seen her father in action. As a child she watched Patto work and serve the people; and hints of the charisma and passion were unmistakable in her voice.

It was no coincidence then that Lim Kit Siang, for whom Patto became secretary when Lim was parliamentary opposition leader in the 70s, brought her and groomed her to the fore of the electoral challenge in Penang for DAP – the very party her father had sacrificed for.  

What made Kasthuri's campaign especially poignant was the widespread sympathy many had for Patto's struggles.

Having joined the DAP and resigned from a secure job as a school teacher in 1973 to serve in politics full-time, Patto was detained without trial under the Internal Security Act during the government's Operasi Lalang sweep in 1987, among other ordeals he had to encounter. He passed away at the age of 48 in 1995.

"Politics of multi-racialism, rather than the politics of racialism, communalism and chauvinism, is the key to national unity," he once said.

This was the very same ideal envisaged by Khir Johari, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 83. Equality and fairness for all were not just concepts that were academic; they needed to be seen to be done in the Malaysia they had envisioned.

Today, the two children of these stalwarts of the past have appeared to help fulfil the drive among the current generation of Malaysians to make real the very values that their elders had dreamt would someday be reality.