All the rakyat want is to be proud of a Malaysia that delivers.

WHEN I was abroad recently, one local song kept ringing in my ears constantly. It was none other than Oh Malaysia, Land Of Glory. I wondered why, as I had not listened to it in a long time.

The Pakatan Harapan government should go for needs-based approaches, not populist moves.

The people gave Pakatan Harapan the mandate to clean-up Malaysia. However, we are now slowly being convinced that this coalition is looking more and more like ‘the same old broom’.

The fight for political survival is overshadowing the dream of a truly multiracial new Malaysia.

Champions of race and religion are blithely ignoring serious challenges like drugs, failing education standards and non-repayment of study loans in the nation.

Politicians using cash to buy power and votes has created a culture in Malaysia in which people have started valuing money more than truth, hard work and honesty.

Affirmative action should be based entirely on need because a poor Malay student needs a scholarship just as badly as a poor Indian or Chinese student.

A minister’s revelation of possible infiltration of state apparatus by a ‘deep state’ is troubling indeed.

We must support a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice. If we see race and religion in every sphere of our lives and neglect the core, a failed state is not too far off.

Malaysians who want to see changes implemented overnight by the Pakatan Harapan government need to remember that it’s not a 100m sprint but a 42km marathon.

If you’ve got a Bard feeling about the state of the nation, you are not alone – we are seeing too many shades of the gutter politics of old.