“New M’sia not a lost cause but it won’t be an easy battle”

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By Lim Kit Siang

I HAVE mentioned that with the jailing of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, there is now light at the end of the tunnel and Malaysia can return to the nation-building principles our founding fathers entrenched in the Federal Constitution and Rukun Negara.

These are the constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy, separation of powers, rule of law, good governance, public integrity, meritocracy, respect for human rights and national unity from our multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural diversity, where there are no first-class and second-class citizens based on race, religion or region.

Not all agree. There are those who do not see any light at the end of the tunnel and others who are so pessimistic that they expect the light to die off before the end of the tunnel is reached. I do not agree and I hope the pessimists are not right.

I stick to my guns — while I emphasise that a New Malaysia is not a lost cause, it will not be an easy battle either; we have only taken the first step in a long, arduous and uncertain struggle for justice, freedom and dignity for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.

The events of the last five days have reinforced the view that a New Malaysia has not yet come into being and that it is very much a work-in-progress. Nevertheless, it is very significant that these challenges facing Malaysians are being highlighted on the eve of the 65th anniversary of our independence.

Three great issues were the focus of Malaysians in the month of August 2022 — corruption in the form of the littoral combatant ships (LCS) scandal, the rule of law and the doctrine of separation of powers.

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