AS we celebrated the 67th Merdeka anniversary yesterday (Aug 31), we as a nation has come a long way after freeing ourselves from the colonial rule.

While other countries literally fought for independence, we received independence on the basis of negotiated settlement.

The inter-racial harmony among the three races - the Malays, Chinese and Indians - was the key to obtaining independence.

The key question is what has political independence meant to us or have we achieved a sound inter-racial harmony and what the future portends to us.

Apart from the grand speeches and rallies organised throughout the country to mark the Merdeka Day, we are seen to be limping towards the future.

We expected the present Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to take the nation beyond the confines of the divisions created by race and religion.

Alas, Anwar has been a failure because he has used the present ethnic and religious divisions to stay and entrench himself in power.

He might be clever in ingratiating himself to foreign powers but at the domestic front, it is the same old politics of Malay hegemony.

Pretentious politics

The former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was not well-liked because of his abrasive and arrogant ways but at least he was honest and straightforward in his politics.

It is not that Anwar can ignore the salience of race and religion in politics because the opposition Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) main strength is this brand of divisive politics.

But surely Anwar as the PM and a reformer could have found ways and means to overcome the curse of divisive politics in the country.

Unfortunately, Anwar has emerged as being no different to other former PMs in the country. His pseudo intellectualism is just not sufficient to overcome or subdue the extremism of race and religion.

While we celebrate Merdeka without fail every year, the fruits of independence have not been translated in terms of organising the society on universal terms of human equality, democracy, justice and fair play.

A leader like Anwar simply lacks the courage or statesmanship to overcome the divisive nature of politics. He has the familiar habit of addressing a subject matter differently to different audiences. For this, Anwar has been labelled as a chameleon.

Like his predecessors, Anwar lacks the wisdom and courage to overcome the present divisive aspects of society that have been turned into political capital for the government as well as the opposition.

At least the earlier PMs never pretended that they were democrats or reform minded leaders.

Political independence might have brought some measure of racial harmony and political stability. Unfortunately, the post-independence era has not witnessed racial harmony but merely the absence of overt conflicts.

Political stability or racial harmony seems to be premised on the controlled nature of politics where one ethnic group dominates the others. In the political science jargon, Malaysia has moved away from the consociationalism to control nature of politics.

The granting of political independence was predicated on racial equality with certain irrevocable constitutional provisions.

What is the point of mechanically celebrating independence when the spirit and substance of freedom have been sacrificed on the altar of hegemonic politics led by self-serving and opportunistic politicians? - Sept 1, 2024

Former DAP stalwart and Penang chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.

https://focusmalaysia.my/ramasamy-takes-a-trip-down-memory-lane-true-spirit-substance-of-merdeka-has-evaporated/