TO the people of Negeri Sembilan, as you prepare to go to the polls tomorrow, it has been a topsy-turvy month, getting to grips with what's happening and, more importantly, what's being said.
It looks like we can only find fault with the current unity government and Pakatan Harapan led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and with the Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, and conveniently forget the good that has been done for this state and the country.
This whole debate about "Malay unity" being pushed by Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional, and now Bersatu contesting on its own — let me ask, when was there ever a lack of Malay unity, and what exactly are Malays deprived of?
No, really. The civil service, the police, the armed forces, the GLCs and GLICs are all Malay-dominated.
Do the non-Malays complain? We may groan and moan a little, but life goes on.
We all work our backs off to put food on the table, keep a roof over our heads, send our children for higher education, and pay taxes enjoyed by all Malaysians.
While there's no official breakdown of total tax collected by ethnicity, non-Malays are significantly over-represented among the country's top individual taxpayers.
Malaysia's special privileges, enshrined in the Federal Constitution, have been accepted by all of us.
The social contract of independence was signed willingly by Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tan Cheng Lock, and VT Sambanthan, agreeing to it.
So why, now, this renewed talk of Ketuanan Melayu and unity? Have we done anything wrong?
The world is evolving into a borderless entity powered by AI, and yet some quarters continue to dwell on race and religion.
Instead, we should be putting our heads together to build a resilient nation.
The opportunity is now — we are so well placed geopolitically, and because we are a stable, moderate Islamic country, we are attractive to the world.
So, to my Malay friends and fellow Negeri Sembilan voters: tell us, what is it you fear most when you control every aspect of government?
How can one ever tell us to "go back" to China and India?
How could certain quarters betray your fellow Muslims by mismanaging Tabung Haji — the sweat and tears of hard-working, average Malays saved to fulfil their desire to perform the Hajj?
How does one contemplate an earlier release of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, when the Federal Court, after years of trial, found him guilty?
Are they saying our courts and our judges were wrong when the judiciary itself is predominantly Malay?
All Prime Ministers and Deputy Prime Ministers have been Malay.
The Cabinet remains Malay-majority. PMX is the only Prime Minister from a multiracial party.
What wrong has Anwar done, other than abiding by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong's call to form a unity government?
He gave Umno/BN a lifeline, with all the benefits that came with it — and now BN is prepared to abandon that lifeline here in Negeri Sembilan, standing alongside PN and a breakaway Bersatu, to try and unseat the very government that kept them relevant.
Time for a closer look
Look closely at what you are being offered on August 1. BN is fielding candidates in 25 of the state's 36 seats.
PN is contesting the remaining 11 under an understanding with BN.
Bersatu, though technically still part of PN, has broken away to field its own 24 candidates.
Three flags, three sets of ambitions, one shared message of racial and religious grievance, but no single, coherent plan for who would actually lead Negeri Sembilan if they somehow won.
Even while out of power federally, and now scrambling for power here in Negeri Sembilan, these leaders cannot stop jostling among themselves over who will be the next Prime Minister, a contest being fought in public, through proxies, and through open sniping at each other, long before any of them has earned the right to lead.
If they cannot agree among themselves on leadership and direction while sitting in opposition, how can the rakyat of Negeri Sembilan possibly believe they could govern this state or the country together in unity?
A coalition, or collection of coalitions, that cannot manage its own succession squabbles is in no position to lecture Negeri Sembilan voters about unity, stability, or who is fit to lead.
How do we teach our children the difference between right and wrong? Malaysia and Negeri Sembilan were built through unity.
This state has prospered because its people, Malay, Chinese, Indian, and the Orang Asli communities alike, worked together under a government that has kept its promises.
Is this the end of that story? I think not.
Let us all stand up for what is morally right.
All religions teach the best of us, and we have enough of them in this country.
It is time for the voters of Negeri Sembilan to play their role as true Malaysians.
Let us not be driven by racial and religious ideology on August 1, that path only leads to the destruction of a nation, and it starts, or ends, with choices made state by state.
We have enough examples of these situations elsewhere in the world.
Ask yourselves which road Negeri Sembilan wants to take.
We are at a crossroads now. Our children and grandchildren will have to live with what this state decides on August 1.
Let them not ask what we were doing when it mattered most.
Malaysia is Love. Love is Malaysia.
Datuk Dr Xavier Jayakumar
