Here we are on the cusp of the 13th General Election in Malaysia since independence. Only 2 days to go before we find out what kind of future Malaysia will choose for itself. I would love to see Anwar Ibrahim become the 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia on the 5th of May, 2013. I would love to see a new Malaysia. One where your race and your religion is not as important as what you can contribute to your country. Sadly I don't think it will happen.

Not all Malaysians are equal and they never will be. There will always be Malaysians of all different races and religions. There will always be Malaysians of different opinions. There will be rich Malaysians and poor Malaysians. Malaysians that live the city lifestyle and Malaysians that live the kampung life. Every Malaysian is an individual. Different from every other Malaysian. That is ok. In fact that is what makes Malaysia rich. It is not the minyak that Petronas digs from the ground or the minyak that Felda squeezes from palm trees. The wealth of Malaysia lies in the rakyat. Different languages, different food, different perspectives, different cultures. This is the wealth that makes Malaysia a place that people from all over the world come to visit.

Sadly too many Malaysians think that this is what makes Malaysia poor. Too many people think that multicultural Malaysia is a problem to be dealt with. That everybody must cakap hati hati because if not somebody will get tersinggung and chaos will ensue. I don't think that Malaysia is ready to change because there are still too many people who think that cultural diversity adalah kekurangan rather than kelebihan. One day Malaysians will realise that diversity is strength and that will be when they will be ready to wave goodbye to a coalition government made up of racists and bigots. Until that day the racists will continue to rule the country. Until that day the only way to govern Malaysia will be to have Chinese and Indian racists to balance out the Malay racists. Once you realise that diversity is strength you will be able to do away with the racists altogether.

A Malaysia where nobody gets left behind.

What I hope for Malaysia is not for every Malaysian to be equal. What I hope is that one day every Malaysian will have an equal opportunity to be the best Malaysian they possibly can. I hope that one day everybody has the opportunity to buy a car and drive to work (or get good public transport!). I hope that one day all Malaysians have the opportunity to access world class education and health care regardless of whether they live in the kampung or in the big cities. Regardless of their race or religion, regardless of whether they are rich or poor. You might think that it is impossible but it is not. All you need to do to make it possible is fire the politicians that makan rasuah. If you refuse to memecat your politicians they will refuse to hentikan makan rasuah.

But Malaysians I don't think you are ready for that. You are not ready to put the future of your country above your own interests. All anybody can talk about is "What is in it for me? Macam mana SAYA akan untung?" I don't hear Chinese talking about how to improve conditions for poor Malay farmers. I don't hear Malays talking about religious freedom for Chinese. All I hear or see is Malaysians with their hands out asking for money. Asking for more more more. I see Malaysians complaining about how unfair they are treated. How about you stop complaining about how unfair the world is, and start thinking about somebody other than yourself for a change? I know many people believe that it is UMNO that ruins democracy in Malaysia. Sure there is no doubt that UMNO does a fairly good job of ruining Malaysian democracy, but what really hammers the nail in the coffin is the selfish attitude of the average Malaysian. Always thinking about themselves, never thinking about others who have it even worse than themselves. You Christians think it sucks that you can't use the word Allah in your bible? Try being a young orang asli kid who can't even get a good enough education to learn to read properly. You Malays think it sucks having a Chinese restaurant on your street that sells babi? Try having a rare earth factory on your street that pumps radioactive chemicals into your neighborhood. You Indians think it suck that you can't build a temple to pray at? Try being homosexual in Malaysia where you can go to jail just for doing what you want to do in the privacy of your own bedroom. You Chinese think it sucks that you can't get scholarships to University and jobs in the public service? Try being an Indonesian maid or a refugee from Myanmar who can't even get basic human rights under the law.

Unfortunately this is why I don't think that Pakatan Rakyat will win the election on Sunday. Barisan Nasional run on racism and selfishness. It is the negative energy that propels them forward. Malaysians must rid themselves of this racism and selfishness before they can rid themselves of Barisan Nasional. One day Barisan Nasional will be defeated and Malaysia will see real democracy and kemajuan that is not just tall buildings and bridges but kemajuan in the spirit of the Malaysian people. But I don't think it will happen at this election. Feel free to prove me wrong Malaysia. Ini kali lah. Kalau bukan kali ini mungkin kali berikutnya.

This is the election where Najib Razak has appointed Zulkifli Noordin to be the calon BN for Shah Alam. How can this election even be close after a stunt like that? How can it be possible that the whole country doesn't scream out with revulsion that Najib would appoint such a disgusting rascist to be a candidate?

To all the Malaysians genuinely fighting for a better future, to all rakan rakan seperjuangan I wish you a good result on Sunday. However more than a good result on Sunday I wish you patience and unlimited stamina because that is what you are going to need more desperately than a good result on Sunday.

The last thing I want to say is that when the next general election comes I hope that the people of Malaysia will pay attention to issues that really affect the lives of the Malaysian people. Stop making a big deal about who sodomised who and who blew up the Mongolian woman. Pay attention to the issues that are truly important. Vote for the party that promises to stop Lynas from building their processing plant. That is an important issue you know. Because this plant will be dangerous and there is no reason why the people of Malaysia should accept this processing plant.