Malaysia should rectify the wrong direction we have taken in the last half-a-century and return to the nation-building principles as agreed by the nation’s founding fathers in the Malaysian Constitution and Rukun Negara if we are not to end up as a failed state

The decision of the High Court of Kota Bharu on Sunday to dismiss the lawsuit by Ikatan Guru-Guru Muslimin Malaysia (I-Guru) seeking to declare Chinese and Tamil primary schools unconstitutional in Malaysia, reaffirming the decision of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on December last year, should be a signal that Malaysia should rectify the wrong direction we have taken in the last half-a-century and return to the nation-building principles as agreed by the nation’s founding fathers in the Malaysian Constitution and Rukun Negara if we are not to end up as a failed state.

The first three Prime Ministers Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein, would have been shocked that the nation had deviated from the founding nation-building principles to the extent that there are Ministers in the Cabinet who do not accept the Rukun Negara principles and there are leaders who are proud that Malaysia is notorious in the world as a kleptocracy.

We have lost our way in nation-building and we must return urgently to the basic nation-building principles in our Constitution and the Rukun Negara, whether it be constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, separation of powers, good governance or Malaysia as a plural society.

This in fact should be the battle-cry of the 15th General Election which must be held within a year.

In my 2022 New Year Eve message, I appealed to the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students (GPMS), the Islamic Education Development Council (Mappim) and the Confederation of Malaysian Writers Association (Gapena) not to appeal the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision on the constitutionality of Chinese and Tamil primary schools which had just been announced but to provide leadership to undo the half-a-century of national decline losing out to other countries.

My appeal fell on deaf years and the three plaintiffs in the Kuala Lumpur High Court case lodged their appeal, which is pending at the Court of Appeal.

I will like to take this opportunity to appeal to GPMS, Mappim and GPMS to withdraw their appeal, and to I-Guru not to appeal, the decision on the constitutionality of Chinese and Tamil primary schools but to play a leading role for Malaysia to re-set and to achieve the nation’s capabilities to become a world-class great nation in international competitiveness, good governance, the rule of law, war against corruption and having an efficient and effective government.