Who wants a united Malaysia?

(The Nut Graph) I DON'T know about anyone else, but I'm confused about whether our political leaders, from both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), really want national unity as they claim.

Predictably, ever since the prime minister announced the ideals of 1Malaysia, we've had a spate of government announcements and corporate advertisements extolling the virtues of the 1Malaysia brand of unity. But long before the BN lost ground in March 2008 and dreamt up 1Malaysia, the opposition parties and civil society had already been talking about the need for a Malaysia that recognised merit and need, rather than race.

Still, the actions of some parties within both the BN and the PR coalitions have repeatedly been inconsistent with the principles that ensure national unity and mutual respect for one another's cultures and rights. More alarmingly, since the March 2008 elections, these parties — notably Umno and PAS — have actually demonstrated a willingness and the intention to negate equal rights for all Malaysians.

Read more at: http://www.thenutgraph.com/who-wants-a-united-malaysia