The country needs leaders and a political coalition that can bond all the ethnic groups for it to progress.

The notion of some obsessed politicians that people of a single race and religion should dominate in Malaysian politics is farcical. This political myth has to be corrected if the country wants to move forward and strive in the borderless world.

Unbridled political rhetoric on race and religion by some politicians in the country is dividing the people and this does not bode well for its multiracial society. In securing the vote bank of the majority race, these politicians have gone to the extreme in considering the minorities as a threat to their race and religion.

Dignity cannot be the monopoly of any single ethnic group. There are over 36 ethnic groups in the country and every ethnic group has its dignity and this includes the Orang Asli who have been in the country for thousands of years before the other races.

With maturity in politicking, the younger generation would want to see a united Malaysia where they can proudly call themselves as Malaysians and not Malay, Chinese, Indian, Indigenous or Others. This is the dream of our younger generation which politicians cannot ignore.

Some blinkered politicians on purpose refuse to acknowledge the fact that the present generation of Malaysians are willing to work with all ethnic groups to bring grandeur to the country.

Shared prosperity as espoused by the government of the day should thus benefit all these ethnic clusters. Politicians, for their political expedience, should not debase the contributions of the minorities to nation building and treat them as second-class to any other ethnic group in the country.

Evidently, the minorities have shown their loyalty to this country. They speak the definitive language of the country and their loyalty to the king and nation is unquestionable.

They have evolved themselves into a nation of people with shared values, together contributing to the cultural syncretism and economic well-being of the country.

Many of them have patriotically defended the country against undesirable elements in the past and present. They have safeguarded the country from dissident groups to bring peace and prosperity to all and sundry.

Many have even sacrificed their lives for the love of this country.

These people should not be pigeonholed as second-class citizens.

The present generation of forward-thinking Malaysians has sensible views on what a future Malaysia should be.

They are more exposed to information and have observed the success and the failure of multiculturalism in many other countries. They are generally repulsed by racial politics and sensible enough not to be dissuaded by social media propaganda that highlights racial and religious issues to favour some political zealots.

They tend not to favour politicians who use race and religion to score brownie points in politics. This to them is hypocrisy and smacks of ignorance and fanaticism. On the contrary, they have a higher tolerance threshold to see a broad-based political party system to represent all the people irrespective of their race or religion.

They aspire for an ultimate united Malaysia for everyone to live together in peace and harmony.

Although some people use the social media to unceasingly instil fear concerning race and religion, we see, on the ground, the educated folks of all races mixing freely despite their inherent differences.

Self-centred politicians who use racial and religious issues to win support from this cohort of Malaysians are facing a losing game. These are the unwise politicians who would be rejected by the discerning electorate as their only aim in politics is to ceaselessly divide the people to stay relevant in politics.

Obviously some politicians are not playing the right role to see that racial and religious discord does not become pervasive in the country.

The last general election saw an “insurrection” of some sort when the majority of the electorate felt that the use of race and religion to delude the people was no more the recipe for our political and economic woes.

Unfortunately, those who lost in this political battle are now exploiting race and religion to make a comeback.

The mature voters of all races, however, are seeking better options in politics. The young educated generation is a new force that could see politics of race and religion nipped in the bud.

They do not expect changes to come from these bigoted politicians. The more these politicians use race and religion, the more the younger generation is moving away from them.

The political party that can diffuse racial and religious sentiments is the ideal team to govern this country.

Political parties dominated by a single race or religion can never show the right path for Malaysia.

Moaz Nair is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT