Malaysia’s pretenders and their unholy game with race and religion

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Malaysia’s pretenders and their unholy game with race and religion

We must stop being manipulated by sermons disguised as politics and politics disguised as sermons.

Updated 1 hour ago · Published on 04 Jun 2025 9:41AM

Malaysia is suffocating because too many of our leaders are morally bankrupt. - Picture credit to https://www.emirresearch.com/ - June 4, 2025




by Vinod Sekhar



LET’S stop pretending.

We are being played - again. Not by foreign powers, not by shadowy conspirators from abroad, but by our own so-called leaders. Men (and yes, some women) who would rather fracture this nation than lose power. Men who don the cloak of piety and racial pride, not out of conviction, but because they know it stirs emotion, fear, and blind loyalty.

It is the oldest trick in the book - weaponise identity. Tell the majority they are under threat. Blame the minority for the economy, for corruption, for crime, for even breathing differently.

Paint religion as fragile and constantly under siege. Then, ride the wave of paranoia straight to the ballot box.

And some of us fall for it. Again.

We have a prime minister now that's trying to walk that line to get the country on the track it's meant to be. This is despite having a cabinet in a government made up of as diverse in opinions as you can imagine.

And yet he tries to keep things moving - of course he doesn't always get it right but how do you fix something that's taken over 30 years to break, overnight.

We must see the reality of the situation and work with it and make real changes from within. And in many cases, it starts with ourselves.

We like shouting and screaming. We like demanding. But with no thought of how it's going to happen in real practical terms. Hot air has some use in colder countries, Malaysia is tropical.

No time for sugar-coated diplomacy

I speak plainly because Malaysia no longer has time for sugar-coated diplomacy. We are standing on a dangerous precipice.

The same Malaysia that once held promise as a beacon of multicultural progress is now at risk of becoming just another broken country divided by tribalism, all because certain people cannot accept the end of their political relevance.

And others feel this is the only way to have relevance.

Make no mistake: what we are seeing today is not a crisis of race or religion. It is a crisis of character. Of values. Of cowardice disguised as leadership.

While all races and religions play a role in this piling car crash, but the majority has a much bigger responsibility, simply because they are the majority.

These actors - many of whom claim to speak for “the Malays,” or for "the Chinese" etc or “the faithful”- are not protectors. They are predators. They prey on fear. They exploit our education gaps, our economic disparities, our historical wounds. And worst of all, they preach values they themselves do not practice.

They scream about morality while stealing from the rakyat. They call others corrupt while funding their campaigns with dirty money.

They talk of unity while breaking bread with bigots behind closed doors. This isn’t just hypocrisy. It is treason against the Malaysian soul.


Role of power is to serve

When I was younger, I was told that real leadership meant lifting others. That the role of power was to serve. That race, religion, and wealth were personal, but justice and humanity were universal.

That’s what I was taught by my father, an incorruptible public servant, who stood tall with the likes of Tun Dr Ismail, Tun Raja Mohar, Tan Sri Khir Johari, Tun Sambanthan and Tan Sri Tan Chee Khoon (among many others).

They died with integrity, not millions or billions. And yet, I see their legacy more in the quiet smiles of Malaysians who still believe in this country, than in the empty noise of the self-serving elite.

Malaysia is not facing death because we are multiracial. Multiracialism is what keeps us going. Multiracialism is what made our country great once, and it can be again.

Malaysia is suffocating because too many of our leaders are morally bankrupt.

They do not love Islam. They love the control that comes with invoking it.

They do not love the Malay people. They love the political capital that comes with pretending to speak for them.

And they certainly do not love Malaysia—not in the way you love something you are willing to sacrifice for.

Let me be clear: unity is not about ignoring differences. It is about choosing to stand together despite them. But that requires moral courage. And that is in short supply.

I have seen this game before—in parts of Indonesia, in Sri Lanka, in parts of Africa. When identity is used as a weapon, it always leads to the same outcome: blood, broken institutions, and lost generations. We are not special. We are not immune.

But we are not without hope.

There are leaders - true leaders - leading right now and emerging from the shadows. Many are young Malaysians of all races who refuse to inherit this rot. And there are still institutions that can be rebuilt if we choose reform over revenge.

We must stop rewarding the pyromaniacs with airtime, power and oxygen. We must stop being manipulated by sermons disguised as politics and politics disguised as sermons.

We must stop being silent when cowards shout the loudest. Especially when we know in buckets of silence the rodents screech the loudest.

And above all, we must remember Malaysia was never meant to belong to one race, one religion, or one political godfather. It was meant to be a home for all.

So, if you care about your country, stop playing along. Speak up. Show up. Vote smart. Reject hate, no matter what robe it wears or what language it speaks.

We are better than this. And we must start acting like it—before the dream truly dies.

Malaysia Boleh. Malaysia Mesti.