Meaning of 916

I always have high regards to Dr Hsu. He is a rare gem in Gerakan, his posting always simple and truthful. he has posted in his blog:

The magical qualities of 916

COMMENTARY By Hsu Dar Ren

Today is 916. So much has been said about 916, it has become a magical figure!

Whether there is any change of government today is really not that important. 916 has become a symbol and a hope for many Malaysians, a hope for change and a change for the better. 916 also embodies a realisation that race based politics is no longer practical in multiracial Malaysia.

More and more people feel that a more equal treatment of all races should be practised. Grossly unfair and unequal treatment in economic , academic as well as civil service have made racial polarisation worse. 51 years after Merdeka, the unequal practices have in fact impeded us and we are starting to see the degradation of many areas in our country.

Meritocracy is not practiced resulting in compromise of standards in universities, schools , civil services. NEP, whose original aims is to eradicate poverty irrespective of race, has been hijacked and skewed in in such a way that it has become the mother of all ills in the country,-,corruption, abuses , nepotism, cronyism.

While the “rats” used to hide under the tables and steal to eat, they have now emboldened to have come out onto the table and “eat” blatantly, even with plenty of onlookers looking at them. There is no more shame, to the extent that when a misdeed is reported, an “honourble’ can utter “please close one eye”.

A more equal policy that stresses on meritocracy is the only way to steer this country, which has all the potential to be a great nation, back to respectability again. It is the only way to steer the country toward the aim of becoming a developed nation. The only way to become a united nation.

916 has come to represent this hope to achieve all these.

Whether it can be realised today or a few days down the road, or even at the next election is no more important. It has succeeded in waking up the silent majority of the people, who have come to struggle side by side irrespective of race and religions, to fight for a fair and equal Malaysia.

Dr Hsu can be reached at http://hsudarren.wordpress.com/