"Looking at Umno, when there were big issues which we could not address, we would talk about DAP, Chinese chauvinism, and how Lim Kit Siang becoming prime minister would destroy Malaysia, that the Malays would disappear, and the mosques can no longer air the azan.

"I admit that I too have said such things, in front of a 100 percent Malay audience. Thinking back, I feel guilty and a sense of regret."

So right now, the establishment is having to deal with issues they cannot address hence the need for various political operatives to muddy the discourse, with everyone engaging in identity politics and not asking themselves the hard questions.

This is the distraction. What does this distraction entail? This means essays about how the Malays do not need protection and anecdotes about “Malays” who can stand on their own feet.

This also means lip service to “liberal concepts” like egalitarianism and inclusivity without considering the reality that the mainstream political system is predicated on ensuring so-called Malay rights and religious preoccupations continue for political gain.

Reinforcing mainstream ideologies

This is why non-Malay Harapan political operatives were comfortable propping up their Malay partners and reinforcing certain mainstream ideologies over their coalition’s manifesto.

In a nutshell, mainstream Malaysian politics – for non-Malay politicians – is to enable and sustain the voting base of their Malay colleagues, which makes it rather difficult for ideas and policies which could save Malaysia to be considered.

To understand this dynamic, go back to the discussion in Parliament in 2018 when there were moves to sign the unratified International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd).

Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin wondered, “Are you saying that Article 153, which clearly gives special status to one group of people, must have a time limit?”

This is why Perak DAP vice-chairperson Abdul Aziz Bari says, "The rights of the Malays will not be marginalised even if there are a low number of Malays in the party."

This is because these so-called rights will never be challenged no matter how racially divisive they are and it really does not matter how many Malays are in the DAP or how they are marginalised by voting members.

In other words, political parties do not have the political will to confront the racist system.

Pavlovian response

Harapan political operatives always define the ketuanan system as Umno which is misleading. PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli makes the same mistake when he disagrees with the identity politics peddled by the Bersatu Youth chief.

Rafizi said, “Voters who reject Umno’s track record of corruption don’t mind giving Bersatu and PN a protest vote… It is precisely because Malay voters are a lot more sophisticated that Harapan must work its narratives to convince voters it has solutions and competence to resolve the key economic issues the people are facing.”

This, however, does not demonstrate the sophistication of the voters who switched their votes to Bersatu and Perikatan Nasional (PN) instead of Umno.

Why did they switch their votes? Because they understood Bersatu and PN are part of the ketuanan system which would protect them from everything they were taught to be afraid of.

So there is very little sophistication here. It is more a Pavlovian response. Those who switched their votes understand as long as they vote establishment, they cannot go far wrong.

The fact that they don’t understand Harapan is part of the establishment is indicative of the success of the propaganda and institutionalised racism of this country, which is damaging because when the time comes for mutual cooperation, that well has been poisoned.

Now, I am not saying that Rafizi’s point of recalibrating the message and policy is not welcome, but rather there is no real alternative to accurately judge how far the Malay polity is willing to go in favour of a different model of governance.

All this is merely theatre for political operatives who either want to keep the game going or those who do not want to offer another kind of game. Do not be fooled.