Are you a son of the soil? or of the night-soil?

These were my thoughts written ten days before the last general elections five years ago on the 27th April 2013.

Today, ten days before the next general elections, I am reminded of this ongoing predicament I face as a Malaysian Citizen, segregated by way of my ancestral origin.

For decades, the ruling parties that formed the government have been drumming the B-word into our ears:

Bumi putra (Sons of the Soil).

This all too familar B-word is a powerful word. It distinguishes Malaysian citizens into two classes, "B" or "non-B". Under the power of this one single B-word, you must first look at the mirror and examine yourself before you do anything, e.g.

before you buy a house,

before you apply for a place in a university,

before you apply for a lorry permit,

before you apply for a scholarship,

et cetera

Before you can do any of the above, you need to ascertain whether you are "B" nor not "B". In other words,

To "B" nor not to "B", that is the question . . .

The ruling party tries very hard, unrelentingly, to make the "B" people feel constantly threatened by the non-"B" people. The slogan "defend our race and religion" is constantly echoed from town hall to convention hall.

They constantly remind the "B" people that they are the Sons of the Soil. By implication, the other citizens of Malaysia are not from the same soil. Instead, they are from other soils.

Thus, whilst the non-"B" peoples are citizens of our country, they are nevertheless not sons and daughters of the Soil. They are merely "granted" permission to stay on this soil called Malaysia. But remember, only the "B" people are the sons of the soil.

As a result of many years of ongoing, unyielding and unwavering efforts by the ruling political party, many discriminating policies have been formulated and implemented throughout our country, in the name of affirmative action, under the label of "economic policy" , to give priority and preferential treatment to the sons of the soil.

Consequently, the B-people are the preferred people. They are the treated as sons of the soil.

Meanwhile, the non-"B" people are the less preferred people. And they are made to feel like they are night-soil.

Fellow Malaysians, in less than ten days' time, we are going to the polling booth to cast our votes. Let us elect a government that treats ALL Malaysian citizens as sons of the soil.

Let no one be treated like night-soil. Anymore.