So surprise, surprise, Malaysians love talking/arguing about race. So here's a tweet thread on your favourite topic.

There are many failed states in the world. Malaysia is different: it is a successful state but a failed nation. We have a "lagu kebangsaan" (national anthem), "bahasa kebangsaan" (national language), but sixty years on, we have no "bangsa Malaysia" or Malaysian nation. 1/

Why do we allow our politicians to use "bangsa" to talk about their racial agendas, when they are really fighting for "kaum" and "suku"? Why is no-one fighting for the nation, the "bangsa Malaysia"? 2/

The problem lies, as ever, in our politics. Race-based parties are the cancer of Malaysian society. Instead of learning to appeal to and serve the whole of our society, our politicians are trained to use race and religion to steal money and power. 3/

As President Lyndon Johnson once said: "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best [black] man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you." 4/

So the first step to building a Malaysian nation, as Onn bin Jaafar realised in 1950, SEVENTY years ago (!), is to get rid of race-based political parties. 5/

The next thing we need to focus on is diversity. Is it really acceptable for any school, government department, or public company to be 90% Malay or 90% Chinese? Is it acceptable for a Cabinet or a board of directors to have only 1-2 token women? 6/

In the M'sian context, diversity is easier to establish than equality—everyone has a different view of what is fair or equal. Diversity at least is measurable, and we know it improves performance. At least we think it will help with national unity. 7/

Then we have to address discrimination. Is it acceptable for a landlord to say "no Indians"? A business to say "Chinese only"? Is it acceptable for a national uni to allow foreigners but no minority Malaysians? If you reject one of these, you have to reject them all. 8/

This is not to say we shouldn't have affirmative action in favour of disadvantaged ethnic groups, as is done in the US, South Africa, India, etc. Even ICERD allows affirmative action. But affirmative action cannot be fixed in stone, and under Art 153 must be "reasonable". 9/

Finally, on education: it is not just minority parents who choose to abandon the national school system: rich Malay parents also choose to send their kids to private English-medium schools. Only the poor are left with no other option. 10/

We need to depoliticise education: let independent exam boards run exams and set syllabus; let educators run schools and universities and teach in whatever language they want, as long as students master the national language and national history. 11/

In short, nation-building since 1970 has been a failure, & we need as M'sians to restart the process. Unless we can build a shared national identity based on common values, instead of letting politicians divide us, we will not be able to work together as a democratic nation. /12