Just the other day, I was listening to the radio while driving and the deejays in their community message said something about Malaysians having to live together in harmony and peace, etc.
Back home, I picked up the newspaper and there was a story about Perkasa, the Malay-supremist NGO, urging the government not to bow to the demands of the non-Malays.
Perkasa, which is supported by none other than the former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has been more actively fighting for the rights and privileges of the Malay bumiputras than even Umno, the political party that is supposed to represent and protect the Malays.
At the same time, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is still going on his walkabouts, playing Chinese chess with the Chinese and selling his concept of 1Malaysia to anybody who cares to listen.
Perkasa is playing the racial card - something that Umno normally does - and alienating the non-Malays while the president of the Malay party and Prime Minister of the nation is trying to reach out to non-Malays who have been alienated.
The signals are obviously mixed up and if the people are totally confused, can they be blamed?
Who is the average Malaysian supposed to listen to? The racial/racist chants of Perkasa - supported by an ex-PM - or the repetitive assurances of the current PM that the rights of the non-Malays will be protected?
The danger is that the non-Malays may get so fed up and dump both Perkasa and Umno (or the Umno-dominated Barisan Nasional) and support Pakatan Rakyat all the way.
That leaves Umno having to win Malay support to stay in power. And standing in their way will be PAS, the Islamic party that had vowed to set up an Islamic state in the past but that has in recent times been rather accommodating to non-Muslims.
Are you confused by now? I honestly don't blame you.
As I said before, the signals are all mixed up.
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