Reformasi that started in 1998 has waken up a lot of apolitical or self-denial Malaysians. The so-called ruling elite’s dirty conspiracy on politican opponents has opened the eyes of Malaysians, many of them who had used to all kinds of ill-treatments and discriminations.

However, due to the ideological differences which refrained the 2 major opposition parties from joining force, they painted themselves into a corner and failed to live up to the expectation of many. Thus, the rotten beyond repair ruling party could stay in the throne election after election eventhough their administration is mediocre.

While Pas might be the best choice for some, upholding God’s words according to their interpretation with little consideration of the real Malaysian context, together with their proposed legal system that infringes human rights and civil liberty have shun the support from many. The occassional protest vote against Umno (as in 1999) should never be taken as an approval of their policies, and the outcome of hijacking it (as in 2004) has been proven fatal.

DAP, on the other hand, strives to restore equality among all Malaysians. While I too agree with this objective, I come to understand that their strong insistence in introducing total equality without considering the realities of Malaysian society “makes many a bit wary of them”, to quote Alvin.

In short, both Pas and DAP are stuck in the same dilemma, for banking on policies that lose them more support than they could win. Without understanding the psyche of other communities in Malaysia which makes up a big chunk of voters outside their niche, both failed to reach out to their traditional hardcore supporters.

As a result, winning a handful of constituencies with either very high percentage of Malay or Chinese voters is already an event for them to celebrate. It does even more harm when this little comfort prevents them from venturing out of their secluded confort zone, fearing losing their little core support.

Therefore, a truly multicultural political party is needed to match the aspiration of everyone. One that understand what each and every communities and stratas of the Malaysian society wants, fights for them for common good without sidelining the wish or marginalising the rights of anyone else. Because, we understand that we can be comfortable if all of us are confortable, we won’t be competitive if any among us is weak. Ultimately, the nation as a whole benefits the most when everyone of us stands to be benefitted from a system that does not discriminate anyone.

Hence, we have witnessed the birth of Keadilan, with its mission to capture the imagination of all Malaysians by illustrating a better future, one that everyone’s interest is taken care of without pitching one against another, to bridge the gap between different traditional niche oppositions and realise opposition unity, and as a result, provide a viable and better alternative to the Umno-led Barisan Nasional.