I read Dr Ananda Krishnan's letter DAP it's time to reflect with interest, and would like to add to it.

The present political system is founded on the Umno ideology of 'Malay supremacy' or ketuanan Melayu. It is based on the wrong assumption that a 'race' can be neatly defined and ought to be used for political mobilisation, regime maintenance and capital accumulation.

And then, to justify the raison d'tre of the racist ideology, the regime has to deny the rights of the minorities, like Indian and Chinese Malaysians as citizens of a modern nation-state. It is worse than an Islamic theocracy because while one can change religion, none could change the colour of his or her skin and ancestral origin.

But the ancestral origins of many Umno presidents, including Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj and Dr Mahathir Mohamad have proven that there is no 'pure Malay' as such. Tunku, for example, has Thai ancestors, while Mahathir is well-known for his Indian origin.

There is nothing wrong with having mixed ancestral origins, but to project one as 'pure Malay' by being more Malay than other Malays and by pretending to be a Malay champion is politically dishonest.

The only common denominator of Umno leaders and members is their Muslim religion. But then, would Umno open its door to all Indian, Chinese, Iban, Kadazan, European and other Muslims who are citizens of Malaysia? If it would, should it retain the name "United Malays National Organisation"? Or should it be changed to "United Muslims National Organisation"?

However, if Umno has decided to change from being "United Malays" to "United Muslims", it has to recognise and respect all ethnic groups and their languages and cultures, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. If it does that, it will have no more Malay nationalism, let alone, 'Malay supremacy'. These, then, are the inherently ideological contradictions in the belief system of Umno.

At present, Umno is only a political faction of the larger Muslim community which has not given up the fascist ideology of racial dominance, supremacy and overlordship. While PAS has bravely rejected racial ideology outright and accept Muslims of all ethnic origins in its membership and leadership, the Muslim-predominated Keadilan has advanced one step further by including Malaysians of all different ethnic and religious backgrounds as long as they subscribe to universal values that are also compatible with the values of Islam.

In this sense, Keadilan should not be categorised as a 'Malay-based multi-ethnic party'. Rather, a more accurate concept is that it is a 'Muslim-predominated multi-ethnic and multireligious party'. As long as one is a Malaysian who is 18 years of age or above, one can apply to join Keadilan.

Once membership is approved, one is equal and free to lead. Party elections are open to all members, irrespective of ethnic and religious backgrounds.

Unlike Umno, MCA, MIC and even PAS which inherently need to find racial or religious allies to cater for the multi-ethnic and multireligious reality in Malaysia, Keadilan is, by its very own belief system, constitution and organisation, a Malaysia in epitome. In simple words, Keadilan is a mini-Malaysia, while Umno, MCA and MIC are merely mini-Palembang, mini-China and mini-India respectively.

Seen in this Malaysian perspective, Umno, MCA and MIC are anti-national, while only Keadilan is national in the true and modern sense of the word.