After the last general elections in 1999, we non-Muslims and non-Malays had waited with bated breath to see how Umno would react after losing the states of Terengganu and Kelantan and quite a few parliamentary seats, mainly to PAS.

Sure enough, Umno, led by its president and prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, decided to up the ante by playing the race card (again), and also by declaring Malaysia an Islamic state last September, ignoring the Federal Constitution and the social contract drawn up after Independence.

Despite all the protestations by Umno at the federal level, there was a certain sense of wayang kulit (play-acting) by Umno when its assemblymen abstained from voting on the Hudud Bill passed by the Terengganu State Assembly yesterday. One was even absent.

Why didn't those present vote against the Bill? So as not to lose votes, knowing the overwhelming support PAS has for the hudud (Islamic penal code) law? Even the religious advisor to the PM said hudud is okay but only the timing is wrong! What double-headedness!

It looks like principles are once again being pushed aside for the sake of expediency. If this goes on and it becomes Umno's way of dealing with fundamental issues, I shudder to think of the future! Who are they trying to fool?

Mahathir even went to the extent of resorting to calling non-Malays 'foreigners' at the last Umno general assembly. This reminds me of when, in 1987, he referred to Chinese and Indian Malaysians as descendants of migrants. When MCA Youth (then under Lee Kim Sai's leadership) passed a resolution at its general assembly condemning this, the Umno 'ultras' (hard-liners) were baying for Kim Sai's blood, some even demanding that his datukship be revoked.

Eventually, Mahathir retracted his remarks but obviously he was not sincere! Deep in his heart, he is a Malay nationalist who, for expediency's sake, 'tolerates' but 'exploits' the non-Malays for his ulterior motives. He and the Umno 'ultras' are not sincere in wanting to forge a Malaysia for all races.

The very cornerstone of Umno's philosophy based on race and religion runs contrary to the concept of a multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-cultural civil society. How does Umno reconcile this fact? No wonder we are facing all the problems in the country — a dysfunctional ruling party whose philosophy runs contrary to the founding principles of the nation!

There is no excuse under any circumstances to play the race card to the detriment of national unity, harmony, peace and stability — the very words the Barisan Nasional (BN) are so fond of using to entice Malaysians to support them.

Is it then a case of hypocrisy, deceit, lies and betrayal by Umno and BN component parties? Or are the present leaders of other BN parties mere eunuchs who hang on to their ministerial and government posts and close both eyes to the 'wrongs' that are being committed by Umno?

Our legitimate rights are being thrown out the window, all in the name of the Malay race and Islam. Even when it comes to practical issues like quotas or meritocracy for entry into universities and colleges, race plays an overriding role.

What about the practical application of learning English? One day, Dr M says schools using the English medium should be re-introduced. The Umno Supreme Council shot it down, citing the reason that this would bes contrary to the National Language policy.

One is tempted to ask how it affects the National Language policy? Isn't it sufficient for Malaysian citizens to be proficient in Malay? One subject being taught in schools ought to be enough to achieve that objective, a reasonable man would have thought. But no, the Umno 'ultras' think otherwise.

We have been under the thumb of Umno's 'ultras' for too long. For me and, I believe, the majority of decent, God-fearing ordinary human beings, who treasure a civil society based on universal values as espoused by the United Nations Charter, it would be disastrous to continue being oppressed by the tyranny of Umno 'ultras'. They have been blinded by the twin evils of race and religion, especially the concept of Malay dominance.

Unfortunately, I perceive a sense of sheer frustration among us because of the lack of credible alternatives in the Malaysian political landscape. In a sense we are caught between a rock and a hard place.

On the one hand, the radical, extreme PAS (who support the Taliban!) onslaught is sweeping down the peninsula. On the other, non-Malay, non-Muslim Malaysians have no choice but to tolerate the excesses and tyranny of Umno 'ultras'.

The Malaysian Malaise, as I call it, is very real. Far from being trying to be a doomsayer, I feel that the warning signs are all too clear for all to see.

Have you all noticed how the rhetoric on unity has been missing from the speeches of our politicians lately? We have been facing the pressures of Umno's tyranny and follies and PAS' frightening rhetoric of extremism and fanaticism, that we are all left wondering what is coming next.

Have the two major political parties abandoned the concept of a multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-religious Malaysia? Or have they merely 'pretended' to adopt the concept, for expediency, to lure foreign tourists for the money?

With talk of the next general elections round the corner, it will be a case of Hobson's choice for me. As a non-Malay, non-Muslim Malaysian, I have no other choice but to vote for the DAP, t protest the malaise we are facing today.