COMMENT | While we can fully understand that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak needs to sort out his embattled public image, the country is really moving backwards.

While writing, a fellow journalist friend of mine told me that she is thinking of migrating overseas. Former minister Zaid Ibrahim is also urging Malays to migrate overseas, if they have an opportunity.

Look at the state of the nation. The Muslim-only laundrette has shocked the country, with the Johor royal family and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s brother Nazir Razak speaking up against the laundrette.

However, none of the ministry officials or ministers have come out strongly against this segregationist attitude. Why, as usual, only the Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has spoken up against such “narrow-mindedness”, saying that it could lead to “extremism”, but not the other muftis, in particular the one from Perak, who became known for his comment on having sex on camel’s back. Why is the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom keeping quiet?

There used to be also a minister in charge of national unity and social development, but is there one now? Why is the minister saying nothing about it? I can read opinion pieces by Sisters in Islam, for example, but such an issue should be nipped in the bud by the authorities.

If the authorities do not act, this would further embolden the culprits to further create damage to the social fabric of this nation. We may end up being another apartheid nation.

Questions have been raised: Will we someday print money that can only be handled by Muslims? Some of us non-Muslims use the ringgit to buy pork, don’t we? The butcher gives us the change and the same money is used to buy something else. So, what happens?

What is our direction?

Then, there is the “bin Abdullah” ruling which was made by the Federal Court, overturning the decision by the Court of Appeal. Even as a non-Muslim, I can see there is injustice done to the child who was conceived out of wedlock.

If biologically, the child is the product of the father and mother, why is the child not named after the father? Is it to shame the father or ultimately to shame the boy for having parents who had pre-marital sex before they decided to tie the knot?

What is the Cabinet’s view on this? The National Registration Department comes under the Home Ministry. Could the Home Minister, for example, not intervene in this case at the level of the department, so as to protect the rights of the child?

Or at least for some decency, allow the family to go on with their lives, while attempts are made to counsel them for their past mistakes. I find the NRD’s decision to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision to be quite disturbing even from a non-Muslim point of view.

There are also so many stateless children. When they do not carry an identity card, despite being born to Malaysian parents, these children become victims of the state.

What is our government doing about this? Why is the cabinet not putting its foot down on solving these issues involving especially the marginalised Indian community?

Recently, the people of Penang suffered from a major flash flood. The amount of politicking about that issue has been ridiculous.

We see that the rights of the non-Muslim community are being trampled upon, but the government is not paying attention to help resolve these issues.

I could go on and on, but my question has to be posed to Najib: where are we heading as a nation? While I cannot deny that there are indeed some good ministers who are very much down to earth, it appears to me that not much is being done at the higher levels to resolve the issues we are facing as a nation.

It has to begin right at the top.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.