WHAT a real big sigh of relief now that the supposed unity talks between Umno and PAS did not take off.

At least the March 8 so-called political tsunami which swept across the country with the whole nation waking up the following day feeling revitalised and full of hope for a change for the better still lives on.

The unity talks proposal, regardless of who initiated the move, be it Umno or PAS, does not really do any good in the first place for this nation of multi-racial and multi-cultural diversity.

But alas, the message from the voters seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

Many of these politicians are simply ignorant or refused to accept the reality that the racial cards, which had been played for so many elections seem to be not workable or enticing to the voters, especially the urbanites anymore.

Since the March 8 general election, we have seen chorus of calls from politicians to discard racial politics but so far, this seems to be a very reluctant call than from the bottom of their hearts.

Before Umno or PAS went into the failed unity talks, do these politicians know exactly what a unity government is supposed to be?

It seems from news reporting that the unity talks between these two Malay dominant parties focused very much on Malay unity.

Fifty-two years into Independence, I believe Malaysians should be more than matured to realise that for a nation to move on, we have to discard the communal feelings among us and concentrate on pulling our weight together to achieve a common goal, which is a nation for one Malaysia regardless of whether you are a Malay, Chinese or Indian.

If we look into history, a unity government was formed only when there were national disasters or wars when the ruling and the opposing parties came together to face with the crisis.

For instance, in the United Kingdom, the electoral system is often said to discourage coalitions, but nonetheless national governments were formed during World War I and II.

During the Great Depression, a coalition termed national government was formed in 1931 between Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and the Conservative and Liberals.

So looking into the unity talks between Umno and PAS with the sole agenda of uniting one race, would it be a right idea for this country which since the general election last year is slowly moving towards a right direction?

I guess it is not as the unity talks were more than meet the eyes and were very much of a political motive rather than for the overall benefit of this nation.

The only option for Umno to remain politically relevant is to form an alliance with PAS to weaken the Pakatan Rakyat which is riding high at the moment.

But such an effort may not go down well with most Malaysians who are hoping to see the emergence of a political party which cuts across racial line.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak should revamp Umno and like what Karim Raslan stated in his column ‘Ceritalah’ Umno should take a middle ground and stand not only for the Malays but also the Chinese, Indians, Ibans or Kadazans.

I would have no qualms about the formation of a unity government between BN and PR to sincerely sit down together to do something for the country in a larger picture.

A unity government to look into the sorry state of the rule of law and the separation of powers in this country is almost welcome by every Malaysian.

The current economic recession requires politicians from both divides to come together and find ways to weather the economic storm.

The rising crime rate all over the country needs the attention as well from both the ruling party and the opposition.

Ongoing debates on the medium of instruction used for the teaching of Science and Mathematics and whether English should be made a compulsory pass for all SPM students needs urgent intellect and pragmatic solution from the politicians.

Formation of a unity government to look into these matters rather than of racial political tone should be the top agenda.

There is no time for any of these politicians with myopic view to keep raising the racial bar if this country were to move forward.

But lucky we that the timely announcement by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak of further economic liberalisation may continues to give Malaysians renewed hope for a better governance in this country.

At least for now, the racial overtone is silent.