LETTER | The 14GE, termed the “Mother of all Elections”, is already over with an unprecedented and overwhelming victory for the opposition Pakatan Harapan.

It was the most bitterly fought general election in the history of the country which saw the fall of BN, the ruling party of over 60 years.

With the de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in jail and with a disorganised and disunited opposition, a BN victory was a foregone conclusion like in all previous elections.

It was fortunate to have the former PM, Dr Mahathir Mohamad to join the opposition to lead the fatal attack on BN. Despite his advanced age of 92, he managed to rally the masses behind him and became the main thrust of the opposition's assault on BN.

It was a medical miracle for a man of his age to endure such physical and mental strain of arduous election campaigning, day and night with little rest and sleep.

For his relentless efforts, he won the admiration of all Malaysians, young and old alike. Our prayers for the nation were answered as he was indeed a God-sent gift to save us and our beloved country at the right time.

The 14GE was not a fight among political parties but one of the people against the corrupt and out-of-touch ruling BN government. In this fight, social media played a vital role to take the message of change to every corner of the country like never before resulting in the amazing unity of all the people who came out in droves on polling day to vote against BN.

The success of Harapan in the 14GE is due not to any particular community but to all Malaysians across all racial boundaries. It was reassuring to see for the first time Malays persuading their non-Malay friends to vote for Harapan. This never occurred before in the country. Clearly, Mahathir became the people’s rallying icon for that unity.

This amazing unity of the masses of all races is unprecedented in our country which has become increasingly divided along racial and religious lines. This unity was the most important outcome of the 14GE which must not be allowed to dissipate by our follies now that the Harapan is in power.

This exceptional, extraordinary and spontaneous unity of the people in the 14GE should be harnessed to create a multiracial Malaysia for the future generations.

It should be capitalised upon to create a multiracial mindset in the people of all races, in particular, the youth so that they will accept everyone as equal despite the differences in colour, creed and language.

It is time to change the people's mindset to do away with race-based parties and open up multiracial ones as race-based politics is obsolete in today’s competitive globalised world.

The people now have given a golden opportunity that must be grasped by all to get rid of race-based politics and religious extremism once and for all and prepare a mindset that will freely adopt and accept meritocracy, fairness and goodwill for all Malaysians regardless of race and creed.

This is the most important task facing us today and ideally, we should begin with our homes and schools, instilling in the minds of our young the importance of being colour-blind and accepting all citizens without distinction.

Mahathir is the right person who can lead this mission to success. He has the wit, skill and determination and Malaysians have equivocally expressed in no uncertain terms their confidence in him.

I am sure Mahathir at his age and with his experience has the wisdom to realise this extraordinary unity of the people of all races and harness its effects for the future well-being of all Malaysians.

Time is running out and Mahathir is in a rush to rebuild the nation as are many are out there to derail his efforts at all costs. As responsible citizens, we are all obligated to continue to give him our full and undivided support so that he succeeds.

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