Kuala Lampur, Aug. 14 -- Parti Wawasan Negara president Hamzah Zainudin argues that Malay unity is the anchor of national stability.

His proposition deserves scrutiny because the opposite may increasingly be true: a forced Malay-Muslim electoral consolidation involving Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and PAS could produce instability before an election, paralysis after it, and ultimately a deeper political balkanisation between different parts of Peninsular Malaysia and the two Borneo states.

The issue is not Malay unity itself. Malays have every right to seek political, economic and social solidarity.

But the more fundamental question is this: can multiethnic Malaysia ever be stabilised by the unity of a single ethnic g...