The day that changed Malaysian politics forever

Ok this post consists of random thoughts and random events that occured around the election time. Which means, a long post with no pictures.

As a Malaysian citizen, I felt obliged to fulfil my duty of voting so I took a bus back on 08.03.2008 (三八妇女节, international women's day). I was a little excited as this was the first time I could vote. My polling station was located at the Sekolah Agama. My parents had voted earlier in the morning so they've got my information ready. I went to room 6.

I had to wait for my turn outside the classroom. A police lady was there and she asked me:"baru habis kerja?" and I said no, I just came back from Singapore. And she was like: "bagus!" In reality, travelling back home to vote was nothing extraordinary (contrary to what Eric thought), as many Malaysians did the same; I heard of people flying back to Penang from Singapore just to vote. It's understandable too... this election felt like a wonderful opportunity to hit back at BN (well, for me mostly UMNO) which had lost touch with the people and also became too arrogant for its own good.

This reminds me of a video clip I saw of Badawi replying reporters around the time parliament was dissolved. A reporter asked what did Badawi think about the oppositions' accusations concerning gerrymandering. To my horror he replied "ape tu?" (and sounded really kampung-ish ignorant at that).

People are not that ignorant anymore. Many no longer blindly accept BN's point of view and threats anymore. For example this short excerpt that I found at a side column in the Straits Times: "It serves them (the government) right. The results were totally unexpected but people are just so fed up already with Pak Lah. Now that we have the Internet, the government can't lie to us anymore. Maybe they could before, but not now. I saw in the newspapers photos that appeared to show that only a handful of people attended last year's Bersih rally but when I went online, we could see that tens of thousands were actually there." - Housewife Kah Mah, 48.

So the Chinese vote... many were undetered by threats from the PM that the chinese will lose representation of Chinese in the government if they voted for opposition. They even voted for PAS!! Most unimaginable in previous elections I would say. But there really is no fear of losing representation. If no MCA or Gerakan people get in parliament/cabinet, fine. As long as there are some in opposition. BN can jolly well ignore the needs and calls from the Chinese community, but expect further election losses in the coming election + probably more brain drain. And a lot of other issues that will prop up. It won't be good for BN basically. And I'm kinda sick of all this race-based politics so the opposition (parties that are technically non-race-based) is a breath of fresh air to the stagnant race-politics of BN, and hopefully will lead a future where people are treated equally.

As for the Indian votes... well, it's rather understandable isn't it? After all the sufferings the BN government has caused the community: "body-snatching" and Islam rehabilitation that caused grievances within Hindu families, demolition of Hindu temples, Hindraf leaders jailed, etc...

Problems are likely to surface in the cabinet/central government - state relationship for those states that are under opposition rule ... 左右为难 for the central government I will say.

Of course, not all BN candidates are bad. It's a pity some good ones have lost, but it's not their fault. Many people (especially young/first-time voters I suppose) voted based on parties instead of the candidate's credentials and experience. They were dragged down by the huge dissatisfaction of the people towards the party in general.

Then there was the BERSIH rally, and the "Anwar effect" (he's one hell of a charismatic leader btw). I was reading some articles saying that although Anwar was denied the chance to run in the elections, this however proved to be a blessing in disguise as he was able to commit his full attention and help in working with DAP and PAS, and giving speeches around the country.

To the opposition: "Please don't screw up!!!!" Even as I write this there have been problems brewing up. Haizz. If they don't prove their mettle and that they are a better government than BN, people will be going back to BN (which may not be a bad thing if BN reforms itself properly). And if the Barisan Alternatif/Barisan Rakyat does well, BN will have a lot to worry for the next election. So there is pressure to perform on both sides.

So concerning the Johor side, which is where I stay... it's tough. It's BN/UMNO's stronghold; in fact, JB is the birthplace of UMNO. But the opposition has been making inroads, so maybe it is possible for the following elections for a BA MB (Menteri Besar).

Let the best party emerge the winner.