Malaysian Elections: We live in historic times!
Alright, I’m a bit late getting on the bandwagon of posting about the election results, but here is my take. Malaysia is truly going through historic times. Now that the National Front has been denied the two thirds majority, we are in totally uncharted waters of our democracy. With Penang, Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Kelantan being held by the opposition, and the power to arbitrarily modify the constitution no longer belonging to Barisan Nasional, it will certainly be exciting to see how the next five years play out.
One thing’s for sure though. This election has been a resounding and well-deserved blow to Barisan Nasional. It has also proven that Malaysians are not as bigoted and as cowardly as UMNO thinks, that we are now wise enough to see that the system needs to be changed, and mature enough to choose change without being uncivilized about it. This truly shows that people have great power, while reminding current and future leaders of Malaysia that “People shouldn’t be afraid of their government, governments should be afraid of their people.”
For now, the opposition rejoices, but they must too remember their promises to the people. Running a government (even at state level) is much harder than talking about how it should be run. Five years from now, if they mess up, the people will be as pissed as they are now with Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. And trust me, opposition or not, they too will be shown the door.
To end on a positive note however, as of these elections, Malaysia has passed the point of no return. In the future, the people will likely pick leaders for their merit and leadership, rather than being convinced by lies or out of fear of instability and violence. We as Malaysians, have truly grown up as a nation. What better present for Malaysia, just past her 50th year of existence?
