Actually, I shall start with the evening before...
Friday, 7 March 2008
6:30pm-ish
I left the office for the weekend and happily wished everyone "Selamat Mengundi"
around 11:30pm
I did my usual round of checking emails and tengok websites that I regularly visit. I'm on this mailing list and usually I just glance through the emails that come from that yahoogroup but somehow tonight I decided to follow the link that was on one particular email.
I was introduced to the world of M Bakri Musa... I was intrigued, and how fitting, on the eve of Malaysia's 12th general election. I was absorbed... couldn't stop reading and went on reading until around 3:30am. Gosh... have I been missing a lot!
Saturday, 8 March 2008... THE day
very late morning
Woke up late, since I went to bed quite late the night before. Went on to cuci, mop, lap tangga... renovation work inside the house is finally complete and it was time to get down and dirty to rid the house of the remnant thick layer of dust.
I had told my friends earlier that I'll go vote if I woke up early enough because I didn't fancy queueing for a long time in the hot Malaysian sun. Too late for early morning voting session... maybe later in the afternoon when ppl are having their siesta...
Papa asked me "Did you check where our pusat mengundi is?" "Yup... kat Sekolah Sri Delima, macam biasa" I replied.
Sms-ed Mantze and Rubie to wish them Happy Birthday
around 3:00pm
Amt and I drove to BV2... the night before I had made plans with him to go to Delicious. I was craving for some nice yummy food and their iced chocolate. We drove through Damansara Heights, up the hill towards Bangsar. As soon as we entered the enclave of the rich and expats, we were greeted by a sea of posters. Two ladies... one more matured one young. The younger one had a simpler photo, whilst the matured lady who is a seasoned politician had 3 jenis poster... one of herself, one of her kissing a baby and another on of her hugging a warga emas. They're obviously trying to portray that she's a caring person
The normal party logo banners and flags were on every tiang lampu, tiang telefon, pokok... you name it, mesti ada tampal.
I highlighted to Amt the scene that was before us and commented "Sure Shahrizat menang lah... she has proven herself and is one of the better cabinet ministers. Although she's anak Anwar, Nurul Izzah can't possibly beat a powerhouse like Shahrizat" as we leisurely drove towards out destination
10:30pm
I was in my room, tengah nak lipat kain and turned on the TV. Yesterday Mot had declined the invitation to dinner tonight on account of "nak tunggu results". OK lah... since dinner was cancelled and it was the thing that the whole country was eagerly waiting for, I turned on TV3.
Lo and behold... the first thing that caught my eyes were the news stream which read "Shahrizat mengalami kekalahan di Lembah Pantai". What? Could this really be happening?
Then the next line came up and I knew that we were up for an interesting night ahead "Samy Vellu kehilangan kerusi Sungai Siput". Macam di plan pulak, my phone beeped indicating a new message. More news regarding the results of the election.
I went out to tell Mama of the unexpected news. She was also in disbelief and promptly informed Papa. "Ha... Buat. Shahrizat pun kalah" was her remark.
10:45pm
By now I was most eager to lipat and simpan all the kain so that I can start browsing the internet. As expected, Malaysiakini site was blocked. Updates on the SPR website was slow coming in... My eyes were glued to the TV, affixed to the commentary that was taking place. Even the commentators were more *brave* in voicing their opinions, unlike the usual fare of pro and ampu Govt.
Am I hearing and seeing what I think I'm seeing?
12:15am
By now it was clear... DAP has gained control of Penang, PAS in Kelantan and the trend in Kedah, Perak and Selangor was indicating a similar pattern.
I admire the way Koh Tsu Koon handled his defeat... with grace and humility. The commentators are increasingly *stronger* in their views. One of them quite bluntly said that BN is paying for the public's dissatisfaction. The term political tsunami mula kedengaran...
Compared to Koh Tsu Koon, Abdullah Badawi's press conference was less impressive. He was obviously lost for words... as if in a daze
4:00am
TV show coverage with talk2 habis. Finally went to bed, head buzzing with the realisation of what had just happened.
Sunday, 9 March 2008... the day after
late morning (again)
Went down to have breakfast and was greeted with a confirmation from Papa that BN had lost their control of 5 states and no longer have 2/3 majority in parliament. Gerakan, MCA, MIC, UMNO all kalah teruk. Saved fortunately by Sabah and Sarawak, with reduced majority and margin in Pahang, Johor.
Honestly, I didn't think that the outcome would be as earth moving as this. I had expected that BN would lose some seats but not to this magnitude.
The time for change has come... the people have spoken. The Malaysian public is not *sleeping* anymore. We want changes, we want to rid the country of ill behaviours and practices.
I must admit that while I'm quite pleased with the outcome, a part of me is also worried about the increasing polarisation between the races. The country that I love for its multiracial tolerance and culture is on a delicate path. How things turn out in the coming months will determine whether or not the success that has been Malaysia will continue. I surely hope so...
So to the new Ahli Parlimen... go do your job and make this country of ours great again. You've been given a golden chance, make full use of it for a better tomorrow.
RALAT:
I am happy to share that my constituency, P.115 Batu, has a population mix that is reflective of Malaysia... 44% Melayu, 40% Cina, 10% India dll. The true masyarakat majmuk. I didn't notice any other constituency that can boast a similar distribution... most are skewed towards one particular race.
So with Tian Chua as our new YB, and a sample population that reflects that country, I hope that P.115 Batu can set an example for the rest of the country... insyaallah.
p/s: In the end I didn't vote this year... mistakenly thot that DAP was contesting in the area. No hal... my 1 vote wouldn't have made a change, and even if I did vote, I would have voted for the same person that I've been voting for all this while [with some investigative search, you'll know who that is ;)]
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