Monday, March 10, 2008

12th general election: a historic day for malaysians

March 8 2008

last saturday night was one of the most exciting time in my life (im sure it was as well for many others). never before in this country's history, has its sons and daughters stood up together and be counted for. and stood up they did, against an over whelming opponent that is the barisan nasional. despite all the negative media coverage of the opposition, threats of racial riots, political and economic instability by the ruling govement, the rakyat stood up and showed them what makkal sakti is all about.

that the malays, chinese and indians were up in arms together in this up rising makes it even more significant. it is trully a historic moment in our young nation's history. how fitting that it should had happen when we are celebrating our 50th year of nationhood.

despite, constantly being reminded of the differences that separated us, for once malaysians forgot about the color of their skin. for once it doesnt matter the name in which they call god. for once Malaysians were united in their fight for issues that transcended all religious and racial differences.

the 12th general election has proven to all sceptics that we as "anak jati malaysia" can set aside all our religious and cultural differences when it comes to fighting for the greater good. the fact that so many opposition canditates from various races and parties won with such resounding majority, goes to show that malaysians of every fabric in society were up in arms against corruption, mismanagement, arrogance and racial and religious intolerance.

it proves to the whole country that if we pool together and focus on our strength, resources and belief (instead of trying to assimilate the different cultures and religions), a true Bangsa Malaysia can be achieve.

if anybody were to ask me what ive done for my country, i would say that on this date, March 8 2008, that i and 10 million other malaysians voted for a better future for our beloved country Malaysia.

it was a great day to be known as a Malaysian. for truly i say to you, indeed Malaysia Boleh!!!

1 comment:

yoong khean said...

before i start, you know im a little anal when it comes to politics and i dont have a clear preference to either parties.

while i agree with some of your points, i will also beg to differ.

i agree that change is needed and change is what we voted for. too long has the ruling coalition run the show as if they own the country and it's time for new blood to enter the picture.

while Malaysians did come together irregardless of race and religion to vote, im not convinced our motives were the same. the reasoning is, definitely, but like i said in one of our earlier conversations, we are already divided since the British era. racial tensions will always be around and though it's not impossible to unite all races in Malaysia, it will take more than what we have seen for the past 2-3 weeks.

i have my doubts of the opposition as well, as i believe the coalition is a marriage of convenience to quote Badawi. why? too many people with too many different ideologies.
yes, they worked together to get the 5 states and to deny 2/3rds from BN, but the real work has yet to be done and only then we can assess whether the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition truly is for the better of the country.

though im not a supporter of Badawi, im not particularly convinced with Anwar either. since his meteoric rise into Malaysian politics, he has always been a pro-Islamist to me. and his policies during his tenure as Education minister didnt help either. and not to mention how he handled the financial crisis during the 90s.

but of all of a sudden, after 10 years away, he appears to be somewhat a liberal, calling all races to unite with no discrimination. is this is a facade, or is this really the "new" Anwar? that is yet to be seen.

with that said, i think the real reason for celebration is that the people of Malaysia proved that the democratic system works, in spite of allegations of phantom voters and dubious voters in the electoral roll, with sheer numbers, the voters made a difference.

so i think it's premature to celebrate to a better Malaysia, as change is yet to take place. i can only hope that my vote was not wasted and in the years to come, we will eventually see a better Malaysia.