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As people elsewhere on Earth
celebrate Cinco de Mayo, the rakyat of Malaysia face our 13th
General Election.
Growing up, I had never been
interested in the politics of my country. We had neither war nor famine; things
were pretty fine as it was. Even when I entered my teens, politics had never
been a topic that came up in discussions with my friends. My dad’s half of the
family kept up with the news, but that was it. I tuned out whenever politics
was brought up because I didn’t know these people or what they did.
I was in my final year of high
school during the previous general election. There had been rumblings and
issues were stirring up in the months preceding the election. When the
opposition party won over a surprising amount of votes, everyone was thrown in
a loop. The rakyat rejoiced upon discovering that yes, we could make a difference and make a stand. For the very first time,
we had truly shaken BN to their core.
Years went by, and here we are
now.
For the very first time, I was
truly excited for Malaysia’s general election. In the months leading up to this
election, a myriad of issues were brought to the attention of the rakyat.
See, the government may stifle
our voices in the newspaper, radio, talk shows, and even news networks, but one
media has managed to become a major platform for voicing our opinions – the
internet.
Facebook and twitter gave us
information – untainted information –
from both parties practically instantaneously. Rallies and gatherings were
planned and the word spread like wild bush fires.
Most importantly, it got us
youths interested in politics. My bubble of ignorance was finally popped. Maybe
it was because I was finally approaching a voting age. Maybe it was because my
parents’ problems and the rakyat’s problems have become my problems too.
Regardless of the reasons, I
tuned in to check with the results of the general election. To my surprise and
joy, I wasn’t the only one affected by this political awareness. My friends
were all talking about it. My sister and her friends were talking about it too.
It seemed as though everyone was
talking about it.
I had multiple windows opened
with live result updates and discussions going on with my family and cousins.
As the results slowly trickled
in, we waited on the edges of our seats, clicking the refresh button even
though the websites came with auto-refresh features.
Way too many hours later, our
dreams were absolutely crushed. The disappointment started slowly.
Foreigners were allegedly brought into the
country and given Identity Cards (ICs) just so they could vote for BN. My own
mother has been in this country for more than twenty five years and she still
can’t vote but someone who has been in my country for a mere two days can
suddenly vote?
The “Indelible” ink used wasn’t really
indelible at all because it had to be “halal”.
Blackouts occurred at counting
stations where the opposition had strong leads. Lo and behold, the opposition
loses in the end when additional ballot boxes are miraculously found.
To be honest, I didn’t expect the
opposition party to win the parliament. They would win states over, yes, but
the parliament would be tricky to win over, especially since Sarawak gave BN a
strong win with multiple parliament seats from the very beginning.
But for the first few hours, it
was a pretty tight race, with the opposition party behind by only about ten
seats or so. There was still hope. The rakyat held out for that hope. We were
all waiting in anticipation.
More hours passed and the general
results were in.
Many people were disappointed and
outraged. They felt cheated by this election.
We did not “topple” the government,
but tonight was no small achievement either. Change does not come easily. It is
not a revolution that occurs overnight. It may feel like we’re taking baby
steps, and maybe we are, but what happened tonight was no small feat. There has
been progress made.
80% of voters turned up to vote,
and this is a record high for Malaysia.
Political awareness has swept
through the country like never before.
I see the Malaysian youths take a
pro-active stance in our country’s politics and I have to feel proud of this
achievement.
The rakyat banded together and made
a stand.
We have loss, yes, but this isn’t
the end of the road. We are merely paving the road for a better future.
Many people are demanding actions
to be taken or roaming around the streets with parangs. Heck, a whole bunch of
people and starting petitions to get the UN or even America involved.
Sleep over it. Don’t do anything
rash. Let the dust settle before we try to tackle these problems.
Getting outsiders to interfere is
not the way we should settle this. Seriously, we do not need history to repeat
itself. Remember when we asked the British for help? Look how well that turned
out for our past Sultans. We need to stand together as a nation and face our
own problems.
The disappointing events have
nearly turned me away from politics but I have faith in the rakyat. We need to
stand strong proceed from here. We do what we can in the next five years
because every little progress counts.
And at the end of the five years,
we, the rakyat, will face the 14th general election, more prepared
than ever.
