The Dawn of a new Malaysia

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

So, there we go, the result of the 12th Malaysia General Election has revealed. So many surprises yet full of hope, excitement and challenge. For the first time since the independent in 1957, the ruling coalition has lost their 2/3 control of the parliament and only managed to earn slightly a bit more than 1/2 of the seats in the parliament, just enough to once again be the government of the country. In the state level, out of 13 states, from losing 1 state to the opposition since 1990, today, 5 states are under the control of the opposition coalition, surprise, surprise, even the opposition did not anticipate such a victory, the most they estimated are 3 states. The 5 states are not just any 5 states but among the most prosperous in the country, states with the most foreign investors. Today, the share market of Malaysia fall to the lowest since the past 7 months, I hope it is just for temporal before the investors gain their confidence to the new state governments. Today also, the Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi once again takes the Prime Minister office for his second term though many urge him to resign as to be responsible for the great lost for the party - The United Malays National Organization (UMNO), resign from the post of the president of the party as well as Prime Minister. But he refused and said that he feels no pressure to step down.

Well, are all these good news or bad news? In 1969, there was a racial riot which saw bloodshed and lost of lives, and is perceived as the darkest history in Malaysia after the independence. The Chinese and Indian minorities were not happy with the special status and privilege given to the Malay majority and attacked the government as bias towards the minority in the areas of education, economy and many other issues. This turned into a big chaos in Malaysia and since then, racial issues have been classified as sensitive issues that no one should criticise them publicly. If someone does, he or she can be accused under the Internal Security Act (ISA) which is equivalent to the Terrorism Act in the UK but worse because the person can be retained for an indefinite period of time. For this reason, those who opposed the government lost their rights to play a role in the politics because they are caged.

This year's election saw, for the first time, the racial issues were being discussed, but in a way that all the ethnic groups are happy with. The opposition coalition, championed by the internationally infamous Anwar Ibrahim (who used to be the successor of the former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamed but turned into the traitor of the country due to political conspiracy) has proposed a fairer way in dealing with racial issues without the need to sacrifice the Malay's special status but at the same time gives rights to the minorities. His proposal is that all the poors, no matter from which race, should be assisted by the government. And those who are rich can compete among them equally without the abusing the Malay's special status. The Malays maintain the special status but there should not be any discrimination, oppression and corruption while applying the status. His proposal of uniting all the races under the title of MALAYSIANS wins the hearts of the minorities and leads to the victory to the opposition coalition in Penang, one of the most Chinese-populated state in Malaysia and yesterday, Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, the head of one of the component parties (Gerakan Party) in the ruling coalition who led the administration of Penang for centuries decided to step down as to show his accountability for the lost.

Of course the opposition coalition did not win the election just by playing with the racial card. They also proposed a more islamic state, the initiative to fight corruptions which are part of the tradition of the ruling party (they claim), abolish the nepotism among the corrupted politicians, give priority to the poors, promise a welfare-oriented state where tax money is to be given back to the people through funding the education and housing, reduce or stop the rise of the petroleum price, reduce or stop the rise of inflation through subsidy, select vice-chancellor of a university or higher education institutes according to the credibility not race, etc. All these manifestos really attract the minorities and the more islamic generation of Malaysians. Thus, the support of the people to the opposition gave a very painful slap to the ruling coalition.

Of course, the ruling coalition did not stop giving their promises. The key word for the ruling coalition is development, more and more development. It means more and more projects for the bid of the Malays or some accuse them that the tenders are to be given to the politicians' families. How true is that, ALLAHU'alam. If a muslim denies that he or she has done a sin, I would like to give him or her 70 excuses because it is up to them to answer in front of ALLAH. This is to take the analogy of if a muslim said that the meat is halal, I will have to trust the person. But if I am not confident, I will refrain from taking it but will not go around and accuse the person is serving non-halal meat. ALLAHU'alam. I might be completely wrong.

As there are now 5 states under the opposition and the rest are under the ruling coalition, I can anticipate a more objective judgement in the next election because the people will have the opportunity to make comparison and choose the best side to rule the country. I really pray that both the coalitions will work very hard to prove to the people to win the people's votes because this competition will only benefit the people, inshaALLAH. As the politicians are chosen because of their ability to represent and work for the people, I hope that they will fulfill their promises and cater the needs of the people in their areas.

A new Malaysia has just begun... Oh ALLAH, save and protect Malaysia.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.