Do you see hope?

Weather: Fair

Temperature: 14 c

I have been discussing about the outcome of the recently concluded general election with my friends in Malaysia via MSN. One common statement, which always came out, was “so, you may come back to Malaysia now”.

I have never told anyone about the reason for me to leave Malaysia, because I myself do not know either. Was it because of the money? Yes and no. I did not really complain about my pay in Malaysia. Was it because I wanted to stay away from the corrupted government and its unjust policies? Well, I am not sure either.

Granted, the Barisan Rakyat has taken 5 states and denied BN its much cherished 2/3 majority in parliament. I did not hide my excitement and joy over this fact. In fact, instead of wishing for a i-phone or ipod or other cool gigs as birthday present, I had wanted only a stronger opposition in Malaysia. Thanks to all courageous Malaysians, my wish had come true.

Having said that, are we Malaysia heading towards a brighter future to the extent that all oversea Malaysians feel comfortable and confident to go home? I am sure it is still too early to make that conclusion.

Has Malaysia’s political landscape entered into another phase i.e. one which is not based on race and religion? Are you sure Anwar is telling us the truth? One thing positive about the outcome of last Saturday’s election is that the largest opposition party, PKR, is truly a multiracial party. Though DAP also claims to be one, it is largely perceived as a party which only champions for Chinese’s rights. DAP is hardly accepted by the Malays. It is much easier to sell PKR to the Malays as PKR’s de facto leader is Malay.

Since now PKR is the largest opposition party in the parliament, will it conflict with DAP, which is traditionally the largest opposition party? Are we going to witness infightings between these 2 parties? Can these 2 parties work hand in hand like brothers? Even if they could, can DAP treat PAS like its partner? Will this political “threesome” have happy ending?

These are just part of the many questions many Malaysians have in mind right now. Most Malaysians were shocked (some were “shiok” nevertheless) by the result of the election. True, the Malaysians had had enough with the incompetent and arrogant BN government. We wanted to teach them a lesson. We wanted a stronger opposition. We wanted to deny BN its 2/3 majority. But only a few were really prepared for the opposition to form government, be it at state or federal level. Initially, we were murmuring about the wind of change; but this wind of change transformed into a political tsunami. Many did not expect that giants like Sammy Vellu could be a casualty of this tsunami.

Yes, we can celebrate the fall of Sammy Vellu. We can dance all night and drink until we can’t remember our names. But the fact remains that when we wake up the next morning, when we drive to work, we must still be slapped with heavy tolls.

Our friend Sammy may have gone, but the tolls are here to stay. Therefore, it is clear that the problem is not with Sammy; it is imbedded in the entire system. We may have got rid of Sammy, but MRR2 will still crack, school’s ceilings will still collapse and petrol cost will still kill us. Are we looking at a better Malaysia?

On a separate note, please do not think that all oversea Malaysians are pembelot or unpatriotic. When the election results were announced, a group of us did not go to bed but stayed close to our computer and handphone to share the latest information we could get. If we have abandoned our country (or more like our country has abandoned us), if we have let our country to rot, we would not have cared so much. Yes, we wanted the BN to fall, and we wanted it to fall badly. But that does not mean we are unpatriotic. It just magnifies our patriotism.

The next time the BN government tries to use its controlled media to tell us that criticizing BN equals to betraying the country, please tell them this:

Hooi! Apa lu cakap? Now we have 80 something opposition in the parliament too and parliament is part of government. Further BN does not control all parts of Malaysia. Some parts are governed by other party. So, why criticizing BN is betraying the whole Malaysia? Lu tau baca buku tak?!

If you are reading my blog now, it means that you have access to internet. If you have access to internet, I would suggest you to stop reading the "Main Stream Media", and get your information from online news instead. If you believe everything the newspapers tell you, then you should hang a sock near your bed - because you must be believing in Santa Klaus.

Miss you all, my friends in Malaysia...

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