Malaysians have spoken: Cry freedom

and we have spoken loud and clear 🙂 Well done!

No longer "Opposition", but "Government"!

Alwyn now is on a new expedition huh?

A friend called me up this morning and commented as to how the Malaysian voting public has matured. No longer are we AFRAID to punish the government, a corollary, perhaps, of the greater willingess to connect, to voice out, to blog, to engage.

We can exercise our democratic right to tell leaders what we really think and leave whoever we want shattered.

What’s interesting, too, is that the main newspapers can’t seem to explicitly say that the ‘Barisan Nasional has lost its two-thirds majority’, prefering to remark that it will ‘form the next government with a simple majority’ and, of course, that ‘this proves that democracy works in Malaysia’.

Perak state government

Of course, we need to be back to down to earth realities … since this is a beginning and we are moving forward with the past still deeply entrenched in our systems. So, a kind of urgent patience is needed, with a big dose of generosity and wisdom.  Wan Saiful has some very needed words I think the new "former opposition" government needs to hear loud and clearly too. I agree with him totally … esp. on DO NOT play ethnic politics! This is a message for ALL.

Friends in Perak  are saying that this is due to something in the state constitution / Undang Undang Tubuh Negeri Perak, NOT because of PAS or PKR demands. I don’t know how true this is. But if that is the case, then I urge the new state government to change it, as a matter of urgency. This should be the first legislative issue to be debated in the chamber. PAS Perak must also clarify this very quickly and commit themselves to making the change. Barisan Rakyat politicians were elected on the basis of a Malaysia for all races. Now that they have been elected, DO NOT play ethnic politics.

Thank you God for giving us the courage to rise and change

Amen … Amin!

Editorial: The electorate has spoken

I expected this spin from the mainstream papers …

"AMID the welter of new questions arising from the astounding night of Malaysia’s 12th general election, as the Barisan Nasional coalition reeled from a stunning series of defeats, at least one of the thorniest issues in the run-up to the polls must be deemed settled. There can be no more carping over the electoral process in this country being "rigged", flawed or unfair."

As one who participated as a "critical observant" polling and counting agent … I feel the opposition won in spite of the current electoral process which confirms to me that it’s flawed and open to abuse. Perhaps the more accurate reading is, if it’s been truly transparent, maybe the opposition might have achieved more than denying the 2/3 majority, I’m sure someone has thought about that, but maybe just couldn’t publish it in this particular paper?

Jubilant Anwar hails new dawn for M’sia

Someone told me on the phone that he felt the "air" he breathed today was clearer 🙂

PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim described the victory of the opposition parties in five states and its breach of Barisan Nasional’s two-thirds majority in Parliament as "a defining moment" in the nation’s history.

"The people have voted decisively for a new era where the government must be truly inclusive and recognise that all Malaysians, regardless of race, culture or religion are a nation of one," he told a packed press conference at his residence in Kuala Lumpur last night.

"The people have expressed in no uncertain terms that they want accountability, transparency and the rule of law," he said.

"Tomorrow, we start to build a brighter future hand-in-hand, shoulder to shoulder. This is a new dawn for Malaysia," he added

BN was overconfident: Dr M’s ex-aide

Pride does go before a fall … it will be interesting to see whether the component parties will merge and how it will be done and what that means.