MAY 12 — Much has been written and talked about since the events of May 9.
The euphoria of the majority over the election results is, of course, largely attributed to the loss of the Barisan Nasional (BN) for its unpopular policies and even more unpopular leader.
But the celebration is also caused by the feeling of empowerment due to the shift of power — not from BN to Pakatan Harapan (PH); but from the BN to the hands of the people.
This only happened because of the courage of the Malaysian people to retake their democracy by matching the cunning of the BN machinery and seemingly compromised government institutions to frustrate a fair electoral process, with their own resourcefulness and tenacity.
This was seen from the traffic jams along the highways and trunk roads, the endless queues at the polling stations, and the frantic efforts of Malaysians abroad to get their votes home due to the (deliberate?) failure of the Election Commission (EC) to assist.
That many in Saluran Dua — the older generation comprising mainly traditional BN supporters — decided to step out of their comfort zone and give their votes to PH was by no means an act of courage.
These people witnessed the horrors of May 13 and the communist insurgency and this dark page of our history was often used as part of the fear-mongering campaign.
But these silver-haired voters felt the direction the nation was taking was becoming the stuff of nightmares and decided to throw caution to the wind.
Of course, it was reassuring that the other side was offering a familiar face — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Despite the racially divisive nature of the BN campaigners, the fear mongering did not work. Supporters of both sides were watching the results unfold at 24-hour eateries without animosity.
Despite the absence of a government for two days, there was no chaos, blood on the streets or buildings burning. In fact, messages of calm were flooding social media as Malaysians reminded each other to keep the peace.
Reconciliatory efforts by many politicians (not all) on both sides at press conferences and on social media proved that when you peel off the party logos, what you find beneath are regular Malaysians who also want peace and prosperity and respect for the choice of the people.
Despite fears of a forced takeover during times of uncertainty (as drummed into our heads for years), the police and security forces proved to everyone that they serve King and country and not any political party.
The statements from the heads of these forces before and after the election sent a strong message that they were there to keep the peace and ensure the people’s mandate is respected. This helped expedite the already delayed process of swearing in the 7th prime minister, so he can get on with running the country.
The rulers too embraced the will of the people. Despite open support for BN, the Sultan of Johor asked for the swearing-in of the new prime minister to be done immediately.
History reminds us that there is no love lost between the Sultan and Dr Mahathir; as well as the present Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and the new premier (who is the old premier).
However, they were matured enough to put the people first — similar to how old nemesis now leading PH buried the hatchet for the common good.
Any question as to the relevance of the institution of the Malay rulers was answered resoundingly in these two days. It was through the sultans’ intervention — particularly the Sultan of Perak — that the will of the people was respected, when it became evident that Datuk Seri Najib Razak was not conceding, attempting to rely on a technicality with the registration issues of Pakatan Harapan to retain power.
The media landscape saw a trajectorial shift in a matter of hours as the results trickled in. Even RTM was giving intelligent analysis based on facts not approved scripts!
While the people have grown up and stepped out of the shadow of the BN, it is also imperative that the Barisan presses the reset button to take stock of itself. With PH moving fast to justify its mandate, it is important for BN to recognise its new role for the next five years.
It needs to form a formidable opposition. The only effective way of doing so is by purging itself of leaders who stained the party. It needs to clean its own house first before taking on PH.
The master-servant relationship among coalition members where criticism of leaders was met with severe punishment must end. And leaders themselves (and their spouses) must not be allowed to be too powerful.
After all, many good BN politicians with commendable track records of service were casualties due to their silence over the shenanigans of their masters.
BN needs to move with the times now as it is obvious that we are departing from race-based politics, money politics and politics of patronage. They were swept out by the collective force of over nine million voters.
It’s time for the BN to grow up too. In a two-party system, Malaysia needs them to.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
