A Change of Heart

1. The last Malaysia’s general election was held on Sunday, May 5 2013. It was regarded as a stiff fight between Barisan Nasional (BN), the ruling party, and Pakatan Rakyat (PR), an informal coalition of opposition parties.

2. My wife and I cast our votes in Alor Setar, my hometown, which is about 60 kilometres from Sungai Petani where we live after I retired as a government servant in 2003. It was already past 6.00pm when we were on our way home. There are at least half a dozen small towns along the main road from Alor Setar to Sungai Petani.

3. We had to go slow every time we approached a small town because of traffic congestion. Excited and rowdy PR supporters predominantly from PAS and PKR were jamming the road in their cars and MPVs as well as on their motorcycles.

4. Many passing motorists honked as a show of support. Chinese shopkeepers and tradesmen were out in front of their shops cheering and waving hands at the passing procession.

5. The jubilant supporters were apparently satisfied with the turn out of their voters at the polls. They seemed very confident that PR would defeat BN and take over the federal government at long last. Being BN supporters, we were very annoyed to witness the rejoicing on the road every time we passed a town.

6. Kedah state was then under the rule of a PR government headed by PAS. We were hoping that BN would win back Kedah in the election, but our hopes dimmed as we watched the rejoicing PR supporters seemingly celebrating an anticipated victory.

7. It was a real eye-opener for us. Indeed, we had not expected such a strong support for the opposition. We realized then that we knew almost nothing of what was happening at the grass roots. For news and information, we relied solely on the mainstream media which accommodated our trust in BN-led government. And we had always stayed away from political rallies.

8. That night, we stayed awake to watch the election results closely on TV. It was rather upsetting to learn that the opposition candidates were winning parliamentary and state seats by leaps and bounds. But to our relief, BN won the election albeit with reduced majority. PR won 51 percent of the popular votes. And much to our surprise, BN won back Kedah.

9. The MCA and Gerakan, BN component parties, lost heavily in the election. The incumbent prime minister was evidently disappointed with ethnic Chinese voters of both parties for giving their votes to the opposition parties. He called it the “Chinese tsunami”.

10. The aftermath of the election was just as dramatic. On May 8, 2013 PR held a rally at Kelana Jaya Stadium in protest against alleged fraud and other voting irregularities committed by BN and its supporters. This was followed by similar rallies across the country.

11. Even then we did not realize that the mainstream media, which were pro-government, had understated the full scale of the protest. Reports seemed to give the impression that the protest was a nuisance to the public. So we thought then that the opposition should concede that they had lost the election.

12. It took us another couple of years to realize that our trust had been betrayed by the BN-led government. It was humiliating to learn that those people rejoicing on the road on the evening of the last general election were far ahead of us in their awareness of the political and economic situation in our country.

13. In the months that followed after the election and in the ensuing couple of years, unpleasant rumours were flying about the shortcomings of the head of government and the intrigues of his spouse. One such gossip was the couple’s extravagance. At first we thought that those were only unsubstantiated rumours. But then ‘there’s no smoke without fire.’

14. Then there were allegations of bad governance, government policies that are damaging to the country, abuse of power and corruption involving the head of government. You might not find these being reported in the mainstream media. They emerged in social media.

15. Then came the GST which was implemented on 1 April 2015. The ordinary people were hit hardest by this legislation. They have to pay an extra 6% of the amount of money they spend at a restaurant or a supermarket.

16. By 2016 the 1MDB scandal had become known to the people although the mainstream media reports downplayed the gravity of the issue. We no longer read pro-government newspapers. My wife being a newspaper-lover had found a new favourite which seems to convey impartial reports.

17. We are disillusioned with the dominant political party which leads BN. We believe that its present leadership and his supporters have deviated from its noble cause.

18. The party has a history of “money politics” in its leadership elections. Potential candidates vying for posts in the party were known to have used wrongful means to win contests. These include using a lot of money to bribe the delegates in order to vote for them.

19. Winning a party post is a stepping stone to hold the reins of power. When you are in power you can make a lot of money and get rich.

20. The next general election is just around the corner. It is not going to be an easy task for the opposition to defeat the BN in the coming election. To form a solid coalition of the opposition parties is easier said than done. A one-to-one electoral contest would give the opposition a fair chance, but there might be third parties which could put the opposition at a disadvantage.

21. The question is, can the opposition gain the people’s confidence? If they were to take over Putrajaya, can they govern the country any better? Is there any guarantee that they would strive to project a clean image?  

21. The present head of government is going all out in his bid to win the coming election. Unless there is a surge in support for the opposition, it is quite impossible to topple the ruling government.

PAS = Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party

PKR = Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People’s Justice Party)

MCA = Malaysian Chinese Association

Gerakan = Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Malaysian People’s Movement Party)