The results of the just concluded general elections caught many by surprise. Read our readers’ comments regarding the opposition’s historic win and their requests to party leaders on both sides of the divide.
On BN denied 2/3rd majority, lost five states, M'kini blocked
Steven Yek: I hope after such an excellent good showing in this elections, the opposition team will work doubly hard for the rakyat and to protect the interest of all Malaysians, regardless of whether he is a Malay, Chinese or Indian. Keep up the promises and I am sure the people will return you the next round if you have performed.
Thomas: The non-BN parties have been given the ‘chance’ for which they have been asking. They should put it to good use, not using their positions for personal or party gain but for the good of the country. As the BN does not have two-thirds majority in the parliament, the non-BN parties will have many opportunities to negotiate for the states they run.
The people of Malaysia have given the BN the biggest setback they've ever had since independence. Remember that Malaysians have voted for the non-BN parties not because they like them but because we have become fed-up with the arrogance of the BN parties who took us for granted.
Joe Wong: My heart goes out to everyone that supported the DAP, PKR and PAS - a job well done and the nation has spoken.
Work hard and work smart for the nation my elected MPs. And a reminder to all who voted for the opposition to be patient for results. We will pray for you and look forward to a better nation for the future
Naive about Politics: Congratulations to DAP, PAS and PKR. The opposition has been given an opportunity to prove themselves. So they should put aside all their differences, work together and make it work. Whatever bickering you have within the party, PLEASE keep it within doors. There is no need to wash one's dirty linen in public. Whether you like it a not, it's a marriage of convenience that need not necessarily end in divorce. Good luck.
Ann Tan: For the first time in my life I feel proud to be Malaysian. For the first time since 1969 I feel maybe there is a future for non-Malays in Malaysia. Maybe the brain drain will stop and we can all work to make this country a beautiful place to live.
Deric: I found that the general feeling of hidden animosity created by 50 years of race-based politics had evaporated on March 8. A day that I will remember as my Happy Malaysian Day. In place of the animosity is a feeling of utter relief.
Before, I had hoped to migrate and leave my home country for I can't see a future my children but now, I am filled with hope. A hope, I believe, I share with many more like-minded Malaysians. We have witnessed the rebirth of Malaysia through to the birth of non-race-based politics.
I have abandoned my plans to migrate altogether. I can't think to leave my home now. I want to be part of this great adventure. Happy Malaysian Day.
Santhira Kumar Madhavan: Has the time come for Datuk Onn Jaffar's vision of United Malaysian National Organisation? Will Umno be able to transform itself? I honestly don't think so. Umno has become it's own worst enemy. The present Umno leaders like Abdullah, Najib, Muhiddin, Ali Rustam, Hishamuddin etc do not have the political will nor the integrity to do that. They never will.
Unless leaders like Tengku Razaleigh took over. When the storm was over, only the best leaders stood out. Leaders like Ku Li and Mustafa from Kelantan. Umno will need throughly clean personalities with great political will and integrity. Not someone tainted with corruption .
Tun Mahathir, please shut your mouth. You already made a grand mistake in choosing Abdullah. Now, don't blunder by proposing Najib. We don't need any ‘gentleman agreements’ anymore.
Let the rakyat choose.
Dhammika: Let us not threaten the Barisan Rakyat with throwing them out if they don’t perform. They have not settled down yet. Malaysians are the fortunate lot for the divine intervention through our daily prayers. We are now free and more united.
Let us all together support BR to push and restart the economic engine and propel the country to greater heights. The shackles of intimidation have been broken. The arrogance of authority has vanished. Now, the BR state governments must honour their promises by stamping out corruption.
Manoharan Jayaraman: Now only do we feel that Malaysia belongs to all races. I would like to thank the voters for choosing the opposition. Hopefully, at the next general election there will nbe a new coalition ruling altogether. We love you Malaysians, as sisters and brothers.
Kelantan, Kedah, Perak, Penang and Selangor pasti boleh !. We Trust You. All the Best. Go Go Go!
Chee Weng: And a word for those who have lost. The opposition is not your enemy and those who voted for the opposition are not traitors. We are concerned citizens who love Malaysia and want our country to be great, not ‘towering’ for any one race but for all Malaysians. So please listen when we say we do not want any more rhetoric of Ketuanan Melayu" or theatrical keris- waving. We want to be treated and accepted as equal Malaysians.
Instead of sour losers and being spiteful you should wish the opposition leaders well that they may lead Malaysia to a better future. Please follow the example of the ex-Chief Minister of Penang, Dr Koh Tsu Koon who graciously stepped down and delievered a smooth transition of government. I pray that the opposition parties will show qualities of leadership which the Barisan National has failed to deliver.
Finally, the opposition should not divest their time and energy in vengefulness nor jostling for pole positions. I have voted for you and will watch your performance and delivery closely. You have only five years. Good luck.
Bala Moddia: This election has been very historic. The silent minority groups have clearly expressed their views via the ballot box. The time has come for Malaysians to be treated as Malaysians instead of by their colour, race or creed. My heartfelt congrats to Anwar Ibrahim et al of PKR. The climate of change has come.
I would love to see the day when a Malay child, and a Chinese child and a Indian child are treated equally in education, employment and the right to practice their religion. Let the dream of each Malaysian come true by giving each Malaysian child the fair and just opportunity through their life journey despite of the race, colour or religion.
Let’s plant the seed of honour, justice, love, compassion and patriotism in every child's heart. They are the future of Malaysia. They will grow up as proud Malaysians.
Iceberg Watch: The rakyat has spoken and it is becoming increasingly clear that all attempts to save the now badly listing BN ship from going down will likely prove to be an exercise in futility, regardless of who among it's present echelon of leaders takes over the helm. In desperate times like these, perhaps the best course of action for those on board would be to simply lower the life boats and abandon ship.
Therefore, what all of the newly-elected BN reps really need to do now is to decide for themselves which among the three parties of PKR, PAS or DAP that they wish to cross over to.
They need to hurry a bit though because all that is required for the opposition to remove the BN from power at the federal level would be for around 30 or so BN reps to jump ship and when one looks back at the history of the BN, particularly in the states of Sarawak and Sabah, it is certainly not as if they have not done so in the past.
Mohar Mustapha: Wow! I was not prepared of this Barisan Rakyat victory. My wife made pulut kuning the next day to celebrate the victory.
Most people want BR (or BA) to fulfill their promises. As for me, I think they should take the time to educate the people about DAP and PAS. A lot of people are still misinformed about these two parties. The questions ‘Can we trust DAP?’ and ‘Can we trust PAS?’ still arises among the Malays and among the Chinese/Indians.
Feed the right information or feed the information that has been ‘censored’ by the mainstream media to the people. Do not stop the ceramah . Continue them. Insyaallah, at the next elections BN will become the opposition in Parliament.
Kfc: A wonderful victory for Malaysia. It is time to analyse and internalize the full impact of the 2008 general elections. The new state leaders will have 100 days of honeymoon. Within that period, they must lay down the broad brushstrokes for fulfilling the wishes of the rakyat who put them there. A change of the federal government may not be too much of a pipedream now. All it needs is for the PM to continue in his dreamworld and to refuse to step down.
There is no doubt that it is only a matter of time before enough MPs wise up to the equation and walk out on him or his own party decides to do the same. The scenario is fast becoming that of a two- major party nation where each party can ostensibly form the government.
The minority parties who together hold 10 to 30 seats will become the kingmakers and should use their power wisely for all Malaysians. We Malaysians must hope and pray that everyone will keep their heads and maintain peace and respect for each other and the law so that our revolution will be a peaceful and disciplined one.
Another Downunder: I have never been so proud of being a Malaysian. I nearly gave up on Malaysia but for now I will keep on holding to my Malaysian passport. Malaysians have been bullied and threatened with May 1969 incidents. Malaysians, as peaceful people, cherished peace and avoided that all along by sequestering their rights to the Umno bully in exchange for peace.
But it turned out Umno is no more than just a lame duck. Malaysians have discovered the power of democracy and we should hold on to that power forever and never give up that right to any party be they in the government or opposition.
Paul: I have never felt so ‘Malaysian’ before until the night of March 8! I told all my friends this country has great future!
Andrew Tan: Someone once asked a question: is it possible that one day Malaysians will no longer identify or vote based on race? Gradually, slowly, but surely, it is becoming apparent that the answer is yes.
Things change. Children grow up. Individually and collectively, we as a people are maturing. There is a growing recognition that we Malaysians are no longer a people divided by the accident of race. Rather, we see shared values, shared aspirations, shared dreams, a shared vision for our families and for the nation.
And with this shift away from race-based structures, there is a hope that one day we could all truly see each other as we see ourselves.
Debbie Lim: Now the hard work begins to show to those who have supported the opposition that not only can they work together, but they can govern the way they have preached. Good luck!
Shoghi R: Good work done by the opposition parties in this historical election 2008! We have chosen you as you wanted and we are now waiting for the answer. Keep the promises given to Malaysian people and then we will make sure you’re back in next 2013. Good luck!
Sathi Kunjan: Congratulations to all the opposition Parties - PKR, DAP and PAS for closing ranks and uniting the people of Malaysia as Bangsa Malaysia who have chosen you as their mouthpiece in Parliament.
Secondly, congratulations to the leaders of these parties for having worked so hard in carrying this fight for equality among the races which I believe we will finally see in the coming years through your victory in the recent general elections. Finally congratulations to the people of Malaysia for making a wise decision in electing the opposition to office.
Sekar Jaganathan: I believe that before the elections the DAP-PKR + PAS pact was known as Barisan Alternatif. Now the people have spoken, I don’t think it is an alternative anymore. It should be called Barisan Rakyat as mentioned in some comments and notes.
As such it would be advisable, that the Barisan Rakyat register itself as a single party, just like the future National Opposition party, Barisan Nasional (if they still exist). Barisan Rakyat would be a better coalition compared to BN as BR would only have 2 + 1 party only compared to BN which has 14 parties to help it survive.
I wish the opposition will always remember that Gerakan failed because their multi-racial party only favoured one race. I don’t want to see that ever happening again, if not then there would be a real need for a Barisan Alternative then. Lastly, good luck and thank you, Barisan Rakyat.
Dr Job Dhanaraj: It is crystal clear that from all that has happened recently thanks to the opposition ), this land of our’s has gone through a thorough ‘washing’, and as I see, it is now clean, without blemish, of sweet fragrance, and so, has been opened for all of us to walk with our heads high as united and not-easy-to-be-divided, Malaysians.
Thanks to the relentless efforts of many dedicated opposition leaders and to the ‘fighters from the Hindraf’. And so in all this, let us not forget these ‘front line soldiers’ many for whom became causalities unlike some of us, including me, who are sitting in warm comfort zones. Have you dear Anwar considered their sacrifice as ‘front line soldiers’?
KevinP: I would really like to believe that race based politics has been shattered in the 12th General Elections. But, I would like to see an exhaustive post mortem done to support this notion. Generally, the opposition has a lot going for them this election and my general feeling and observation is that all three races are somewhat affected greatly this time round and the seismic shift in votes to register their discontent is definitely favouring the opposition. Hence, I think it would be premature to say that race based politics has been shattered.
But, it is a good start to prove that non-race-based politics will bring Malaysia further now that they have the opportunity to showcase that in the state governments that they won. They will have to wary of the very issue they thought has been debunked may come back to haunt them in the next General Election.
See: First of all, congratulations to all the new YB's in the 'Opposition' who has done so well in the GE. It is somewhat mind boggling that Pak Lah still needs an independent panel to conduct a post-mortem on BN’s dismal performance.
Pak Lah could easily get the answers on BN’s poor performance from the people on the streets if only his big ears are functioning (that is, if it works at all or only works for Khairy).
Some words of advice to the newly formed governments of Selangor, Penang, Perak and Kedah. Now that the rakyat has given you the support, please do not repeat what the previous governments have done and please perform as you preached so that we can see a brighter future for Malaysia.
I am sure that with your good performance in the next 4 or 5 years, we shall be able to see a newly formed Malaysian government under DAP, PKR and PAS with maybe Anwar as the YAB PM and Lim Kit Siang as the DPM. What a day that would be!
Richard Loh: Congratulations again to you, YB Lim Guan Eng for being sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Penang. To the leaders, elected MPs and Adun of DAP, PAS and PKR, firstly congratulations on your success. As a rakyat who voted you in, let me remind you of the following:
1) Do not let the big win swell your heads, i.e not to be arrogant.
2) Treat all Malaysian equally and help all those who are in need of help.
3) Never, never tell any Malaysian to leave the country if one is not happy with the ruling party.
4) Never, never curse the handicapped, instead think of ways to alleviate their suffering.
5) Do not make fun of any gender, we are all human beings.
6) Never, never sleep on your job.
7) Whatever you do, so long as it is not regarding the security of the country, it must be transparent and open.
8) NO CORRUPTION.
9) Our votes to you are not a blank cheque for you to do what you want.
10) Lastly, do not tell the Rakyat that you ‘ tak suka di-cabar ’. You are our servants and we have every right to cabar you if we are not happy with what you are doing.
Tarcker Heng: While the joy of our voice has been spoken loud and clear on March 8 ther eis some worry whether the opposition can deliver their promises and that too for five states. This remains a question.
We had given BN enough time, and BN had proven to fail us again and again so consequently 48% of the voters stated clearly to the government: enough is enough! While many say that the opposition is the clear winner of the 12 th General Election, I would suggest that we, the rakyat of Malaysia, are the definite winnesr.
The message was sent to all the politicians both in BN and oppositions that we, the rakyat , now have the intelligence to judge and the courage to change and we will change. The level playing field has now been re-established, for both BN and oppositions. The one who performs and delivers gets the vote
BN, do learn the lesson. Oppositions, do deliver your promises. Otherwise the people will be happier than ever to recreate another political tsunami in the next election.
Joe: The results of GE2008 is certainly the best national award Malaysians have won. I am proud and happy that I was part of the great decision. I agree that the ruling coalition in Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor be tagged as Barisan Rakyat, so that the previous practice of racial politics could be hindered.
All of you in BN, need to be more sensitive in Parliament - don’t insult any race or religion (the hailing of 'racist' comments) and women (the use of the word ' bocor '). Don’t be arrogant, use your big ears to listen, receive roses if given, don’t use water cannons and tear gas unnecessarily, receive and read memos if given, don’t tear down any place of worship, don’t showcase the keris, don’t call people beruk jalanan , don’t give empty promises and last but not least refrain from saying something stupid or dubious and aplogising for it later.
If you (BN) can do this, God willing, you will be able to maintain your hold on the other states and federal govt following GE 2013.
Biztru: The 2008 election is a victory for all Malaysians. The turnout was good and we should continue to encourage and educate everyone to keep up such participation in future. The manner in which the people expressed themselves through votes peacefully and the gracious manner in which the victor and the vanquished took the results without prejudice or pressure of any kind signals true democracy and maturity. This exercise is a success everyone ought to be proud of. We ought to build on this platform, strengthen our unity and breach all barriers to move further. Compliments to the outgoing state governments for a job well done.
Now that the ordinary people had done their part as urged and a healthy administrative platform has been formed, it is the turn of all those elected as Parliamentary and State Assembly representatives to do their part. Whether sitting on the side that governs or the side that opposes/, both sides are Malaysians and both sides have to work together as a team as each carry with them equally heavy responsibilities in ensuring that our country is well administered albeit different in capacity.
Challenges will come from inside and outside our country. National importance must override a party's importance. This administration mix had not existed for a long time hence great effort and time may be needed to adjust themselves nevertheless expectation of a good collective performance from them is high.
Charting our course is not one man's job but the collective action of all including the public at large. Having crossed 50 years of age, we must see substantial improvement going into the next 50 years.
Norshila Abu Hashim: For the Malaysian people, it was a historic day to be able to change and challenge what they do not like and disagree with. Truth will find a way to liberate and obliterate oppression.
Chee Hong: I am a normal citizen, with a normal job, some investment in stocks and have a normal life like others. We have made our decision on the election day, we voiced out our views, we gave power to opposition to form state governments and challenged BN’s 2/3rds of power.
Monday, March 10, was a bad day for all of the investors on Bursa Malaysia for we ‘paid’ for what we voted for. But I am willing to take the risk, because I believe what I got in exchange for some of my lost investments will benefit not only me, but also my family and my future generation.
We are Malaysians, we deserve to have a bright future, please don’t disappoint us.
Citizen: I have a short prayer. Humpty Dumptys have fallen. All the king’s men and all the kings horses cannot put them back together again. So. Malaysia is in unchartered territory. I pray that all sections - the ‘opposition’ parties, the Barisan National parties particularly Umno, the civil service and the citizenry will work together in the spirit of cooperation and goodwill to create opportunities and well-being for the new state of affairs. Malaysia is the only home we know and love.
GE2008 shocker: What you said (Pt 1)
