Any analysis of the unprecedented and unexpected landslide election victory of the Barisan Nasional (BN) , even at this early stage, must surely recognise that its leader Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appears to have 'got it right'.
In other words the 'thinking' behind the political strategy of 'going to the rakyat' for an early fresh mandate was correctly understood and accordingly decisively implemented. There was accordingly no room for political compromise.
Abdullah's message during the election campaign called for support from all Malaysians. It was a straight forward message of hope for the future. He promised a new social order based on the fundamental premise that since the nation belongs to all its citizens it is up to Malaysians to commit themselves to further consolidate what has been achieved and to forge ahead. The role of government was merely to set the stage for this to happen,
The electorate, particularly first time and younger voters, reached out and grabbed this offer for a brave new world, because they saw no other way to improve the quality of their lives. They also recognised that this may be the last time they had the option of voting to make it happen. To them it was an opportunity that implicitly was not unlike that of bringing down the Berlin Wall.