"Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters." - Abraham Lincoln.
And yes, you've guessed it right, this is a post on our recently concluded 14th general elections, pretty obvious from the quote above, right? I'm taking a break from baby Ning's story to write on this momentous election (for me at least), one which had resulted in a change of government for the first time ever in Malaysia's 61 years of 'democratic' rule under the same party.
And yes, you've guessed it right, this is a post on our recently concluded 14th general elections, pretty obvious from the quote above, right? I'm taking a break from baby Ning's story to write on this momentous election (for me at least), one which had resulted in a change of government for the first time ever in Malaysia's 61 years of 'democratic' rule under the same party.
And here's my GE 14 experience.
I arrived at the polling station slightly past eleven, with FY, taking my own sweet time this round since I didn't volunteer for any duties this year but alas, even at such unpopular hours, the registration queue stretched for quite some distance, and moving at snail pace.
Side rant: The thing I never get is this protocol where we are still required to first 'register' for our 'saluran' slip then only allowed to enter the polling area even though this information is readily accessible online. We should be allowed to queue directly at our 'saluran' instead, saving hours of unnecessary queuing and not only that, these manpower can then be fully utilized to assist those in need of their 'saluran' information. Less waiting, faster voting, win-win situation!
Anyway, upon casting my vote, which took a while since my 'saluran' was especially crowded (FY was done in half the time), I headed home to get rested in preparation for a long, long night. Based on previous experiences, we won't be getting the final results until well after midnight. At that time, even the slightest thought of an opposition win didn't cross my mind, I was just anxious to find out if the existing states could be retained, and hoping for additional seats gain.
Why? There were just too many (new) factors favoring those in power leading to the polling day, re-delineation in Selangor, failure of PH coalition registration, anti fake news law, mid-week polling day, postal votes delay, etc.
So, when the initial results started rolling in, I had mixed feelings because on one side, I was extremely hopeful for the PH winning trend to continue (considering most were from the so called 'vote bank') but at the same time, anxious that it was just an initial boost as there were still many seats to go. I was switching between channels frequently, at the same time, refreshing results from multiple web sites, especially the EC one, for official results because as you know, unless it's coming from them, there's always the chance for 'changes' due to recount *ahems*.
Why? There were just too many (new) factors favoring those in power leading to the polling day, re-delineation in Selangor, failure of PH coalition registration, anti fake news law, mid-week polling day, postal votes delay, etc.
So, when the initial results started rolling in, I had mixed feelings because on one side, I was extremely hopeful for the PH winning trend to continue (considering most were from the so called 'vote bank') but at the same time, anxious that it was just an initial boost as there were still many seats to go. I was switching between channels frequently, at the same time, refreshing results from multiple web sites, especially the EC one, for official results because as you know, unless it's coming from them, there's always the chance for 'changes' due to recount *ahems*.
By midnight, the possibility of change was getting more and more plausible, especially if one is referring to the unofficial numbers coming from news portals. Me? I'm still frantically refreshing the EC site *laughs* and then, there came the announcement from Tun M himself that a simple majority has been achieved and the official results deliberately held up. I was like, is that for real and in my mind, I was like, no way, nothing is confirmed until the EC said so, right?
And thus, I held on to this notion of disbelief, overwhelmed with anxiety and hope, awaiting conference after conference from the EC and after multiple sessions ending with their repeated 'joke' of asking us to go sleep, I KO'ed and dozed off around 3 am.
The morning alarm beeping jolted me awake at 6, as I reach out for both the TV remote and my phone. There it was, the official results and with that, confirmation that the opposition coalition has enough seats to form the next government. What a time to be alive! The long awaited change has finally happened, one made only possible by the unity of Malaysians. I was somewhat quite emotionally affected by this turn of events that I almost teared, no idea why.
And in the midst of euphoria, there was also a growing safety concern, I mean, this is the first transition to ever happen and there were chatters as well as uncertainties all around on the delayed swearing in of Tun M as the prime minister, the repeated advise to stay home and avoid any form of celebrations, the not favored candidate, the possibility of a hung parliament as the PH coalition was not official and so forth. Well, being the overly concerned person that I am, I've actually stocked up on basic necessities prior to polling day, enough to last a few days being holed up at home.
Eventually, Tun M was officially sworn in that night, finally easing the tension that has been brewing throughout the day due to lack of information. What's to come next? I guess there'll be lots of discussion on the cabinet's assignment, investigations into the previous government practices, individuals brought to justice, restructurings, re-branding, resignations, and so on.
But for now, let us all bask in the pride and of course, a rejuvenated hope for a better Malaysia in the days to come. Malaysia, boleh!
And thus, I held on to this notion of disbelief, overwhelmed with anxiety and hope, awaiting conference after conference from the EC and after multiple sessions ending with their repeated 'joke' of asking us to go sleep, I KO'ed and dozed off around 3 am.
The morning alarm beeping jolted me awake at 6, as I reach out for both the TV remote and my phone. There it was, the official results and with that, confirmation that the opposition coalition has enough seats to form the next government. What a time to be alive! The long awaited change has finally happened, one made only possible by the unity of Malaysians. I was somewhat quite emotionally affected by this turn of events that I almost teared, no idea why.
And in the midst of euphoria, there was also a growing safety concern, I mean, this is the first transition to ever happen and there were chatters as well as uncertainties all around on the delayed swearing in of Tun M as the prime minister, the repeated advise to stay home and avoid any form of celebrations, the not favored candidate, the possibility of a hung parliament as the PH coalition was not official and so forth. Well, being the overly concerned person that I am, I've actually stocked up on basic necessities prior to polling day, enough to last a few days being holed up at home.
Eventually, Tun M was officially sworn in that night, finally easing the tension that has been brewing throughout the day due to lack of information. What's to come next? I guess there'll be lots of discussion on the cabinet's assignment, investigations into the previous government practices, individuals brought to justice, restructurings, re-branding, resignations, and so on.
But for now, let us all bask in the pride and of course, a rejuvenated hope for a better Malaysia in the days to come. Malaysia, boleh!
 |
| Image taken from: https://www.instagram.com/redhongyi/ |
0 comments:
Post a Comment