Spanner in the works

On post-election day, an overcast Sunday, I woke up to an s.m.s. (that's Text Message to other parts of the world) from Zakiah saying "Alhamdulillah. Puji dan syukur yang teramat kepada Allah. Semoga menjadi permulaan yang baru." (Translation: Praise and glory be to God. Here's to a new beginning) It's no secret which team she's been rooting for.

I slept in early last night - well by midnight - busy attending to Sadia's crankiness that the election results were far from my biggest worries. Groggy and puzzled, I showed the s.m.s. to my husband who in turn told me the BIG news.

Wowser! I didn't expect the results to be THAT shocking - the opposition won control of five states - including the incumbent state of Kelantan - and some well-known Barisan Nasional ('BN') politicians got burnt by the fiery onslaught of disgruntled (also perhaps, well-informed) voters.

And silly me was expecting the same-old, same-old outcome to the 12th election. I guess my indifference to the whole proceeding was attributed to the pro-government media which hinders fair news coverage to the opposition as well as the household name that BN has become. How I had underestimated the strength and will of the Opposition parties!

While the mainstream media might be unreceptive to the alternative parties, the ubiquitious internet provides the necessary channels for people to turn to in times of doubt and anger. Indeed, the cyberspace has given the opposition the advantage it needs to reach prospective voters in ways unimaginable before.

And I heard of tales that some candidates of the coalition parties failed to convincingly answer questions put across by their constituency. Their people skills are either rusty or nonexistent, which begs the question - were they just puppets reading prepared scripts by the government? In contrast, the so-called political dissenters seemed to work around the clock to secure Parlimentary and State Assembly seats. This grassroots approach appeals to people who want someone that listens to their grievances, not merely playing lip service with their promises.

Granted, it remains to be seen whether the opposition parties would follow through and make good on their respective manifestoes. Time will tell. I'm confident though that the opposition will do the right thing in order to continually win the hearts of the people.

I have to admit that politics is not one of my strong points. I'd be the last person to talk politics in a conversation.

But I was more than happy when Samy Vellu got thrashed at the poll. He should have followed the route of retirement and hand over his portfolio as Tun Dr. Mahathir and Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik had done when they were still at their peak. To be defeated and publicly humiliated through poll results is never a great way to exit politics.

Some people - especially hardliners from the older generation - vote based on the party of choice, while others - more discerning younger folks - look at the respective candidates to cast their votes. Whichever the methods used, I believe one should respect their choices and not to belittle others if their votes do not align with yours.

Of course I'm talking about family members/relatives everywhere and neighbours particularly in the rural areas. While the party solidarity in the Pan-Islamic Party is lauded - the sheer number of turnouts for Stadium-held sembahyang hajat is one such indication - I'm cheesed off with the fanatical attitude of some party members who alienate their neighbours of the same Kampung for supporting the ruling coalition.

I don't understand why some supporters take party affiliation so personally and seriously, so much so they want to inflict physical harm on folks who refuse to toe the line. The prevailing sentiment in this state confirmed my long-ago suspicion of the cliquishness* associated with some East Coasters. Hey, even my dad concurs with this observation!

That said, the ruling coalition has its own share of faults too. Cronyism, corruption, nepotism, greediness, scandals, infighting, weak leadership and complacency, to name a few.

As the famous catchphrase for this round of election goes "Checks and balances," I am hopeful that the Malaysian's political landscape would be seeing better days.

* Like most things, there are negative and positive aspects to revelling in cliques.