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By Marc Lourdes
Malaysia won its independence yesterday.
Unlike what happened on 31 August, 1957, we were not freed from the shackles of our colonial masters. No, this was an independence of the mind, the soul and the spirit.
For decades, Malaysians had been slaves to the idea that they needed a representative of their own race in order to ensure they would be taken care of.
For decades, Malaysians were told that the communal status quo could only be maintained by the social pact that underpinned the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s coalition – a coalition made up of parties representing the major races in the country.
For decades, Malaysians were made to feel that an abysmal government – one where leaders lived to excess while people suffered, one where corruption and kleptocracy was the norm – was the price to pay for peace, harmony and a middling kind of success.
On 9 May, that changed. Malaysia took a good, hard look at its leaders and decided it had finally had enough.
They decided, for the first time in the country’s history, to take a gamble on a future without BN and give somebody else a mandate instead.
A change of government during elections is a process that’s routine in any modern democracy. For Malaysia, it’s the political equivalent of a hurricane or tsunami – brutal, shocking and something the country is completely unprepared for.
But the best thing about the result of this election is that the people have sent a message through the ballot boxes – to themselves and to those who would be their leaders.
To themselves, the message is simple: We are in charge. We are in control. Politicians are there to serve us, and to serve at our pleasure – not the other way round. We have finally taken back the power we have abrogated for far too long.
And to politicians, it’s a warning: Don’t f*** with us anymore. Use and abuse us again, and we will slap you. Hard. We have overcome our fear of change and of the unknown. It is now time you feared us.
In this, there is a lesson as well as a caution to the outgoing and incoming governments. It is probably too late for outgoing Prime Minister Najib Razak now, but for his people – what’s left of them at least – it’s a lesson to never take power for granted. The coming weeks, months and years should be a time of soul searching for BN, for them to devote themselves to serving the people of Malaysia even if they are out of office.
Time doesn’t heal all wounds, but it can certainly cure a good many of them. BN could well find themselves in the sunshine again one day and regain some of the love and the trust Malaysians used to have for them – but they need to be honest enough to ask themselves some tough questions and rediscover their integrity before they can think of asking Malaysians to vote for them again.
Mahathir Mohamad is a perfect example of a wound healed by time. In this new wave of adulation, let’s not forget this is the man at whose feet we can lay the blame for much of Malaysia’s current problems. He may try to deny it, offer half-hearted apologies or blame others, but the reality is that the excesses of Najib’s leadership would not have been possible had it not been for Mahathir’s slow erosion of Malaysia as a functioning democracy in over 22 years as premier.
Malaysia has forgiven him all this in its desperation to find an alternative to Najib. It is perhaps the greatest irony of this election that this country has decided to look to its insalubrious past to secure a better future.
And this is the caution for Mahathir and his newly-minted government: Malaysia will not be holding you to the same standards as Najib and his ilk. It will hold you to higher ones. Malaysia is counting on you and is trusting you to fulfil your pledges and promises. Betray that trust at your own peril.
Marc Lourdes is the former Asia head of CNN Digital, and the previous editor-in-chief of Yahoo Malaysia and Singapore.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/comment-winds-change-hit-malaysia-turned-hurricane-040742243.html
Malaysia won its independence yesterday.
Unlike what happened on 31 August, 1957, we were not freed from the shackles of our colonial masters. No, this was an independence of the mind, the soul and the spirit.
For decades, Malaysians had been slaves to the idea that they needed a representative of their own race in order to ensure they would be taken care of.
For decades, Malaysians were told that the communal status quo could only be maintained by the social pact that underpinned the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s coalition – a coalition made up of parties representing the major races in the country.
For decades, Malaysians were made to feel that an abysmal government – one where leaders lived to excess while people suffered, one where corruption and kleptocracy was the norm – was the price to pay for peace, harmony and a middling kind of success.
On 9 May, that changed. Malaysia took a good, hard look at its leaders and decided it had finally had enough.
They decided, for the first time in the country’s history, to take a gamble on a future without BN and give somebody else a mandate instead.
A change of government during elections is a process that’s routine in any modern democracy. For Malaysia, it’s the political equivalent of a hurricane or tsunami – brutal, shocking and something the country is completely unprepared for.
But the best thing about the result of this election is that the people have sent a message through the ballot boxes – to themselves and to those who would be their leaders.
To themselves, the message is simple: We are in charge. We are in control. Politicians are there to serve us, and to serve at our pleasure – not the other way round. We have finally taken back the power we have abrogated for far too long.
And to politicians, it’s a warning: Don’t f*** with us anymore. Use and abuse us again, and we will slap you. Hard. We have overcome our fear of change and of the unknown. It is now time you feared us.
In this, there is a lesson as well as a caution to the outgoing and incoming governments. It is probably too late for outgoing Prime Minister Najib Razak now, but for his people – what’s left of them at least – it’s a lesson to never take power for granted. The coming weeks, months and years should be a time of soul searching for BN, for them to devote themselves to serving the people of Malaysia even if they are out of office.
Time doesn’t heal all wounds, but it can certainly cure a good many of them. BN could well find themselves in the sunshine again one day and regain some of the love and the trust Malaysians used to have for them – but they need to be honest enough to ask themselves some tough questions and rediscover their integrity before they can think of asking Malaysians to vote for them again.
Mahathir Mohamad is a perfect example of a wound healed by time. In this new wave of adulation, let’s not forget this is the man at whose feet we can lay the blame for much of Malaysia’s current problems. He may try to deny it, offer half-hearted apologies or blame others, but the reality is that the excesses of Najib’s leadership would not have been possible had it not been for Mahathir’s slow erosion of Malaysia as a functioning democracy in over 22 years as premier.
Malaysia has forgiven him all this in its desperation to find an alternative to Najib. It is perhaps the greatest irony of this election that this country has decided to look to its insalubrious past to secure a better future.
And this is the caution for Mahathir and his newly-minted government: Malaysia will not be holding you to the same standards as Najib and his ilk. It will hold you to higher ones. Malaysia is counting on you and is trusting you to fulfil your pledges and promises. Betray that trust at your own peril.
Marc Lourdes is the former Asia head of CNN Digital, and the previous editor-in-chief of Yahoo Malaysia and Singapore.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/comment-winds-change-hit-malaysia-turned-hurricane-040742243.html
