Pakan Harapan won the 14th General Election, and people were celebrating. I know, I know. I am considered very late in updating this blog but it just seemed so unreal that for the first time in 61 years, the then opposition party could wrestle the power from the Barisan Nasional (BN), so I was taking my own sweet time to absorb this brand new reality before I compose any writings.
In this 14th General Election, I see the power of the people in overthrowing the outgoing government despite the challenges and the unfair conditions. For the first time, I see the unity of the people despite the differences in race and religion in Malaysia to partake in this voting process, casting their ballot papers to choose the rightful political party to form the government, wrestling BN whom had a stronghold of the power for the past 61 years. This of course caught the BN leaders by surprised because never in their dreams they would envisioned that they could lose the election.
Reformasi, the Bahasa Melayu for Reformation, has been achieved without a shot being fired, without a single drop of blood being shed, and without any violence being retorted. This is a statement to the world to prove that reformation can be achieved peacefully, and we also showed the world the power of the people. Against many doubts from the foreign media whom believed that BN would continue to rule, we, Malaysians, prove that David vs Goliath is not a myth, but something that can be achieved. This is also a statement to the world leaders that the power is in the people’s hands, as they can put you in office, they can also kick you into oblivion.
May 10th, 2018, is a historical day in the history of Malaysia and it will be written in the history book as a day to be remembered by many, if not all, Malaysians.
For this historical day to happen, out of altruism, I thank the following:
- Now ex-Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. In no time in our modern history the people of Malaysia are so united. Datuk Seri Najib promoted the motto of 1Malaysia, and he has achieved it without any doubt. Under his leadership, the people of Malaysia forgo their differences in race and religion to come together to vote him out of office, and without him, I don’t think this could happen.
- Tun Dr. Mahathir, our 4th Prime Minister and again, the 7th and latest Prime Minister (again). Without him joining the opposition (of course, now the ruling party), I don’t think changing government is possible. With him in the team, he united the opposition coalition and deploying amazing strategies, the Pakatan Harapan coalition made amazing inroads to deliver their messages to the public.
- Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. Of course, it is unfair to only thank him as Twitter had also played an important role, but mostly the messages (and videos) were being delivered via Facebook to the people (the traditional media was heavily regulated and censored) and Facebook was the main social media platform that was heavily used to deliver the message across. Even the night before the 14th General Election, Tun Dr. Mahathir was using the Facebook Live Broadcast to deliver his final message to the people and that made a stunning difference.
- All the members of the Pakatan Harapan and their supporters. Without their effort and working relentlessly, touching the heart of the people and waking the sleepy people up from their day dreams, assuring the people that dream is not only a dream but it was something that could be achieved as long as people are willing to take the very first step; go out on the polling date to vote.
Without these people, I don’t think it is possible for the Malaysia to change the government.
Now, people are waking up to a brand new day where they feel that the sky is crystal blue and there’s a better hope for our next generation. For that, I would like to take thank the last but also the most important people in achieving this dream; Malaysians. Thank you, Malaysians, for making this happen so that our next generation will have a better hope.
