3 days after

3 Days After
Malaysian politics. They are full of drama. Just days after the meaningful win on Saturday, which shocked the nation, the opposition loose coalition seems to be seeing some kind of conflicts among themselves (http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/4249/84/). it reminded the most of us of the 1999 incident when DAP walked away from the partnership then. makes one wonder if history would repeat itself again ...

When one reads the comments that followed the statement on unca LKS' blog, the views are rather mixed. there are those who support his decision and those that opposed. nonetheless, it is heartening to read those who pursued overall interest than just racial lines. a number of people rallied that LKS forgo his earlier objection and be supportive of the Sultan-approved MB in Perak.

My initial reaction was of worry because i do not know if this would escalate into something bigger, or played up by certain party. a crisis within the loose coalition now would be a good excuse to tell the majority of voters that they had voted wrongly. have we??

A check with a friend indicated that perhaps this latest development was politically driven for some reason or another. the general mass would probably not know.

Nonetheless, i believe my earlier thought was more rationale. the three parties have not worked together in governing a state hence they would make mistakes especially in managing media relations and saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. some of them have no prior experience to public service and in sudden twist of events are put under the spotlights. there will be some adjustments to make. there will be some internal crisis to manage and lots of learning curves for the elected candidates. does this mean the people have voted wrongly to put them there in the first place? to have an answer now would be pre-mature. this is not just these elected reps learning experience, it is also ours, the voters.

Malaysians have not seen such a drastic change in the country's political landscape for almost five decades, with the closest in 1969, which ended disastrously. my parents and grandparents still have vivid memory of May 13. ask someone of that generation, they would tell you that they're still afraid that history would repeat itself again. ask them again what they did after election results were out on Saturday and they would tell you that they had stock up food and basic necessities at home for just in case ...

It took us more than 40 years to finally re-gather the courage and faith to vote differently this election. ew had walked out of our comfort zone and took a risk. of course there would be question marks if we had done the right thing. but then again, how do we know if we didn't do it in the first place? how do we know if the opposition could perform and fulfill their promises if we had never allow them the chance? how can this country have an alternative like every democratic country if we, the people, have never opted for a change?

Now that change is facing us, we can't expect it to be smooth sailing all the way. the transition is always difficult and perhaps more complicated than the change itself. one of my former employers used to test us by asking us to stop wearing our watch on the same hand, and changed it to the other. throughout the day, my colleagues and i found ourselves looking at the familiar watch-wearing hand than the hand that is actually wearing the watch. this is to indicate to us how difficult change is even in a simple habit. what more, the people is seeing a change in state government! what more, not one, but five states!

The best thing, i hope, people will do is to stay calm and think rationally for the sake of the greater good and what we want to achieve/see in this country. don't jump into conclusion too soon, or react irrationally. words said can't be taken back; actions taken can't be withheld. patience and perseverance will sustain us longer.

Hope, Wait, Pray.