Prior to the election, only one state, Kelantan, was controlled by the opposition. But as of today, the oppositions stand proud winning states Kedah, Perak, Kelantan, Selangor and Penang. All of these states will now be ruled by the oppositions of Islamist PAS party, Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the People's Justice Party.
"People can only put up with so much," says DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng, who is set to become Penang's new Chief Minister. "Dissatisfaction has reached a boiling point."
I admire Malaysians for standing for what they believe. I hear dissatisfaction everywhere here in Singapore. Having to gripe with rising costs, dealing with GST hike, means testing, ERP increases, fatter paychecks of public servants etc since our last election. I wonder if Singapore Elections are held now before forgetful Singaporeans get election ang baos, how would we fare?
The opposition's results yesterday proved that their voices had been heard. And after election results were announced, Prime Minister Abdullah actually said that the poll results proved that democracy did work in Malaysia—and that defeat was part of the democratic process. I admire this man, taking defeat gentlemanly and indeed democracy has prevailed today in Malaysia.
Quoted from Online Time Magazine:
On March 5, Human Rights Watch, the New York-based NGO, issued a report criticizing the way in which it believes the National Front has maintained its grip on power. In a public statement, Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson said: "Once again, elections in Malaysia are grossly unfair to the opposition. Malaysia's ruling coalition is too comfortable with the status quo to allow reforms that would level the playing field." Among the watchdog's claims were accusations that the ruling coalition received a disproportionate amount of media coverage; that repeated attempts by opposition parties to organize rallies had been stymied; and that voting irregularities were rampant. In the state of Selangor, for instance, opposition party PAS says it found two 128-year-old citizens registered to vote.
I wonder if the Human Rights Watchdogs ever visited Singapore? I hardly get to read about our oppositions in our local media. Maybe if local media gave them more coverage on TV, newspapers, there will be less people trying to go to opposition's rallies and jam up the roads.
Interesting note: 2007 Freedom of the Press World Ranking - Singapore is classified as not free and we are ranked below Malaysia's 150 at 154 out of 195, alongside Afghanistan. Wow..Iraq is just behind us at 158.
In other interesting news, newcomer politician celebrity blogger Jeff Ooi who actually been blogging since 2003 on his website - Screenshots and on CNET, won his campaign Penang seat in his first general election.
Jeff Ooi's blog has been dubbed "Malaysia's Most Influential Blog" and receives more than 200,000 page views per month! I wonder if our local famous bloggerMr Brown could stand for the next election?
"This is a new dawn for Malaysia," said Anwar Ibrahim, a former Deputy Prime Minister, who is the spiritual head of the People's Justice Party and the opposition's most charismatic figure. "The people have voted decisively for a new era."
I do hope the oppositions can really bring a new era to those states, and let the nation see that they can do a good job in governing.
The promises of a new era...hmm sounds good..I wonder if I ever get to see a new era or just a basic wish of getting to vote before I turn 60.
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