Saturday, March 08, 2008

Polling Closes

Darn it, I told myself that I was not going to blog about this election anymore. But as a result of the lively political discussions that I had yesterday with a bunch of friends, I had been kicked off my lazy behind to talk about this election. There are just too many facets of it to talk about but I would like to talk about how it makes me feel.

I am excited. For a long time, I have not been as excited over Malaysian politics in my life. I see this election as a measure of our country's future because it is turning out to be an election of new versus old. There is an electrifying air of change, storming through our nation. It is a signal from the people, especially the younger generation, that the old politics no longer appeal to us and we wish to have something different.

For the last few years, I have often blogged about my feelings of despair and dismay at the changes being wrought to our beautiful nation by the ruling government. Our Constitution was being openly trampled upon by the judiciary, our social contract was being one-sidedly reneged by the growing dominance of a single political party, and there did not seem to be anyone who had the ability to stop the rot.

It had seemed that the Malaysia today is nothing like the Malaysia that I grew up in. The country that I love was slowly changing into something so ugly and vile that I was ashamed of being associated with. But even through this transformation, I believed that not all hope was lost. Through all the political rhetoric, I constantly remind myself of the types of people that I have met through my life. I believed in my fellow Malaysians.

I will tell anyone who asks me, that Malaysia is truly a paradise (if we discount the politics). We have a beautiful natural environment with challengingly high mountains, soft sandy beaches, calm blue seas and luscious rainforests. The food is the greatest in the world and the people are nice and, most importantly, tolerant of each others misgivings. There is definitely no better place to call home.

So, that is why I wish for a good election day. I want the results to show me hope that, the Malaysia I know and love, is not lost. I want to be able to believe in the ideals that we were once striving towards together. I want to know that regardless of the noises at the top, the foundations are strong and stable. I want to dream of a future together and I want to love again.

Okay. This blog has been a little thick. Now, for some political jokes from our main opposition party leader:

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