Surprisingly the opposition parties did pretty well, taking over 5 states and denying Barisan Nasional (BN) the two-thirds majority in the parliament. Much was said about the "winds of change" in the Malaysian political arena, though there is nothing much for me to add.
In general, the mood of Malaysians are optimistic, except the Barisan folks and perhaps those who stood to gain when BN is in power. The stock market took a beating, but I see that as a temporary question of confidence over the stability of the new government - or those who gained due to their "relationship" with the BN government.
I do hope the rakyat will not set the expectations too high: BN still forms the government due to their majority. In addition, the governance model in Malaysia is such that almost all power is vested with the central government and the state government has very limited authority. From what little I understand, the state government collects very limited revenue, and a big chunk of expenditure comes from the central government's "hand-out" / allocation. Hence, even with the state government taken over by the opposition, we cannot expect them to change what has been in place for essentially half a century.
That said, I am much more optimistic over the future of my country. To paraphrase Kennedy, now is the time to ask ourselves, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". Remember, every little bit counts. It could be as simple as paying your taxes, providing constructive feedback to the government, or even just being aware of the socio-political challenges that our country is facing.
Whenever there is a transition, the first 90 days are frequently the most critical. This is the time when waves of euphoria sweeps the nation, and optimism is at an unprecedented level. This should also be the exact time when one grasp the bull by the horn:
- tackle the most challenging issues first
- set the right expectations
- get buy-in from stakeholders for the long-term strategy
