And now, Malaysia is experiencing a new dawn, a new era. Read them here:
Malaysia wakes to new political landscape
by Jalil Hamid 2 hours, 30 minutes ago
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysians awoke on Sunday to the biggest sea-change in politics in almost 40 years, with opposition Islamists and reformists winning control of five states and giving the government a humiliating wake-up call.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's multi-racial National Front coalition won just a simple majority in parliament, and his future as leader is in doubt after he watched a record majority collapse to the weakest level ever.
His predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, urged him to quit. "He should accept responsibility," said Mahathir who now says he made a mistake in picking Abdullah as his successor and that the current deputy premier, Najib Razak, should have taken over.
"I am shocked. It feels Malaysia is a whole new country. It feels like it has been reborn," Daniel Sia, a 27-year-old civil engineer, said as he did some Sunday shopping in the capital.
Lai Yee Fei, 28, who works at a coffee bar beneath Kuala Lumpur's soaring twin towers, said she was glad that Malaysia now had a strong opposition to press the government.
"It's good to give some pressure for Barisan Nasional," she said. "If the opposition parties can stand up for us, on behalf of us, I think it's good."
Abdullah, who only four years ago led the coalition to a record election victory on a wave of hope for change, faced a bleak political future on Sunday, his aides stunned but not willing to concede that he must step down.
"Frankly, this is not really the time because a lot of component parties (of Barisan) have been decimated," one close aide said, declining to be identified. "We have lost a few people and I think it's time to consolidate."
Abdullah's humbling performance nationally -- the coalition ended up with 62 percent of federal seats, down from 90 percent previously -- was compounded by the fact that his own home state, the industrial heartland of Penang, fell to the opposition.
ISLAMISTS ON THE RISE
The leftist Chinese-backed Democratic Action Party (DAP) won Penang, the hub for Malaysia's electronics industry, which accounts for about half of exports.
The opposition Islamist party PAS scored shock victories in the northern heartland states of Kedah and Perak and easily retained power in its stronghold in northeastern Kelantan state.
DAP and PAS also joined the People's Justice Party, or Parti Keadilan, to take control of the industrial state of Selangor and almost all the seats in capital Kuala Lumpur.
Political experts and economists wondered aloud whether the Barisan government could now pursue its agenda, including plans for $325 billion in development zones across the country.
Without a two-thirds parliamentary majority, Barisan can no longer change the constitution or make some key appointments and could struggle to alter electoral boundaries, powers that the opposition have long maintained were abused by Barisan.
"This is probably not good news for the equity market or the ringgit," said Tim Condon, Singapore-based head of Asia research for investment bank ING.
The pro-government media, Abdullah's cheer-leader during the campaign, changed tack on Sunday, urging Barisan to ensure better job and education opportunities in this multi-racial nation.
Malaysia is largely a mix of ethnic Malays, which make up about 55 percent of the population, and ethnic Chinese and Indians, who account for about a third.
A protest vote from Chinese and Indians, upset over what they saw as racial inequality in terms of business, job and education opportunities, had been expected. The Indians were merciless, voting out the leader of the coalition's Indian component party and handing a seat to an Indian activist currently in detention.
But Malays, who are all Muslims and traditionally support Barisan in good times and bad, completed a perfect storm for the government, handing the opposition Islamists a record vote in what was perceived as a protest against rising prices.
"Tomorrow we will start building a brighter future," said opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, de facto leader of Parti Keadilan, which emerged as the biggest opposition party in federal parliament with 31 seats. "This is a new dawn for Malaysia."
Anwar, a Malay and former deputy premier, is widely seen as the only politician who could unify the ideologically divided opposition into a coherent and credible political force, though many political experts see this an almost possible task.
Anwar was banned from standing in the elections because of a criminal record -- he spent six years in jail until 2004 on what he called trumped-up charges -- but is expected to take over his old seat from his wife, who has held it since his 1998 jailing.
Results from the elections commission as of 0320 GMT showed the National Front with 137 seats in the 222-seat parliament versus 82 for the opposition, with 3 seats still being tallied.
(Writing and additional reporting by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
Another one from The Star:
People have voted for change, says Anwar
KUALA LUMPUR: People have voted for change and they do not want the same type of representatives, said PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said he was touched by the support by Malaysians regardless of race.
In the next few weeks, the Opposition will have to ensure that state governments are formed and its members of parliament and state assemblymen are well versed in the issues that they have committed to resolve, said Anwar.
“Politics in Malaysia is not going to be the same any more,” he said, adding that people were expecting new clean faces to manage the states.
There were enough people of various races fighting corruption and poor governance, he said.
Anwar said the victory was not unexpected.
“On nomination day, we were aiming beyond the one-third but that was insurmountable to many people,” he said.
“I thank my fellow Malaysians for their support.
“Today at the ballot box, you listened to your heart with firm conviction that the time for change has arrived,” he said.
“This is a defining moment, unprecedented in our nation’s history,” he said, adding that the people had voted decisively for a new era where the Government must be truly inclusive and recognise all Malaysians, regardless of race, culture and religion.
Due to the shock to Umno and Barisan, Anwar said he had advised his supporters as well as PAS and DAP to remain calm.
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The end of the 3 decades in power era of Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu:
MIC in shambles with no leader in the wings
KUALA LUMPUR: Saturday’s Tamil Nesan had a massive pullout for birthday boy Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu with back-to-back coverage and full-page live-size photographs of him taken out by all 28 MIC candidates, hailing their chief as the greatest man ever born.
The surreal coverage was in stark contrast to the ugly mood among Indians who had already 'told' Samy Vellu that his time was up – through the Nov 25 protest and the boycott of Batu Caves during Thaipusam – and were waiting to say it again through the ballot box.
It was Samy Vellu’s final swan song. Except for Dr S. Subramaniam , S. Saravanan and K. Devamani, the other MIC candidates were all wiped out in an unprecedented wave of anger, opening up a new era in politics for Indians.
With most of the MIC bigwigs wiped out, the internal power equation in the party has gone haywire and only time will tell how it is going to unravel.
After such a beating it is also inconceivable that Samy Vellu should continue as party president. Sadly, he does not have a winner in a number two or three to hand over the party to.
The vice-presidents, until press time, appear to have been defeated as well, leaving the MIC leadership in shambles. It will take a long time for the mess to be sorted out.
The MIC representation in the Cabinet and the administration is also in question now that Samy Vellu, the sole Indian minister for 29 years, has been defeated. Who is the winner or loser? Who will to take his place in the Cabinet?
Indian voters form significant numbers in at least 67 parliamentary and 141 state assembly seats where they comprise between 9% and 46% of the electorate.
The results across the country indicate they had used their numbers to vote Opposition and helped change the direction of politics in the country.
They were the deciding factor in constituencies where Malay and Chinese votes divided. Indians who traditionally backed the Government made their small numbers count.
Twenty-two Indians contested in 18 parliamentary seats and 53 Indians contested in 40 seats. They comprised about 8% of contestants.
MIC fielded nine for Parliament and 19 for the state assemblies. The DAP had seven Indians for Parliament and 17 for state while PKR fielded 19 Indians.
In Parliament and the state assemblies, there will be about 20 Indians from the DAP and PKR and all will be sitting on the opposition bench. Previously, in the entire country there were only two Indian MPs – Karpal Singh and M. Kulasegaran – holding the fort.
It is going to be a lively Parliament and Opposition Indian MPs are going to fall over each other to voice Indian woes.
The results are a victory for Makkal Shakti, the force unleashed by Hindraf leader P. Uthayakumar on Nov 25, which ballooned into a formidable Indian movement to carry away so many MIC leaders.
The larger question is of course Indian representation in the government, which would be lesser with so many casualties. The government will have to find new ways to fill the vacancies and not just promote losers into senators and then ministers.
Because of the defeat in some states, Indian representation is nil, making it a challenging task for the Barisan Nasional power-sharing formula to work.
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Massive majority votes achieved by these following opposition candidates:
Fong Po Kuan (DAP), Jeff Ooi (DAP), Tan Seng Giaw (DAP), Chua Tian Chang (PKR), Fong Kui Lun (DAP), Teresa Kok (DAP), Tan Kok Wai (DAP), N.Gobalakrishnan (PKR), Mohd Razhi Salleh (PKR), Abdul Halim Abd Rahman (PAS), Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah (PAS), Salahudin Ayub (PAS), Lim Guan Eng (DAP), Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR), Liew Chin Tong (DAP), Chow Kon Yeow (DAP), Karpal Singh Ram Singh (DAP), Zahrain Mohd Hashim (PKR), Yeoh Soon Hin (DAP), Nga Kor Ming (DAP), Lim Kit Siang (DAP), M.Kulasegaran (DAP), Teo Nie Ching (DAP), Gobind Singh Deo (DAP), Tony Pua (DAP), S.Manikavasagam (PKR), Charles Anthony Santiago (DAP), Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS), Yeoh Tseow Suan (DAP), Cheah Wing Yin (DAP), Xavier Arulanandam (PKR).
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's daughter, Nurul Izzah won the Lembah Pantai seat , which was once belongs to Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil. His wife, Datin Dr.Wan Azizah Wan Ismail continues her dominance over Permatang Pauh for the third term since 1999.
While Kelantan remains under PAS rule, Pulau Pinang saw a major clean sweep by DAP and PKR for both Parliamentary and state seats.
They thought it was over for PKR , calling that party as irrelevant. Unfortunately, PKR proved them wrong and is probably having the last laugh now.
Never did it ever cross my mind that I am now living under the new opposition rule in Selangor, the state i've been dwelling in for 3 decades. Though my area has been under PAS wings for the third term, knowing that the whole state is governed by the PAS-PKR coalition is a whole new experience for me and probably for every Selangorean.
For a better governance, justice for all and make corruption a history.
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