Apathy is dead
Edit:
So I'm on the train home now, and the elections - been on my mind the whole day. How terribly distracting. In any case, I hope the opposition party have a solid agenda and that they work to show that they are indeed able to bring a change to Malaysia. It's no use just crying foul - that works great for riling up strong emotions but ultimately, Malaysia doesn't need an angry mob of resentful people.
And I was thinking about me, how I came to be involved in the elections. I have been priviledged enough to have access to social media platforms and an education that enables me to read and to understand. This is my contact with the elections, it's an extension of my world. Now if I were to look at things from the perspective of someone who has not had the privilege of having the same access to all the avenues I have access to, if I look from the perspective of someone who has nothing and who benefits greatly from handouts, if I look from the perspective of someone who is in that position - I wouldn't be seeking any radical changes, and the business of the BN would probably be the least of my concerns when I am receiving my most basic needs from them.
I'm honestly not trying to justify the actions of the BN, but really, the focus should be shifted away from the foul play and to making actual changes - changes that will matter to those people not in our middle-upper class circles. Connecting with those beyond our Facebook circles and filling real needs where we see them. I don't know what I can do in all this - but that's for me to think about.
Meanwhile, I'll be waiting with fingers crossed and anticipating the changes that the opposition party will bring - hopefully changes that mean something more than petty critic of the BN, changes that are solutions.
Gosh, sometimes I wish I had the brains to be a politician. Because I can't, for the life of me, think of how I would bring "change" on a large scale.
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When I was a child growing up, none of my friends would talk about the elections - both in Singapore and Malaysia. But there seems to be a change in that trend. The 2011 elections in Singapore was the first time I saw how the people who used to be apathetic, really stand out and voice their opinions. The more recent Malaysian general elections that took place just yesterday was a larger scale than what happened with Singapore in 2011. It's pretty crazy, I'm just writing this on the train now and thinking - wow, is this a generation that might change the political direction of these two south-east Asian nations?
There are countless black profile pictures on facebook now, marking the death of democracy in Malaysia. Not discounting the fact that news of a "magical" election and that photos and videos backing up that claim are really a source of discouragement for those who wanted DAP/PKR to win, and who feel strongly that they would in fact have won.. But, I'm just thinking that there still has been a change. Democracy is not dead, the apathy of the people is. I will always remember my English teacher when I was 16 - she said our generation was apathetic. But just look at this generation now.
There are undoubtedly, many doubts in the hearts of the people regarding the integrity of this election outcome, but we have to accept what happened and move on. With the number of people in east Malaysia and Johor (those areas accounting for 80 odd seats or something, with only 112 seats needed to form the new government) - traditional strongholds of BN - doing some electoral math would show that it's not difficult for BN to gain a step ahead from those areas.
Really, I'm just moved by the number of people who turned up for the elections. And I'm hoping the next election would see this same passion. Democracy is not dead.
