The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 13 — Someone from Mars studying the structure of the Malaysian government could be forgiven for concluding that we are a planned economy a la North Korea.

But luckily, although we plan as much as the country of the Kims, we do not act according.

We definitely over-plan, judging from the multiple planning and coordinating agencies we have.

MARCH 6 — A de facto two-party system emerged from the polling boxes on March 8 two years ago. The one-party state, however, refused to make way. Thus, Malaysia missed the opportunity to evolve into a real, normal democracy.

Malaysians defied threats and overcame fear to vote for the opposition in Election 2008. About 51 per cent of voters in Peninsula voted for change, while nationally the opposition received 49 per cent of the votes.

DEC 31 — Today is not just an ordinary end to a year. It happens to be the end to a decade — the Noughties.

I have been in search of words to describe the state of our nation during the first decade of the 21st century and felt compelled to borrow the title of Adam Schwarz’s acclaimed book on Indonesia in the 1990s.

Malaysia is a nation in waiting for a profound change, especially since the 1999 general election, when sufficient numbers of Malaysians voted for a corrupt-free government, a democratic political system, and a more equitable distribution of opportunities and resources.

SEPT 27 — Going by our newspapers, Malaysia seems to be on the path of polarisation, politically or otherwise. But a 10 per cent vote swing either way will finish Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. It is the middle ground that matters.

A swing in BN’s favour will see PR reduced to 29 seats only, and if the tide is in PR’s favour the nascent coalition will come to power with 139 seats, the number of seats BN currently holds.

It goes without saying that every election is a different one involving new personalities, a different sentiment, and changing themes. Thus, results from the previous election can only serve as a reference. Yet it is still worthwhile to draw some lessons from it.

SEPT 3 — Exactly eleven years after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sacking as deputy prime minister sparked the reformasi movement; Malaysia is still in a limbo. But there is an increasingly strong sense that, against all odds, change for the better, is still possible.

The political tsunami on March 8, 2008, while unexpected, was the culmination of a series of substantial changes. It cannot be understood as something that happened overnight. More importantly, since its causes are profound, its effects cannot but prove lasting.