It’s a funny thing, hindsight. Many people look back at the week that was and say, “Yeah, the signs were all there. The massive turnouts at the Opposition ceramahs… and some more those Penang flers giving money.”

But the truth of the matter is nobody – not the political parties, not the pollsters and certainly not the strategists – expected the results that many have described as a political tsunami that swept over Malaysia on March 8, 2008.

So what happened?

It’s not like the various interest and civil groups – made up largely of the Christian (11% of the population), Hindu (6%) and even arts communities – had a meeting at the Han Chiang school field in Penang – scene of the biggest DAP rally during the campaign – and decided to vote en bloc against Barisan Nasional.

Yes, individually these groups do not have a loud enough voice to make much of a difference but together they contributed to the change that swept across the nation on Polling Day.

But like they say about every new Hollywood sensation, success didn’t come overnight.

“Many churches have organised dialogues with prominent politicians and aspiring candidates of various parties because they want to be very clear where these people stand on important issues like corruption, the Islamic state, religious freedom and others.

“Many Christians are also advocating that they should be actively involved in the public square, working with others to ensure that society remains democratic, and all Malaysians work together for justice and peace,” he said.

We are seeing an unprecedented number of children or relatives of politicians taking part in the elections. Some of these Generation Next politicians are contesting their fathers' seats while others are running in entirely different constituencies.

Nobody seems terribly concerned about it and the stars of coffee-shop talk the last few days have instead been Chan Kong Choy (so why did he not want to stand for election?) and Fong Po Kuan (and yes, the woman has returned to contest... as many predicted she would).

It does seem rather odd that we suddenly have so many family members of politicians wanting to enter the fray. Still, legacy within the Malaysian political realm is well-accepted – both the present Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister are sons of former Prime Ministers.

So why now? Why this election?

Long-time political observers think it is quite natural. Malaysia is a relatively young country; we are only 50 and this is our 12th general election. Previously, it was only the children of the top guns in politics who would consider going into politics.

They were political bluebloods, much like the Adam’s Family (John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams, second and sixth presidents of the United States) as well as the Bushes of recent America.

But as democracy grew, so too did the political arena. And now as we enter the 12th general election, we see the children (and in-laws) of many more politicians wanting a share of the pie.

Yes, politics in Malaysia is very much linked to business. In a more mature democracy like the United States, families who enter into politics generation after generation see it more as a way of serving their country than just a way to get more business. Of course, there is always money involved... maybe just less obvious.

So, there is nothing particularly alarming about the emergence of this Generation Next politicians. And rightly, the rakyat are taking it all in their stride. The more cynical amongst us think, "Ya-lah, all in the family". And the rest of them think, "Well, they grew up surrounded by politics so it is only natural that they want to give it a shot."

The only danger lies somewhere in the not-too-distant future. We certainly do not want to turn into another Philippines and/or Indonesia where political dynasties means power remains in the hands of just a few. This kind of oligarchy we can do without.
So, it is up to the people to decide. Because one thing is for sure: your father can be a former Minister but that just gets you past the door perhaps. Whether you stay or not depends on how you perform once elected... the rakyat will be watching. And voting.

Some children with political elders
We have the sons of veteran politicians like former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik as well as Opposition icons Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh.

Other prominent entrants are Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib in Kota Samarahan (father is Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud), Chua Tee Yong in Labis (father was former Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek) and Roselinda Abdul Jamil in Port Klang (father-in-law is Datuk Zakaria Mohd Deros).

From the other camp, we have Nurrul Izzah Anwar, the daughter of Datuk Anwar Ibrahim; Lim Si Pin, the son of Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik and Dr Asraf Wajdi Dusuki, the son of former Tumpat MP Datuk Dusuki Ahmad.

And this is not counting families producing siblings for Malaysian politics!

Joan Lau is a keen observer of Malaysian society. She produces this regular column exclusive to The Malaysian Insider. Send feedback to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it