GE13: What tsunami? It was a flash flood

This time around, it was different. The Opposition coalition was far superior, more prepared.

By Habhajan Singh

KUALA LUMPUR: It was not a tsunami. If I were the tsunami, I would be mad with Malaysian politicians from both sides of the divide. As the dust began settling on the 13th General Election (GE13), they began describing the results as a tsunami of one sort or another.

Please, it wasn’t. It was more like a flash flood or ‘banjir kilat’ in Malay.

Here’s one definition of the tsunami: A giant wave (or series of waves) created by an undersea earthquake, volcanic eruption or landslide. One thing is certain about tsunamis: It is unpredictable.

Floods are more predictable. You never know how devastating its effect will be, but you know its coming.

Yes, a tsunami did hit the nation in the GE2008. The results surprised many, even seasoned political observers.

Barisan Nasional (BN) lost its two-thirds majority in the federal Parliament for the first time since 1969. Five states fell to the loose and seemingly incompatible coalition of PKR, DAP and PAS. Gerakan was all but wiped out in Penang. MCA was reduced in size.

It sent shock waves throughout the nation. Eventually, Prime Minister Abdulah Ahmad Badawi lost his premiership. Now, that’s a tsunami.

The 2008 results had changed the landscape for both BN and Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

The gameplan now is different. BN was on revival mode, PR on assault mode. For the first time, the Opposition front was dead serious about capturing Putrajaya. And they actually believed that it was within their grasp.

Now, that’s a big difference from the polls before. Back then, the ever-fractured Opposition had, at most,talked about denying the BN its two-thirds majority at the federal level. One wonders if they even dreamt of actually running the country on a fine day.

This time around, it was different. The Opposition coalition was far superior, more prepared.

They came to the polls after showing deft handling of governance at Penang and Selangor – two vibrant states economy wise. They displayed the ability to work together.

The voters were different as well. Many were openly siding with the PR. In the past, people were more reserved when supporting the Opposition.

That’s history now. This time around, you have people openly fixing logos of political parties as their Facebook profile picture. It doesn’t get anymore open than that! The flood was coming. As we moved into GE13, we saw it coming. Both sides of the political divide knew they were in for a tough fight.

Now, how do you manage flood? The Department of Irrigation and Drainage, for example, has adopted an integrated river basin development and the integrated flood management approaches for its flood management programmes. That’s the physical flood.

Now, how do you manage the political flood? Prime Minister  Najib Tun Razak and his team saw the challenge. He undertook numerous transformat ion plans – economic, government and political – to respond to the changes. He went on a hyperdrive trying to reach out to numerous groups – from non-governmental organisations to single mothers to taxi drivers. Those are part of BN’s mitigation plans.We can debate and discuss whether it worked. But the results were certainly no tsunami.

Habhajan Singh is the executive editor of The Malaysian Reserve