Birth of a new nation: What it means to me?

Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been sworn in as the seventh prime minister of Malaysia.

As one of his fiercest critics especially during Abdullah Badawi’s era, and having coined the label, ‘Mamakthir’ for him, I must say he has of late earned my fullest respect.

In fact, when I coined the label, it was never meant to be slanderous, as I had always added one additional sentence: “I am always proud of our Mamak food. What is there to be ashamed of one’s ancestry?”

After all, race aside, we are all Malaysians! We cannot lose our identity as Indians, Malays, Iban, Kadazan-Dusun, or Chinese, but being able to speak an additional language or understand another culture is a plus point.

Today, Mahathir is one person apart from Mohamad Sabu and Anwar Ibrahim whom I would like my children to have the opportunity to take pictures with.

To me, over 10 years of risking my own personal freedom, and always in fear of being arrested, I hope the ‘battle’ is now over.

If you ask me a lot of the laws passed by BN were really unnecessary.

For example, instead of the Anti-Fake News Act 2018, the government of the day can combat 'fake news' by providing a full explanation of the true story and using the social media to reach the people.

No one would like to spread fake news if the government machinery was fast enough to respond to rumours. After all, concerned ordinary Malaysians do not always know how to verify facts from fake news.

Level of Activism

Now that we will soon have a new government made up of people who understand the people's struggles, it is time for all of us to rebuild this nation which has already been destroyed by the previous regime.

Therefore, I hope a lot of my activism will also now be concentrated on building the nation to make it great once again.

I would like to see this nation become the focus of educational excellence, a great place for tourists once more, and a nation that believes in high level of integrity and accountability.

There is a lot more to be done to return this nation to its full glory. I hope many ordinary Malaysians like myself will put in their efforts and channel their activism to push for reforms and introduce new initiatives that will revive the country’s economy again.

We still have a great deal of work to do to achieve the status of a developed nation by 2020. This was the vision that Mahathir had put together during my youth, and I hope he will see it come to fruition. Without a vision, a people perish.

We have a vision. We will now move forward as a nation and as one people.

In this general election, I am personally impressed with the level of activism by ordinary Malaysians who put their time, efforts and talents to help push the flywheel until it picked up enough momentum to take off on its own.

Personally, I am also very surprised to see the grounds shifting in Sarawak and the silent Malay majority in Peninsular Malaysia. When PKR Sarawak chief, Baru Bian told me on the night of the counting that Pakatan Harapan had won 10 seats and two independent seats in Sarawak, I could only exclaim, “Praise God, this is unbelievable. It is finally happening in Sarawak!”

Another friend of mine whose relative is also running in the election told me that the Bidayuh communities in Sarawak have shifted from their traditional allegiance from BN to Pakatan Harapan.

Even in Selangor, state constituencies like Kuang and Paya Jaras, I am impressed with the votes by the silent majority. The campaign in Kuang was worrisome to me, but it appears that the silent majority have made their voices heard loud and clear: the Kuang candidate Salleh Aminuddin won with a 2860 votes majority! - 

Paya Jeras which used to be a traditional Umno stronghold was also won by Khairuddin Othman (picture), a former PAS, now PKR member, despite the redelineation that could work against his chances of winning.

Indeed, it is the silent Malay majority who have not disappointed Pakatan Harapan’s choice of candidate.

Historic May 9

This is why I call GE14 a 'political earthquake' It follows after the political tsunami of 2008. It is the shaking of new grounds which no one expected.

For once, the focus of every community since Reformasi in 1998 on GE14 on May 9 has produced a truly Malaysian tsunami.

A major factor in the equation is none other than Mahathir himself, together with ex-Umno veterans such as Rafidah Aziz, Rais Yatim and Daim Zainuddin, whom I now beg their forgiveness.

The role of a writer of conscience is after all to prick people’s conscience. Sometimes, when salt is applied to a wound, it hurts, but salt is important to keep the meat from rotting further.

If I had not written things that hurt their pride, they would not have taken notice of what I wrote.

I was also the first to compare Najib Abdul Razak, our former prime minister, and Rosmah to Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Marcos. I remember comparing pictures of the two couples which bear a lot of similarities.

With the dawn of a new Malaysia on May 10, I assure Mahathir now that my role as 'salt of the earth', which helps to stop the rot in this nation, will now be redirected to something else that is useful now that we are standing on a different ground.

For this, I would like to end with saying, “to God be the glory” as my wife puts it, as without Him, there could be no Malaysian tsunami, no political earthquake.

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STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. - Mkini