bobjots : redux

As of posting time, the following have either been sworn in as the Chief Minister / Menteri Besars of the Barisan Rakyat controlled states :

• Ustaz Haji Azizan Abdul Razak (PAS - Sungai Limau)
  - Menteri Besar of Kedah
• Sdr Lim Guan Eng (DAP - Air Puteh)
  - Chief Minister designate of Penang
• Tan Sri Dato' Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (KeADILan - Ijok)
  - Menteri Besar designate of Selangor

The new Menteri Besar of Perak remains an object of speculation but all seem to indicate that a PAS State Assemblyman might be the most likely candidate. This is due to a few possible factors -

• The constitution of the State of Perak (Undang-undang Tubuh Negeri Perak) possibly limits the office bearer of the post of Menteri Besar to a Malay Muslim (I can't confirm this but I'm 90% sure that this is the caseconfirmed by Prof Dr Shad Faruqi).
• If the above is true, there are only 9 qualified candidates from the Barisan Rakyat slate out of the 31 elected to choose from of which 6 are from PAS and 3 from KeADILan. In terms of seniority, the PAS assemblymen have the advantage. KeADILan's Mustaffa Kamil Ayub would have been the best choice but he unfortunately lost the contest for the Sungai Manik state seat by a 1,374 vote margin.

Unfortunately this is going to be a touchy issue and I hope that due prudence is made in the decision.

Personally, I must admit I am overwhelmed and elated by the results. I have been cautiously optimistic and honestly expected no more than the denial of Barisan Nasional's two-thirds majority in Parliament and the capture of Penang with a close fight in Kedah. The capture of both Perak and Selangor which are my home state and adopted home state respectively came as a total surprise! As Elizabeth Wong (KeADILan - Bukit Lanjan) told me earlier today when I expressed my bewilderment, we must have trust in the people.

One major source of my elation is perhaps the overwhelming sense that all these years of struggle and sacrifice may finally see some fruition. I have been involved in various levels of activism since I was 18 and when the full weight of it finally hit me today as I was watching a video of Tian Chua's message of thanks to the people of Batu with the cries of Reformasi in the background, I am not ashamed to admit I broke down in tears. Too many things were happening yesterday and I guess my emotions only finally converged today.

A few seats were of special interest to me and I cannot begin to describe how I felt when we won them all :

• P76 - Teluk Intan (my hometown)
  Sdr M. Manogaran of the DAP won with 18,486 of the votes. The Opposition last won this seat in a 1997 by-election which marked the political debut of DAP's Vice Chairman, Sdr M. Kulasegaran who just defended the Ipoh Barat parliamentary seat. Prior to that, the only other time that the seat was held by the Opposition was after the 1969 General Elections.

  The sweetest part of this was to see a clean sweep by Barisan Rakyat parties of the two state seats in Teluk Intan; Pasir Berdamar and Changkat Jong. Incumbent Seah Leong Peng (DAP) retained the former seat with a 7,914 vote margin and PAS' Mohd Anuar Sudin captured the latter which has been an Umno stronghold since Independence with a margin of 899 votes.

• P104 - Kelana Jaya
  This is where I stay and would have voted in if I had not chosen to retain my registration in Petaling Jaya Utara. The videographer of the Lingamgate videos, Sdr. Gwo-Burne Loh won this seat against the expectations of many with a majority of 5,031 votes. My good friend, Nik Nazmi also wrested the Umno stronghold of Seri Setia with a 2,863 vote margin. DAP's Sdri Hannah Yeoh wrapped up the clean sweep of the constituency with a landslide 13,851 vote margin victory in Subang Jaya!

  This was also where I was a campaign volunteer and polling district station master in and the victory was sweet.

• P105 - Petaling Jaya Selatan
  My KeADILan membership is with the PJS division and it was exhilarating to know that we made a clean sweep of all the seats here as well. Sdr. Hee Loy Sian captured the seat from the former Deputy Information Minister with a 5,706 majority and our KeADILan Wanita's Sdri Haniza Talha wrested the Umno stronghold of Taman Medan with a 4,433 vote margin. Add that with DAP's Edward Lee's 8,812 vote margin victory in Bukit Gasing and we have a clean sweep.
• P106 - Petaling Jaya Utara
  This is where I vote and also where my first experience as a campaign volunteer began in 1995. With the disqualification of Dr Kua Kia Soong then, the seat had been held by Barisan Nasional until Tony Pua finally regained the seat this time with a whopping 19,972 vote margin! The state seats of Damansara Utama and Kampung Tunku were also wrested by Cheah Wing Yin (15,355 majority) and Lau Weng San (7,977 majority) respectively making it a smashing comeback!
• P107 - Subang
  My party division chairperson and friend, R. Sivarasa won the seat with a 6,709 vote margin! He's finally in Parliament! My friend and comrade, Elizabeth Wong wrested the Bukit Lanjan state seat with a 5,155 vote margin and Parti Sosialis Malaysia's Dr Nasir Hashim wrested the Kota Damansara seat with a majority of 1,075 votes. It was only the marginal 642 vote difference that resulted in the loss of PAS' Mohd Khairuddin Osman in the Paya Jaras seat that prevented a clean sweep of this constituency.

This exhilaration was tempered by news that some friends and comrades like Syed Shahir (P100 - Pandan) and Ginie Lim (N8 - Machap) were not successful in winning their respective seats.

All in all, it was one helluva outing but now the real work starts. I also can't help but wonder what type of space is available in the party now for activist types now that we suddenly find ourselves in the business of governing and administration.

Nonetheless, I congratulate all who have been successful in the General Elections from both sides of the political divide and echo the call which I've been hearing quite often over the last 24 hours - its time to stop focusing on the politics and start focusing on good governance.

And above all, this is a victory for the people of Malaysia. We have successfully made history in spite of the shameful conduct of the Elections Commission and its collusion with the incumbent through the tainted office of the Commission's chairman. We may have just taken the first step towards maturing as a nation state.

Hidup Rakyat! Reformasi! Makkal Shakti!