08-03-2008 (Saturday). Politic, to me, is a bit like the landscape in front of my house. With whatever resources I have, and within my compound, I’ll try to create a nice and comfortable living environment. And hope that others will do their part. Collectively, hopefully, a better neighbourhood will emerge. However, I can’t do much about the mountain, the valley, the river, or the sea. But, on and off, I’ll study it and give some thoughts on it. It was with this sense of indifference, I gave my vote that afternoon around 3 pm.
Polling station was quiet, not much people around. All was calm - nothing imminent. It started to rain around 4:30 pm. After such a hot day, it felt cool and refreshing. Voting closed at 5 pm.
Evening 8 pm, sat in the lounge watching TV, relaxed, switching on and off to channels giving updates on election results. Only results from Sabah and Sarawak, with BN winning most of them, shown - no surprises. 9 pm, still getting updates on and off from the TV, still Sabah and Sarawak results, plus a few from Pahang. A sense of uneasiness started to creep into my mind. Phone rang, shocking news. The opposition had won over Penang by winning all the seats they were contesting; Dr Koh lost. Unbelievable, maybe there's some miscommunication. Along with uneasiness, anxiety started to make their presence felt. Heartbeat was getting faster. Phone rang again, the wave of shock was starting to hit the shore. Kedah fallen to opposition. Perak fallen to opposition. Selangor fallen to opposition. Dumbstruck. BN lost 2/3 majority. The excessive shock was starting to turn a little panicky. This was way over unusual. Still can’t get any official confirmation from the TV though. Saw Dr Koh gave his speech in accepting his defeat, relieved (graciousness in defeat is one step away from any unwanted scenario). Midnight 1 am, still no official confirmation on the TV. Tired, went to sleep. Anxious.
09-03-2008 (Sunday). Confirmed, BN lost 2/3 majority, maintained simple majority, and lost control of 5 states. Not sure how to react. A sense of lost, maybe.
Pak Lah: this is how democracy works. Uneasiness, gone. Shock, gone. Panic, gone. Anxiety, gone. Excitement was starting to take over.
For days to come, I've never been more interested in our politics (actually I was more interested in the results), reading and watching and browsing all the analyses regarding the election.
The landscape in front of my house might not have changed much, but the weather has gotten cooler and more refreshing. Maybe, the rain just before the voting close was trying to tell us something after all …
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