Barisal Nasional retains the Federal Government with 133 seats. Though this is slightly lower than the 137 seats won in 2008, in this age of political uncertainty, a simple majority is completely acceptable. Further, it has been the general impression that only Datuk Seri Najib alone has been working hard on the national level without much support from others in UMNO. As usual, many in UMNO have not woken up to the impact and influence of civil society activitism and changes in the mindset of the voters, both rural and urban going beyond racial lines.
In any event, BN securing 133 seats under the currents political scenario which was very competitive and intense is a success for Najib. The issues in 2008 and now are completely different. I do not think that the loss of 4 seats by BN this time around can credibly be used by anyone in UMNO to unseat Najib. If UMNO embarks on this foolish move within it is definitely going to weaken UMNO. In fact, Najib as the chairman of Barisan Nasional should be congratulated for working hard to retain the government under BN.
I had apprehensions over some of the candidates that BN choose to support and put forth because they did not seem to represent his transformation mindset. Quite a number of BN candidates that won are hard working politicians who had served their constituencies way before the election dates. There is a pool of young talent in UMNO that is evolving away from the past and in line with healthy current politics of service to the people without the feudal relationship!
Personally, I am happy that the Malay voters had rejected the kind of politics that is represented by Zulkifli Nordin and Ibrahim Ali. This is the kind of new political landscape that is evolving which is more consistent with Malaysian and Islamic principles.
Now that Datuk Seri Najib is the Prime Minister for the new term, all eyes will be on the kind of cabinet that he is going to form. The cabinet members that he appoints will give a clear indication of where he wants to take the country and the kind of politics that Najib intends to project. I hope he does to make the mistake of bringing back through the "backdoor" candidates that the voters have rejected.
I also hope that Najib is bold and is seen to be bold by the people of Malaysia in appointing the right people to his cabinet and in appointing the right, energetic and intelligent candidates as senators. Senatorships should now be seen as another important avenue to include people who can actually serve the Nation.
DAP has done better than 2008 with an additional 10 seats with 38 seats now. I see this increase in the number of seats by DAP as reflective of the urban voters analysis of issues rather than Chinese based as some view it. I have long held the view that DAP, with some transformation within has the potential to be a credible political party that can serve the interests of Malaysians. It has the potential to be the main alternative as compared to PKR or PAS.
PAS has less seats by 2 this time with 21 seats. PAS needs to undergo tremendous transformation if it is going to be relevant in the long term. I believe that PAS must rid itself of the " conservative and exclusive" theological approach to politics . I know of quite a number of capable PAS leaders who have the capacity to make PAS more acceptable to the more educated and critical Malays but the conservative dinasours in PAS has to allow this. Malays are equally tired of being talked down to in religious matters because many Malays are getting critical and knowledgable in Islam.
Undeniably, there are many potential young political talents in PKR that have won and this is heartening for the evolution and maturing of politics in the country. Many would have been sad had Nurul Izzah lost this election as she is refreshing for the future of politics in this country.
In short, we see a flourishing of political talents in the country and not necessarily from a single party. What excites me is that politicians are beginning to lose monopoly over determining the destiny of the Nation and this is a good things. A simple majority government is more likely to listen to several views than a solid 2/3 majority government.
After all, politicians always fall into the ego trap of thinking that just because they won an election (or several elections), they must necessarily be clever in all things.
My plea to all the political parties and the candidates (who won or lost) is this: lets move on with building this Nation into a better, more prosperous and civilized Nation.
To the Raperas: - your work now becomes more relevant to share with the Rakyat the ideals of a "people inclusive governance" of the Nation free from mere politicking. There are many ideals that you can share and reach out to the people, for example, the fusion of love and power.
May Allah bless this Nation of ours.
Peace
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