Setting a world benchmark in reclaiming democracy
Malaysians set
a world benchmark, a gold standard in how to reclaim democracy against all odds
yesterday. The government coalition that had lorded over a country with various
alliances for 61 years threw everything against its citizens for the 14th
general election - the judiciary, the police, the universities system, the
election commission, its very parliament, race and religion.
Gerrymandering
and malapportionment saw some federal constituencies with as little as a few
thousand voters sit side-by-side with seats that housed more than 150,000
registered voters.
Our
nation is reborn
This
was a voting population that saw its very government as adversary. Yet, like no
other country in modern history, millions turned up yesterday and overthrew a
murderous, corrupt regime without shedding one drop of blood. There were no
riots, no looting, burning of cars, homes or shops, ugly manifestations of
religious or racial bigotry, ignorance or intolerance.
Instead,
the people of a multi-racial country that is home to the world's
fastest-growing religion, Islam, as well as the two biggest races on the
planet, Chinese and Indians, embraced one another to rise above despots,
division, discrimination and the albatross of the voting system itself, to
unseat a prime minister and coalition that would have sold Malaysian down the
drain in return for self-preservation, enrichment and aggrandisement.
The
plot twists and ironies that led Malaysia to this historic day could not have
been better scripted by the best of Hollywood.
Two
men, powerfully galvanising individuals who were each nemesis to the other for
nearly two decades - Anwar Ibrahim and Dr Mahathir Mohamad - forged the most
unlikely of political alliances. One remains a prisoner, the other put him
there in shameful circumstances that were played out under the glare of world
media spotlights.
The
prisoner has shown how the sheer power of forgiveness can transcend the most
painful of pasts. The image of Anwar and Mahathir shaking hands as allies, at
one of Anwar's more recent court appearances, is now regarded by many as the
turning point for the alliance that is now government-in-waiting.
The
jailor and nation-builder declares he has now to free Anwar.
The
most honourable Lim Kit Siang, Malaysia's longest-standing patriot, a walking
symbol of long-standing and unrelenting parliamentary opposition, and the
epitome of statesmanship, has carried magnanimity and self-sacrifice to another
plane entirely.
Lim
has embraced Mahathir, who had also thrown him into jail, and placed his
aspirations for Malaysia centre stage for the sake of a pact the likes of
which no other country has seen.
And
yesterday, out of racism, corruption and bigotry emerged unity, determination
and a sense of purpose - to forge a new future, a new hope, a new country for
ourselves and our children.
Malaysians
have shown a uniqueness that is as palpable as it is inspiring, and we
must give ourselves the time and space to be very, very proud of what we have
achieved today.
We
have snatched back democracy from the jaws of destruction, so Malaysia may be
rebuilt all over, with the multi-racial, democratic and egalitarian ideals of
its founding fathers and earliest patriots.
We
have come from the race riots of May 13, 1969, to the multi-racial juggernaut
of May 9, 2018. We fought back without bloodshed or violence. We have
returned “Merdeka” - freedom, independence - to our shores. The future is
now full of promise, and it's a promise we made to ourselves.
The
singular event of May 9 will powerfully resonate forever in our history as
a glorious chapter in a people's tenacity.
Yesterday,
Malaysians became a beacon to the rest of the world, and delivered a new lesson
in non-violent opposition. The world has not seen such a reversal of fortune as
Malaysia's. We are a walking, living legacy.
This
is Malaysia, like no other country in the world.
WILLIAM
DE CRUZ is former Global Bersih president
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