Great expectations: Anwar – pictured here receiving congratulatory calls from world leaders in the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya – will have to move fast to heal a nation sick of politicking. — PMO

WE’RE clearly living in interesting but also strange times. When Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as Prime Minister, it was also nomination day for two seats.

They were the Padang Serai parliamentary and Tioman state seats, where voting had earlier been suspended following the deaths of two contenders.

Fascinatingly, Barisan Nasional, which is a member of the Unity Federal Government, is pitted against Pakatan Harapan, which helms the government.

They will face off in these two places. It will be interesting to see Barisan and Pakatan’s sales pitches. In fact, there will be state elections in Penang and Selangor in seven months, where the two sides will need to outwit each other. And if there’s a by-election in Sarawak, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), which has joined the Federal Government, will find itself in the same awkward situation.

Just two weeks ago, Barisan was accused of being a corrupt coalition, along with Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. The slogan being bandied about then was a vote for Barisan equalled a vote for Ahmad Zahid, who faces a slew of corruption charges.

But in the past few days, he has been heralded as a saviour who made the unity government a reality. We’ve been encouraged to look at the “larger picture” – a tainted man is now rescuing us from PAS.

Suddenly, all is forgiven and forgotten. Barisan is no longer a party for traitors who sold their greedy souls for power.

There was despair earlier, when at one point reports circulated about Barisan being in the Opposition bloc.

Ahmad Zahid was also criticised by his rebellious ranks for Umno’s dismal performance, but they then found themselves labelled opportunists instead, for previously wanting to back Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as PM.

Ironically, Muhyiddin is the same guy who campaigned against Ahmad Zahid and corruption on his Perikatan Nasional platform. It worked perfectly, as Bersatu, along with PAS, swept the Malay heartland and crushed Umno’s vote bank, including in the Putrajaya parliamentary constituency, which fell to Perikatan.

Malay voters had obviously forgotten this was the same man who warned them about PAS.

But having 49 PAS MPs was enough to scare off many Malaysians. Not just non-Malays who voted overwhelmingly for Pakatan, but also many Malays, especially those in urban areas.

The fear of a “Green Tsunami”, as it’s now branded, with PAS theologians imposing its religious agenda, was just unpalatable for many.

For a while, those who gloated over Pakatan’s victory also privately wondered if it was a case of being careful what you wish for. They had presumed the rest of the country would share their political allegiance.

Pakatan was short of a simple majority while there was the possibility of Perikatan forming a Malay- and Islamic-centric federal government.

But God works in mysterious ways, goes the adage. Anwar, who was dismissed by many and seen as not fated to be PM, proved everyone wrong. He will turn out to be the best person to take on PAS MPs on the other side.

Anwar may not be a theologian, but he has credentials. He can quote Quranic verses with a smattering of Arabic, and he has plenty of Arab allies, too. Never mind his past controversies because we’re not voting for a priest or ulamak.

He is surely not an angel but a true-blue politician who will bend rules and principles. Ultimately, though, he’s the best of our lot.

It’s not easy to find a Malay leader who enjoys such strong support among non-Muslims.

But Anwar needs to work his charm on the conservative Muslims who voted for Perikatan. Like it or not, the number of combined votes earned by Perikatan, Barisan, GPS and GRS (Gabungan Rakyat Sabah) is much higher than those handed to Pakatan.

Meanwhile, PAS needs to take a hard look at itself to understand its optics problem. No party or coalition can hope to form a government by preaching to just one community or religion. It would be disastrous for multiracial Malaysia.

Politics is about selling hope, as Anwar successfully has done. The jury is still out on whether he will deliver on his promises to Malaysians, so we’ll have to hold him to that.

Many of us who gave up on Malaysia and its politicians have found that, finally, we can recover what we’ve lost and still salvage the situation.

Certainly, our Rulers have placed their faith in Anwar as the man who, in the opinion of the King, can command majority support in the House.

His Majesty has allowed Anwar to put together a unity government in the shortest time.

Now it’s up to Anwar, as the 10th PM, to prove he can hold the fort and steer us through the many challenges ahead, especially the strong economic headwinds.

He needs to fix our education system at all levels, as it has progressively gone down the drain. It won’t and can’t be done overnight, but it must begin now.

There’s no time for vindictive politics or rhetoric, which scarred the 22-month Pakatan government in 2018 and led to unprecedented apologies issued by the DAP recently to close a chapter with GPS.

The lesson learned here is that politicians shouldn’t be arrogant or resort to burning bridges. After all, no one knows what the future holds.

Let’s hope we see younger Malaysians such as Rafizi Ramli, Hannah Yeoh, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and Steven Sim, with a balance of experienced MPs from Barisan and GPS, in the Cabinet. Possibly even technocrats appointed to certain ministries.

It’s wishful thinking, of course. If only Nurul Izzah Anwar, Khairy Jamaluddin and Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz had won. And we hope for more women in the Cabinet.

Malaysia must move on. We are simply worn out from all the politicking.

There is little time for Anwar to celebrate. Time is not on his side. We want to see results, and quickly, too.

Congratulations Saudara Anwar Ibrahim and may you succeed in restoring Malaysia to its former glory!

Image: Vecteezy

Now that the people have cast their votes, we must make sure our victorious politicians walk the talk.

Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable. — Franz Kafka

IT has been a gruelling campaign and the most hard-fought election ever in Malaysia’s history, which conclusively proves that democracy is vibrant and thriving here.

Never has there been so many candidates vying for the 222 seats in Parliament.

The many multi-cornered fights reveal that politics is no longer the monopoly of big parties, and that every Malaysian can have their chance to prove their worth in the elections.

The days of the government securing a two-thirds majority are also over, not just in Malaysia but in other democracies as well, because citizens don’t want their governments to have overwhelming authority.

While emotions have poured out in torrents during the two weeks of campaigning, it’s now time for Malaysians to move forward as the nation has made its choice.

Politics has always divided people. In most instances, the divisions affect ordinary supporters the most as they are rarely privileged to see how quickly top leaders are ready to strike deals.

To many politicians, principles are mere flexible commodities, despite their lofty preaching at rallies.

After all, isn’t that what Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli said in his book, The Prince – that the end justifies the means, where a good outcome excuses any wrongs committed to attain it?

Politics is about power, although we have repeatedly heard our politicians say that they are fighting for our interests and that of the country’s.

Almost all our political parties and politicians have, at one point or another, cooperated with each other, but most supporters either don’t see it or don’t recall their previous pacts.

They have all hugged and kissed each other much more than their supporters, who still foolishly harbour misgivings about each other for their political choices, which is unfortunate.

Many candidates, despite their poor record, have become angels overnight simply because they’ve swapped party uniforms.

Many of us lose our objectivity when it comes to politics. There’s just either too much black or too much white. The truth is, there are good personalities in every party.

We hope Malaysia will be able to focus on action, policies and principles as we move forward.

The country must transcend fanatical personality worship and incessant uncouth name-calling and bashing, which is sadly rampant on social media.

But that’s democracy. It’s not the most perfect system since it can sometimes be chaotic, but it’s still one where the people are given the opportunity to make a choice.

A democracy is about voting in the party or candidate you pick. That’s why we have elections, and everyone is entitled to make known their preferences.

Malaysia is still a transitional democracy. We haven’t reached the mature stage where politicians and supporters are able to debate policies intelligently, since many still prefer political entertainment at rallies.

But we will eventually come to it because debates and discussions among candidates have become more acceptable.

More importantly, Malaysians are tolerant people and receptive to the results of elections.

GE14 in 2018 is an ideal example. The ruling Barisan Nasional accepted its defeat and the end of its 60-year reign.

The leaders, including Datuk Seri Najib Razak, accepted the defeat gracefully, knowing that the newly installed Pakatan Harapan would punish him for the 1MDB scandal, leading to his eventual charging.

There were no riots even as many Malaysians celebrated Pakatan’s victory in the streets.

Over the past few days, some Singaporean friends messaged me asking if it was safe to visit Malaysia after GE15 since many media reports were highlighting a close fight.

I dismissed their fears because I’ve always believed in the Malay-sian spirit. This is a largely middle-class country where people have jobs to return to, so no one has the time to stage drawn-out street protests.

We trust our electoral system. While doubts abound about the impartiality of the Election Commission, the results have always been accepted by both sides.

After all, the Opposition has won and retained states like Penang, Selangor and Kelantan repeatedly. Big names from the ruling parties have even been defeated by unknowns.

Whatever the outcome of GE15, whether it’s convincing or inconclusive, the winner is the rakyat.

We have all participated and voted according to our choices, and we have proven to the world that democracy is alive and well in Malaysia. And more importantly, that we respect each other’s choices.

And thank God, finally, our WhatsApp chat groups will no longer be hijacked by overzealous campaigners who forget that if it’s a chat group to talk about food or reminisce about good old times in school, it should remain that way.

On the bright side, it’s good that Malaysians are passionate and care for the future of our nation.

We could have chosen to be indifferent and not care to vote. But Malaysia has decided.

We have done our part. Now, let’s leave it to the politicians to sort it out. But we need to continuously check on them, even after the elections, and remind them that we are the boss.

They aren’t our bosses and it’s we who put them there. So stop showing off with your police outriders and the convoy of cars of supporters.

The real winners of GE15 are us – the voters.