Let's revise some Chinese today. “选举舞弊” = Election fraud.
This must be the hottest topic in Malaysia (and Singapore too). There were widespread allegations of 'dirty' methods: phantom voters, illegal voting by foreigners (Bangladeshis), fake ballot papers, double votings, blackouts and secret deliveries of extra ballot papers.
I'm most intrigued by the last 2. It was said that in the parliamentary seat of Bentong (MCA vs DAP), the opposition camp was enjoying a comfortable lead, only to have the counting process disrupted by a blackout. When the lights were switched on again, an extra box of ballot papers magically appeared in the room, all containing votes for the incumbent party. MCA managed to retain that seat with a razor-thin margin. (But anyway, this time MCA mati liao la..)
Then there were videos (posted on Youtube and Facebook) that showed officials delivering boxes of votes into a certain counting venue in Johor after 10pm, when most of the crowd had already dissipated. There's no wonder why huge suspicion arose -- voting had ended at 5pm, and the voting stations were just a 10-minute drive from that counting venue -- there's no reason why 5 hours were needed for transportation. Furthermore, those seats in question were hotly-contested ones.......
And there were also accounts of counting agents from the Opposition camp: the final tally of some seats were already double-checked and counter-signed by witnesses at the counting venues and then sent back to the Election Commission headquarters. However, some of the seats that BN lost were ordered to be recounted there and some results overturned.
Stories aplenty, and definitely alot of unhappiness is expected in a closely-fought election. My guess for the election was 'status quo', as I didn't think PR would make much inroads in Sabah and Sarawak, which totalled almost 60 of the minimum 112 Parliamentary seats to form the Government.
(My interest in Malaysian politics started young, because the adults would touch on these topics whenever I visited the Malaysian relatives every CNY. But greater interest was formed on the day after the 2008 election, when I opened the newspapers to see screaming headlines of a political tsunami that took 5 states from BN overnight. At that time, the idea of “变天” must have surprised many Southern Malaysians, and even Singaporeans.)
As much as I predicted a BN-win, I was very very surprised that it was a 133-89 margin. Really? 5 years after the start of a political tsunami, only 7 seats were wrestled from BN?? I had expected something much closer, say within 10 seats of each other. The final results didn't echo ANY of the surveys done by local or international groups, nor reflect ANY of the outpouring of support for "Ubah" (or Change) all over Peninsula Malaysia. This surely does not make it a "convincing" win, and smells of a rigged election, as believed by too many Malaysians. I am not convinced too.
I was pretty amazed by how my Facebook feed was overtaken by a flood of a change of profile pictures, within minutes after BN had crossed the 112-seat mark. Malaysians, and some Singaporeans, had changed into a full black profile picture, signifying “黑暗”，“肮脏”，and a loss of hope for democracy. It probably was apt for the "blackout" that happened. On Instagram too, people were also posting full black pictures, and some with words like “五月五，民主已死”, "Dirty", "Dirtiest Elections Ever"... The outpouring of hopelessness was unbelievable. Some people even took to ask for Obama's help in 'saving' Malaysia. Very interestingly, PM Lee's Facebook page had many people asking for his 'help' too. Come on, what do they really expect a leader of another country to do?
As an observer of another country's politics, the end of the election merely means the end of an event. But I believe that the close proximity of Malaysia and Malaysians with Singapore do contribute to some implications in this election. It would definitely make Singaporeans reflect, think and witness how divisive (racial) politics can be. Perhaps more greatly, would be how Singaporeans may be more alert now to possible "unfairness" in the electoral process. As all of us grow increasingly politically-aware, there's no room for subtle censorships, dirty methods, threats or even 'repentance' talks. In a way, Thank you for showing us, Malaysia.
人生是黑白的.
12:17 AM <3
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