Change

When I was in my early to mid teens, I started realizing something was not quite right with our country when I read Aliran; an alternative opposition newsletter/magazine that my father subscribed.
At that time the opposition (?what opposition..never even knew/read about them in newspapers or was taught anything in school)...was powerless, small.

Aliran used to write about illegal logging, secret deals by ministers, corruption charges etc but I was skeptical; after all nothing was ever reported in the newspapers/tv. Is a random, subscription only-not sold in newstand magazine more reliable than the mighty star or utusan etc.
Of course this was before the explosion of the web and blogs.

I never thought the opposition amounted to much.
Never even really knew them or what they stood for because there was limited access to information.

Then the unthinkable happened. Anwar was sacked (and we were like "huh? did not even know he had a fall out with the PM until the news of his sacking came around).
The momentum grew but it was still never strong enough to translate into much.

Suddenly, 2008 came around. Everyone was shocked, even the opposition themselves!
Who would have thought; Penang, Selangor, Perak ruled by the opposition parties? The race had always been close in Terengganu and Kelantan but never in the metropolition cities.

And now Sibu.
I must say I did not really pay much attention to the by election. Knew bits and pieces from people's facebook wall posts and some biased information on thestar.
But I was just reading a comment made on Malaysiatoday and was struck by this

written by lee utara , May 16, 2010 well done WONG PR DAP I AM CARRYING MY BABY WHEN IHEAR THE GOOD NEWS TEARS IN MY EYES I TELL HIM MAYBE HE DONT UNDERSTAND I SAY SON, YOU HAVE A HOPE MALAYSIAN HAS WAKE UP FOR OUR NEXT GENERATION PROSPEROUS FUTURE WHICH BN HAS JOLLY OFF.GOD BLESS ALL PR THINKING MALAYSIAN, GOOD-NIGHT

The grammar may not be correct etc but.. the comment "a hope for malaysia" resonated in me.
And I remember that I am actually a Sibu born girl.
The Rejang Park 5 million dollar bribe is actually where my grandmother's shop lot is and yes, it has flooded terribly for years and years without the government doing anything and only promising to do something...1 day before the election
(I was so paranoid when I went back last year that I would contract dengue as there was just stagnant water everywhere)

I really dont know if/when/will I go back to Malaysia.

But I know when I watch Lim Kit Siang's election ceramah on youtube, I can understand the mandarin, english and bm that he is saying. And when they talk about kampua mee or duit kopi I get all the slangs. And yes it doesn't mean that the opposition is perfect; but at least a healty democracy ensures the people can choose and that leaders are accountable to the people.

It's a flawed country, but I am still proud to be Malaysian.