I first voted in the 1999 Elections. I was 22. My designated polling station, Sekolah Menengah Bukit Bandaraya was a 3-minute drive from my parent’s house in Bangsar. Although already an UMNO member, the events that unfolded in 1998 made me question the leadership of UMNO. Not the relevancy, but the leadership. I thought I had amassed enough courage to be the voice of change, through the ballot boxes. Somehow, that courage deserted me and I voted for Dato’ Sharizat Jalil, the Barisan Nasional candidate. 

In the wake of BN’s greatest defeat, Pak Lah could leave Malaysians with the greatest legacy of all. The legacy of freedom. The legacy of true democracy. A legacy comparable to independence. The reform of the judiciary, the reform of the ACA offers new hope for Malaysians. 

Malaysiakini today published an apology on the Rembau ‘recount’ issue. I hope this will put to rest the perception that KJ had ‘cheated’ in the recent General Elections. The Editor noted that their source is Badrul Hisham Shaharin. Who happens to be the PKR candidate!. 

Susan Loone covered the KJ story as well - here 

Received some SMS-es and phone calls from friends asking whether it is true that some BN Member of Parliament are on the brink of joining Pakatan Rakyat. The whispers through the grapevine indicate Merdeka Day whilst other sources identify September. The story is covered in great detail here. Bung Mokhtar’s response can be found here. 

Our second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein was a great leader. A visionary that had incredible work ethics and ability to execute his vision for one objective - the betterment of his country and its people. However, true to the maxim that no man is an island, he had able counsel and assistance from many great leaders like Tun Dr Ismail, Tun Ghazali and many others.

Your votes will manifest itself into action commencing tomorrow. 222 MPs will be sworn in. 140 from Barisan. 79 from UMNO. The Malaysian Parliament has been uninterrupted since the formation of Malaysia but for the period of 1969 to 1971 when the nation was run by the National Operations Council. The halls of Parliament building have bear witness to some of our nation’s greatest heroes. Some of the most enduring speeches, some of the greatest policies.

But this year is not like any other year. In their strongest showing in history, the Opposition will have 82 Members sitting opposite the BN MPs. Names like Lim Kit Siang, Teresa Kok, Jeff Ooi, Karpal Singh, Nasharuddin, Kamaruddin Jaafar, Salahuddin, Wan Azizah, Saifuddin Nasution are not going to give BN MPs an easy time.

This year, 99 of the MPs are new faces. They must by now realise they carry the hopes and aspirations of each and everyone of their constituents. They also carry the hopes and aspirations of their party members. Some constituents have already felt disappointed with their elected representatives even before the swearing in process. The Star covered some of the questions that were submitted here.

More than ever before, the employers (read: voters) will be able to monitor the performance of their employees in real time. Radio Televisyen Malaysia will broadcast live a 30-minute segment of the proceedings during meetings beginning Wednesday. But the advent of Internet will make this live telecast nothing but an appetizer. With so many MPs having their own blogs and the increasing popularity of You Tube, not much will escape the attention of the voters.

Herein lies BN’s greatest challenge. Based on some of my conversations, BN’s ‘performance’ in Parliament have been attributed to some of the losses that was felt by the party. Voters need to be convinced that this time around, there will be no more shooting from the hip, no more brushing off questions, no more empty seats in Parliament.

The first meeting is scheduled for 16 days up to May 27. Hopefully we will have a clearer picture of the positive changes that BN will bring. For the young UMNO leaders in Parliament, all eyes are on you, all our hopes rest on your shoulders.

We trust you will make us proud. Our fight back to glory begins here.

This is the first draft of my Malay Mail column on Thursday, 8th of May 2008

TO SAY we live in interesting times is a gross understatement, given today’s Malaysian political scenario. Belonging to the echo-boomer fraternity of those born in the late 1970’s, I have never witnessed the waves of change plummeting our shores with such tenacity and overwhelming force.

The election results have affected Malaysians in varying degrees. While it has had a direct impact on some of us who are trying to stay on the ball with a never-ending chain of events unfolding, there are others who nonchalantly glance through the news on the front pages before proceeding to devour the sports or lifestyle sections.

I am in the former category. That fateful March night; I was in Seremban, looking forward to a week-long break when the results trickled in from the mainstream press. Our phones literally went off the hook. When news came that the state of Selangor had fallen, I headed back to Kuala Lumpur.

Although I spent the entire duration of the campaign period in Seremban, I still managed to lose my way in the city for a good 45 minutes. I remember the feeling of utter numbness. It was surreal. I felt as if I had had the perfectly orchestrated nightmare. Everything we had thought impossible, was not just possible; it was reality. It happened. The worst-case scenario became the base case.

The 12th General Election is my third. Coming from a family with strong roots in the civil service, I have always been intrigued by the subject of politics and public service. However, adolescent priorities had pushed my political interest firmly to the backseat. In my halcyon days in university, holding strong to the spirit of liberalism guided by youthful exuberance, I shunned away from the Kelab UMNO set up, preferring to focus more energy and time on the Malaysian Students’ Society, and of course, the London scene.

I returned home in 1998, a time when the Malaysian political ambience was stormy, to say the least. (How ironic that the two dominant figures more than a decade ago are still making headlines today.) But the events that unfolded then strengthened my opinion that the reach of politics surpasses the boundary of any given substance. Those events reinvigorated general interest in politics, including mine. Political sentiments were riding high, partly because the events that unfolded forced us to choose between the perceived right and the perceived wrong. Most young professionals of that era wrestled with the Hang Tuah versus Hang Jebat dilemma. Although the Internet and World Wide Web was only a pale shadow of what it is now, the email exchanges among the young professionals group came thick and fast, carrying frank opinions and thoughts.

Yet, at the same time despite these revolution-like scenes, an equal number of friends remained detached from politics, more in tune with the goings-on in the then up-and-coming happening Bangsar, and the English Premier League.

Fast-forward to 2008. There are a number of like-minded individuals still interested in politics in general. Then and again, I am encouraged by the quality of views and ideas of people much younger than my 31 years; some still studying, and communicating concern and awareness of politics that belie their chronological young age.

But as before, there is a segment that remains indifferent towards politics. I firmly believe to each, his own. We live in a true democracy; you choose what you care about. But personally, I have a concern that the “indifferent” segment is growing exponentially. The statistics – approximately four million eligible voters who didn’t register is a cause for concern. This represents more than 30 per cent of eligible voters! There must be a line between active political participation and exercising your democratic right. I feel the latter is a civic duty that all Malaysians must honour.

Above all, I remain a strong proponent that democracy requires action to work as it was designed. When Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj stepped off the plane from the Merdeka mission, there must have been certain expectations of the contribution and sacrifices that we, his children have to make in nation building.

Now is a time where we can’t afford to think of life as a spectator sport. Isn’t it time to come off the bench?

My second entry in Malay Mail on May 15th 2008

OVER teh! tarik the other day, my friend Ridwan shared his grand plan of improving rural students’ standard of English. Although it was a back-of-an-envelope proposal, it was not without its merits.

His plan was actually well thought out – form a group of English-speaking young professionals (with wives and children in tow) to spend their Sundays with rural primary school students. The objective? To supplement what is taught in schools, by improving English via conversation, and by asking the students to participate in exciting group exercises like discussing news in the English language dailies.

A few days later, I received a facebook message from an old schoolfriend, Yap, inviting me to participate in a community project in Kelantan.

I have yet to contact him, but immediately it gets me thinking: “Wonderful, there are many young professionals still thinking of ways to contribute to society. “ Let me elaborate, Ridwan and Yap are not politically inclined. In fact, they distance themselves from politics whenever possible. Ridwan is an accounts manager in a multinational company and Yap runs his own business.

With their career paths defined, they are utilising their spare time to give back to society, without political baggage and agenda.

Heartfelt initiatives like these which are aimed at enhancing the quality of life of others, are the cornerstone of civil society. To me, more than skyscrapers and hypermarkets, these represent the values that de! ne progress and development. However, while such isolated initiatives are effective in pockets, just imagine the impact of a wider, collective effort.

Of course, too many proverbial cooks may spoil the broth, but managed well with effective leadership and communication, such programmes, I dare say, will de! nitely have a wider span of success. Galvanising the talent of young professionals who want to enrich the lives of others and in turn, their own, is important. But who will lead the way? There is an urgent and pressing need to fill the vacuum for a united and credible voice for young professionals.

When I was a fresh graduate, I was lucky to be in the midst of setting up a young professionals society called Promuda.

With corporate sponsors on board, the membership quickly swelled. Promuda became a household name in a relatively short time.

The mention of its name gave credibility to its programmes and members.

For fresh graduates, the unseen bene! t is its networking element. From our peers and those more established in the industry, we were able to gain new and essential perspectives of working life.

I am still able to call some of those who willingly showed me the ropes friends today.

Promuda’s activities also helped its members nurture the spirit of sharing and working together to achieve a common objective. More often than not, the objectives had a positive impact on nation building.

Now and then, I get questions from younger graduates on my experiences in Promuda and how they can start a society of their own.

With the bene! t of hindsight, I believe that in this day and age, for a young professional society to work, there must be minimal internal politicking (this is based on the reality that every society will have some degree of politics).

Some argue that there should be no of! ce bearers at all; rather a patron to oversee the whole society. However valid this argument, I believe responsibility generates enthusiasm and commitment.

The result? Successful and sustainable programmes.

Another important element frequently missing is a balance in the membership of both local and foreign graduates. My time in Akademi Pemuda has made me realise that discussions conducted by groups with a mix of local and foreign graduates very often resulted in a fusion of superior ideas.

Local graduates, I observed, were apt to provide more practical ideas as they were more familiar with the realities of Malaysian bureaucracy. The foreign graduates gave input on international best-of-breed practices and ideas.

Suggestions for improvements are non-exhaustive.

The onus is on the current crop of young graduates to get together, brainstorm, reflect current prevailing sentiments and build a platform that would ensure Malaysia is on the right path of development.

My immediate contribution? I am going to introduce Ridwan to Yap. How does improving the standard of English in Sekolah Rendah Jeli in Kelantan sound to you? 

Malaysiakini gave Rembau MP, YB Khairy its MP of the week award. For a first time MP who was previously a key target for Malaysiakini, that must be surprising news. I was in Parliament last week, and from my observation, the reception Khairy gets from heavy weights such as Lim Kit Siang, Karpal, Saifuddin, Azmin, Mahfuz, he deserves this award.