So it's over. Congratulations Barisan Nasional for winning the elections. Congratulations Pakatan Rakyat for winning the popular vote.
Thank you for coming out to vote. A turnout of more than 80% is something truly applaudable.
Here's one thing which may differ from what a lot of people are saying:
This was NOT a dirty elections day.
It was a reasonably fair elections day.
The elections system, in place since years ago however, is another story all together.
To all voters, you must understand that this happened because of ONE THING, and ONE THING ONLY.
Deeply entrenched SPR gerrymandering, which has existed since eons ago, and is something we entered
the elections fully aware of, with both eyes open, but were unable to overcome this round.
You should not be able to LOSE the popular vote and still win the elections by such a HUGE parliamentary margin.
Nothing else is a real major factor. Not the 'phantom voters' , not the vote buying, not the inaccurate electoral roll, not the scare tactics, not the postal votes.
All the 'dirty' tactics are in place as a distraction, nothing more.
Even if everything was cleaned up, and there was no vote buying, no phantom voters, no postal votes irregularities...
...PR would STILL LOSE (Lose less, but still lose).
Saying otherwise would be like saying you lost a 1 on 1 basketball game with Michael Jordan because you weren't wearing the right shoes, or had a bad breakfast.
WHY PAKATAN RAKYAT LOST:
The way our parliamentary system is drawn out is so that BN can retain power by winning the non urban areas in Malaysia.
BN can lose EVERY SINGLE MAJOR URBAN CITY, and STILL win the elections. BN segments the country into...
Places which you can't control with an iron fist, and people don't really need you (urban) - lump them into a few seats.
vs
Places which really, really need your little handouts (non-urban) - break them out into many seats.
You can win the Malaysian elections with less than 20% of the popular vote. This is not a secret.
This is why PR lost.
Previously when BN held the popular vote you could argue that it didn't matter because it's still the will of the people.
Now, you really can't, because for the first time in history, more people voted against BN, and it's really not the will of the people now, so gerrymandering sticks out like a sore thumb.
HOW BN KEEPS BLATANT GERRYMANDERING UNDER CONTROL
This issue is however, hidden in the claims of 'phantom voters' , vote buying, inaccurate electoral roll, scare tactics, postal votes.
BN throws up 5 intentionally bad election practices, PR picks up on it, and makes a big deal out of it.
BN ends up fixing (poorly) a couple of issues, and then claims elections reform. While everyone is so fixated about stopping Bangladeshis at polling stations, and extremely soluble indelible ink, no one really champions the gerrymandering to any great extent. Possibly because it's a much drier and less outrageous subject...
...and everybody forgets that if...
You can win the Malaysian elections with less than 20% of the popular vote.
...the 'bangla' in the corner doesn't really matter much.
It is highly likely that PR resources after today will be spread thin covering the numerous election issues rather than focusing on the one that REALLY counts.
So congratulations BN also for the amazing 'wag the dog' tactics over the years. I wish you'd put such electoral genius to good use in running the country.
ps. If you think this is too smart for BN, you're probably right.
This entire gerrymandering system was constructed before the previous 2 prime ministers. Everyone else in BN today is just reaping the 'benefits'.
ps. I'm not an armchair critic. I've done everything from voter registrations in shopping complexes to the entire slew of election duties in 3 elections.
James Yeang
About The Writer:
James Yeang is a tech enthusiast based in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.
He blogs actively at http://www.friedbeef.com