Sitting on fence ... aching

This Ge15 is a tough one for a fence-sitter like me and those in my demographics – middle class, middle-aged, educated, urban, Malay. The last Ge was much more clear-cut. The enormity of 1MDB eclipsed everything else and Ph won. Twenty-two months is indeed too short but it gave us a glimpse. Individually, some ministers and deputy ministers performed well. To be fair, this is also true of past BN governments but I did like the diversity of the Ph government.

however, it also felt more fractious and full of upheaval. I watched disheartened as many good and clean professionals from GLCS, GLICS and the civil service whom I knew were culled or put in cold storage. Policies that fundamentally made sense long-term, that just needed process improvements or resetting, were dropped wholesale like the GST. Malay insecurities were left to be exploited, not helped by a tone-deaf DAP. If the political analysts and sentiment surveys are right, there will be more fractiousness to come. We’ll likely see a new type of politics in Malaysia with new coalitions being cobbled together post-voting just to form a government.

I am at an age where stability counts. With politics and Covid, we’ve had so many starts and stops these past four years. Let’s just get on with things.

EMILIA KAMARUDDIN Shah Alam