It is one year since the historic elections on March 8 when people put aside their racial and religious differences to vote for a stronger opposition thereby denying the Barisan Nasional(BN) its two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time in over 50 years.

It was the people’s civil way of saying ‘enough is enough’ to increasing arrogance, abuse of power and corruption that had become prevalent in the country.

It was the first time a significant opposition alliance, the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) came into existence and that really threatened the BN to the core. The credit for the formation of this alliance was largely due to PKR’s Anwar Ibrahim and his comrades Abdul Hadi Awang and Lim Kit Siang.

PR’s consistent campaign against power-abuse, corruption and its stand for multiracialism won the people’s hearts and they gave PR the additional bonus to rule five states.

This massive victory for the opposition was not only unprecedented but unexpected and it shocked the mighty ruling BN, the opposition and the people alike. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should be commended for his gentlemanly attitude in graciously conceding ‘defeat’ and that resulted in the peace and tranquility that followed.

However, chaos and turmoil created by the political tsunami continue to reign in Umno and its major partners till today.

The outcome of the polls sent a strongest and most formidable opposition ever to Parliament and the people’s hopes for a first-class parliament were raised.

There were hopes for the evolution of a two-party political system that would provide a better check and balance governance. There were hopes for the dismantling of racial politics whereby all citizens will be considered as Malaysians without any racial prejudice.

However, with the unfolding of events in the subsequent months, these hopes of the people seem to be slowly eluding them. Our parliamentarians failed to realise that they have a wiser and more mature electorate to contend with who want greater openness and accountability.

The people want a more intellectual and democratic debate in parliament on all issues that affect them. A year has passed by and regrettably our wakil rakyat have yet to rise up to these expectations.

Instead of effecting the change demanded by the people, our elected representatives are preoccupied with undermining the government elected by the people by unethical and corrupt means.

Instead of allowing the people’s government to continue serving the people until the next elections, they want to topple it by mass defections by luring political crossovers with money and position, methods which are unethical and immoral. It is sad that certain lawmakers have betrayed their voter’s trust by succumbing to such temptations.

The ruling and opposition MPs refuse to unite to confront the common problems facing the nation. They treat each other as enemies whereas in actual fact, they are supposed to be comrades in their service to the nation and the people.

The call for change that was voiced by the people on March 8, 2008 was repeated on two subsequent by-elections but regrettably these calls, too, appeared to have fallen on deaf ears. The ugly constitutional crisis in Perak bears testimony to this irresponsible attitude of our politicians.

The way the Perak government was ousted leaves much to be desired and the whole episode simply goes to show the total disregard for the wishes of the real masters – the rakyat.

Meanwhile, there seems to be no end to racial politics as it raises its ugly head from time to time. Instead of trying to quench the tensions that arise from racial disputes, it is disgusting that there are those who fan these racial sentiments for political mileage.

We are left wondering whether a day will ever come when Malaysians will be not guided by colour and creed in dealing with one another as fellow citizens.

Despite the big gains by the opposition, they were not given due recognition as legitimately elected representatives of the people. Their rights are denied and voices ignored.

The public institutions like the police, judiciary and anti-corruption agencies that were supposed to be totally apolitical and independent were not even seen to be so in dealing with the opposition.

Our politicians seem to be the least perturbed by the warnings of the imminent financial crisis by economists worldwide. According to the Human Resources Ministry over 100,000 Malaysians will lose their jobs this year which highlights the gravity of the economic turmoil that we are in for in the coming months.

Instead of pooling our resources and putting aside their differences to jointly brace for the rough times ahead, our politicians are preoccupied with their political game of gaining power by any means. The present the ‘ends-justifying-the-means’ style of governance is beginning to cause a lot of anxiety among all sections of the people.

Despite these setbacks, the most important positive change that was brought about by the historic 2008 elections was the change in the mindset of the people to accept the opposition as a viable alternate government in the future.

This was unimaginable a decade ago when the opposition was painted as the ‘villain’, always causing problems for the ‘hero’, BN. Today, the people have come to accept that the opposition can also be their rightful representative whose role is equally important to that of the ruling party.

The people should be saluted for their exceptional maturity in ensuring that this change was brought about peacefully. Our hopes are ignited that with this maturity and wisdom, the people will continue to resist attempts by unscrupulous politicians from exploiting unethical, racial and religious sentiments to gain power.

Unfortunately, of late, the political game has taken a turn for the worse where ethics, democratic principles and respect for the rule of law have become irrelevant. The efforts in promoting change have been bogged down over issues of race, religion and the royalty.

The BN, in particular Umno, being the backbone of the ruling coalition, must take the lead to bring about change for the benefit all Malaysians. It has promised to bring change and reform but we are yet to see any genuine and tangible change for the betterment of all.

Instead Umno is changing to please only its three million or so members, or to be exact its, 2,700 party delegates - not the more than 20 million other Malaysians who also have a legitimate stake in their motherland.

After a year of bitter politicking, we are back to square one as far as democratisation of our nation is concerned. We are again at the crossroads between greater democratisation and lawlessness.

The ongoing Perak crisis has created genuine fear that our new leadership will not have the wisdom to steer the nation towards the path of greater democratisation, liberalisation and multiracialism.

If fact there are fears that we may be moving backwards - towards authoritarianism, police supremacy and increasing racial tensions.

In the midst of these uncertainty and gloom, one thing is sure - Malaysians today are beginning to be convinced that the rakyat, not the politicians, are the ones who can bring the change that will help realise the aspirations of the people for a peaceful, democratic and united Malaysia.

With the increasing wisdom and maturity of the people and the cyber-media easily available to them, our hopes for a brighter future are still very much alive.