Now that the voters have spoken, it’s fairly clear that what many had been anticipating and hoping for several weeks, if not months, has happened. A vast cross-section of Malaysians, disenchanted with, among other things, the politics of cronyism, manipulative and destructive communalism, and utter complacency – if not incompetence (read S Samy Vellu) – have sent an unambiguous message.

By denying BN its two-thirds super-majority in parliament and in throwing out the bums in five state assemblies, there is no denying that the winds of change have indeed blown through the stale and moldy halls of power and obviously peeled off a significant number of these so-called people’s representatives.

There is so much that can be dissected, processed, and inferred from the outcome of this 2008 general elections. So much that volumes of commentary could be written about the whole episode; how the campaigns were conducted, the strategies employed, the fall-out of the results, etc. But surely, there will also be no shortage of commentary on what messages the voters were delivering. To be sure, it’s a new dawn. Anwar has been quoted as saying: ‘Today a new chapter has opened’.

But what will we write into this new chapter? How will the narrative unfold? What will likely be the conclusion of this new chapter? Do we have a blueprint or an outline for this chapter? It seems to me that we can find the blueprint for this new chapter by first taking to heart the message that voters sent when they rejected much of the status quo.

I for one find myself uplifted; I felt overjoyed as I followed the results as they trickled in. Seeing the opposition pick-up seat after seat, and learning about the political demise of the entrenched, out-of-touch, and impotent MIC regime, in particular, was easily the most gratifying part of the experience.

Surely, the almost universal rejection of the MIC regime must be one of the most significant outcomes of this historic election. There can be no other way to read this development but simply as a clear and comprehensive disapproval of Samy Vellu and the MIC’s utter failure in uplifting its constituents. Indeed, it could easily be argued that together, the MIC and Samy Vellu have been responsible for the marginalisation and deterioration of the status and condition of its constituents.

And when voters of all ethnicities and faiths in Sungai Siput and across the country rejected Samy Vellu and the MIC respectively, they said that what has happened and is happening to our brethren of Indian extraction is unjust, unfair, and unacceptable.

They have said, ‘we reject the politics of racism, communalism, and parochialism’. They have said, ‘we reject religious discrimination, we reject the politics of economic and social discrimination’. This is one of the central messages we who are interested in an inclusive and progressive Malaysia must take to heart as we sketch out the blueprint for the new chapter in our history.

Almost 40 years ago, Malaysians of all backgrounds conceded what was transparent and undeniable - our Malay brethren were economically marginalised and disadvantaged relative to their fellow non-Malays. We all embraced the call for rectifying that imbalance. Today, Malaysia finds itself having grossly overlooked another vast segment of the population. The MIC regime, mired in its own nepotism, shortsighted self-interest, and gross neglect of its constituents, has failed.

One urgent concern remains: how will Malaysians respond this time when we now find another segment of our rakyat severely marginalised and discriminated? Many courageous voters have spoken out that the status quo is not acceptable. They have sent a clear message to the MIC and BN that the path we’ve been on is not acceptable.

The election results have also more clearly exposed another oft overlooked fact. BN (and by extension Umno’s) supremacy has long been achieved by the consent, support, goodwill, and yes, sacrifices of a significant cross-section of the non-Malay electorate. This segment of the electorate has demonstrated its discontent with the lack of equity and consideration for its concerns.

The prize – for me – has always been to build an inclusive and secular Malaysia. For many of us, the last couple of decades have been a long drift away from that vision. In rejecting that drift away from the vision of the founding fathers of the country, the voters have carved out a political space and opportunity for rediscovering the original and inclusive project that was named Malaysia.

Just maybe, as they work to write that new chapter in the country’s history, a new generation of emerging representatives – regardless of their ethnicity and religion - will remain steadfast and committed to that inclusive vision of Malaysia.