As I stepped into the polling station in the morning of March 8, there was little indication that a momentous sea change was going to sweep the country like a tsunami . There was no queue and no crowd. The station was calm and peaceful. Police were present to keep the order, the polling officials were courteous. A reporter wanted to take some pictures but was stopped by the police. Apart from the two tents set up at the opposite sides of the school entrance, there was little else that stirred.

I produced a printout from the Election Commission to prove that I have come to the right polling station and as a warning against any attempt to cheat me of my right to vote. Perhaps I was being overly paranoid and cynical.

As my name and IC number were called out, a few observers were on hand to mark off my name on their lists, presumably to safe-guard against phantom voting. As I was given the two ballots, one for the parliamentary and the other the state seat, I felt a tremendous sense of ownership. I was literally holding my country's future in my hands. This is a privilege as rare as the leap year. Two oddly coloured pieces of papers, one yellow, one orange, will decide the course of our country's trajectory for the next 4 to 5 years. There were only two choices on each ballot. It was not a difficult choice.

It was also not difficult to figure out which box the ballots go to as the boxes were transparent. Some early birds have already cast their votes. But for those who are colour-blind, a helper was on hand. From start to finish, it took me just 5 minutes to cast the two votes. It is a simple process, utilising simple devices.

As I was leaving the polling station, I felt satisfied that I had fulfilled my duty as a citizen. Whatever the outcome, I have earned the right to criticise the new government and secure in the knowledge that I am not riding on the coattails of others’ effort. But never in my wildest dream, was I going to be part of the historic tsunami .

As the election results rolled in later in the day, I was awestruck by the magnitude of sea change. The oppositions had beaten the pundits' forecasts by a wide margin. I went to bed with a renewed sense of hope.

Today, I am proud of my fellow countrymen in more ways than one. After 50 long years, we finally took our first step towards being a true democracy and not one in name only. It is a step fraught with risks and challenges, but it is also necessary to becoming a truly mature, dynamic and vibrant democracy. As the saying goes, unless we have the courage to lose sight of the shore, we will never discover new oceans.

The people have finally rediscovered their voices and spoke with solidarity and in no uncertain terms, they demanded competency, accountability, transparency, fairness and equity. For too long, the people have put up with the government's arrogance and neglect. All their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. They shouted their throat hoarse to no avail. Their rights trampled with impunity. People who revealed corrupt practices were jailed while those in power got away with ‘closing one eye’ and building palatial mansion without permit. The people have finally had enough of the status quo. They are fed up with the deteriorating education, security, judiciary, earnings and competitiveness, while the cost of living keeps rising unabated. They have delivered a resounding message to the incumbent to shape up or ship out. That message will continue to reverberate in the corridors of power for weeks, months and years to come.

I do not know which is the final straw, but Malaysians are generally compliant and loath to rock the boat; which is why for them to desert the ruling parties in droves is really saying a lot. The silent majority not only astounded the complacent BN but also the savvy political pundits. Their thunderous verdict contrasts with their silence prior to the election.

All Malaysians regardless of ethnicity spoke with one voice today and it is heartening to see Chinese vote for Malay, Malay for Indian, Indian for Chinese and vice versa.

It did not matter what the candidates' ethnicity were, as long as they were from the opposition. As one Indian taxi driver who told me so eloquently, ‘ PAS, DAP atau PKR, tak kisah, asalkan bukan BN ’. They have only one goal in mind: to punish the ruling parties for taking them for granted and to deny the BN another two-thirds majority.

For this, we have to thank Pak Lah. His apparent hands-free approach to running the country has allowed corrupt practices in the BN and especially Umno to grow unabated. The unprecedented ire of the people to his auto-pilot rule served to galvanise the people from all races. Perhaps the kindest eulogy to his term(s) in office would be: ‘To unwittingly hasten the demise of effective one-party rule, heralding a more effective check and balance in Malaysian polity and forging a common identity among the Malaysians’.

Also, credit should be given to the ruling parties who have graciously admitted defeat and promptly hand over the mantle to the new state governments. The transition of power was peaceful, and orderly which is another sign of our maturing democracy. No kris waving, no running amok. While the Earth shock, the sky didn't fall. Malaysian has demonstrated tremendous maturity.

The stock market did plunge though, as investors know, the GLCs which hitherto survived on government's hand outs will have a tough time compete in the open market. All the shady dealings may finally come to light.

Amid the jubilation and euphoria, we must not forget the efforts over the years put forward by news portals and bloggers who tirelessly and courageously revealed the shenanigans of the government and gave the people a vent to air their grouses. The parliamentarians who tirelessly worked against the tide also deserve our deepest gratitude.

As for the new governments, the people will be watching them as closely as they have watched the previous one. They would do well to heed the lessons taught to the BN in this general election. The hard work has just begun.