The Aftermath: The End of May13 Spectre

"Don't go out to KL, it is not safe after the election", thats the first thing my mom-in-law told me (in Hakka) after the massive victory by the Barisan Rakyat. I was thinking of shopping in Pavilion. No surprise there since she is 65 years old and have horrible memories of the spectre.

Or, perhaps she had been brainwashed by the Chinese papers to believe that May13 will happen if Chinese vote for the Opposition. I personally don't believe any of the bull from the Chinese-papers. Fear mongering is their forte.

Unfortunately, the English papers started to send subtle messages of the likelihood of racial clashes if people voted the Opposition. One ex-MP from MCA even threatened the voters with May13, which you can read in Lulu's blog.

One thing that I am glad (I am happy about plenty of things) about the aftermath of Election 08 is the end of the May13 Spectre. I doubt any politician in future will ever give this threat to voters again.

Here is what is reported by Leslie Lopez

THE last time Malaysia was rocked with a spectacular election upset that threatened the ruling coalition government, race riots followed. But there will not be a repeat of the May 1969 communal clashes after last weekend's stunning election results which robbed the Barisan Nasional (BN) of its two-thirds majority in Parliament and had the opposition take over an unprecedented five states.

Here is why:
1. Unlike in 1969, when Malaysians voted along communal lines and the Malay political dominance was put in doubt, the rejection of BN at the weekend was a result of a multi-racial political tsunami.

2. Also, the economic clout of the Malays has expanded tremendously. They hold a huge stake in the national economic pie and undermining that would be foolish.

The BN government did try to raise the 1969 bogey in its election campaign, stressing that only the Umno-led coalition could ensure peace and stability.

In the final lap of campaigning, less subtle messages appeared in several mainstream newspapers, which raised the spectre of communal clashes should the people cast their vote for the opposition. But the strategy did not work.

Many young Malaysians who reached voting age in the past 10 years do not carry the baggage of the May 13 riots because they have enjoyed uninterrupted economic prosperity and political stability. The opposition coalition, led by former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, also took great pains to reassure the Chinese and Indians that the Malays would not tolerate any attempts by the BN to stir racial problems.

At a huge gathering in the Malay enclave of Kampung Baru on the fringes of the capital Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Seri Anwar said that both his Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and PAS, would defend the non-Malays. 'There will be people who will want to stir race problems. But we in PKR and PAS will defend our Chinese and Indian brothers,' he told a cheering crowd of predominantly Malay supporters.

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