Euphoria, disbelief and hope as Malaysians celebrate historic moment

KUALA LUMPUR/ SINGAPORE – Outside the Istana Negara, or National Palace, in the Malaysian capital on Thursday (May 10), some stood on cars waving the national flag while others tooted their car horns as they celebrated the nation’s first change in government in six decades.

The mood was just as electrifying in some other states across the country and even across the Causeway, as Malaysians at home and abroad expressed distinct excitement at being part of a historical moment, as well as hope for a more transparent government and less corruption.

Crowds gathered outside the palace at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim from Thursday afternoon after news spread that former premier-turned-opposition leader Mahathir Mohamad, 92, would be sworn in as the next prime minister – a post he first assumed in 1981 and held for 22 years.

As they watched his swearing-in ceremony from 9.30pm in real time on their phones, they broke out in chants of "hidup Tun" ("long live Tun") as he took his oath of office.

Less than a day ago, they had celebrated on the streets following the results of Malaysia’s 14th general election, which saw the Pakatan Harapan coalition toppling the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

It won 113 out of 222 parliamentary seats while BN took 79. The Islamist Parti Islam Se-Malaysia took 18 seats, while the rest went to Warisan Sabah, Solidairi Tanah Airku and independent candidates.

Accountant Joanne Tang, 26, was euphoric and still in disbelief at the outcome. "I stayed up till 6am to wait for the results and slept for an hour, but woke up one hour later. I was too excited," said Ms Tang, who lives in the district of Shah Alam, about 40 minutes away from Kuala Lumpur.

On Thursday evening, motorcyclists circled the road outside the palace gates as their pillion riders waved the national and the opposition coalition's flags. Chants of "hidup rakyat", or "long live the people", erupted at times while horns blared every few minutes.

Fishing out a huge national flag from his car, salesman Muhd Firdaus Muhd Idris, 27, hurried towards the palace's gates to meet his friends.

A first-time voter, Mr Muhd Idris was both shocked and pleased with Pakatan Harapan’s victory. "It's time for change and we need to get rid of all the dirty things like corruption that have become embedded and tainted our country," he said.

Crowds singing and chanting outside the Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur. Raj Nadarajan/ TODAY

The night before, close to a thousand people had gathered at Pakatan Harapan’s branch in the town of Stargate in Alor Setar, Kedah, to support Dr Mahathir’s son Mukhriz Mahathir. He was the state's chief minister before being ousted in 2015.

Before Mr Mukhriz's arrival for a press conference, the crowd played drums and fired flares.

"Bangkit, bangkit" ("rise, rise"), "rakyat, rakyat" ("people, people"), "tumbang, tumbang" ("fall, fall"), they chanted.

Among them was stall assistant Fadil Rosli, 30, who said that BN's fall was "retribution for deceiving the people".

"Pakatan seems more sincere and they're led by Dr Mahathir. He knows how to govern more than (former premier Najib Razak),” said Mr Fadil.

Housewife Kalsom Idrius, 65, who was with her son, said the Malays had long been patient with BN, hoping the coalition would do more to help the poor. Eyes turning misty, she said: "We believed in UMNO, we loved them but they have let us down each time.” UMNO, or the United Malays National Organisation, is a component party of BN.

"They're supposed to defend the Malays but they fool us. Instead of helping us, they help themselves. Now the Malays will teach them a lesson,” she said.

OUR VOTES COUNTED, SAY MALAYSIANS IN SINGAPORE

Malaysians in Singapore were more muted in their celebrations but just as excited.

Many of them had stayed up until the wee hours of Thursday, feverishly tracking the results of the election on multiple devices.

The outcome, they said, made them feel their votes had counted.

“The results give me hope. It’s touching to see such a display of people power,” said financial advisor Lucas Chan, 28, who is from Johor.

“Never would I have expected to see this result; a part of me always assumed that the election results are manipulated,” said Mr Chan, who has lived in Singapore for eight years.

Pointing to carpooling services offered to help voters get across the Causeway to vote, Mr Chan said he was touched to see the “spirit of Malaysians” come through in this election.

Pharmacy technician Wendy Wong, 32, stayed awake until 2am on Thursday morning and woke up barely three hours later at 5am to check for fuller results on her phone.

“The moment I saw the results, I was just euphoric. My friends, relatives were all texting each other to check who had won in different constituencies,” said Ms Wong.

For video producer Dennis Teh, staying up late for the results was worth it this time around. “I still remember the last election, where I stayed up the whole night but received painful, disappointing results,” said Mr Teh, 35, who has been working in Singapore for two years.

For account director Nicholas Leong, the election restored his faith in democracy in Malaysia.

“The significance of this election is huge. Not only has the opposition won for the first time in 61 years, but it is a good signal that democracy still exists and works in Malaysia,” said Mr Leong, 37.

The father-of-two from Shah Alam in Selangor had tuned in to the radio and television to keep track of the results and constantly refreshed his Facebook and Twitter feeds. Despite being in Singapore, “it felt like one whole nation was watching the same thing at the same time. That kind of energy sort of feeds itself”, he told TODAY.

Amid the buzz and prospect of potential changes in their home country, Mr Leong and some other Malaysians said they would wait and see if the change of leadership results in reforms that they hope to see.

“There is still quite a lot of uncertainty at the moment, I hope that things will go well in

the post-election days and there will be a smooth handover of power,” said Mr Leong, who has been living in Singapore the last six years.

Market manager Ng Boon Ming, 31, said: “I wish for a more transparent government to fight corruption, more transparency in terms of policy making as well as the bidding process for any infrastructure or business projects.”

He is also eager to see if Pakatan Harapan fulfils the 10 promises made in its election manifesto in its first 100 days in government. They include scrapping of the 6-per-cent Goods and Services Tax and increasing the minimum wage.

Asked if the results would make him consider moving back to Malaysia, Mr Teh said: “If I do see more opportunities starting to spring up back home, I might move back.”

He added: “I’m just glad I was part of this historical moment, I don’t think there will be any more elections like this.”