GE May 2013

Malaysia's general elections on Sunday May 5, 2013 were a let-down in some ways, but hope for change lingers on. The ruling party BN won despite overwhelming support for the opposition coalition as reflected in the popular vote of 47.38% versus 50.87% for the latter in the nationwide polls. Naturally this raised a lot of questions on how BN won. Everyone has an opinion although critics would obviously accused the BN of using dirty tactics. But what is more interesting than ever is the emerging voter trend in this election. There seems to be a clear divide between urban, middle class and rural voters. Young, middle class and urban voters voted for change which showed in the swing in votes against the BN in the popular states. In most urban areas, the opposition parties won by a bigger majority. We don't know yet how the government is going to respond to this trend but all said and done, we did have a good time with family and friends sharing our hopes and aspirations for a better future.