During the nine-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur to Qingdao – with a two-hour transit in Fuzhou – for my week-long visit to China, my thoughts were on the political upheavals and convulsions in Malaysia, seven months after the historic decision of Malaysian voters in the 14th General Election on May 9, 2018.

Very few had expected the great political change to take place on May 9, 2018 – in fact, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak not only expected to win the mandate to be re-elected as Prime Minister, he was sure that the UMNO/Barisan Nasional coalition would be returned to Putrajaya with a two-thirds parliamentary majority which had been lost for a decade since 200

But now, it would appear that almost everyone expects the ills, faults and wrongs of the past six decades of UMNO/Barisan Nasional rule to be fixed, if not in 100 days, then in two or five years – which is impossible, as the mission to establish a New Malaysia will take more than a one five-year general election cycle but would take a decade or two!

What is important is that Malaysia had a chance to make the critical shift to re-set nation-building policies to save Malaysia from the trajectory towards a sham democracy, kakistocracy, divided nation, failed state and global kleptocracy to restore Malaysia as a world top-class nation and a Tiger Economy which is united, harmonious, democratic, just and which respects the rule of law and good governance.

Just as not many had expected a historic change on May 9, 2018, many had not expected the Pakatan Harapan coalition government to last – least of all, the smooth transition of the Pakatan Harapan time-table for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to take over as the eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia from Dr. Mahathir Mohamad during the mid-term.
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