dude, i'm a Malaysian for the first time.

the 12th General Election has validated how a lot of us longed and yearned to feel... to mean what we see printed on our identity cards. I went to sleep knowing that for once we have become Malaysians and i woke up thinking it didn't matter what my skin colour was nor what i subscribed to. for this brief moment, i can look down a barrel of a gun and say it with conviction.

to those of you who voted, give yourself a pat on the back...no, no... more than that, take your arms and hug yourself and let out a huge zany grin. the voter turnout was on an average 75+%. that's a wildly OTT figure. even the americans can only dream of 30+%.

democracy rocks and it prove one point, the right not to vote - is mere apathy and not part of the democratic process. the BN did filter out with reports that in a number of places, the BN votes never came through, which to my mind seems to mean that the usual apathetic bunch rightly stayed away but to their own detriment.

right now we are on the cusp of a new balance, and it pays dividends to remember not to take the paths our predecessors took on May 13, 1969. I for one believe that path was never a righteous one and brought out the evil we sometimes see in the glint of our eyes when we look in the mirror. we have to learn from our past. period. Today, is a new day. Malaysians have spoken with their "X".

The NST and the the Star have shied away from stating that the BN have lost their precious 2/3 majority. The Star alludes to it by merely stating the number of seats taken by the BN and the Opposition. I did the math and the Opposition have 36%.... and that's the significance of it.

Although the BN has won the right to form the next federal government, that right should not be begrudged. it's democracy at work.

what the BN should do is realise that, "we've lost. we"ve lost" in Badawi's own words, and be mature enough to understand that from this day onwards, the politics of the brave have come to the fore, and the new BN government has to learn how to engage the Opposition with due respect, candour and courtesy and not simply discount or pooh-pooh the Opposition.

Today, the BN can no longer conduct themselves as though, no one is looking at them. Gerakan, PPP, MIC and the MCA are mostly now academic exercises. Who's National Front are they heading? Although the BN is a fractured beast, it is still a sentient one.

I can say this, the BN - before anyone says anything stupid from the BN camp - ought to be magnanimous and not kick up a fuss about the "evil" Opposition, because not only have the people made themselves heard by the ballot, foreign investors will taken note of your reactions to decide whether we rightly deserve their money, the same money that this country depends on to thrive economically.. the FDI.

the HINDRAF 5. the indian community have clearly spoken. the "community champions" have prevailed. what more can the BN do but to listen to indian community and release the HINDRAF 5 back to their families. the days of unlawful detention are at a twilight. this election has hammered the message home. Hadhari-ism is a failure and we need to look at fundamentals and not racial or religious politics.

By fundamentals, i mean... that we have to understand that we are first and foremost humans and we all bleed red. we also share the same salinity in our blood. and despite our diverse environments and cultural differences, we all share the same sense of emotions and a common desire for change. we cannot simply tolerate... that is no longer acceptable. we have to embrace our differences and bring something to this glorious table we call, Malaysia.

i'm fuzzy with excitement and hope. until yesterday this country was gripped in the claws of the "politics of fear". today we grew up and rightly deserve our 50 years of independence, as we embrace "the politics of the brave".

thank you for bearing with me, and thank everyone around you for this "brand new day", we all deserve it, "warts and all"