General Elections aftermath: will the consumer benefit?

The 12th Malaysian elections have come and gone. Shocking, surprising and unexpected, were some of the comments on the election results. Many people who previously were not bothered about elections stayed up until 3am with bated breath watching the election result announcements. Coffee stocks in most houses were probably depleted on 8th March.

Overall, the National Coalition has maintained its hold in parliament and still retained rule of country. The opposition however has captured some states and look set to govern them for the next 5 years. Throughout the length and breadth of the country, people are examining and re-examining what had happened in the recent election outcomes, and the reasons behind the outcomes. Tsunami is an oft repeated word.

One wonders: what now? The print media, politicians, academics, and the man-on-the-street are bandying many different points of views. One thing is very certain though: Malaysians want change and they want change for the better. People are demanding for more integrity, transparency and accountability. A sense of expectation prevails in the air. People are waiting to see; what is coming next, what is going to happen. In a country as diverse as this, a myriad perceptions, conclusions and possibilites hang in the air. The different ethnic  groups have their own analyses. Furthermore, the young, not-so-young, the middle aged, and the older generation each have thier own biases or viewpoints.

The average Malaysian, hopes that life will continue to improve. Perhaps the  consumer in general will be able to see improvements in  areas such as housing, food safety, water cleanliness, public hygiene, improved service from the government departments, better service from government hospitals, the municipal councils, public administration and multimedia services.