Global Issues Are here To Stay.

Sarawak,Malaysia:

    The National Front Coalition was stunned by the result of the 12th General Election.

     A few days after that reasons behind their ‘poor’ performance poured in. It was all over the place; in the papers, TV, Blogs, Colloquioum, forums and so on.

     Of course the Barisan Nasional [the National Front]  still won the final count comfortably. However, it was the losing of five states to the Opposition Front that resulted in the calls for Datuk Abdullah’s resignation.

    The ruling National Front talked about issues close to the people. This is their theme. Issues such as poverty, economic issues, infrastructures, well-being of the populace and a little extra.

    However, there remained issues such as flash-flood, drainage, green basket, hill-slope development and global warming. Prior to the election issues such as these are deemed not attractive. Why so, one may ask?

     This is because issues such as these only debated among educated groups. Global warming are considered to be ‘imported issues‘. So are the environment, pollution and ‘green lungs’.

     Even then, issues such as these are talked about by NGOs who usually convened in posh hotel conference rooms. Thus, among the political circles that got more dizzy as the polling day got nearer, they are shoved aside. More so, among the National Front’s Council of Generals.

   There is no denying that poverty is still a problem. However, in Malaysia what the more common phenomenon is ‘relative-poverty’.

    Food can still be found in abundance around us. The challenge remained, how to utilise it to uplift one’s economic state? This is the question behind ‘relative-poverty’.

    The new generation of voters never denounced that issue. They agreed that there more roads needed, more bridges to be built and more scholarship should be distributed around.

    The new generation are very much concerned about the talismanic call of ‘being business-friendly’. Thus, shrill outcries were heard when plans to move Malaya University elsewhere and to develop an ultra-modern, self-sustaining business valley in it’s place. 

    The new generation felt that cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Penang are already developed to its limit. What is needed now, they opined, to upgrade it. Do away with the flash-flood, the Mat Rempits, the clogged streets and secure the people’s lives.

     When, the coalition did not heed is warning, then its time to go Opposition?

     Be that as it may, more water will flow under the bridge. Global issues are now ‘the issues’.