Asian Angle | Watching the Malaysian elections from the veranda of history

Historic poll full of surprises and drama proves to be a step in right direction for the country. The question now is: will the show be as good in five years?

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The “nimble” Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: Joe Kit Yong/KRA Group

Published: 5:00pm, 23 May 2018Updated: 5:02pm, 23 May 2018

While I live and work in Indonesia, Malaysia is still home. However, for much of the past five years – at least since the 2013 general elections – I’ve been observing as well as experiencing the country and its political travails from abroad.

It’s almost like watching a series of theatrical performances from a distance – interpreting gestures both discrete and melodramatic. The voices have been similarly muted, though there have been occasional snippets of dialogue that have reverberated globally, only to fall into near-silence almost immediately thereafter.

It’s as if I’ve been standing on the veranda of history, watching a series of embarrassingly, amateurish vaudeville or bangsawan shows. However, the comic figures carried within themselves the seeds of their own tragedy as the 1MDB financial scandal enveloped Putrajaya, fouling government leaders and institutions and proving to be the most extraordinary and yes, shameful, of the dramatic interludes.

Anwar Ibrahim addresses his supporters in Petaling Jaya. Photo: Joe Kit Yong/KRA Group

It’s not just the scale – the tens of billions of ringgit and the parade of outlandish characters (from Leonardo DiCaprio, Arab royalty, Paris Hilton and a fat, slovenly local businessman). The 1MDB saga also unleashed the worst in the lead performers – our former prime minister and his wife – driving them both to moments that were more Oscar Wildean in their ridiculousness and bathos rather than Shakespearean.

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Thankfully, there were those who dared challenge the regime’s warped and self-serving version of the truth. They were like avenging angels – resolute and unflinching.