The country I was born and brought up in, Malaysia held its 13th general elections yesterday. With the incumbent in power since Independence in 1957, the country was up for a long overdue change. Tired of rife corruption and cronyism by the ruling party, BN and poor economic growth, the popular vote indicated that the Opposition coalition was destined to take over this time around.
Alas, with blatant voter fraud and dirty election tactics - including allegations of BN handing out citizenships to foreign nationals in exchange for votes, phantom voters on the electoral roll, as well as blackouts and swapping of ballot boxes during the vote-counting process - this time was just not it.
Amidst immense disappointment, there were small, yet significant victories. The Opposition has won more parliamentary seats than ever in history. Most importantly, apathy is no longer the name of the game with citizens voicing dissent at every government wrongdoing. There is no doubt the seeds of change have been planted, I am confident another five years is all it needs to bloom and grow stronger. I am hopeful, so hopeful that change is nigh.
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Besides being glued to the internet for election updates, I celebrated Cinco De Mayo with an East Village brunch and plenty of day-drinking (drowning my sorrows, you see):
This prized top is the first thing I ever bought from Anthropologie (on my first ever trip to New York in 2008!). Coming from Australia, I had never heard of Anthro before then so this purchase was the start of my immeasurable love for this crazy store!
It also used to be a few inches longer but I had to lop off a chunk of it after the bottom ripped getting stuck in a zipper on a previous wear - I swear my heart stopped when I heard the dreadful tear. In any case, does anyone know the official whimsical Anthro name for it?
Anthropologie blouse by Fei circa 2007/8 and Halyard Wide-Legs, Bracelets by Hermes and Cartier, Michael Kors watch (sim), Ferragamo My Joy flats, handmade dragonfly earrings, Ray Ban Wayfarers, Hermes Evelyne III PM in Rouge Casaque
If you like to keep abreast of the electoral goings on in Malaysia, head on over to Malaysia Kini, Yahoo Malaysia and Channel News Asia.
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