Extracted from Wikipedia.
Barisan Nasional (or BN) is a major political coalition in Malaysia, and it has ruled Malaysia since independence. The coalition holds several seats in every state in Malaysia, but was delivered a severe political blow during General Election this year. The BN loses its two-thirds majority in Parliament and has the opposition taken over an unprecedented five states (Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor).
It is interesting to see that an attitude towards politics is able to change so drastically. For so many years, Malaysians had always supported the BN by voting for its member parties, such as the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). What might have caused this drastic change in attitude?
First, it is important to look at how attitude is formed. Attitude has been defined as an individual’s evaluation of a target, which is determined by 3 factors: 1) Emotional reactions, 2) Cognitive information, and 3) Past behavior. In the above context, the order for demolition of several Hindu temples by the Malaysian Government most definitely caused the negative emotion (Factor 1 in Attitude formation) among the Malaysian Indians. Incapability of the Malaysian police in reducing crime rate also created displeasure towards the Parliament. During the Election, the opposition party might have given speeches, claiming to restore order and to fight for the rights of ethnic minority. This may result in the belief that voting for the opposition may result in positive consequences (Factor 2). The two factors together might have caused a negative attitude towards the BN.
According to the theory of reasoned action, our behavior is primarily determined by our intention to act. The behavioral intention is, in turn, determined by individual’s attitude towards the behavior and the subjective norms of that behavior. After the various incidents that had happened before the General Elections, it is likely that most Malaysians (in particular, the Indians) are motivated to vote for the opposition party, which in turn, creates a social norm pressurizing others to act in the same way. With Negative attitudes (which had changed from relatively positive to negative, due to the various incidents) and presence of social norms, accompanied by the opportunity to act (voting), it is no wonder that BN lost its two-thirds majority.
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3 comments:
hurray for Singapore!!Thats your just dessert for kicking up a fuss about water problems, land reclamation, airspace and much more whenever you like it. Now you feel the Shiok already right BN? haha.. Thats just for laugh. Anyway, I have been thinking about the same issue as you did. why the sudden change in attitudes? Rememeber BN just registered their biggest victory during the voting before this with a 90% winning. Whenever I think about this problem, a sentence always come to my mind. "with great powers come great responsibility" taken from Spiderman series. When BN registered their biggest victory a few years back, I believe that many people perceived BN as having great powers to influence things since they received such a high voting. Perhaps this may have raised the hopes of the common Malaysians that BN can help to change their life. However, luck is not on BN side. A few floods and riots in Malaysia by Hindraf severely damaged the image of BN. The high expectations of common Malaysians was not met and everything went crashing into the ground. So the moral of the story? At one point you may be at the highest point of your life but a single mistake may cause you to crash and burn in the next minute. Life is filled with unpredictability so live it to the fullest.
Perhaps, its time for some change, if not the BN would remain dreaming forever. In my opinion, the BN has shot themselves in their foot as they failed to treat the ethnic minority group in malaysia with respect. It would be a good opportunity for them to reflect on themselves, their incompetencies and ignorance that brought them to ground so swiftly. With this new political outlook, I wish Malaysia a bright future ahead.
If you want to view things with a sense of humor, please follow the link to my blog, www.psychologyatjcu.blogspot.com go to the latest blog. there is a Malaysian group that comments on every facet of their politics in a lighthearted way. Do we have one in Singpore?
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