NOVEMBER 30 — It didn't take long after the election results for people to go on social media to express their hopes, analyses and wardrobe choice critiques.

Perhaps I am a little too world-weary or scarred from what happened after the last election but all I want for now is to not see a new government after December 19.

Many voters had their confidence shaken after the 'Sheraton Move' but for me, the moment that instilled my wariness of politicians was what happened in Sabah during the 1994 state election.

While some politicians defended the mass defection to Barisan Nasional as necessary for the state's welfare, it showed a contempt and callous disregard for what voters had chosen.

There is also the argument that many people vote not for the party but for the candidate so what does it matter if the candidate switches sides?

If you believe that, there is a bridge in Sabah I can sell you.

I wish that our new prime minister would not be so insistent on taking the high road when as history and our previous administration demonstrated, our politicians would tunnel through the centre of the earth if it suited them.

The only acceptable high road in Malaysia would be an elevated highway.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim addresses staff at the Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya November 29, 2022. — Bernama pic
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim addresses staff at the Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya November 29, 2022. — Bernama pic

I am very pessimistic about the chances for the longevity of this new government to the point I said I would be vegetarian for 30 days should a former prime minister not reassume the post.

It is now my second day without meat.

Yet even when my pessimism was proven wrong, I am still reluctant to believe that our new prime minister won't see attempts at backstabbing.

Still, unlike Julius Caesar, at least the ranks have been closed within Pakatan Harapan and there is no Brutus lying in wait or at least I hope not.

I await most of all the announcement of a new finance minister and hopefully whoever the man is (the likelihood of it being a woman is next to none) he will not be a sheltered elite nor a miser who can't differentiate between personal debt and national debt.

Here's to no more games of musical chairs or coups, bloodless or not, because I, and surely many Malaysians, would like to have the same prime minister instead of three in one term. Just like the old days.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.