Participating in GE14.

I was raised to be biased to a political party for as long as I can remember.

I'm honestly not proud to admit that, but it's the truth. Even when my family wouldn't discuss politics with me when I was kid, it was obvious that they didn't support the government.

Sometimes, I would imagine if I was born in another family that supported another party, what would my life be like? I have no idea. There are times when I thought I should listen to talks by different parties, just to see how different their opinions are.

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I can't remember if it was the 12th or 13th General Elections that I was in Melaka. We followed my mother back to my hometown after she cast her vote. That night, she and my relatives were following closely to the polling results. Smartphones and social media didn't play an important part then so we relied on the TV or people for the news.

The results was surprising. The gap between the government and the opposition was closer than ever, and if the opposition managed to grab a few more seats, there was going to be changes. In the end, Barisan Nasional continued their streak and stayed as government.

I wasn't old enough to register to become a voter at that time. I followed a bit of politics, maybe, but I wasn't really into it. I had doubts that my vote could do anything. I had thoughts like, even if I wanted change, BN was a very strong opponent, and my vote probably didn't matter.

Party flags around my area.

It was always like this. Since Malaysia gained independence, UMNO has governed my country for 60 years. That makes Malaysia the only country in the world that has been under the same party for that long.

Many citizens thought that change wasn't possible. This became worse when the May 13th incident occurred, when Malays and the Chinese clashed against each other over election results. Many lives were lost during that period, and my mother told me how she hid in her home due to fear. I know some elders that would chose to vote for the government or throw their votes, just because they were afraid of history repeating.

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When I became eligible to vote, I registered as soon as I can. I realized that it was my duty as a citizen to vote.

Four years after GE13, I kept asking my mother when was the next election. She always said soon, but it happened later than everyone expected.

When I found out from my cousin's InstaStory that the parliament was dissolved for GE14, I got excited and nervous. Was this it? Is my first time participating in an election going to make a difference?

As May 9 was nearing, a lot of people asked me if I was going to vote. My relatives, my colleagues, even an uncle that I've met while taking the train. Everyone stated how important it was to vote and although they never said which party they supported, it was kinda clear they wanted change.

My mom said there was never so many people attending the talks by the opposition until now.

Many Malaysians believed that it was the time for their voices to be heard. And the lengths they made to make sure that happens were so admirable. The only time you could see Malaysians this united was probably when Dato Lee Chong Wei was trying to win the Olympics.

Social media was filled with messages saying how important for Malaysians to vote. They carefully explain how elections works and what you should do for your vote to count. Everyone was working hard to spread the awareness.

What touched me most was the runners that were delivering votes from overseas.

Because of the inefficiency of the Election Commission, many Malaysians overseas received that ballot papers late. There was no way their votes would arrive back in Malaysia in time and boy, were the people pissed.

But a group of kind Malaysians wasn't going to just sit there. They volunteered to take the papers from overseas and fly back to Malaysia. Some would collect the votes from people who flew back just to pass their ballot papers. Their feat was so admirable, so selfless.

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I never understood why people assumed that everyone was on the opposition's side.

My family never told me which party they supported until I was older, so I always thought that thoughts like these should be kept to yourself. After all, you wouldn't want to go talking about how shitty the government is until you realize that the person you were talking to is a BN supporter.

In a world that getting more sensitive, it's better to watch what you say around people.

I never gave an answer when people asked which party I supported, instead I replied that you shouldn't ask that. It's not good to assume.

However, in my whole life, I've never met a BN supporter. Even my mom said she never met them.

Makes me wonder where does all the BN support come from, and how did they manage to win for 60 years? Where did our Prime Minister get his confidence, when the people all around me was talking about bringing him down?

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Voting day fell on a Wednesday and thankfully, it was also declared a public holiday. This gave people a chance to travel back to their hometown to cast their vote.

Me and my family's polling station was at a school in my residential area, so it wasn't too far. We left the house at 8AM, and before we even got near the school, we could see a long queue. Parking space? Good luck.

We decided to head back and walk from home. Later we realized that the queue was gone and it was probably that long because the gates just opened. I kinda regretted walking but I thought, a little while under the sun won't kill me. Not voting on that day would definitely kill my country.

We got in the school and tried to find where our polling rooms were. They are determined by the age group of the voters. I was with my brother while my parents were voting at another classroom.

My brother and I couldn't even get to the second floor due to the huge amount of people. The queue was so long till it went up and back down the stairs. Everything was unorganized and confusing, especially for people who just arrived. Fortunately, they did relocate the queue around the school so the line was more obvious.

We waited for about two hours before the both of us could vote. I met many familiar faces and even met my primary school teacher. She forgot me, though. *wipes sad tears*

I also shook hands with the candidate in my area. He must have saw my face lit up when I saw him.

There are a total nine queues for nine different age groups.

  

I entered the classroom when it was my turn. I handed my IC to the lady while she crossed my name out. Then, I dipped my left index finger into the indelible ink and was surprised by the cushion inside the container. Then, I got two ballot papers by the last person.

I voted at another table with a cardboard acting as a divider. I crossed two X marks while being careful not to smudge my paper with my inked finger. Then, I placed them into the transparent boxes and left the classroom.

We went home and all we, and all Malaysians can only do is wait.

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With so many people saying that they were displeased with the government, I find it hard to believe that BN could seize victory again. If BN does win again, I thought that Malaysians wouldn't put up much of a fight.

I had thoughts like that because all Malaysians did when the government pulled the 'blackout' magic trick during GE13 was change their Facebook profile picture to black for like, a day? I thought that Malaysians were all talk, no action.

I'm glad that the actions of Malaysians this election proved me wrong.

After 5PM, there are news of people still queuing up to cast their votes. Even though the EC said that the voting time was over, people insisted that they would stay and vote. An uncle also ran to the polling station after he woke up late from his nap.

At night when the votes are counted, many stayed at the polling station to ensure that there was no cheating done by the EC, like they did last year. Malaysians surrounded the polling stations to stop any authorities to bring in fake votes, which is disgusting.

There was still a few cases of blackouts, but you can't fool Malaysians twice. I heard that volunteers in the polling station asked people to lend their phone lights to light up the room.

 A new hope.

I underestimated the will of our citizens. I'm glad that this time, they stood up and fight back against the government and their dirty tricks. It was clear that Malaysians were done with our government, and they will not let them trample on us again.

I was following closely to the live results online. I wished I was at Melaka again, experiencing the hype and nervousness with my relatives like many years ago. However, we had the internet at our side this time.

The results was delayed till pass midnight. This was because the EC refused to admit defeat and signed that the opposition has more votes. Malaysians wouldn't let anyone in and out of the polling station until it was officially announced that oppositions had won.

I stayed up till around 2AM to witness opposition's victory. They managed to get majority of the parliament seat, which is 112. I was celebrating with friends online.

The whole Malaysia was cheering for the new government.

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It was declared by the new government that the next two days was a public holiday. I'm not complaining.

Me and my mom went out because we have free time. When we were at the mall, I was trying to see if the people around voted by looking at their fingers. There are people who did, and some didn't.

Proof that I voted.

Apparently, the former government was still being sore losers and wouldn't swear in our 7th Prime Minister until 930PM. Our 7th PM also happens to be out 4th Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. He is 92 years old, and now the world's oldest Prime Minister.

I thought the whole situation looked so funny for people not from our country.

Basically, our 4th PM exited from the government's party to take down the 6th PM. He joined the opposition and became a candidate at the ripe old age of 90+. He became the 7th PM AGAIN, and he will pass the title to his former enemy, Anwar Ibrahim who is currently in prison because of him.

It just sounds like a very messed up drama, but it's true.

Of course, there are others who fought hard to ensure Malaysia's future. The opposition party which never gave up, politicians that worked hard to ensure our voices were heard, reporters and journalists that stayed up to keep us updated and every Malaysian that voted for a change.

We finally achieved the change that was thought to be impossible.Malaysians showed that they will stand hand in hand for a common purpose. We proved that with unity, we can do anything.

I am so glad with my participation in this election. It was my first, but all of us made history.

I am proud of Malaysia for once. Maybe, this time people won't hate our government anymore. Maybe, they won't be dead set on leaving the country. Maybe, Malaysians would be treated fairly, finally.

If our new government can't fulfill their promises, at least we know that we have the power to elect them out. We will not let fear and power stop us again.

It is still too soon to say anything, but for once, I'm looking forward to the future of my country, Malaysia.

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Overwatch teamed up with Breast Cancer Research Foundation and released this exclusive Pink Mercy charity skin. Blizzard will donate 100% the proceeds that it receives from all Pink Mercy skin sales.

I never thought about getting this skin as first. A dude from the charity organization near the train station couldn't even get RM1 out of my pocket after bumping into me more than five times. I am really heartless.

But my friends got it (peer pressure ftw) and I do love the way it looks. I'm actually amazed by the amount of players who got it. Almost all Mercy players I've seen was equipping it after this skin was released.

I hope BCRF can find a cure and bring an end to breast cancer. I'm glad I supported this good cause, and got an amazing skin!