Kuala Lumpur – Tun Dr Mahathir’s daughter Marina Mahathir has penned her thoughts and feeling on the historical moments leading to the appointment of her father as the 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia.
The following is the full text of Marina Mahathir’s posting on her face book page:-
“Dear fellow citizens,
Well WE did it! So much drama just to get to this point but all worth the hard work, the heartaches, the tears and everything.
Last night was something else. I was not at the swearing-in ceremony because it was supposed to be at 5pm and I had a flight to catch at 8pm to go to Bangladesh to attend the convocation of the Asian University for Women. In the afternoon I felt like I had no energy at all but still roused myself, packed and got on the KLIA Express to the airport at 6.15. I had watched TV before I left but the swearing-in had not started yet. On the way I started getting news that there was a delay. Feeling worried, my husband and I decided to turn back to Sentral and from there went to Gate 2 of Istana Negara.
There was a small crowd there so I went off to have a quick dinner. But when I got back the crowd had grown. Lots of people, all races and ages, waving Pakatan flags, chanting and singing. It was awesome and festive but they were there because they were all concerned about the late appointment of Dad as PM. I was really moved.
Then 9.30 went by and nothing yet and we got more anxious. Meanwhile I got some photos from inside the Istana from my siblings and my parents looked so exhausted. Imagine having to sit there all dressed up from the afternoon!
Finally we got to see the ceremony live on FB and people were so excited and noisy that I couldn’t hear the oath of office properly. I was so afraid that something would still happen even then but I guess everyone was more confident than me. Then it was done and I shouted out “You now have a PM and government, Malaysians!” and a huge cheer went up.
Then a mad scramble to get through the crowd to my friend’s car and off to the Sheraton to wait for the press conference. Dad and the PH leadership finally arrived about 30 minutes later and a further wait before it started. I guess it must have been just as tiring for the media because they had to be up at all hours too, just like all of us.
I finally left just before midnight but not before seeing the crazy happy crowd outside the hotel and having to take photos with so many people. We all wanted to record the moment I guess. The most wonderful thing was that it was a really MALAYSIAN crowd, tak kira bangsa dan agama. So heartwarming!
Today I’m trying to recover from the entire crazy election campaign. I’m aching all over but it’s all worth it.
But really this victory belongs to you, folks. YOU finally realised you have the power and you used it. Can’t thank you enough for the support and most of all, the love.
Terima kasih rakyat Malaysia! Untuk sokongan, bantuan dan kasih sayang kamu semua!”
