9 MAY 2018: Notes from the Frontline
Author : Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad
Publisher: SIRD
ISBN: 9789672165460
Year: 2018
Pages:
Price: RM25
9 May 2018 has now etched its place in Malaysia’s history as the day that the Barisan Nasional was finally brought down after 61 years in power. For Nik Nazmi 9 May 2018 was also a personal milestone, it was his first time standing in a general election at the federal level. At GE14 he stood for the Parliamentary seat of Setiawangsa, the only seat in Kuala Lumpur that Barisan Nasional had never lost, but in GE14 they finally did, as seats across the country swung towards Pakatan Harapan.
How did this happen? How did a coalition of parties which fell apart after GE13 manage to rebuild and take on a government willing to use all of the tools it could to hold onto power? In 9 May 2018 - Notes from the Frontline Nik Nazmi gives his behind the scenes take on the political developments in the opposition coalition from the disappointment of GE13 to the ecstasy of GE14.
Recalling the fall of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition and the founding of Pakatan Harapan he also gives first-hand experiences of the back room politics, the party conferences, the development of INVOKE, working with then former PM Mahathir Mohamad, as well as insight into the campaigns he worked on in Selangor and Setiawangsa, and in marginal seats from Perlis to Sabah. More than anything 9 May 2018 - Notes from the Frontline is a first-hand account of what it was like to witness the birth of a New Malaysia.
Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad is the Member of Parliament for Setiawangsa. He held the position of the first Pakatan Harapan Youth Leader from 2017 to 2018 and Parti Keadilan Rakyat Youth Leader from 2014 to 2018. He was a two term Selangor State Assemblyman until 2018. He writes regularly for a few newspapers and is the author of, amongst others, Moving Forward: Malays for the 21st Century and Suara Anum: Menyusuri Arus Reformasi.