It’s Day 44 of our road trip and we are still here in Auckland. Weather hasn’t been good on this morning and early afternoon due to the rain and hence we only went out when it’s almost evening. It’s alright. Sun doesn’t set until after 8.30pm nowadays as New Zealand is approaching the summer season.
Our main destination today is the Auckland Waterfront. It is a huge and happening waterfront destination that consists of public spaces, plazas, artworks, museum, downtown terminal, restaurants, bars, wharf, play space, event spaces, facilities, etc. This vibrant precinct is made up of three key areas; Wynyard Quarter, Viaduct and Queens Wharf. There is just so much to see over at this area that stretches for about 2km long.
We also happen to see rainbow again (seen one few days ago at Tauranga) today at the waterfront close to ‘The Lighthouse’, an artwork with its exterior in the form of a 1:1 scale 1950s family home and its interior features an installation of light as well as a sculpture of Captain Cook, titled The English Channel.
Besides than admiring the grand architecture of the downtown terminal building right at the waterfront, we also walked across to a huge plaza in the city with Christmas decorations all set up for the festive atmosphere (less than one month to Christmas!).
We had been stopping by a lot of times during our walk along the waterfront for the spectacular views of the city skyline. I wasn’t bored of seeing the skyline again and again from various viewpoints in the city or at the waterfront. In fact, after our dinner, we even headed to Cyril Bassett VC Lookout Point located at Devonport, a residential area right opposite the city for a sightseeing over the city skyline and the harbour in the evening when all the lights are turned on.
We then returned to the city and made another brief stop along the end of Westhaven Drive with gorgeous view of the Auckland Harbour Bridge with its decorative changing colourful lights. I can’t get enough of the view of the tall Auckland Sky Tower too. This 328 metres tall telecommunication and sightseeing tower is the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere. I will be visiting this tower soon when I’m back to Auckland a couple of days later.
We will be heading to Paihia tomorrow as we set to venture further to the northern tip of the North Island.
Hi, Auckland! After nearly 5 weeks of road trip, we have finally arrived here in the largest city of New Zealand. Huge highways, congested roads, bustling streets, lively cityscape and towering skyscrapers greeted us when we arrived from Coromandel after nearly 3 hours of driving this morning. Before reaching the city, we did had a brief stop at Manaia Road Saddle Lookout for a beautiful panoramic view and a photo.
The first place we visited after we arrived is the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Park. The memorial park features a tall obelisk, a sunken pool and landscaped gardens to commemorate New Zealand’s first Labour Prime Minister (1872 – 1940).
We then made our way to Mount Eden for the popular volcano walk. It took us less than 10 minutes to walk from the car park to the mount’s summit where the 50 metres deep volcanic crater is located. The crater is created due to a volcanic eruption around 28 000 years ago. My first time standing so close to a crater. It looks more like a sunken ground though due to all the grass grown over the crater. People came up here particularly for one other reason; sightseeing over the city skyline of Auckland. The view over the city from the top of Mount Eden is amazing! Auckland Sky Tower can be seen very clearly from here (we will be visiting the tower next time).
After a delicious dim sum for lunch (haha..it’s like our must-do when we arrived in a large town/city where dim sum restaurant is available), we briefly walked around the retail streets and visited the Westfield mall in the Newmarket region. I saw a few nice pair of shoes but unfortunately there isn’t anymore Black Friday sales. Have to think twice…ends up didn’t buy any today but likely will buy a pair soon as my current shoes are not in ideal condition anymore after being in use for several years.
We then visited the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki in the afternoon. Entry is currently free for everyone. The gallery has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. I remember this building as it has won an award from 2013’s World Architecture Festival for its beautiful design (of the gallery’s extension). I felt that its interior layout is a bit confusing though. There are quite a number of interesting and fascinating displays in the gallery currently.
That’s all for today. We have a couple more days to explore the rest of Auckland.
It’s Day 42 of our road trip. We did nothing much yesterday besides than driving ourselves from Hahei to Coromandel. Along the car journey, we paid a quick visit to Waiau Falls. It is located in a very remote area but fortunately it is along the road we need to travel to Coromandel, hence we were able to visit it. Talking about roads; we realized that many roads here in Coromandel region are only of gravel which made our driving slower and the journey very rocky and wobbly. Some part of the roads are also very narrow here and are right besides rockfall area/unstable cliff. That’s a bit dangerous.
We are staying here in Coromandel for 2 nights. Yesterday was just a day of rest for us. Today we were getting back to our itinerary although I was feeling a bit unwell (but the road trip must go on!). The first thing we did today was the Coromandel Coastal Walkway. Reaching here from Coromandel town took more than 1 hour and 30 minutes. This place is very remote and we have to drive on many gravel roads again to reach there. The entire walkway will take 3 hours time (one way) but we only want to walk to the famous lookout point which then took us 2 hours and 30 minutes (including return to the start of the track at Stony Bay).
The track is easy (involves not much elevation gain) but parts of the track were very muddy and slippery (due to rain yesterday). My shoes were all dirty after completing this track. The track is also not maintained as there are literally fallen trees blocking the walkway. There are also various streams of water you have to cross through along the walkway (including one huge one that will certainly made your feet wet and shoes fully soaked at the beginning of the track). All the efforts doing the track was rewarded with breathtaking views at the lookout point overlooking to all the bays around the area and the Pacific Ocean.
We then made our way to Tokatea Hill Lookout. This is an easy 30 minutes return track (quite a lot of steps but it’s easy) to the top of Tokatea Hill with yet another impressive view over all the islands and Mcgregor Bay on the west side of Coromandel.
We didn’t expect that we have already spent almost 7 hours today just to cover those 2 places (the Coastal Walkway alone took about 6 hours including the driving). We ended up skipping our lunch and ate an early dinner before going back to our accommodation for rest. We will be finally heading to Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand tomorrow.
Quite a packed day today for our Day 40 of the road trip in New Zealand. We had an unpleasant overnight stay in Hamilton City Holiday Park at Hamilton last evening. They didn’t provide any duvet/blanket for us (separate charge applies and so we rejected it…I ended up couldn’t sleep for the night because it’s too cold), toilet and shower are located so far away from our cabin (very inconvenient and the path was dark), there’s a smell in our cabin, the cabin is very small, different security codes/passwords for every access in this holiday park (another huge inconvenience), super tiny parking space, etc. To be honest, I have so much to complain about this accommodation. Highly not recommended. Moving on…
We left Hamilton early this morning and headed to Whangamata. Along the journey, we briefly stopped at Karangahake Gorge, an area full of gold mining history and natural beauty. We initially planned to walk the popular Karangahake Windows Walk here (there are also several other tracks here) but we didn’t have the time and that particular track is unfortunately closed currently. Hence, we only spent a couple of minutes crossing the swing bridge and view the Ohinemuri River.
The reason we didn’t have time to explore the Karangahake Gorge area further is because we have to rush to make it to the 9am kayak guided tour at Whangamata. Fortunately, we made it right on time. The tour which took 2 hours started with the tour guide explaining briefly on the beach on how to paddle the kayak, where we will be heading to and stopping, and some history and information of the Whenuakura Island (or called as Donut Island as the shape of the island is like a donut). The island is the highlight of the tour and is the place where we will be heading to on kayak.
This was my first time kayaking and I thoroughly enjoyed it (although I started to feel tired on the return trip to the shore). I am afraid of deep water (I don’t know how to swim too) but the sea today is very calm (no waves or strong winds). Hence, I made up my mind to do it. I also have lesser worry as it was a double person kayak that we will be on and my friend has experience on this particular sport (hence I’m not on my own). I actually didn’t feel very nervous too although we have to make our way quite far (about 600 metres) to the island. I’m so proud of being able to do this for the first time with courage today.
The views were of course spectacular. We have to pass a beautiful archway which is the only entry channel to the middle of the Donut Island. The environment here is magical and the water here is so clear and pristine. I also like the way that the island is untouched and that all of us cannot land on the island. We then continued to kayak to the nearby Hauturu Island and land here for a short while for a Kawakawa tea sharing session with the tour group and a bit of story telling by the tour guide. We then finally made our way back to the shore after 2 hours on the water. What an awesome experience!
We then left Whangamata and proceed to Hahei where we will be staying for a night. We paid a visit to Hot Water Beach first before having our lunch. This is no ordinary beach because during low tide, there are a couple of spots along the sand that are very hot under the ground (due to underground hot springs that filter up through the sand between the high and low water tidal reaches). If you dig in these spots, natural hot pools are created and you have your own natural spa pool to enjoy just metres away from the ocean. There were a lot of people around that area digging in with shovels or spades and soaking their feet on the hot pools when we arrived. We didn’t do that though (no equipment) but we still manage to try stepping on the hot water flowing out from one of those pools. The water is really hot!
After our quick lunch in a cafe and checked in to our accommodation, we then made our way to the Cathedral Cove Walk. This is yet another very popular walk to view and pass through the iconic archway of the Cathedral Cove. The track requires 1 hour 30 minutes return walk from the car park but the car park was closed currently (closed during the peak season annually). Hence, we have to walk an additional 15 minutes to reach the start of the track from our accommodation (another extra 15 minutes for the way back too).
The tiring walk (going up and down covering a lot of elevations) was very much worth it because the beach and the Cathedral Cove are indeed gorgeous. There are also several bays and other amazing coastal scenery we can view at the track. The cove is much larger than I expected and the beach in that area was very happening and buzzing with activities from both locals and visitors.
We then finished our day with a quick walk at Hahei Beach and a takeaway pizza for dinner before heading back to our accommodation for a much needed rest.
What a day! Feeling very exhausted now but at the same time feeling very awesome for what I have visited and done today. Really spent the day mostly on beaches today (it’s a beautiful sunny day today too without a single drop of rain at last) and today I had my first kayaking experience ever!
Today is the day for us to visit the famous Hobbiton Movie Set Tour, arguably one of the most essentials on the itinerary for all visitors travelling in New Zealand. But before this particular visit, we first made our way to McLean Falls & Park which is not far from Tauranga, the city we set off from this morning.
The McLaren Falls is located just besides the road along the Mangakarengorengo River and is a short distance away from the McLaren Falls Park of which we were going to visit first. You can drive into the park to the spots you prefer to stop on for a leisure walk or sightseeing. There are several walking tracks here and we chose the Waterfall Track (more popular one according to its website). It is a short 20 minutes return walk to view a waterfall and also glowworms along the track. It is our first time seeing glowworms’ strings up close during the day here. Very fascinating indeed.
We then went back to the access road and stopped briefly to check out the McLaren Falls. It is quite a short yet enormous and powerful waterfall (perhaps due to recent rainy weather).
We then finally made our way to the Hobbiton Movie Set Tour. New Zealand has become synonymous with the Middle-earth of JRR Tolkien’s famous books since the release of the blockbuster Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by New Zealander Sir Peter Jackson. There are many scenic spots around the country that were transformed into sets for the three movies and the subsequent Hobbit sequels. Tucked away on a picturesque private farmland near the small town of Matamata in the North Island, the Hobbiton Movie Set is the most famous of these Lord of the Rings filming locations.
There is no other option but to take a guided tour (NZD89 per pax) to check out the movie set (self guided tour isn’t possible). The tour took 2 hours and we first got to get on a bus that will bring us to a private farm where ‘The Shire’ was created and where the movie magic was made. I did watched all those films many years ago but couldn’t remember much in detail though (I’m not a fan). However, I do still remember several main characters (like Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, Frodo, Legolas, Smaug, Gollum, etc) and bits and pieces of the major storyline.
During the tour, we got to walk around and view the famous Hobbit holes (there are over 40 Hobbit holes and we took a lot of pictures in front of several of them), along with the Mill, The Green Dragon (bar) and other sights shown before in the films. We also receive a complimentary drink in The Green Dragon (I opted for ginger beer). We felt that the tour was a bit too rushed (we find that we didn’t have enough time for pictures and the drink at the end of the tour). These may be due to the huge number of people (around 30 pax) in our tour group.
There were occasional drizzle during our tour too which made the tour slightly unpleasant. Weather forecast today is totally incorrect. Each and every weather prediction websites mentioned that today will be quite a fine day but in reality, there were multiple showers today. Overall, we still enjoyed the tour although we are not fans of the films particularly my friend who did not watch any of those films (he was clueless whenever the tour guide explained something during the tour in regards to the films). The scenery there is gorgeous including of the surrounding areas of farmland on undulating hills! Our little complaints would be that the admission fee is too pricey, tour time is too short and tour group is too huge.
After the tour, we then made our way to Hamilton where we will be staying for a night. Before the end of the day, we went for a quick window shopping (due to today being the Black Friday Sales Day) at Centre Place Mall in the city. We end up with no purchase as there aren’t many shops and there isn’t anything that catch our interest. Good. Money saved.
I’m so delighted that Anwar Ibrahim will be finally appointed as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia today after days of political dramas resulting from the country’s 15th General Election that took place last Saturday which saw no single coalition securing enough majority to form the federal government. As the leader of the coalition with most number of parliamentary seats won (Pakatan Harapan), it is rightful and deservingly so to give him the mandate to lead the country especially now after many other parties agreed for a unity government as suggested by Yang Di-Pertuan Agong (Malaysia’s King).
Besides that, I’m so glad that Muhyiddin didn’t make it as he rejected the King’s proposal for him (from Perikatan Nasional) to work with Pakatan to form the government. He was also overly confident, arrogant at times and certainly power hungry. We don’t need such people to lead the country (he led before and failed tremendously!). Hoping for a brighter and greater Malaysia under Anwar’s premiership!
Let’s get back to the update of my road trip. Today we left Rotorua in the morning and visited the Okere Falls Scenic Reserve. There is a walking track over here that allows us to view all the three waterfalls located in this area; Okere Falls, Tutea Falls and Trout Pool Falls. They are not far from one another too. We find that the waterfalls here are just average looking and small in scale. They are still worth a visit especially when you are driving from Rotorua to Tauranga (or vice versa) and have some time to kill.
Once we arrived in Tauranga, the fifth largest city in New Zealand, we went to visit the Historic Village. It is a vintage-inspired complex made up of original and replica heritage buildings and cobblestone streets. Admission is free. This place is like a smaller version to the Founders Heritage Park in Nelson that we have visited previously. This complex is filled with boutique shops, galleries, barber, dance studios, cafe, gig venue, vinyl store and arts.
After a yummy dim sum lunch (we realized we always look for dim sum once we reached a larger town/city…haha) and checked in to our accommodation, we made our way to Maunganui Beach. From there, we walked over a man-made land bridge to Moturiki Island (also called as Leisure Island). We spent some time enjoying the views here over the Pacific Ocean and back towards Mount Maunganui and down the coastline.
After that, we made our way up to the summit of Mount Maunganui (a dormant volcanic mountain that rises over 230 metres above sea level at the tip of a peninsula in the town of the same name). The return trip just took us a little more than an hour but involves a lot of stairs. The view at the top is of course spectacular. We also reached the summit at the right timing as we were able to see a rainbow in its full glory at the summit after a brief drizzle during our way up. Definitely time for a lot of striking photos!
It’s almost 8pm once we got back down to the base of the mountain. We immediately had our dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant and then made our way back to the hotel for rest. We will only stay here in Tauranga for a night and we will be heading to Hamilton tomorrow.
Our legs were still exhausted from yesterday’s hike on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and both of us were also not able to get a good sleep last night surprisingly. Anyway, we have to move on in our road trip. Today is already Day 37 of the road trip and we have left Taupo and had made our way to Rotorua, a city known for having plenty of geothermal attractions.
This city is also being regarded as ‘sulphur city’ due to the hydrogen sulphide emissions caused from geothermal activities, which gives the city a smell similar to “rotten eggs”. The claim is definitely true as we do immediately smell sulphur once we reached the city this morning. Unpleasant but we soon get used to it as long as the smell is not too strong.
Before reaching the city this morning, we made our way to Waiotapu region again to check out its famous boiling mud pool that we have missed in our previous visit to Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland.
Once we arrived in Rotorua, we then paid a visit to Kuirau Park. This park is free to visit unlike other typical geothermal parks in the city that requires admission fee. It has a crater lake, mud pools, hot springs, and a free thermal foot bath, all set in a beautifully manicured setting dotted with flower beds and native flora.
After that, we went to Hatupatu Drive Scenic Point for a beautiful view over Lake Rotorua. We also passed by the Government Gardens (saw the Klamath Falls Rose Garden and the architecturally striking Rotorua Museum building in this area). We didn’t visit the museum though and the museum is currently temporarily closed for earthquake strengthening works according to its website.
Next, we went to Sulphur Point (or known as Sulphur Bay Wildlife Refuge) which is adjacent to the Lake Rotorua. This is yet another free-to-visit geothermal attraction. This side of Lake Rotorua appears much whiter due to sulphur suspensions in the water.
We then made our way to Eat Streat at Tutanekai Street. This is a roofed pedestrian street lined with bars and restaurants and is a bustling hub especially in the evening. We had our lunch here before checking in to our accommodation.
The last attraction we visited today is the Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest. This 55,000ha forest is the ultimate location for mountain bikers, walkers, hikers and horse riders in Rotorua set amongst magnificent stands of towering Californian Redwoods, lush native forest and exotic trees. We didn’t do the Treewalk – a ticketed attraction that offers walk across elevated platforms and suspension bridges high among the trees (felt that the admission fee is too expensive at NZD37 per pax). We instead do a 30 minutes return walking track to get ourself immersed into the depth and beauty of this forest surrounded by extremely tall redwood trees.
That’s all for our tour in Rotorua. We will be leaving this city and heading to Tauranga tomorrow.
Hurray! After days of delay and uncertainty, we finally did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing today. Before moving on, here’s a bit of introduction of this famous hike:
Heralded as the best one-day trek in New Zealand and is regarded as among the top ten single-day treks in the world.
Located in the Tongariro National Park – New Zealand’s oldest national park and a dual UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Covers a distance of 19.4km, one-way route and usually takes around 6-8 hours to complete. Involves change of elevation of around +/- 1200mm.
Track is across volcanic alpine landscape of dramatic contrasts – steaming vents, glacial valleys, ancient lava flows, alpine vegetation and vivid crater lakes.
We departed from Taupo very early this morning (5.30am) and managed to reach National Park town on time before our 7.15am shuttle bus to the car park where the track begins. The return bus shuttle costs NZD50 per pax and has several departing and return times to choose from.
We started the hike at the Mangatepopo road end (recommended start of the track) at about 8am. There were quite a lot of people doing the hike this morning as today is the only day in the entire week with better weather from early morning to early afternoon, sufficient for the hike to finish without facing hazards like heavy rain, low visibility, etc. Winds were still pretty strong today though (and is quite chilly today too) and thunderstorm is expected from 3pm onwards. Hence, our goal is to finish the hike by 3pm and take the 3pm shuttle back to town.
We started crossing the Mangatepopo Valley and the track follows a stream and the edges of old lava flows towards the valley head. We also got to see first closer view of Mount Ngaruhoe, a volcanic mountain that is often being called as Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings’ films. We then did an extra hike of about 600 metres to check out Soda Springs which is a waterfall.
We then have to climb to the saddle between Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe, through South Crater before climbing again to Red Crater, the highest point on the crossing at 1886 metres high. This is where the tough part of the track begins. My legs were shaking when I was climbing up a long steep section to the Red Crater and the persistent strong winds made everything worst. I was quite panicked at that time but pushed myself in the end. Once at the top, the views overlooking the other-worldly volcanic terrains are breathtaking and my effort certainly paid off!
The tough part of the hike didn’t end there. After that, we have to descend on a volcanic rock scree track to the vivid Emerald Lakes and Blue Lake. This is yet another very steep section and the loose scree surface made me panicked for the second time. I had to lay myself down closer to surface for more balance, get hold of my friend at times for extra support, and forced my way though this section. That was the toughest part for me as I was the kind of person who is afraid of slipping or falling over a steep, slippery and narrow walkway. That section was true nightmare for me. I finally made it to the Emerald Lakes; three small lakes of beautiful and mesmerizing colours. The brilliant colours that give them their name is caused by minerals leaching from the surrounding thermal environment.
We thought of stopping for a long break over here (for lunch and rest) but we decided to quickly move on due to strong winds and our intention to make it to the end of the track quick before the expected rain later in the afternoon. We only grab some quick snack over here in 5 minutes break. We then continued the trail over Central Crater to the old volcanic vent of Blue Lake, before it rounds the flanks of North Crater and descends to Ketetahi Road end. The final section is a long descent through tussock slopes (with great view over Lake Rotoaira and Ketetahi Springs on the side of a mountain) to cool green forest, a refreshing change to the volcanic landscape.
My legs started to get very sore before entering into the forest (about remaining 3km of the hike). All I wanted now was just to quickly finish the track. We saw dark clouds were approaching us and we increased our speed. By the way, there is another waterfall called Ketetahi Falls close to the end of the track for a quick stopover.
We finally completed the hike before 3pm (reached the end of the track at Ketetahi Road end). Wow! 7 hours spent in total and we have walked over 20km in total distance. This is officially my longest ever hike! That’s certainly a proud achievement and an unforgettable experience. It’s heavy downpour once we were on the shuttle. We were lucky.
We reached National Park at about 4pm and then drove all the way back to our accommodation in Taupo (reached before 6pm). Finished our simple dinner and have to really take a good rest (my legs are super tiring now) this evening. What a day! Good weather and mostly smooth journey (disliked those 2 very tough and steep sections) over the entire track. I highly recommend this hike for people with considerably good fitness. The views there are downright spectacular, unbelievable and one-of-a-kind. My conclusion of Tongariro Alpine Crossing; this is one epic walk that is truly memorable and mind-blowing! Definitely the best day hike in New Zealand.
We arrived at Taupo today after leaving National Park early this morning. We will be back to National Park tomorrow for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing as tomorrow’s morning is the only conducive period for the crossing in the entire week according to the weather forecast. We couldn’t do the crossing during our stay in National Park in the past 3 full days due to the bad weather. Hence, we have no option but to travel all the way back down from Taupo to National Park tomorrow and then back up to Taupo after the crossing.
Today we visited Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland which is about 50km north from Taupo. This place is a spectacular showcase of New Zealand’s most colourful and unique geothermal elements sculpted by thousands of years of geothermal activity. The huge area is home to many natural hot springs noted for their colorful appearance, in addition to the Lady Knox Geyser, Champagne Pool, Devil’s Bath, boiling mud pools, craters, etc.
This wonderland of stunning geothermal activities and products quite blew my mind away after having spent a little less than 3 hours there. I’m particularly speechless after seeing the very concentrated lime green pool (called Devil’s Bath) here. It looks sinister and unreal! The Champagne Pool is also a sight not to be missed but we can hardly see its full beauty due to the excessive steam blanketing the pool most of the time and consistent winds blowing the steam all over the place during our visit today.
Another highlight of this popular tourist attraction is the Lady Knox Geyser. The geyser is induced to erupt daily at 10:15am during a presentation by dropping a surfactant (soap) into the opening of the vent. Its eruptions produce a jet of water reaching up to 20m and can last for over an hour depending on the weather.
We then headed back to the town of Taupo for lunch at McDonald’s. We do purposely come to this place for our lunch because this McDonald’s outlet in Taupo isn’t an ordinary one. It has a real military aircraft with its interior refurbished to provide dine-in area for McD customers. How cool is that? It is an attraction in its own right.
We are now back in the accommodation for rest. It’s raining now; why are there so much rain nowadays?! Freaking rain every single day! We will head out again later for dinner and then time for preparation for tomorrow’s hike. Quite anxious about it. It will be my longest hike ever! Hoping for the best in everything especially the weather!
Interrupting my continuous update to my blog here of my on-going road trip to cover a breaking news! My country, Malaysia hold its 15th General Election yesterday on 19th November 2022 with three main coalition parties battling it out to form the next federal government. I was not around again this time (currently in New Zealand for my road trip) and hence I didn’t manage to vote. My single vote didn’t matter much though as my voting constituency is a stronghold for Pakatan and yes, it does win again with large majority.
The three main coalition parties are Pakatan Harapan/PH (led by PKR President Anwar Ibrahim and includes DAP, Amanah, Muda), Barisan Nasional/BN (led by current caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri from UMNO and includes MCA, MIC) and Perikatan Nasional/PN (led by former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin from Bersatu and includes PAS, Gerakan). There are one other coalition party which is Gerakan Tanah Air/GTA (led by former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir from Pejuang and includes NGOs) but people don’t really put much attention or expectation on this one.
In the end, not a single coalition party manage to secure a simple majority (clinching at least 111 or 112 seats). Pakatan is the largest bloc after the election’s outcome with 82 seats. Following closely behind is Perikatan with 73 seats. Barisan won 30 seats. GTA failed to win any. Some heavyweight candidates lost their seat; Tun Mahathir and his son Mukhriz, Anwar’s daughter Nurul Izzah, famous PKR defector Azmin Ali that caused downfall of previous Pakatan government in 2020, MIC president, and former MCA presidents. Now, Perikatan and Harapan are scrambling their way to get support from other winning parties (particularly from Sabah and Sarawak) to secure a majority (will post the update of this development in my coming post).
What’s shocking to me is the uprising of support for Perikatan Nasional from the election’s outcome. After poor showing in the past state elections in Johor and Malacca (which saw strong turnover of support back to BN), I didn’t foresee huge number of seats to be won by PN. However, PN did win big. It clearly shows that majority of Malays have rejected BN and switched to PN rather than PH. Although saying no to corruption of which BN is tainted by, these group sticked to their principles of prioritizing religion and race which is disappointing.
Apology for being too direct but I have to say that they are still so naive and afraid of DAP who they always have in their mind that the Chinese-dominant party will ruin their race and Islam. PAS which plays racial card in politics all the time and knows nothing for the growth of the country instead becomes the largest winning party in this election. That’s real shocking. For me, PAS shouldn’t even exist due to their agendas of Islamization in Malaysia which is a multi-racial country, hudud law enforcement proposal, heavily racist stands, poor governance, and many more.
I do sincerely hope Pakatan is able to form the government with the support of Sabah and Sarawak’s bloc. However, I think this is unlikely as the bloc from Borneo is more friendly towards PN. Pakatan loses in this way as it has no friend; unfortunately no one to share the same vision with PH of seeing Malaysia rising to greater height. Anwar has sacrificed so much and put so much effort to try to lead the country and become Prime Minister for all but couldn’t gain sufficient Malay votes all these while. Majority of Malays just can’t see far enough (DAP must be coming into their mind again). Haiz…
Now, Malaysia sees a hung parliament for first time in history which leads to unstable government. BN is going down the drain after being over confident on this election and no longer has the hold of the coveted Prime Minister’s post. Its chairman and UMNO President, Zahid Hamidi (who is currently embroiled in money laundering cases) is likely to step down after this very poor performance. PN is back with more power after previously being labelled as backdoor government after the fall of Pakatan government in 2020. Likely scenario now is that PH will remain as the main opposition bloc. When will these Malaysians who voted for BN and PN be awake and sincerely hoping for the best of the country? No. Then, we all will be rolling further downhill together. The country we love is now more divided than ever.
(Images in this post are from various online sources)
Vincent Loy's Online Journal 