SEVERAL days ago, a retired Umno politician, his wife and their young grandchildren were out for lunch in a cosy, under-stated cafe in a leafy Kuala Lumpur suburb.

They had just ordered the food and the retired politician was playing with his grandchildren. ‎A beautiful sight: old and young in a bond of love.

Just then, two men approached the table‎ and made disparaging remarks about the retired politician and Umno. Then, one of them whipped out his phone and started harassing the politician, his wife and grandchildren by taking a video of them.

To prevent an ugly flare-up, the politician and his family abruptly left the cafe.

Memo to the two men: shame on you.

You may think that just because you dipped your hand in indelible ink on May 9, it gives you the right to be boorish, downright rude. Malaysians have every right to celebrate the great result of GE14 but there is a fine line between pride of achievement and arrogance‎ of the victor.

Victory is sweetest when sprinkled with magnanimity and humility.

Malaysia is still in the throes of the GE14 party but perhaps it is time for some reflection.

The millions who voted out Umno/Barisan Nasional did so because they couldn’t stomach the arrogance and excess of Najib Razak and comrades. Their pettiness and belief that they could do anything was so suffocating.

So when they were voted out on May 9, there was unbridled joy and palpable sense of relief. We celebrated how we came together to bring about change. We loved the feeling of unity. We dared to dream about a new Malaysia where there would be less focus on what divides us.

But in our exuberance, are some of us starting to behave with the arrogance we once complained of? Are we treating Malaysians who voted for BN as our enemies, or lesser citizens?

Is the best moment in recent history going to descend into a sad tale of score-settling and chest-thumping?

Yes, Najib and many of his party members ‎were rogues. It is understandable why many Malaysians want the former prime minister and his cabal to be humiliated and jailed.

But not every card-carrying member of Umno or Barisan Nasional deserves scorn.

It is also worth remembering that millions of Malaysians also voted for Barisan Nasional and PAS. Indeed, the combined popular vote for BN/PAS was slightly more than that obtained by Pakatan Harapan.

Think if you are in their position as losers. Wasn’t it just weeks ago that you were on the losing side too? The reality is no matter who we voted for, we vote for a government to run Malaysia in the best possible way for a better future.

And that future starts with us, in how we treat ourselves and our political foes.

Time for crowing over the results is over, now is the time to patch up and move on. Cast aside this shallow mindset of a petty winner. Unless you want to be the monster that you think Umno politicians were in the past. – May 24, 2018.