The dust ought to be settling by now, after the conclusion of Malaysia's 13th general elections.

This would have been the case in ordinary times, but we are living in an extraordinary period of Malaysia's political history.

The BN has formed the government again, which has been the case for the party since Malaysia's independence in 1957.

Najib Razak has been sworn in as the prime minister and we can expect the cabinet to be formed and sworn in rapidly, with the hope being that normalcy will resume.

Normalcy will never resume in the sense of what the BN government hopes for and expects. The landscape of Malaysian politics has changed in a fundamental way.

The BN government has been formed under a dark cloud. The results and conduct of the elections are dubious, to say the least.

The Election Commission (EC), which is supposed to be independent, has no credibility and has shown itself time and again to have taken a partial position politically.

For argument's sake, even if there had been no rigging of votes, the people do not trust the EC or the conduct of the elections. This in itself casts a blemish on the whole electoral process.

The EC, if it were independent and had a genuine desire to ensure that the elections would be free and fair, should have adopted all of Bersih's recommendations.

This would have resulted in the people accepting the results of the elections whichever way it went.

The BN has come into power despite losing the popular vote count. Of course, it will be argued in turn that it is within the framework of the system that they have formed the government.

To use the latter argument will be missing the point as despite the benefits and advantages of an unbroken incumbency, allegations of cheating, manipulation of the mainstream media, and blatant money politicking, the BN has a reduced majority in Parliament.

They have lost the moral right to rule the country.

The people have spoken. The frustrations concerning corruption, misrule, abuse of power, poor economic management and growing wealth and income inequality, among others, have been made evident through the ballot box.

There has been a political awakening in the country, which in the longer term will be beneficial. The evolution will continue, with the restlessness of the younger generation in having a say in their future ensuring that the politics of race will sooner rather than later be put out to pasture.

I was pleasantly surprised by the eagerness of the younger members of my family to be part of the country's political process, which is a departure from the apathy I had been used to seeing from the older generations in the past.

There is understandably a feeling of despondency with the results of the elections among those who have worked for a better Malaysia.

The fight though will continue. Malaysians will, all in their own way and based on their own circumstances and limitations, have to fight for a better country.

The 13th general election was not a defeat for the movement demanding change - it is just another giant step taken in the direction for a better Malaysia.