In a few days more, Malaysians of all races, ages, socio economic status and blood type would cast their votes on 5 May 2013 after being held in limbo by a mandateless PM for the past 5 years. Needless to say, the outcome of the election is one that is highly anticipated with both Pakatan and BN having a lot at stake. Najib and Anwar could either be the next PM for Malaysia or just fade away after 5 May 2013.
My plea here today is this, as much as we might think that we are a democratic country with every person having the right to vote for their party of choice, your choice in which party you vote for goes beyond your democratic right. It’s a decision of morality. A decision between right and wrong. A decision between standing up for the victims of injustice. A decision for a better Malaysia. Here is why:
1. You are not voting for/against a Republican/Democrat or even the Labor or Conservative political party where both parties are equally at par intellectually and progressively with each other. Your choices are of a moral choice – to continue to endorse corruption and mismanagement of our funds or to vote in a possibly better government which has proven to be more accountable, transparent and less corrupt in the sates they have governed. How many multi-million dollars scandals do they have tied to them to date as compared to BN? But Pakatan seems to have more of their members serving jail time than BN. Ironic.
2. You are not voting for which party cleans your drain, tars your road really quickly, answers to your DBKL problem, showcases his singing skills or his bedroom skills – you are voting for a party which is able to make a difference to the country, someone who would stand up for what is right regardless of the consequences. Think about this, abolishment of tols, reduction of tol rates, abolishment of ISA, the somewhat better treatment of peaceful assembly and the now possibility of buying cheaper cars... whose fight was and success was it really? If Pakatan together with the social movement of the day have not fought for all of these for years, with the likelihood of unjust imprisonment, police brutality, tear gas, FRU beating, would these successes be even possible? For all these sacrifices don’t you think that giving them just 5 years to showcase what they can do for the country is fair? Which BN candidate has actually been jailed for standing up against a minister who raped a minor?
3. Individuals – Pakatan has to date showcased some very impressive individuals who have given up their bright or comfortable future just to get their hands dirty with meager pay to see a better Malaysia in the future. You gotta ask yourself why. Why would Rafizi Ramli get paid RM10k+ which includes paying their staff (if he gets elected this time around) when he had such a bright future at Petronas? Why would Nurul Izzah risk going through what her dad had to go through? Why would Tony Pua, with all his successes bother with Malaysian politics when he was already running a successful company listed on the SGX SESDAQ? Why would Hannah Yeoh get herself muddled in DAP when she could have sat back and enjoyed her life with her 2 kids probably earning a lot more in the corporate world and not having to worry about medical bills? Why?
4. You cannot separate voting for just policies and turning a blind eye to what really happens in reality. My Jib Gor talks about 1Malaysia, but yet he selects Zulkipli Nordin to stand in Shah Alam when he knew darn well before the racist remarks he’s made against the Indians. And to make things worse, Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali is nominated for a straight fight in Pasir Mas through a cunning move by the UMNO candidate to step away. You cannot help to but conclude that it was all part of the show to get Ibrahim Ali a straight fight. An absolute bigot who wanted to burn your Bibles with Allah printed on them and the one who threatened us Chinese to stock up on food if we didn’t cancel the Bersih rally (like we were the only ones attending). Apart from all of these, the cow head incident, Ridhuan Tee’s, Utusan articles and the many more racially “inspired” events just to make sure that we are continually divided and continually fear for our safety and the best part in all of these, no or barely any action has been taken against these individuals. If you think that has ended, look at how BN is campaigning – race and religion continuously is used to instill fear that we cannot trust and we shouldn’t respect each other’s believes and way of life. Don’t make excuses that “My MP is not Ibrahim Ali so it’s ok to vote for BN” or “he is only but one”. You are not voting for just the individual but what the party says and acts on what it believes in. If you believe this is how Malaysia should progress then I do not blame you for voting BN.
5. A vote to BN would also mean you endorse a party which carries so much tainted leaders and scandals involving rings, berkin handbags, cows, submarines, PKFZ, Mongolians, Sukhoi jets, billionaire Sarawakian and President porn star or you are just turning a blind eye. In any proper government, half the leaders today would have to step down – Bill Clinton should have joined Malaysian politics. He would probably still be the man of the hour and not the guy in the backstage. Please remember that there was no incriminating video evidence against him – just a recorded testimony from Lewinsky unlike our dear MCA PRESIDENT. Don’t justify the wrongs that have been committed by saying, “All parties have their scandals as well” because in any righteous party, these people would have been dealt with immediately… but not in Malaysia. What has happened to Lingam, Teoh Beng Hock, Atlantuya… N.O.T.H.I.N.G. It took BN years before they sorta kinda put Khir Toyo in jail and that white lion in Sarawak, he’s still roaming free and has the balls to ignore MACC (our supposedly “independent” all powerful commission). As much as this is just cases of corruption but remember, in all these cases, there are people on the receiving end – the clients against Lingam who never saw justice, the orang asli’s in Sarawak who have lost their lands, the refugees who have to constantly bribe RELA officers to leave them alone – your decision affects them too.
6. Some argue, economically, it seems that BN has a better plan to drive the nation. Let me then ask you, would economics outlook today mean anything if corruption and billion dollar scandals is allowed to thrive in Malaysia. How is it that every other year, from the Auditor Generals report that we have ministries procuring items at exorbitant prices? Every year. Every effing year. And this is just probably the tip of the iceberg. Imagine if submarines were part of the A.G.’s report. My dear friends, the money spend… that’s your money. Say something, stand up and make that difference. Pakatan to date proved that they can better manage the states under them than their predecessors. I didn’t say that, the A.G. report did. So which makes more economic sense, continuous mismanagement of our funds or a party that better manages it?
7. Apart from all of that, it only makes logic sense to vote in a new government which has shown themselves capable in the states they have ruled in for this very simple reason – NEWBIE PASSION. In our organizations, who are the most gung-ho people? The ones that would go all out to make sure they get confirmed in 6 mths? Who wouldn’t be experienced enough to pull a hanky-panky? Who is so darn scared of making mistakes? Who would literally kow-tow to their bosses? NEWBIES. These are the qualities that I am assured of when I vote Pakatan into power. They are all out passionate to show that they can rule. Their heads are not as big. Their ears are spanking clean to listen to what us the people want. They’re dead scared to be caught doing anything wrong and they know who their bosses are.
8. Finally, this might sound really crude and vulgar but this is my best illustration so please pardon me for the language. Before you vote for a party, please ask yourself – Which political party can you feel their balls closest to the palm of your hand? This is very important, because in order to make Malaysia a better country, you need leaders who are at your mercy and not the other way around. When we as a nation demand a less corrupted administration, our palms must be close enough to tighten our grip so that they move and if they don’t we are able to further tighten our grip till it causes enough pain at the groin for them to do act. I know for sure that there is barely any breathing space between my palms and Pakatans balls cause they have no choice but to listen to the people, but with BN, an aeroplane could probably fly between my hand and their balls. They need to be push so hard before they start making changes. Every year we tell them, uphold justice they do a half back RCI on Lingam which ended up with nuts. We tell them, abolish ISA, they condemn your CANDLE vigils, send FRUs at you, tell you “The hell with abolishing it. We NEED ISA. We cannot abolish ISA” until finally relenting after so many years and they tell you now, “It’s our achievement”. We tell them get rid of corrupted leaders and we get the white tiger from Sarawak telling you 2 years ago he’ll step down and is still running for election this time around and he HAS the balls to tell MACC, “Get lost”.
I am writing this with my 20 days old baby on my lap, ignoring my 2 year old daughter who is yearning for some attention just so that I can finish writing this article before the elections. I am sacrificing my time so that my children would have a better Malaysia to live in. A Malaysia that is truly one, where injustices are dealt with without fear or favor, a Malaysia where our resources are equally distributed regardless of race (and not just to cronies) and a Malaysia where leaders are held accountable and who truly listens to the people (and not just on advertisement on billboards).
P/S - If any of you tell me that, “If PAS comes to power and implement hudud how?”, I’ll bring out the bagful of both my kids dirty diaper, make soup out of it and force feed you. Read more about PAS and Hudud here.
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