You better believe it!
On March 8, when you are in that cubicle at the polling station, you are in a very powerful position.
Because the fate of the election candidates is in your hands.
You decide to whom the ballot should go. You decide the fate of the country.
You can choose to give your vote to the Barisan Nasional for all that it has promised to do in its manifesto or you can choose to vote the DAP, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) or PAS for CHANGE.
Some people don't look at political parties but at the individual candidates.
So, in the Lembah Pantai parliamentary constituency, it's interesting to see how many votes will go to Nurul Izzah who is challenging Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
I know Shahrizat - a two-term MP - is a popular figure in the constituency.
Nurul Izzah, 27 is the eldest child of former Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. She is PKR's candidate.
Shahrizat is confident of winning the Malay-majority constituency but I know that she is not taking her challenger lightly.
Nobody ever does. And nobody should.
So, will it be a vote for party or candidate?
Come March 8, the choice is yours. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And the candidate you choose is beholden to you for giving him/her YOUR vote.
Read the manifesto of each political party -- BN, DAP, PKR or PAS.
If you want change, then you know which party is advocating change.
For instance, DAP is going on the "Just Change It" or "Jom Ubah" slogan in its eight-point "Malaysian First" manifesto.
The PKR is promising "a new dawn for Malaysia" while PAS ...well, it is not propogating an Islamic State but one that is trustworthy, clean, just and "berkebajikan".
So, take your pick.
For me, I will look at how the country has been in the last five years after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over.
I know how the country has been before his tenure and I can pretty much size up how the country will be in th next five years.
And, I have my own report card, thank you very much.
Of course, you and I know that you cannot vote the Barisan Nasional out of power.
(To you die-hard anti-BN...you can still try.)
But I have always believed that a good democracy (because democracy can be bad?) is when there is a strong check-and-balance ...simply to prevent abuse of power on the part of the government in power.
And in order for that check-and-balance to be in place, the ruling party cannot be made to be all-powerful.
A strong opposition is needed.
So many people tell me that "we don't have a strong or credible" opposition so how to vote for the opposition?
I can understand why they think so, although I think that more often than not, the opposition has been made to look weak, messed-up and untrustworthy.
Some people also say that voting for the BN is voting for political stability and therefore, economic stability.
I'm neither a supporter of the BN nor of the opposition.
That's not to say that I don't have a stand. I do because I see some good things in both. And bad. The right things each stand for. And the wrong.
Essentially, I do believe that the opposition should get their act together. This does not mean that I think they're a bunch of clowns and should be dismissed. Far from that.
I think there are leaders in the opposition far far smarter and cleverer than some idiots in the BN.
I also do not subscribe to the belief that voting for the opposition means you're voting for political instability.
I know this propaganda works among rural folk.
It doesn't work for me.
I do not believe that any of our opposition leaders wants to send the country to turmoil and chaos.
(By the way, peaceful protests do not equal chaos and peaceful protests turn ugly only when protesters get that bad deal from the police or FRU....oh you know what I mean)
That said, there are still a few good men and women in the BN.
So....happy voting, folks!
9 comments:
the opposition out to create chaos? i don't think so. and i don't subscribe to the view that all bn people are greedy and corrupt. look at the individuals. compare khairy and mukhriz, for example. dap has jeff ooi and tony pua, and i am all for them. pkr has chegubard. pas has husam, a moderate muslim man whom i've never seen with a serban arab.
look at the pkfz, the huge losses, the chaos. the opposition has nothing to do with that. look at the IDR, the lack of transparency, the idea of giving Singapore a piece of land bigger than the island itself .. the Opposition has nothing to do with it.
look at the street demonstrations led/influenced by the Opposition. if the police had let them march in peace, there wouldn't have been chaos, riots, and blood. but the police had to "protect" all of us and turn the chemical-laced water canons on the peaceful marchers, throw them in jail, and threaten us with draconian laws.
i am not ALL for the Opposition, but certainly I won't tolerate any lies about the Opposition out to create trouble for Malaysians.
Tell that to the marines.
That said, there are still a few good men and women in the BN.
Ena,
Am still trying to figure out the few good ones in BN.
It'd be a difficult choice for me if I were a voter in Lembah Pantai. I think Sharizat has done some good work for her constituency the last three terms.
Although I believe that a strong Opposition is needed to check the all-powerful BN...still it'd be like the Malay proverb ditelan mati emak, dibuang mati bapaka kind of situation.
Luckily am in Kelana Jaya. Easier choice to be made and I will stay focussed.
I'll go for "A New Dawn fo Malaysia."
For those who either work in GLCs or been given $ or goodies bt political party, just accept it so that not atangonish them on surface, but vote for the betterment of the country.
Take the $ or goodies you received and give away or donate to need people.
No one can pressure you to vote for their desire. IT is your right as a citizen!
The opposition is known for not adhering/conforming to laws and regulations. They dont and cant because if they do, they dont create any attention and thus wont be noticed.
One angle I would like to throw is that if they are given a bigger number of seats, they will be like the mat rempits. The more rempits in thier group , the more daring they become in confronting the police and not following the laws. Which mat repit groups when in thier high tens do?
But if there are only 5 or 6 of these mat rempit at any time or location, they cabut the first time they see a policeman.
Thats the danger when they are many DAP, PAS and PKR rempits!
Do you like the mat rempits? if you do, then you would like more of these dap, pkr and pas reps!
Lately, the "People Power" phrase had been used well, like Makkal Sakthi for instance (in Tamil).
Many Malaysians are moderate.
The Indians for instance have all along been quite loyal to BN.
Somehow come election day,
The whole family enbloc votes BN.
This elections may see a change however due to many recently highlighted issues, especially on issues around the area of justice and fairplay.
The long awaiting and patience seems to be over.
Many are disappointed !!
Each one has his/her own story.
Yes the BN will still rule yet it's quite certain that the INdian votes will no longer be Massively one tracked as before.
The elected govt (not just MIC) has to do a good rethink and do a collective revamp in addressing real plights of the citizen Indians to ensure wholesome progess of this good country.
Insaf Khan.
warrior2,
you know..that's how it works. and especially in our country.
i'm not a card-carrying member of any political party. I am a card-carrying member of the National Press Club (of which I am one of the 2 trustees). But the NPC is not a political party. Ok..I am digressing.
anyway, warrior1, you are right to believe that. but when you are faced with obstacles to be heard, i suppose you have to resort to making a lot of noise, and perhaps creating distraction.
i think they have a legitimate excuse for resorting to not-so-legitimate activities. i am fine with any body trying to attract attention as long as it is not extreme and nobody gets hurt or killed.
now, on that point, i see some of BN leaders doing some terrible things only because they can get away with it.
i am sure if the DAP or PKR is in power, they won;t stand for any nonsense from the opposition.
that's the way the cookie crumbles.
i think you know that.
and thank you for visiting and leaving your comment. I appreciate it.
I support Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
She's the best woman candidate. Some more got good testimonies from her constituents. Most if not all, love her for the positive change she bring to Lembah Pantai.
See how she carry herself: http://mylivingwall.com/v2/content/shahrizat-makes-lembah-pantai-grow
Do you like the mat rempits? if you do, then you would like more of these dap, pkr and pas reps!
My, my! Arent you being presumptious, warrior2?
Dont you know know who is the greatest supporter of Mat Rempits?
Tak tahu atau pun buta2 tak tahu?
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