Friday, March 07, 2008

Political apathy

It is General Election time for Malaysia. The country has seen and experienced many sordid events, mostly political, and yet some are still unsolved. They have most probably swept it under their rugs and prayed that Allah and the Internal Security Act 1960 will continue to keep it buried. We have been lied to. There is no transparency in this government.

It is election time. Have I casted my vote? Perhaps I should just admit that even if I had been a registered voter, I would not have voted. I am apathetic towards the politics of Malaysia. This decades old disposition is not an uncommon phenomenon and I do not believe I am alone on this. And no, I did not vote. I wanted to vote but it is too late. I would have voted for the opposition -- Democratic Action Party (DAP). But I know it would have not made any differences. The ballot boxes would eventually be breached and votes compromised and altered. The proposed used of the indelible ink to prevent fradulent votes to a fair and secured election has been scrapped on the eleventh hour. This recent decision has inevitably raised suspicions of many on the ulterior motives behind the decision.

I wish to uncover my thoughts on the general elections. People know who would best represent their interests and welfare and will, therefore, duly cast their votes to the appropriate party. However, the general elections of Malaysia can easily be mistaken to represent ethnic and racial groups, and not the holistic interests of the citizens of Malaysia. I feel broken of the fact that I cannot say otherwise to the following:

  • political leaders of Malaysia are corrupt
  • Malaysian Ministers all have their dirty agenda leached on the expense of common people
  • welfare and benefit policies are racially biased
  • ethnic Malays are overly dependent on the government that they have totally lost the ability and the will to compete
  • non-ethnic Malays are already looking over the horizons to move to greener pastures, where equality is recognized regardless, corruption-free, Islam extremist free, a place that recognises freedom of religion, information, speech, etc.
    If you can add to this list, please leave a comment


  • There is one party that has always been in power, the Barisan National (National Front (in English)), since Independence Day year 1957. Decades after decades, the welfare of Malaysians seemed to have deteriorated to the point that many believe their country "holds no promises" for them. I couldn't agree further than that that the future of the country is rather bleak and far from economic and financial sustainabilty. I am advocating for a balance of power in political parties for the sake of the country's future and for the welfare of all citizens.

    An Election for Malaysians? or For ethnic victory?


    A complicated three-way tug-of-war is what I think it is. Or perhaps the rope of the tug-of-war in question has three ends (akin to the letter 'Y') where each end is being pulled by each ethnic race of Malaysia -- Malay (on the other end), Chinese, and Indians (each pulling their rope). The ethnic Chinese and Indians are being contested by not only the Malays, but also the said ISA 1960, [indirect] Islamic laws (usually extremists), population base of the ethnic Malays, biased benefits and privileges for the Malays, corrupted government bodies (majority of whom are ethnic Malays), and their religion. As for the record of the latter, there is nothing wrong with Islam as a religion and I do not have anything against the religion. However, I just do not agree with how Malaysia (the ethnic Malays) practices the religion -- chaotic extremist and/or over zealous but disguised in the name of modern secularism.

    What this should be is an election for the general welfare and benefits for all members of the public who are citizens of Malaysia!! Policies and legislatives ought to be free from biasness of race, religion, and skin color! There ought to be a central ombudsman free from government intervention and influence and serves the purpose of and uphold virtousities of equality, justice, fairness, and competition! I cannot stress any further how important competition is for Malaysia and its people.

    Nevertheless, I can't help but to think that the ethnic Malays have cheated and will continue to cheat in elections to stay in power. The non-Malays are not facing against giants, but bullies whose time in power will soon come to an end.

    I am a Malaysian and I am apathetic towards the pathetic politics of Malaysia. If you hold the same view as I do here, leave your comments by copying and pasting the preceding sentence of this paragraph.

    It would be difficult and complicated to explain the socio-political state of Malaysia to a non-Malaysian who has no prior knowledge of the Malaysian society, culture, and history.

    No comments: