There are times we make decisions based on rationale and proof, but this coming election, which is taunted to be one of the most fiercely contested is not one of those times.
As a registered voter, track record and individual traits of the candidate, including with the fact that he has done good seems nothing more than just a list on a piece of paper, with the bigger picture making a huge point in selecting where the ‘X’ should fall on this Sunday.
For the fence sitters, the non-extremist and not-loyal supporters of any political party like myself, the decision to make is difficult, to say the very least.
While it seems that one side of the divide is promoting ‘hope’, and the other promoting ‘fear’, it still brings down to the question: “Who is the better evil?”
This question plagues people like me the most because the one promoting ‘Hope’ brings along street demonstrations, ‘gangster like attitude’ and showcases a long list of ‘negative baggage’, while the one promoting ‘fear’, no matter how negative it may sound, seems to bring along a more gentleman attitude, continuity, and the much needed stability, despite the poor campaigning method which for me, proves just to shun voters away from them.
It’s indeed ironic that these two sides are indeed promoting something different from what they stand for, but I guess Malaysian politics had seen weirder times.
With the confusion over the ‘greater evil’ unresolved, one has no choice but to see what they hope to bring to the nation once they stand in power. I do this because I believe that we need leaders which are forth thinking, and capable of making us move forward, rather than dwell on past mistakes, or simply play the blame game.
Unfortunately, both sides seems more interested in winning the popularity war, that they have yet to suggest what they can do in precision when they come to power. One side is saying the other side is merely making a fairy tale, while the opposite side claims they are not the same, and are better at governing. Both sides offer proof that is listed on their biased report cards.
With two key elements not able to help sum up a decision, the last variable comes in play, which is how they aim to represent the minority people, namely the non-Muslims, the natives in Sabah and Sarawak and the non-Bumiputeras.
This last trump card is well needed because representing the majority is easy, but fighting for the minority is a challenge simply because standing up for the ‘small guy ain’t easy’ considering the wrath one may get from the majority.
To this, both sides have their ‘devil’ hidden in their closet, but it does seem apparent that one side has a rather free hand to get away with a lot of things such as racist remarks, which has, more than once lead into broken hearts and frustration among us minorities. The other side seems undecided to say the least, especially on issues pertaining to the minorities. However, they have somewhat managed to show some sort of moderation over sensitive issues concerning the minority communities in Malaysia, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak altough they could really do away with one component in their side which is more interested in using religion to exercise power over the people.
With that said, the choice is still very much open to voters like myself, and it is clearly between whether we are willing to choose the known evil, or go for the unknown evil, who could be better or much worst.
Nonetheless, sometimes, there is a need to also consider the fact that when close to everything doesn’t seem right, particularly when there’s an apparent favoritism and discrimination against minority citizens, the only option is to reboot the whole system, with hope things may turn out for the better. But then again, it’s still your choice to make.
Happy voting Malaysia. I hope after this, we can start focusing on real issues once more, and stop hearing all the slanders and lies from both sides which had been plaguing Malaysia for the past 15 days.