By jem
Throughout the country, campaign workers have strung up flags and buntings of all the various parties vying to become the government of the day.
It is so ironic that so much money has been spent on such frivolity; yet nothing is being done to help those who have lost their homes to flash floods in various parts of the country.
The government, fully aware of how the monsoon season would affect various parts of the country, was nonetheless adamant about holding an early general election, irrespective of the people’s sufferings.
Is this the concept of “keluarga Malaysia” (the Malaysian family)? It makes one wonder where our priorities lie, doesn’t it?
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But the question most discussed is, which party to vote into office? It is a question of paramount importance, especially after the tumultuous couple of years that many have gone through. It is amusing to listen to what all these politicians have to say, while many people know that many of these politicians mean very little of the things they say.
From various media articles, it looks as if it is basically a game of one-upmanship! There is Perikatan Nasional chairman Mahiaddin Yasin talking about Pakatan Harapan chairman Anwar Ibrahim never being able to become PM as long as the latter is a “friend of DAP”.
This is coming from a man who only became PM through nefarious means himself. (Remember the Sheraton Move?) Would Mahiaddin have ever become prime minister had he not done this? Then, to remain in power, he shamelessly used emergency powers to avoid getting kicked out through a vote of no confidence!
Mahiaddin added he had a “gut feeling” that this election would be the end of the line for Barisan Nasional.
But wasn’t PN a partner of sorts and, not so long ago, working hand in glove with BN? Both parties, PN and BN should not be crowing too soon. They might still want to ‘hold hands’ if there is a hung Parliament after the election, as both parties would find it anathema to work with PH, a multi-racial party!
Barisan Nasional chairman Zahid Hamidi has scoffed at this whole ‘propaganda’, but he might have his own idea of who the next PM should be.
Meanwhile, caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, in an interview, chided the media for having nothing else better to say than to “speculate about the prime minister’s post”.
Is Ismail Sabri afraid that there might be some grain of truth in these “speculations that Zahid wants to be PM”? Does Ismail Sabri think he has a chance of becoming PM again next week?
Zahid Hamidi has been the president of Umno-BN for over four years and, for him, it is a natural progression to the PM’s post with all the power, pomp and ceremony surrounding it. Who wouldn’t want that? He must think that now is his time.
Just like Khairy Jamaluddin, who has been ‘waiting in the wings’, now saying it is his time to become prime minister. If either Zahid or Ismail Sabri becomes PM, is Khairy willing to wait another five years?
It is now or never for all three incumbents, so who steps over whom? Will there be another ‘Sheraton move’? Stranger things have happened in Malaysian politics!
Then there is the Pas election director, who thinks that only Mahiaddin Yasin is ‘eligible’ to become the next PM.
It is amazing how Pas politicians can speak about ‘morality’ when they can scorn and make disparaging remarks about other races, cultures and religions. Didn’t somebody in Pas recently allege that the DAP is a communist party? When ‘Mr Bossku’ was being tried and sentenced for robbing the country’s coffers, where was Pas with their ‘morality standards’ then? It is not so easy to pass judgement when Pas is ‘in bed’ with Umno-BN, is it?
Then there is PH president, Anwar Ibrahim, who alleged some hanky-panky with the earlier voting involving military personnel, especially in Bera, who had already cast their votes and were allegedly paid RM300 each to do so. Anwar claimed he had proof and was willing to provide the evidence to the Election Commission.
If Anwar and his party want to be seen as an honest and viable alternative for this general election, then show the proof and don’t wait for the Election Commission to ask for it. Prove it before the people go to the polls to make your words more believable.
It all comes back to the voters this weekend. We are not a people of one race only. We are a people made up of different cultures, races and religions which we all celebrate. It is this multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multicultural rainbow of colours that makes us who we are – Malaysians!
In football, if an opponent does something unfair, the referee calls it a foul. Similarly, in politics, let us call it a foul when certain politicians fan the flames of malice, spite and unkindness with their rhetoric. Even though it might be hard for some to see through these politicians’ machinations, there are many others who do and who want a better Malaysia for all the people.
If we want to have a better future for ourselves and generations to come, we have to discern and weigh what the politicians are saying against the truth of what we know about other Malaysians.
To the newbies going out to vote – hopefully, you too want a better, fairer, honest government and a future for yourselves and those in your age group.
Ultimately, the choice lies in our hands. If we make the wrong choices, we will have to suffer the consequences for the next five years. If we make the right choices, there is HOPE.
So choose wisely!
jem, an Aliran reader, still cares deeply about Sabah, despite having lived in the peninsula for some time
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
