They are Ready, but are we?

We people cannot keep voting in representatives that cannot “represent” us in times of need. And it also affects the performance of the team as a whole. We may be ready for a change, we may be ready to cast our votes, but mind you, we are voting for a change. Not just a change of government, but also of governance.

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Sad to put it this way, but we may again witness the fall of the people’s alliance in the coming GE when the “big day” finally comes, probably in late June or early July 2012. It seems that Mr. PM has lived up to his promise to “clean up” his reputation before declaring the dissolusion of Parliament. Well, at least that is the image he protrayed. 

When Bersih 2.0 struck like a kick-to-the-groin, though the pain was unbearable, he managed to keep his cool and was not immediate in responding with mindless remarks. Instead, many other wannabes took to the task, seemingly trying to impress him. Evidently, they failed miserably. Someone even tried to use “angle hypothesis” to excuse themselves from any responsibilities! 

Coming back to April 2012, we have seen Parliament having to run into overtime, extending its session to pass midnight while in the past, they would probably delay it to the next session! A friend of mine even revealed that a similar situation happened in the Senate, where a senator questioned a minister on the reason for the rush to pass things off before June. Seems like a hint of the election being just around the corner. Good news? Well it depends on how much we are prepared for it. 

We are about to witness a second wave of the people’s rally with Bersih 3.0 and Anti-Lynas running concurrently. With the last event a success, more people are willing to face the “challenge” and come out from our shells to support a right cause. The government is careful now to not immediately shoot down the idea.

Instead, we see a cousin declaring that it is completely legal and non-threatening to organize such an event. But somehow he didn’t say it is so in “participating” in it. Having said that, the respective agencies under his jurisdiction seems to behave in the opposite direction. Even his colleagues seem to support his subordinates instead of the “boss'” decision, with bus services alleged to be canceled, refusal to allow the use of the proposed location for the rally, excuses by the police to not help keep order, and the last minute offering of an alternative location which is not even confirmed. Either this cousin has lost his influence in his office or the “green light” issued is just a political gimmick to cloud the common people from his actual instruction – “to stop Bersih and anti-Lynas rally by all means”. 

The government has been very active, visiting places especially those governed by the federal opposition party, even before declaring a date for the general election. I suppose they must have gathered much discontent from the residents there; or maybe they have even influenced them to make a big fuss over the most trivial issue. It really looks like they are rallying for the election, but without an election openly scheduled. Is this even legal? Where’s the sportsmanship? This is foul play! It’s like a starting to run before the starting gun is fired!

We can see this from the increase in strange issues reported in the mainstream newspaper involving federal opposition party governed states. Looks like an attempt to smear some names so that they appear as the better choice. Well, haven’t the other side done the same before? Only the degree and impact of the issues differ. One reveals serious offences but they are not even investigated by the relevant authorities; while the other, trivial issues are amplified and all authorities would swarm in to display their “professionalism”. Well, how couldn’t they? They are in power now. 

Do excuse me for writing in “code” without making any clear statements of who and whom. Do forgive me for I was left with very little choice. The eventful Parliamentary session where they forcefully passed some Acts is a clear indication that they are all out to shut down anyone that stands in their way. One new Act, seemingly to lessen unreasonable treatment could actually be just a re-definition of similarly unreasonable rules. Among the many, is the cracking down of free speech, especially in the electronic media which is still out of their reach. It seems to suggest that “you will still be punished, but instead of using a big cane, you will now be caned with smaller ones. And since they are smaller, we’ll have to cane you twice.” 

Earlier, a seeming reconfiguration of the electoral roll was tabled and laid out in Parliament and immediately after that, published in the newspaper with the headlines saying that most of the reform demands have been met. Many were duped into believing that the government is adamant in their reform agenda, but may not suspect that the published information may be “carefully redefined” to impress and deceive. 

Not forgetting the huge numbers of legalized illegal immigrants standing by. And with the electoral commission dodging questions of automatic voting rights to even a citizenship application that is still under consideration, the call for a clean electoral roll is ever more exigent. And mind you, the “real” locals do not make much noise about “special rights”. It is those “converts” and offspring of the sort that sound the loudest, out of insecurity maybe. 

Having said that, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed with the people’s alliance. They have enough issues within themselves to punch a hole in their own ship. Even the leader himself is “smelly” enough to attract discomfort. And instead of addressing issues and instilling assurance, the other leaders in the alliance are spending time dodging, explaining, and answering allegations. What more with so many hired “snipers” available for deployment to simply just throw in a “stink bomb” of “bombastic” revelation during their electoral rally? It would be enough to either sink the candidate or may make their supporters panic and start behaving improperly, trying to shut those “snipers” down. As always, I have urged once and again that they mind their actions and not just dig into the spoils of the other side, but also to keep themselves clean of all wrongdoings to avoid being controverted in return. 

In a nutshell, the ruling party is confident. They only worry if they will get their desired 2/3 majority. Moreover, Acts, project allocations, and whatnot have been approved and required to start materializing as soon as possible. In the event the people’s alliance did make it against all odds, they will be left with very little or nothing to play with. And a cancellation would amount to compensations, burdening the new government further from fulfilling their electoral promises of the reduction of petrol prices, toll rates and even educational loans interests. Everything (well, almost) is in place for them. They are ready. And Mr. PM has lived up to his goal in mending things before announcing the election date. Could it be that they have bettered themselves in political skills, or that the other side has slacked? 

As for us, we may struggle not to be taunted by remarks made to smear names, or enticed by sweet promises. For it’s not just the issues at hand that matters. Our future and the future of our children are also at stake. Giving our votes for a pot of honey while losing a bee farm is just not worthwhile.

While it is our choice, the parties should also be resolute not to simply field any candidate just to make up the numbers. We people cannot keep voting in representatives that cannot “represent” us in times of need. And it also affects the performance of the team as a whole. We may be ready for a change, we may be ready to cast our votes, but mind you, we are voting for a change. Not just a change of government, but also of governance.