GE13: Can we make history?

We must now make a historic choice of a lifetime as we are standing on the threshold of a new beginning.

COMMENT

It looks quite certain that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will be calling for the 13th general election (GE13) without the voter rolls being cleaned up.

And what can we as the citizens do about it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Zilch. Nil. Zero. Except to come out in full force and vote and make a big hue and cry if our name is not on the voter rolls on polling day.

Even the Election Commission (EC) is now openly siding with Barisan Nasional when the top two officials ought to resign with immediate effect. The EC has lost its credibility and integrity because it is no longer seen to be neutral and impartial.

In the meantime, why is there still no word from the EC in regard to the cleaning up of the dirty voter rolls? Why is the EC still silent on this matter? And, more importantly, why is Najib also keeping quiet on this issue?

Instead, the focus on Bersih 3.0′s demands had been shifted to the so-called rioting caused by its participants on April 28.

The prime minister no doubt now has only one thing on his mind and that is the date of the forthcoming national polls. He is mulling over when to call for the polls and he is pre-occupied with this day and night.

Let us take a look at the dates in question which have been rumoured to be the polling date:

First of all June 9. If he wants to hold the polls on June 9, he must dissolve Parliament this month.

“Dissolving Parliament before the celebration of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s birthday on June 2 is not a very proper thing to do as it shows disrespect to His Majesty,” said PAS MP for Shah Alam, Khalid Samad.

Next date is June 16 and the above reason still applies.

The third choice is June 23. If the polls are held on June 23, he can dissolve Parliament on June 3.

Therefore, all the Saturdays from June 23 onwards are suitable until just before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan which begins on the third week of July.

After the month of July, he can only hold the polls in the third week of November when the Muslims return from their haj pilgrimage. But then he has the Umno party polls to contend with at that point in time.

Therefore, the dates from June 23 to July 14 are the most suitable. But if the general election is held before the voter rolls are cleaned up, then Najib’s victory is a dirty win and many of us will be robbed of our votes in the scam called “The Theft of Putrajaya”.

What can the citizens do when the powers-that-be use electoral fraud to remain in power? Is there any law to nullify their victory? How can we obtain justice against electoral fraud?

The Pakatan preparation

Meanwhile, what of Pakatan Rakyat’s preparation for the polls?

The seat allocations have more or less been ironed out and as there is to be a fairer representation this time around, it is hoped that an Indian candidate will be given a seat to contest in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.

DAP has to take the initiative for this effort and this will go a long way in getting the Indian support for Pakatan in other states. Indian votes are crucial and must be given due recognition.

Pertaining to Sabah and Sarawak, it is pointless to contest too many seats as what PKR did in the 10th Sarawak state election last year by contesting 49 seats and winning only three.

Spreading oneself too thinly takes up too much time and resources. It is not worth it to take two or three days to go into the interiors and at the end of the day ending up as the loser. Best to focus one’s time and resources on seats wherein victory is possible.

As for Penang and Selangor, there is no point in dissolving the State Legislative Assembly due to the extremely dirty voter rolls, especially as BN is eyeing Selangor like a hawk and there is more than 300,000 dubious voters in Selangor.

The only thing for Penang and Selangor to do now is to spend in the interests of the rakyat as this will help in getting the votes for the parliamentary seats in those states.

It is time to head to the battle-stations. Pakatan must be ready so that when BN shouts “War!” Pakatan can fire the first arrow. The great battle is about to begin. We are now at the crossroads.

Either we go for a great change or forever be doomed to oblivion. The people of Malaysia must now make a historic choice of a lifetime as we are standing on the threshold of a new beginning.

But first a few questions need to be asked: Should there be Bersih 4.0? If yes, when? And what if electoral fraud cannot be stopped?

Selena Tay is a FMT columnist.