The scourge of voter apathy

Our writer laments the attitude of eligible voters who won’t exercise their right.

COMMENT

There is a general impression among those who follow the news that political consciousness among Malaysians has been rising dramatically in the last decade or so.

Indeed, not many would argue against the belief that Malaysians are becoming more aware of their rights as citizens in a democracy, more ready to assert and defend those rights and less susceptible to the influence of propaganda.

Yet, according to figures released by the Election Commission last June, more than 20% of those eligible to vote have not registered to exercise that right.

To our knowledge, no credible research has been done to find out why one out of every five potential voters in Malaysia has chosen note to participate in the democratic process.

However, the greater question is whether such a high level of apathy is acceptable at this stage of our history.

One 26-year-old MyKad-carrying Malaysian told FMT that although he was a keen follower of political news, he saw “no use” in voting in an election. His subsequent explanation implied that he had resigned himself to his powerlessness in the face of mighty political forces that had always done things their own way regardless of whether the public approved of these.

Obviously there is something wrong with his attitude, which makes us wonder whether political parties and relevant NGOs have done enough to convince such people of the importance of exercising their voting right.

Perhaps the most important message that must go out to these apathetic Malaysians is that nobody is immune to government policies, and bad leaders increase their chances of getting elected with each decrease in the number of voters.

The Greek statesman Pericles, who lived during the golden years of Athenian democracy, did not speak kindly of those who were politically apathetic. “The unique character of democracy is that a person who does not take an interest in public affairs is considered not as a harmless but as a useless character,” he said.

Political scientists agree that an engaged and well informed citizenry participating in civic society is crucial in ensuring social, political and economic stability. “People’s power should be a check to (the) power (of ruling elites),” said Montesquieu.

And here comes the crucial rationale for encouraging eligible voters to go to the polls: according to political scientists, the larger the electorate, the less likely will politicians have the audacity or gather the nerves to practice the vicious arts of political manipulation.

Mature democracies like the United States can afford some degree of apathy, if by “apathy” we simply mean the reluctance to go out to vote. In such nations, the democratic institutions are strong enough and the populace enlightened enough to provide checks against power abuses.

Malaysia, however, is a democracy in infancy. We are yet to gain many of the freedoms and rights that democracy promises.

Indeed, according to some activists, our so-called democracy is worse than infantile; it is regressive. They argue that the deterioration in the quality of governance and the loss of judicial independence are but two of the manifestations of a regressing democracy.

Political apathy—or voter apathy, to be precise—is a luxury Malaysians cannot afford, at least at this juncture of our nation’s history.

Perhaps, even without the support of 20% of the potential electorate, Malaysians who will vote at the 13th general election can still force a directional change in our democratic development—from regression to progression.

Perhaps the hope is brighter in the further future. A 19-year-old student told FMT that she wished she was two years older so that she could vote in the coming election. She added that she was looking forward to the 14th general election.

Stanley Koh is a former head of MCA’s research unit. He is a FMT columnist.