Latest bet on GE13: Parliament dissolve Feb 22, nominations Mar 16, balloting Mar 30?

Prime Minister Najib Razak has said that he will soon announce the election date. The statement was not much, as the Parliament must be dissolved no later than 27 April and it is less than 100 days from now.

The lack of details has only opened the door to a fresh guessing game over when the date will be.

To those who still are unsure why it is important to lay out in advance the actual timing ot the 13th general election or GE13, just take a look at the Kuala Lumpur stock market for the answer. The FBM KLCI fell 40 points two days ago for its worst loss in nearly a year due to the political uncertainty.

Meanwhile, the hottest rumour is that Parliament will be dissolved on February 22, nominations on March 16 and polling on March 30 (see top image, courtesy of blogger Martin Jalleh).

Already, salvoes fired

No matter what Najib is planning and what date the general election will fall on, as voters, we should be psychologically prepared to face the probably most intense general election of Malaysia.

According to Sin Chew, the election skirmishes have already started. Various kinds of aids in different names but with same purposes have been distributed while various political functions have also been held. Also, impassioned wars of words have drown the media.

We can say that in the coming weeks, everyday will be the election day and voters will be treated as the highest priority, before the polling day. It can be predicted that more good news will be heard, more promises will be made and more handshaking sessions will be held.

It is called a democratic election, an election that mobilises the whole nation with the ultimate goal of electing a party to rule the country for the next five years. At this moment, we are most concerned about the election results. However, we have actually neglected that the process of election is sometimes more worthy of concern and attention compared to the results.

Arguments and mutual accusations are inevitable along the process of election. Political parties may confront over local issues and national policies. It is a normal phenomenon in election. To fight for votes, some politicians even challenge the bottom line of sensitive issues and taboo, leading the public to shout in provoking language to stir sentiments.

People have a chance to show their displeasure

A democratic election offers the people an opportunity to vent their emotions, it is also the most effective channel to express their demands. Therefore, at this moment, we suddenly found that many problems have been exploded simultaneously, making us realise that there are actually dissatisfaction and resentment among the people and there are actually unfairness, injustice and differences in the society.

An election also allows confronting parties to have different political ideologies through mutual denounce by tongue and pen. The public can also more or less understand their political blueprints and ideologies, and measure their political thinking and wisdom through their policy stance and commitments before responding with votes.

Each election result will bring different levels of policy adjustments. The ruling party will realise their weaknesses and make appropriate adjustments based on the voting trend while the opposition party will review the reasons of their failure and make adjustments in all aspects as a preparation for the next election.

Of course, a democratic election does not necessarily solve all problems. But through an election, the people can see the differences among different parties, as well as among different racial groups. Most importantly, dissatisfaction and resentment should be eliminated while injustice and differences should be corrected.

The election will end. As long as it is fair, all parties have to accept its results. Democracy will have its true values only when we adhere to it and democracy will be enhanced only when we respect it!

-Martin Jalleh/ Sin Chew Daily