by Emir Shafri (05-06-13)
We haven’t lost the elections. At least, not yet.
![democracy2](http://dinmerican.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/democracy2.png?w=128&h=93)
The groans of Malaysians who were on the laggy Malaysiakini (which was throttled down, allegedly) were heard about 7 minutes later. But while the Barisan Nasional government has won the elections, they have not won where it matters the most: the hearts and minds of the rakyat.
The road to that victory would be a long and punishing one. For one, it requires them to stay, instead of stray from their election platform: janji ditepati (promise kept). Their promises to unite, not divide the people; their promises to stand up for every single Malaysian, regardless of race, creed or social standing, must be ditepati.
Secondly, they’ll need to be good “children” of the people and go clean their rooms. They’ll need to put a little elbow grease into scrubbing out corruption and cronyism.
Thirdly, they’ll need to be transparent and accountable. Instead of denying allegations, they need to address them, head on. After all, if they did no wrong, the truth should set them free, no? They could start with addressing allegations of gross elections misconduct: the phantom voters, the “foreign reinforcements”, the magically appearing ballot papers.
“But what about the Pakatan Rakyat?” you may ask. “They played by the rules, yet they still lost.”
I for one, don’t think they lost GE13. If anything, they won the most important position in any democratic government: a credible opposition that acts as a diligent check and balance.
Watch the government with an eagle eye. Hold them accountable for the
three things I’ve mentioned above. But most importantly, go beyond the ad hominem attacks. From the moment you get sworn into Parliament, show that you have strong alternative positions in every aspect of government, and prove to us that you are indeed a better choice.
![najib_taib2](http://dinmerican.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/najib_taib21.jpg?w=545)
Remember what I said a few days ago about this elections being about good old-fashioned parenting? Well, now’s each alliance’s chance to show the rakyat—the “mothers and fathers” of government—that it truly deserves to be our favourite child, in GE 2018.
“What’s the point?” you may lament. “BN will resort to dirty tricks again. Whatever we do, we’ll still lose.” Well, let me tell you when we’ll lose.
The moment we give up on holding the government accountable, that’s when we lose.The moment we decide to just give up on our country (and maybe even contemplate migrating), that’s when we lose.
The moment we grow indifferent and apathetic towards how our nation is governed, that’s when democracy dies. As Plato said (and as shared in an earlier Facebook post), “The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”
So no, I refuse to accept that we—the people of Malaysia—have lost. We cannot, and we will not allow it.
![Kids of Malaysia](http://dinmerican.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/kids-of-malaysia.jpg?w=300&h=200)
I’ll end this as Alfred, Lord Tennyson did, in Ulysses:
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
So strive for democracy. Seek democracy. Find democracy. But whatever it is that you do, no matter the amount of blackouts or black eyes we’re handed, do not let democracy yield.
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