Time to vote for candidates, not parties

Malaysians must discard the tribal mentality encouraged by political organisations.

COMMENT

What first appeared to be a pebble in Lim Guan Eng’s shoe has become something bigger, giving him a noticeable limp. Much to the consternation of his devoted supporters, the Penang Chief Minister is now being accused of the kind of corruption and financial shenanigans that most people would associate with Barisan Nasional representatives.

His opponents hint that he was given a huge discount for his bungalow in George Town in exchange for his favour in the tender for a plot of land supposedly gazetted for Phase 2 of a low cost housing project. The woman who sold the house to Guan Eng, Pang Li Koon, is a long time business partner of Tang Yong Chew, the majority owner of Kuala Lumpur International Dental Centre, who won the tender to develop the Taman Manggis land.

The deal itself has been discussed in detail endlessly for some weeks now. Cynical observers say it provides proof of what most people have dreaded all along – that you can never trust a politician, especially if he holds executive power.

The absolute refusal of Guan Eng’s most devoted supporters to consider the possibility of wrongdoing by their hero is an unfortunate side effect of a low-information democracy, even though the Internet and social media have democratised the public space. Low-information voters in Malaysia are a phenomenon that has yet to be fully studied, but they share many characteristics with the classic low-information American voter, who gives his votes to a candidate he feels is personally appealing rather than one who is impressive for his policy platforms.

As we move closer to the next general election, Malaysians must move with the next stage in the evolution of the political awakening that began in 2008. This means each one of us has a responsibility to himself to examine his beliefs to see whether they fit into an acceptable world view.

We must discard the tribal mentality encouraged by the political parties and look at the candidates themselves. Ask yourselves: what work have our representatives done? How have they voted in Parliament or the state assemblies? What statements has a representative made to the press on issues I care about, and will he or she fight for things I believe in?

Things are far from being so clear cut in real life. However, it is clear that we must give our votes to the candidates, not to the parties. Party lines should not matter any more. We are not vassals beholden to our leaders. They will work for us and us alone or they will perish, cut off from our support.