'I will vote for the two triangles'

My grandaunt is in her late 60s. She lives in Transfer Road, Penang with her husband, children and grandchildren. She doesn’t read the newspapers nor follow the current affairs of our country.

During my last visit, I informed her about the upcoming election, I asked if she was willing to travel to the polling center to cast her vote.

“Of course. I must,” she said with confidence.

“Who will you vote for?” I asked.

She smiled as she rubbed her legs.

“I will vote for the same one I have been voting for, since forty years ago,” she said.

“Do you know the name of the party you will be voting for?” I asked. She went silent for a while.

“Do you remember the name?” I asked again. She started scratching behind her ears like she always does when she starts thinking.

“I don’t quite remember,” she said as she continued rubbing her legs. “But it’s the blue one.”

“Barisan Nasional?” I asked.

“I don’t know what it’s called. But it has two triangles with a horizontal line.”

I explained to her that the party she described was Barisan Nasional. She merely nodded, not really interested in the topic I picked.

“Why do you plan to vote for Barisan Nasional?” I asked her despite knowing she was getting annoyed with my series of questions.

“Why not?”

I smiled not knowing what to say.

“When I first began voting, your grandpa drew me a picture of two triangles with a horizontal line above them on a piece of paper and told me to put a cross next to it.

Later, I taught my children to do the same. It has become a norm,” she explained.

“Do you know why we need to vote?” I asked. She smiled.

“Of course. I may not have attended school like you, but I know why voting is important – we vote to choose our country leaders.”

“You are so smart!” I said. She smiled once more, making wrinkles on her face visible.

“Do you happen to remember the name of the leader you are voting for?”

“Mahathir.” Now it was my time to scratch behind my ears.

“But Mahathir is no longer with Barisan Nasional,” I explained. My grandaunt seem confused.

“The blue party with two triangles. That is Mahathir,” she explained.

“No. Najib is the prime minister of Malaysia. He is the one who is leading the blue party, Barisan Nasional.”

“Of course I know Mahathir is not the prime minister anymore. But he is the one who chose the new prime minister, whatever his name is. They both represent the blue party,” said my grandaunt.

I took a deep breath as I thought of how to explain the matter to my grandaunt without upsetting her. I knew this series of questions were making her restless.

“You are correct. Mahathir and Najib used to be in the same team. But recently they had an argument and Mahathir decided to go separate ways,” I explained.

My grandaunt gave me a blank stare, “I didn’t know that.”

“Mahathir is with a new team now and the party is red in colour,” I said, hoping she doesn’t get it mixed up with Umno.

“No. Mahathir is always with the blue party – the one with two triangles,” my grandaunt said, refuting my explanation.

“Trust me, he is no longer there. He supports the red team now. And if you support Mahathir, you should vote for them,” I said. My grandaunt blinked her eyes and frowned for a while.

“Does the red team also have two triangles?” she asked.

“No,” I answered short.

“Whose team has the triangles then?”

“Prime Minister Najib’s team has two triangles. He is leading Barisan Nasional.”

“Who should I vote for then?”

“Well,” I said, “who do you choose to lead Malaysia?”

“I don’t know. But I have always voted for the blue part with two triangles. How can I change now? It doesn’t feel right.”

I took a moment to organise my thoughts before replying.

“You know how you always get your lentils from the same store over the years because they are of the best quality? If you are happy with the lentils, you have no reason to shop at other stores. However if you feel the quality of the lentils is degrading or the price increasing, of course you’d want to start shopping at other stores, right?

“Voting is no different than buying lentils. You want to get the best lentils in order to make the best thosai. Likewise, you vote for the best party in order to improve your life,” I said.

“I understand. You are saying that we need not always buy lentils from one store – just like we need not always vote for the same people.”

“Correct. If we are not happy with the lentils, we should try buying from elsewhere. Similarly, if we are not happy with the way things are around us, we should choose an alternative government,” I explained further.

“But I usually just complain to the shopkeepers about the quality of their lentils. They would apologise and quite often tell me it is the fault of the wholesalers. And after a month or two, they would always give me lentils of improved quality,” my grandaunt replied.

“Complaining is good. It gets things right. But do you know how we can complain to our government when things are not right?” I asked. My grandaunt shook her head.

“Through our votes. If we vote for the same party, it means we are happy with our government. But if we vote for someone else, it is a direct complaint towards our government. It’s like we are sending them a message that we are not happy about certain things. It gives them a chance to improve themselves.

“Are you happy with the Najib-led Barisan Nasional or do you have some complaints?” I asked. My grandaunt thought for a while.

“I don’t have any complaints,” she said. I urged her to think for a bit.

“Basir, your uncle, lost his job last year. Now he is driving a taxi, but not making enough. The other day he was complaining about something. I think I will ask him what he was complaining about.

“Jamilah, your aunt, has to work extra hours at the factory to make ends meet. And I have to look after all her children while she and her husband are at work. I think she would have some complaints too. I will ask her as well.

“Your granduncle’s health is also deteriorating. Few months ago, he said he was going to do his security job but ended up lost in Komtar. He forgets easily these days. With his feet swollen due to diabetes, I am glad he is now retired, but I cannot seem to manage him with the children at home.”

“Are you still selling thosai?” I asked my grandaunt.

“I cannot afford not to. I cannot manage our household expenses with your granduncle’s pension alone. And your uncles and aunties are not doing too well for me to seek financial assistance from them. Instead of them helping me, at this age, I am still cooking for the entire family using my own income.

“It has been a very long time since I had a good sleep. I keep waking up in the middle of the night, checking on the time, not wanting to be late to start making thosai. Working at this age isn’t easy, but I cannot give it up because if I do, money becomes very tight.”

I looked at my grandaunt and said, “You seem to have solid complaints. You know, it is the responsibility of a government to ensure the people and their well-being are taken care of.”

My grandaunt nodded. “But I am still not sure,” she said. “I am used to having a difficult life. However, I am not used to putting a cross next to anything but the double triangle.”

“Think about it,” I said before leaving her that afternoon.

I wonder how many people are like my grandaunt who would still vote for BN despite living a difficult life. While struggling in their daily lives, they do not have the luxury to catch up with the current affairs of the country nor do they have any educational background to keep themselves informed.

Those living in the cities who cannot seem to escape the current affairs as well as those who enjoy digging up news as our favourite past time, may be well informed and knowledgeable enough to take sensible actions in order to improve our lives and the lives of those dear to us – but are there enough of us to bring about those changes and improvements we so yearn for?

While we become fearless in our march towards Putrajaya, I wonder what has been done to educate the uneducated of these battles we are trying to win for the sake of every Malaysian.

While we spend time debating about Mahathir being the best prime minister candidate for the opposition, we seem to have forgotten about those like my grandaunt who still associate Mahathir with the same party we are trying to fight against.

Sigh.

My grandaunt deserves better, just like many other Malaysians. Sadly, like always, she represents the layers within our society who remain forgotten.

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FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a growing media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a regular director, a struggling producer, a self-acclaimed photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot.- Mkini