Come May 9, rock the boat, ring in the change

The courage of the people to break down the wall of fear is being severely tested in this great electoral battle for change. The caretakers will do everything in their power to make every citizen quake with dread at the idea of rewriting the political history of the country.

In the coming days, the drumbeat of bad news on the opposition will be increased to a deafening crescendo as the incumbents seek to paint their rivals in the bleakest colours possible in a desperate attempt to strike terror in the voters.

But the winds of change cannot be stopped. The “unsinkable” Barisan Nasional is feeling the tremor and is aware that the “earth will vanish from under its feet and its support will be gone”.

Redrawing the electoral boundaries and introducing laws to curb so-called fake news are merely a hasty exercise to shackle the growing clout of Pakatan Harapan. Showering gifts of developments on the people are all foolhardy bids to thwart the onrush of an opposition victory.

BN, or the dominant partner Umno, cannot rule forever. Look at history: it is littered with the broken bones of political parties that had perverted the public trust given to them. The sordid tales of corruption, betrayal and nepotism had led to the downfall of many grand old parties all over the world.

The grand old party on our shores – the author of so many of our woes over the past nine years – is no different from all the others. It displays similar traits that characterise the dark side of toppled regimes: mismanaging the economy and driving it to the edge of the cliff, plundering public funds, gagging the press, jailing opposition leaders, trampling on human rights and using excessive force to stifle popular protests.

Need for change is imperative

In recent times, the story of Malaysia did not make for good reading. In chapters after chapters, the storyline is the same – the country is sliding inexorably to the ranks of a failed state. The “feel-good data” often trumpeted by Putrajaya cannot hide the grim reality on the ground.

While the elite class – those in the government and those who have grown fat on government largesse – is having a whale of a time, the ordinary people are merely living on crumbs or BR1M.

The need for change is imperative. It is the only way to stop the rot and bring the country back from the brink. It is ridiculous for one party to cling to power all the time when its performance in public office has deteriorated beyond repair. Worse still, Malaysia is led by a leader who has lost his moral credibility at home and abroad.

May 9 – the day all must vote – is a golden opportunity to bury the old regime and write a new chapter to make us stand proud and clean in the comity of nations. Malaysians must pluck up the courage to go out and show the BN the exit.

For this to happen, the people must shake off the dust, scrap away the 60-year-old layers of rusts, tear down the old curtains, sweep away the cobwebs, quash the bugs – rock the boat.

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PHLIP RODRIGUES is a veteran journalist. -Mkini