Why Did You Vote Pakatan In May 2018?

Yes, do you know it costs you, the taxpayers, RM100 billion a year to pay the salaries and pensions of all these people? In the five years that Pakatan Harapan is going to be in power, more than RM500 billion is going to be spent. If Pakatan Harapan stays two terms, it is going to cost you RM1 trillion to pay the salaries and pensions of the people running and managing the country. Now do you know the real reason why Malaysia is in debt?

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Different people do things for different reasons. Hence the question “why did you vote Pakatan in May 2018” would get different responses depending on who you are asking.

In the 2008 general election, Barisan Nasional won 4 million votes or 51% (slightly over half the votes) but won 63% of the seats.

In the 2013 general election, Barisan Nasional won 5.2 million votes or 47% (less than half the votes) but won 60% of the seats.

In the 2018 general election, Barisan Nasional won 4 million votes or 34% (slightly over one-third the votes) but won 36% of the seats.

Many voters voted Pakatan Harapan because of the janji-janji manis in their Election Manifesto

The problem Barisan Nasional faced was: those who DID NOT vote for them in 2008 was 4 million, in 2013 it was 5.8 million, and in 2018 it was 8 million. Hence Barisan Nasional’s votes kept going down from 51% to 47% to 34%. While Barisan Nasional managed to retain its ‘traditional’ voters base, it failed to win the support of the new voters or first-time voters.

So, the future for any political party lies in the youth. Malaysia’s population in 1990 (the year that Semangat 46, PAS, DAP and PBS tried to oust Barisan Nasional) was 18 million. In 1999 (the year that Barisan Alternatif of PKR, PAS, DAP and PRM tried to oust Barisan Nasional) it was 23 million (an increase of 5 million). In 2008 (the year that Pakatan Rakyat was born) it was 27 million (an increase of 4 million). And in 2018 (the year that Barisan Nasional was ousted) it was 32 million (an increase of 5 million).

Yes, every general election a few million more people are born. And in the next general election, the numbers are going to shoot up even higher because the voting age is being reduced from 21 to 18. So, the youth will be deciding the government in the next general election or GE15.

The youth and the non-Malays gave Pakatan Harapan its victory

How will Umno and Barisan Nasional be able to turn the tide when the youth all over the world are, by nature, anti-establishment (look at Hong Kong today)? If I can answer that question then I should be appointed the new Barisan Nasional chairman. I suppose the first thing to do would be to find out why, in the first place, they voted Pakatan Harapan in 2018.

But it would not be one reason. Different people have different reasons for doing things or for voting the party of their choice. Not in order of priority, these are most likely some of the reasons why voters voted Pakatan Harapan, or Barisan Nasional as the case may be.

1. The voter believed Najib Tun Razak is a thief who stole billions of taxpayers’ money.

2. The voter believed Islam has become too dominant.

3. The voter believed Islam is under attack.

4. The voter believed Malaysia practices institutionalised racism or persecution.

5. The voter believed Malay rights and privileges are under threat.

6. The voter believed Pakatan Harapan is a better and more democratic government.

7. The voter believed Barisan Nasional is a better and more democratic government.

8. The voter was upset that PAS is pushing for the approval of RUU355.

9. The voter was upset that DAP is blocking the approval of RUU355.

10. The voter wanted to defend Chinese schools and Chinese education.

11. The voter felt the Chinese are too much and are being given too much face.

12. The voter did not like the party contesting in his/her constituency.

13. The voter did not like the candidate contesting in his/her constituency.

14. The voter was upset he/she was facing financial problems and blamed the government.

15. The voter believed Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is a better Prime Minister.

16. The voter believed Anwar Ibrahim is a better Prime Minister.

17. The voter believed Najib Tun Razak is a better Prime Minister.

18. The voter was just following everyone else and voted for whoever his friends and family were going to vote for.

19. The voted just wanted change.

20. It was just chic or fashionable to vote for Pakatan Harapan since that was the latest trend.

21. The voter felt ‘cool’ voting for Pakatan Harapan.

22. The voter just likes going against the government and would vote for anyone who happens to be the opposition.

23. The voter is stupid and does not know anything.

I am sure there are more reasons that can be added to that list but I just wanted to demonstrate that there are many reasons why someone votes the way he/she votes and sometimes it is not one reason but a combination of a few reasons.

Pakatan Harapan managed to convince the voters that Najib Razak is a thief who stole billions of the taxpayers’ money

So, why did you vote Pakatan Harapan in May 2018? And has the situation remained the same or do you feel if elections were held today you would no longer vote Pakatan?

One thing we need to remember is humans are by nature selfish. You might argue that not all humans are selfish and that some people do things for the love of God or due to fisabilillah.

That is nonsense. No one does things for the love of God or due to fisabilillah. It is for rewards and/or to avoid punishment. For example, suicide bombers would not become suicide bombers if they do not get to go to heaven and there are no virgins waiting for them in heaven. (Are women suicide bombers rewarded with male virgins as well?)

If suicide bombers go to hell and there are no virgins waiting for them in hell, would anyone become a suicide bomber? Yes, ponder on that for a while. So even suicide bombers are selfish. (By the way, Marilyn Monroe said good girls go to heaven while bad girls have all the fun).

Would wakil rakyat (who claim they want to become wakil rakyat to serve the people) want to become wakil rakyat if they are not paid well and do not earn a good pension after just five years — while the rest of the people need to work more than 35 or 45 years (in the UK you get your pension at age 66) to receive their measly pension that cannot even cover 10% of their expenses?

So it is NOT about serving the rakyat but about power and wealth.

Yes, do you know it costs you, the taxpayers, RM100 billion a year to pay the salaries and pensions of all these people? In the five years that Pakatan Harapan is going to be in power, more than RM500 billion is going to be spent. If Pakatan Harapan stays two terms, it is going to cost you RM1 trillion to pay the salaries and pensions of the people running and managing the country. Now do you know the real reason why Malaysia is in debt?