What a low voter turnout ultimately means for Malaysia

 

The Johor state election last weekend saw a measly 54.92% voter turnout. Many reasons have already been offered for such a low number of voters.

Concerns about the pandemic; weariness with the political process in Malaysia; disappointment with the general election in 2018; ‘frogs’ that party hop after being elected; the slow pace of promised reforms; and a general sense of bleakness with our current crop of politicians, are some of the justifications given for this low turnout.

For any election, a high voter turnout is definitely desirable and is seen as evidence of the legitimacy of the system. A low turnout, on the other hand, is a reflection of disenchantment or indifference.

And, a poll with very low turnout may not be an accurate reflection of the will of the people.

In this election in Johor, there isn’t much evidence, as yet, about voter suppression. This happens when voters are not allowed or unable to vote, or when disenfranchisement occurs.

So, it is most likely voter fatigue, which is the apathy that the electorate experiences.

Around the world, democratic countries consider participating in elections a right of citizenship and a citizen’s civic responsibility. But there are also countries, where voting is considered a duty. In these democracies, voting at elections has been made compulsory and has been regulated in their national constitution and electoral laws.

Advocates of compulsory voting argue that decisions made by democratically elected governments are more legitimate when higher proportions of the population participate in voting.

Their view is that democracy is government by the people, and this presumably includes all people, therefore it is every citizen’s responsibility to elect their representatives.

On the flip side, the argument against compulsory voting is that it is not consistent with the freedom associated with democracy. Voting is not an inherent obligation and the enforcement of compulsory voting would be an infringement of the citizens’ freedom associated with democratic elections.

I see both sides of the argument. But with only 54.92% of voters turning up to vote in Johor, can we consider it a true reflection of the will of the people?

Perhaps we need to agree that only an informed and empowered citizenry can hold any government to account.

Because only such informed citizens will truly understand that notwithstanding the disappointments dished out by our politicians, to withdraw from voting, simply gives these fellows a ‘free-pass’ to do whatever that is advantageous to them.

In our nation, there are a plurality of viewpoints and an assortment of voices jostling to be heard. Establishments like the media, civil society movements, educational institutions and so on, function like vehicles for the flow of information to people.

The smooth flow of such information permits the people of a country to better exercise their rights of citizenship, with participation, criticism and voting. And, like everything else in life, the more informed you are, the better equipped you become to actively participate in any decision-making process.

For this to happen, Malaysian voters must cultivate critical thinking.

We have to think rationally. We need to reason and not just accept. And, we must actively learn about things, rather than just passively assimilate information.

Only when we can identify, analyse and evaluate issues systematically, rather than relying on narrow-minded indoctrination, do we actually empower ourselves to have informed opinions.

If we truly wish to be empowered, we cannot rely only on the accumulation of facts or on something that we have learnt in the past, and make decisions based purely on that. The world is dynamic, and every situation needs to be looked at contextually.

If being let down by politicians in the past, results in you not being bothered to go out and vote, you are simply disempowering yourself.

Our ability to think critically only gets developed when we properly observe, analyse, interpret, reflect, and evaluate what is happening around us.

We must ‘re-programme’ ourselves from falling back fatalistically to just accept things.

Declarations like “…there is no point in going out to vote, because these politicians will subvert everything anyway” or “…what’s the point of my vote, it doesn’t count because these frogs will jump after I cast my decision”, are just what some of our politicians want from us.

They’ll mobilise their hardcore supporters to come out to vote. But they hope you won’t.

If we are critical thinkers, we will consider any situation in an objective and inquisitive way. We will analyse and interpret each issue, devoid of any propaganda or brainwashing that we have been fed.

We can’t stop voting because we are disappointed with the last round of results, and then lament about the state of the nation. This is completely counter-intuitive.

Looking at the bigger picture and considering the global crises we find ourselves in, it is vital that we become informed and empowered to make decisions based on clear, reflective, and critical thought.

Ultimately, if we want to save Malaysia, we are all going to have to come out to vote, every time. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.