The time has come for an end of corrupt leaders in government. GE15 is shaping up as the 'rakyat versus rasuah' election that gives voters the best chance to see the corrupt politicians defeated.
To vote against the corrupt is the right thing to do whoever and wherever you are unless you support corruption. For years, successive administrations condemned corruption. Yet their own leader, among others, gained global infamy as the undisputed king of kleptocrats.
Corruption destroys the rule of law and every public institution. It is a moral sickness that has beset the country since the inception of national policies based on race after May 13, 1969.
The corrupt are not fit to govern. Now people are talking about voting for personalities rather than the political party. Sadly, for the country, one political party is responsible for producing the highest number of corrupt personalities. The day of reckoning for this shameless corrupt party has come.
It should be character, not personality, that ultimately counts. Personalities can be popular, deceptive and manipulative unless disciplined and governed by personal integrity. One report had Najib Abdul Razak as the most popular politician in the country because of his millions of Facebook followers. So how did such a popular personality end up in jail?
GE15 is a general election for the moral soul of the nation so the moral fibre of individual candidates matters. Honest candidates deserve victory, corrupt politicians deserve defeat.
One BN leader however reportedly said they will pick candidates who are not tainted. How? There may not be many or any credible ones after a purge of BN 'court cluster' leaders and scandalised others. Any party lacking honest leaders is a peril if given power. History has shown this, time and again.
Even Umno leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has joked about his BN comrades going to jail if the law is enforced when they are no longer in government. It may be no laughing matter when it turns out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The priority of a reform government should be to rid the nation of corruption and its destructive influence in every arm of governance. Retaining regressive, unrepentant, and corrupt leaders in power will be bad for Malaysia. That spiralling trend must stop.
Reports of dirty money politics are already circulating. But people's power and votes will vanquish dirty money and electoral bribery. The days of the corrupt are numbered when voters exercising their voting power get excited about exorcising the corrupt and casting them into the political inferno.
Dirty polling tricks can be neutralised if more voters and new voters opt for change as they did in GE14. The hardcore will not change but many in the middle ground may vote against corruption. It is wrong to presume rural voters are a fixed deposit for the corrupt.
To those who are thinking of sitting out GE15 and boycotting the elections - don't be a fool. Even the king has asked people to come out to vote. Don't let negative emotions rule your action. Vote out the corrupt. Or cry in pain.
Not perfect but certainly qualified
The disgruntled are still sore over the Sheraton fiasco. Now is not the time to cry over spilt milk.
Pakatan Harapan leader Anwar Ibrahim is frowned upon as a desperado. His detractors criticise him and rue his unpopular decisions and tendency to hyperbole.
Still, who else but Anwar appears the most qualified, deserving and preferred leader after his personal plusses and minuses are tallied? The nearest rival is afraid to meet him in open debate.
There is no other viable alternative to Anwar.
Do the fact check. He is not perfect, but he is certainly head and shoulders over his nearest rival. Anwar may not deserve to be the country's leader some argue but do Malaysians deserve another convicted corrupt leader like Najib? Or someone else mediocre, clueless, or connivingly senile, and not acceptable to all Malaysians?
The leader is important but collective leadership exercising checks and balances on one another is more important. The cult of a despotic personality invites largesse and corruption. Parliament works best with diversity in debate. Non-conformist lawyer Siti Kassim, an independent candidate, can make for a vigorous Parliament, not a rubber stamp of obsequious 'yes-men'.
Democracy exists in Malaysia despite the apparent deficiencies and dirty politics. And it survives because concerned citizens persevere and do not give in or give up. And activists turned politicians stand up to be counted. They do not allow their emotions to make them act irrationally.
If people vote for change as they did in GE14, the unfair gerrymandering and malapportionment will again backfire.
Many of our friends, ordinary folks, are working tirelessly to secure change. They are tenacious unsung heroes. They put cynics, pessimists, and skeptics to shame.
A friend was ambivalent about voting, preferring to not vote, she told me. I stated to her matter-of-factly that not voting is a vote for the status quo, a vote for the corrupt. It jolted her like an epiphany. “I will vote,” was her instant response, to her credit. More fence-sitters need to come to their senses and do likewise.
There is a voice recording doing the Whatsapp circuit that emphasises the need of the hour to kick out corrupt politicians. This impassioned solitary Malay voice urges Malaysians to overlook the past shortcomings of those in the reform camp but focus on ridding the nation of the corrupt for a better future. Such clear thinking and single-mindedness are what's critical.
Malaysia badly needs deliverance from the grip of the 'devils'. Pakatan Harapan is the people's white knight by far. There is no range of choices, only two - the good and the bad, and aspiring independents. For those sick of proven bad leaders, their choice is clear-cut.
The time must come when the significant majority of Malaysians wake up to the truth their real enemy is not one another of a different race or religion but corrupt politicians who hide behind the political party, race and religion to deceive and divide them.
Many Malays in rural areas are now awake, my Malay friend at the shop told me. I know he is right. GE15 offers every Malaysian power over the corrupt politicians to rid the government of their moral odium once and for all.
If you have been complaining, now is the time to act decisively. It is the supreme power of the ballot box. Vote out the corrupt, one by one, and give change a chance. - Mkini
STEVE OH advocates true and fair governance. He reckons change will happen sooner or later. Better now than later before Malaysia becomes the sick, poor man in Asia and more Malaysians are forced to seek work abroad and tragically some perish.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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