GE13 and a Questionable Electoral System. Voting is not a Solution
It's been a while since my last post (which was Saturday, July 09 2011). There was BERSIH v3.0, which I have participated in but did not post any pictures or updates. With the advent of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, most bloggers have moved their platform to the group, page and tweeting functions provided. News spread faster that way.
Malaysia has come a long way since. Urban Malaysians have chosen to be more proactive in national politics. People are more aware of what is happening in politics and national policies formed. There are more candlelight vigils and himpunan (gatherings) right now compared to 9 years ago when I started this blog.
Can you imagine? It's already 9 years. 2 elections have passed ever since.
Having said that, certain things never change. Racism is still rampant. There are calls by certain quarters to boycott based on race (boycott chinese products). The perceived election fraud is as bad as how it was. Has it actually got worse, one election after another? Urban and rural voters are still divided. Mainstream media is still very much 'controlled' and biased in reporting (more in line with reporting good things about BN and bad things about PR).
The reason that I started blogging again is because of the happenings in the 13th General Election (GE13). I would like to quote some statements from Malaysia Today writer, Raja Petra Kamarudin in his article "It's All About Strategy". http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/56931-its-all-about-strategy
QUOTE
I even once, back in 2004, proposed that the opposition boycott the general election. It is pointless to participate in a general election that is fraudulent and in which you are going to get whacked anyway. By participating in something fraudulent you are just giving legitimacy to a corrupt system.
UNQUOTE
After witnessing what transpired before, during and after GE13, I completely agree with what he said. In fact, I have even told my dear friends about this. It is futile to expect change by participating in such a system. By participating, it would be like legitimising a corrupt system. This is certainly bad. A sham democracy. At least, in a communist country, communism is named as it is and no election is necessary to justify the need of having a government.
Barisan Nasional never changes, as expected. Another thing that has never changed is Pakatan Rakyat. Pakatan has not pushed hard for an effective electoral reform and chose to participate in the such an electoral system.
How come I have this feeling that each party (PAS, PKR, DAP) functions on their own in campaigning strategies? How come I have this feeling that all these parties are only interested in becoming state governments and have not the will to push hard to move to Putrajaya, which eventually will create a two-party (or coalition) system in Malaysia?
The Ubah movement proposed by DAP was great and effective in bringing back many overseas voters. However, looking at the results of GE13, I can only envision that many people who paid a substantial sum for air tickets and buses to come back are disappointed. The 2nd Ubah movement in the next election may not be able to draw back the same crowd.
Probably, PAS has greater ambitions to move to federal but not the will. However, by the current state that it has planned its strategy and not to mention working in the existing election system, this will prove to be a futile approach. PKR as well.
Therein, this sets a very bleak outlook for Malaysia. Just like what an urban taxi driver told me, this is a very rare happening in Malaysia when people who long for a change come back to cause the change and if the opportunity has passed no one will know whether the opportunity will reappear.
Expecting for a change in such a fraudulent system is like expecting one day, the pigs will be able to fly. There is even a research that said that with 17% of popular votes, the current ruling coalition can even form a simple majority of seats. If that is true, how preposterous!
With that, I can almost conclusively say I have almost given up on the possibility of inducing change using the Voting process, the Electoral system. I do not think I should legitimise the current and upcoming and governance either until the Electoral system is reformed completely for decency and fair play. Sham democracy is a bad term and supporting it is just as bad.
Note: I will revamp my blog and it will become active again. Will keep on posting writings and articles.
Malaysia has come a long way since. Urban Malaysians have chosen to be more proactive in national politics. People are more aware of what is happening in politics and national policies formed. There are more candlelight vigils and himpunan (gatherings) right now compared to 9 years ago when I started this blog.
Can you imagine? It's already 9 years. 2 elections have passed ever since.
Having said that, certain things never change. Racism is still rampant. There are calls by certain quarters to boycott based on race (boycott chinese products). The perceived election fraud is as bad as how it was. Has it actually got worse, one election after another? Urban and rural voters are still divided. Mainstream media is still very much 'controlled' and biased in reporting (more in line with reporting good things about BN and bad things about PR).
The reason that I started blogging again is because of the happenings in the 13th General Election (GE13). I would like to quote some statements from Malaysia Today writer, Raja Petra Kamarudin in his article "It's All About Strategy". http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/56931-its-all-about-strategy
QUOTE
I even once, back in 2004, proposed that the opposition boycott the general election. It is pointless to participate in a general election that is fraudulent and in which you are going to get whacked anyway. By participating in something fraudulent you are just giving legitimacy to a corrupt system.
UNQUOTE
After witnessing what transpired before, during and after GE13, I completely agree with what he said. In fact, I have even told my dear friends about this. It is futile to expect change by participating in such a system. By participating, it would be like legitimising a corrupt system. This is certainly bad. A sham democracy. At least, in a communist country, communism is named as it is and no election is necessary to justify the need of having a government.
Barisan Nasional never changes, as expected. Another thing that has never changed is Pakatan Rakyat. Pakatan has not pushed hard for an effective electoral reform and chose to participate in the such an electoral system.
How come I have this feeling that each party (PAS, PKR, DAP) functions on their own in campaigning strategies? How come I have this feeling that all these parties are only interested in becoming state governments and have not the will to push hard to move to Putrajaya, which eventually will create a two-party (or coalition) system in Malaysia?
The Ubah movement proposed by DAP was great and effective in bringing back many overseas voters. However, looking at the results of GE13, I can only envision that many people who paid a substantial sum for air tickets and buses to come back are disappointed. The 2nd Ubah movement in the next election may not be able to draw back the same crowd.
Probably, PAS has greater ambitions to move to federal but not the will. However, by the current state that it has planned its strategy and not to mention working in the existing election system, this will prove to be a futile approach. PKR as well.
Therein, this sets a very bleak outlook for Malaysia. Just like what an urban taxi driver told me, this is a very rare happening in Malaysia when people who long for a change come back to cause the change and if the opportunity has passed no one will know whether the opportunity will reappear.
Expecting for a change in such a fraudulent system is like expecting one day, the pigs will be able to fly. There is even a research that said that with 17% of popular votes, the current ruling coalition can even form a simple majority of seats. If that is true, how preposterous!
With that, I can almost conclusively say I have almost given up on the possibility of inducing change using the Voting process, the Electoral system. I do not think I should legitimise the current and upcoming and governance either until the Electoral system is reformed completely for decency and fair play. Sham democracy is a bad term and supporting it is just as bad.
Note: I will revamp my blog and it will become active again. Will keep on posting writings and articles.
