Second Attempt - Guidelines For Voting

I have been voicing out this topic for quite some time now and I really hoped this article would get published. Once again The Star newspaper was my target and once again I did not make it. Maybe my content was not appealing to them or maybe I’m just sending it to them in the wrong format. I guess I better do extra research before I send out the next one.

I wanted to elaborate quite a lot on this topic but unfortunately, since I was sending it to the newspaper, I had kept it short. None the less, I think the message gets across just fine. So, for all the voters out there waiting eagerly for the next elections, here is my personal guideline for voting:


Guidelines for Voting

“The election is just around the corner”, a notation that has been repeated quite a number of times since June of last year. Yet it is already January 2013 and no announcement has been made so far. It does not matter when the elections will be called, the core matter of concern would still be “who to vote for”.

There are different type of voters; those who vote for the party, which is usually the vast majority, those who don’t vote, those who don’t know how to vote resulting spoiled votes and the significant minority who vote for the candidate without being influenced by his representation. Though they might be the minority, it is these individuals who are actually voting correctly. Why is this so?

We have been so influenced by the concept of political parties that we come to a conclusion we need to choose one from the other. This culture has been instilled into us to a point we do not consider the individuality of a candidate anymore. All that matters is the party. The candidate that represents the party we support is the better candidate in our eyes and the other guy is practically “evil”.

This is pure fantasy. We do not live in story books or movies where there is always a prominent distinction between good and evil. One group is pure good, the talisman for honor, virtue and bravery, meanwhile the other is evil, plaguing the world into utter darkness. It’s like Autobots versus Decepticons. Well in reality it doesn’t work that way, we wish it does but sadly it doesn’t. It doesn’t even happen in movies or books anymore. There is no “good” party or “evil” party. We have parties that are filled with candidates so uniquely different that they can’t be branded as one or the other.

There are often two criteria which influence most of the voters when they cast their votes, the candidate’s political party and the candidate’s religion or ethnicity. Do take a moment to ponder. Would these criteria in any way be able to determine a person’s ability to be a good leader? Since when did we come up with the conclusion that candidate from Party XYZ will definitely be the best leader that we can choose? Since when did we decide that a candidate from certain ethnicity or religion is incapable of being leaders? Since when did generalization become our main point of concern when making a decision?

For the sake of argument, just imagine both the candidates contesting for the parliamentary seat or state assembly seat are from the same party and the same religion/ethnic. Who would you vote for now? We would vote for the better candidate. Why can’t this practice be implemented under all circumstance? Put away your prejudice towards certain parties. Take time to know both your candidates. What have they achieved or done so far? What are their backgrounds? Try to attend every candidate’s rally. Listen to what they have to say. Listen to what they are promising. Find out whether their promise has the possibility of being realized and not some empty promises.

We definitely want a candidate that promises to make petrol and groceries free for the rest of our lives. But it is evident that this could not possibly be done. Do not follow blindly. It is always better to try to know more and research further. A little information is eventually better than no information. By choosing the better candidate we indirectly making things better for the country despite which party the candidate belongs to. Please let us not send someone who is corrupt and not fit to be a leader to the parliament just because he represents the party that we support or just because he is from the same roots that we come from. Let’s send the good guy to parliament or in this case the better guy.

It has been 54 years since Malaysians started voting and now we are at the midst of the 13^th General Election. Let us not be the same type of voters we were before. It is time we change from being just voters to smart voters. Let us shape the new governance not by our preference but by intelligence, ability and credibility. Let us deicide on good leaders that will be able to usher the next generation into a better tomorrow.

Remember, “We are not just casting ballots; we are casting the pillars that will hold our nation”.

Mouposu Van Pyke