Malaysian GE 2013: Last Word Before May 5th 2013

Approximately 2 months ago, I registered as a postal voter. I painstakingly crafted the email in Bahasa Malaysia to be sent to the ‘Unit Pengurusan Undi Pos’ (UPUP). Albeit a few lines, it was an accomplishment on my part as I have not read or written in the national language for years now. Also, I could have very well written the entire email in English but chose not to. Email as follows:

Tuan/Puan,

Sila lihat borang 1B yang telah lengkap diisi and dilampirkan pada email untuk memohon mengundi secara pos dari luar negara.

Sekian, terima kasih.

Yang benar,
'my legal name'

I was very surprised when UPUP wrote back a day after, informing me that they have accepted my application and was processing it. However, two months later I have not heard from them despite the fact that our ‘bro’ has announced that the parliament has been dissolved. I have to admit that I was not diligent in following up on my status and it was my beloved dad that kept track for me. One fateful day, I received an email from my dad informing me that I am eligible to vote as a postal voter. That is good news but I was confused.

¹ Few months ago, we did not know when the election was. So to not waste my chance to vote for a better Malaysia, I registered as a postal voter. At the same time, I wanted to go home to Malaysia for vacation. Time and tide waits for no man especially when there is so much to do. Sitting around waiting for ‘bro’ to own up was not the correct answer. As such, I booked my plane tickets to come home in May.

¹ Election should be held on the same date every five years. Why complicate matters if one wants a consistent and clean system?

Two weeks after my booking, the Electoral Commission (EC) decided that May 5^th, 2013 is THE day. Since, there was no status on my eligibility as a postal voter, I could actually vote at home instead of traveling 2 hours each way from Philly to NYC exercising my rights at the Consulate.

A few days later, I received an email from my dad informing me of my status as a postal voter. I was eligible to vote as a postal voter on April 28^th at the Consulate of New York. This was where my confusion started. Should I come home to vote or vote at the Consulate?

As I looked closely at my notification, I realized that I have been assigned the Consulate as my voting location and ² I did not want the risk of being turned away on May 5^th voting in my home turf. After griping and getting annoyed, J and I made our way to the Consulate on April 28^th. I reached the consulate at approximately 2.00 pm and there were already those who had voted. The turnout may not be as great as those turning out to vote in Melbourne but we did our duty.

² Is the system that rigid that I cannot vote at home? Afraid that I voted twice? Make voting electronic. That will solve the problem. Electronic voting has a better chance of ensuring that election is clean and it eliminates human errors.

Walking into the Consulate, I was first greeted by an agent who was sitting just right outside the entrance to the voting room. I handed him my identification card (IC) and he struck my name off his list. Following that, I was escorted by another agent to the voting room and there I met another agent who asked for my IC while he looked through his list. Only this time, the list had additional information i.e. my voting constituency. The agent again struck my name off the list and I was handed a brown envelope. I was told to open the envelope and ensured that the details on the contents of the envelope were accurate.

I opened the envelope and found a letter with my name, IC number and a serial number. Along with that is the ballot paper with the same serial number. They have also provided me with two envelopes; one to contain the letter and the other the ballot paper. What I had described is merely the first set of documents. There were white and meant for the parliament seat. The second set of documents was almost similar to the first. They were pink and they were meant for the state seat.

My ballot papers were clean. However, what struck me as odd were the serial numbers on the ballot papers, letters and the envelope. They were all similar. I almost had to pinch myself awake to make sense of this. Unless, I was on another planet in a different solar system with a different voting system, I remember recalling voting to be ANONYMOUS. Apparently, the word ANONYMOUS does not exist when you vote as a postal voter for Malaysia. Without hesitation, I asked the agent why serial numbers on the ballot papers and envelopes were also printed on the letters that has my name and IC on them.

The agent explained that the letter confirms that I have cast my vote at the Consulate. The explanation provided by the agent did not answer my question at all. Hence, I went on to say that while I understand the intent of the letter, I still did not understand how the serial number serves the same purpose. If anything else, the serial number should NOT be present on the letters or the envelopes. Perturbed, I went on to say to the agent, ‘I thought voting was supposed to be anonymous. Apparently, this is not’.

At this point, I was agitated as the agents clearly could not do anything about it and the system was truly flawed. It was either I vote or walk out. I chose to vote. I chose to vote knowing that our voting system is corrupt. How is it not corrupt when the Electoral Commission (EC) is hardly independent?

Hence, what is the point of this write up?

For those that did not even bother registering to vote either in Malaysia or overseas – You f**ked up for you have just wasted your birth right.

For those sitting on the fence debating to vote or otherwise, my ‘cue’ to you is this – Get your lazy ass out of your house on May 5^th 2013 and vote. If you are present in Malaysia, eligible to vote and your plans do not involve life or death situations, go cast your vote. Your parents did not give birth to you in Malaysia for you to waste every little bit of your privilege as a Malaysian by sitting on the fence and not vote.

For those educated ones out there – Vote wisely. There have been many arguments about what the primary driver should be when voting i.e. voting for the candidate that you are fond of regardless of party OR voting for the party regardless of who the candidate is. I sincerely do not want to impose but at this point I will.

Look at the bigger picture and vote for the party that holds your ideals at heart. While the candidate may have done great things for your constituency, he/she ultimately represents what his/her party stands for. If he/she does not represent the ideals of his/her party, he/she is clearly confused and probably need to switch parties or perhaps he/she is not bright.

By voting for the candidate, you ultimately vote for the party. The party dictates what and where the country will be, in the next five years. Do not be naïve to believe that one man can change the tide. It does not take one man; it takes the entire army with the same mindset and ideals.

This is resonant especially when the system and the group of people that is running the system are exceptionally flawed. Revamping the system is not easy but it can be done. Our system is flawed and it can be repaired. Revamping people on the other hand is almost close to impossible. Therefore, it is important to put the right people for the job to run this country. Placing selfish, greedy and corrupted individuals for this important role spells disaster. They can only run the country to the ground and it has been for the past decade. While some are clearly not happy with how things are, there are others who clearly believe that things should stay the way they are.

For those that want things to stay the way they are, wake up. Wake up although reality is hard to swallow. The reality is that the world has moved forward. So must we. We cannot sit on our laurels thinking that we can ride the wave by just staying in one spot. The country will eventually fall behind. In our scenario, we already have; to a destitute state.

This brings me to a final point. Again, for those that do NOT want change, I cannot stop you but I sincerely hope that you stay home and not vote as childish as this may sound. Swinging the election results towards the status quo is detrimental to the country. If this happens again, you will only see more of us trying every possible way to leave this beloved country in exchange for a better system and government. We will not be like Daisy who remained with Tom in the Great Gatsby. This country will only experience more brain drain. In time to come, you who do not want change will be left with nothing but a country weighed down by corruption, crime and talentless individuals.