Why every vote is important?

At the federal level, every vote is still important. 

        Although I have mentioned that I may cast a spoilt vote for Selangor, depending on who are the candidates in my parliamentary and state constituencies, at the federal level, every vote counts. 

        It now depends on how the Malay and East Malaysian votes will swing, especially after they have seen how Barisan Nasional for over five decades fail to improve their livelihood. They have also seen how the Penang State Government has run the island state that it is easy to see the transformation in the state if you had been there 10 and five years ago, and recently. 

        Whereas Selangor has turned from bad to worse under Pakatan Harapan in the past one or two terms, Penang is a 'miracle' by itself that even Penang people are proud to now tell people it was the state government now under DAP (previously, also under a Chinese based party Gerakan) that has made the difference. Nearly everyone I asked after my trip confirmed that Penang is a lot cleaner now than before. 

        Rather than having the perasaan dengki, or make attempts to sabotage the state government's efforts to make Penang an example of how Malaysia can be a better country to live in, other state governments should try to outperform Penang now. 

        Let not the crab culture continue where crabs placed in a basket, in their own selfish ways, would never allow other crabs to escape. 

        Why Every Vote Counts

        In recent years, we have seen more Malays willing to speak up. In the past, they have been mainly oppressed or harassed by politicians, but when their earnings took a beating a result of the pandemic, many have broken the code of silence. 

        People are beginning to voice out against the past two Malay-based governments with PAS in the equation. Unfortunately, Umno chose to go along with PAS. For them, it was a marriage of convenience, but the Malay voters themselves on both ends of the spectrum have begun to see that such an equation only lead to worse outcomes for them. 

        There are also the more moderate Malays who begin to realise that the culture of entitlement does not help with their younger generation. Instead of becoming more competitive, the younger generation has again become contented with the pittance thrown at them. Some realise that if they want to be successful in life, they have to better work hard at whatever they are good at. These are the ones who get the encouragement of the other races to be successful.

        In Penang, for example, we came across a friend, Ayu Yusoff who started her own restaurant, Qually's @ Ghee Hiang outlet at Jalan Burmah. Even my wife commented that she was extremely hardworking and enterprising. My son loved her cooking that he wanted us to go back there again to try Ayu's cooking. 

       Yes, those who work hard should be helped. Yet, there are those who work very hard to earn a living yet find it hard to earn their livelihood. You can see them peddling by the roadsides. It is those who manage to enter the inner circles of the politicians and other elites, who are richly rewarded and become the new millionaires in town. 

        Over the years, this has also bred a sense of injustice and the majority of Malays are feeling deprived even under the Umno or Bersatu-led governments themselves. From BN to PN to the existing government under Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, which appears more accommodating to other races, the Malays are generally dissatisfied with the way how their privileges have been abused by the elites. 

        The court cluster has also created a sense of dissatisfaction amongst the more moderate Malays who feel that no one should be above the law.

        Sabahans and Sarawakians may be in name, 'Bumiputra' and together form the national census' category of 'Bumiputra,' but both states continue to be amongst the poorest in the country. Its infrastructure is backward to say the least.

        Therefore, I cannot think of any other reason why, while other races are spelt out clearly, but there is one category called Bumiputra which included both East Malaysians. Even though they are culturally different, the national census did not provide the statistics of East Malaysians separately. 

        No wonder they say statistics can be tweaked around just to given an impression who are in the majority. The non-Bumiputra do not give a damn to such a thing, as they have been known to work hard to survive without government handouts, but in East Malaysia, we have already seen that the ground has shifted since the last general election. Many are following closely to the central politics. 

        While we can understand why Kelantan was neglected in the past, both Sabah and Sarawak which had been BN's fixed deposit in the past, and Sarawak being a major contributor to the oil money in Malaysia, remain underdeveloped especially in the rural areas. It is not difficult to experience jungle living, just go to any village in Sarawak.

        It is also easy to understand why Umno is unable to penetrate Sarawak, simply because Pak Moh (Taib Mahmud) is still around. Sarawak is the last frontier where Malaysians are concerned. Sabahans, on the other hand, are now chagrined over the change in their demographics. After the entry of Umno into Sabah, things have changed. 

        Back to the GE15 where every vote counts. While it is understandable that the few parties, PAS, Umno and Pribumi Bersatu will come together again after the GE15, it now depends on how the Malay and other Bumiputra votes in Sabah and Sarawak swing. 

        Gerak Tanah Air which belongs to former Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad may once again play the Lego game and the politics of division. While it may not support BN for obvious reasons, it may also call for the collapse of the PH government when it suits their objectives. 

        This is the reason why people are concerned about the Muda group, although Syed Saddiq is more amiable to most of the younger PH leaders. And, he is a better person by comparison to Dr Mahathir. 

        What the non-Bumiputra community is hoping to see are moderates such as Tunku Abdul Rahman and Pak Lah, and as long as they bring the country forward, that is good enough. 

        Meanwhile, Muda has to realise that if they change their course midway, they will be seen like the other traitors in the Sheraton Move. Therefore, Syed Saddiq and his team have to better think twice, for the sake of their own survival, to stick to one coalition, and if they want to change course, they better wait for the 16th General Election.

        In this coming GE15, if the Malays themselves want to teach Umno a big lesson, they may vote for a PH government instead of PAS or Bersatu. This is where I can see a big win for PH in the GE15. It will be such a big swing of votes towards PH, that even the three parties (Bersatu, PAS and Umno) coming together, they are still unable to form the next government. 

        We will see how things go in a matter of months now. 

Also, read: 

https://come-to-senses.blogspot.com/2022/09/my-take-umno-and-bn-likely-to-lose.html