VOTERS: Please put thy best foot forward...

Because mGf Sdr Din Merican wrote my Anthology Foreword.
Also because my discourse pardner dareth ask, this Community Service Message is Top Priority PostedLaju.




din merican wrote:

10/08: Encourage the 5 million plus eligible Malaysians to register and vote on Polling Day

Category: General
Posted by: Raja Petra

Dear Fellow Malaysians,

I thank you for your honest comments to my recent open letter.

As we are about to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of our Independence, the single most worrying development is that 5 million Plus of our citizens who are eligible to vote have not registered to partake in the coming elections.

They constitute close of some 50% of the already registered voters. Their non-participation in the coming elections would not enable our citizens to know with any degree of certainty how Malaysians want the country to be run.

It would appear that there is cynicism, disillusionment and disenchantment with politicans of all stripes in our country and the state of the political economy. All is not well to say the least.

Don't blame this the politics and the politicians alone. Every Malaysian should put his/her shoulder to the democratic wheel, and not seek scapegoats.

It is a matter of deep regret that the Election Commission is doing very little to mount a national campaign to encourage these unregistered 5 million Plus voters to register themselves for the coming elections. This is a shame on this important institution.

Both the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional government as well as all the opposition political parties are equally to be blamed for this state of affairs. There is breakdown in law and order, abuse of power, corruption and incompetence. Education and health care have also declined.

It is also unfortunate that civil society organizations including NGOs have also not given this matter the attention and importance it deserves. They have not urged Malaysians to register and vote in the coming elections.

Our mainstream media, print and electronic, with the exception of ASTRO have yet to do something to encourage these 5million Plus eligible voters to register and vote on polling day.

As for the 5 million Plus eligible voters who have yet to register allow me to say this. It is your parents who through sheer hard work and sacrifice have brought you to where you are today. They partook in every facet of nation building including taking the democratic process seriously.

How can we have a truly functioning participatory and inclusive democracy when those above the age of 21 do not vote for any party of their choosing? And they number today a phenomenal 5 million people.

Malaysians cannot continue to grumble, bitch or sulk if they fail to perform their duty as citizens. If they stay away from registering and voting they would have no moral leg stand on as they would have forfeited their basic human and democratic right to choose a government and opposition to deal with their concerns.

The current state of affairs after 50 years of our Independence is a sad one. There is deep unease among a cross section of the population, transcending ethnic, social and religious divide, over the state of our country. They include royalty and the common man and woman alike.

To a large extent, this is the result of public apathy. Over successive elections, more and more Malaysians have not exercised their right to vote. Today, this number has snowballed to a staggering 5 million Plus unregistered voters.

This is why the country today is increasingly dysfunctional with weakened institutions, especially the civil service and in main local governments (municipalities) and the Judiciary; breakdown in the rule of law (crime, and corruption and incompetence in the government machinery at all levels); environmental degradation (pollution of rivers, deforestation and haphazard development); social ills of all kinds, and a certain amount of economic malaise.

This state of affairs can be changed if we move away from a mono-ethnic civil service, police and armed forces, and public institutions of higher learning. We must draw strength and pride from our diversity. These institutions must truly reflect our demography.

Government-linked companies (GLCs) must also do the same to correct their weaknesses, improve their efficiency and their bottom line and enhance their global competitiveness.

These were among some of the final thoughts of the late Professor Syed Hussein Alatas who brought these issues to my attention in our conversation with great sadness in his heart and tears in his eyes. It took place a few months before his demise in January this year.

Together with our Founding Fathers including the early opposition party leaders, your parents ensured the upholding of the Constitution and had a strong belief in and a commitment to building a united multi-racial Malaysia.

What is indeed sad is that a good number of the 5 million Plus eligible voters are those in professional groups like doctors, lawyers, engineers, lecturers, accountants,bankers, writers and columnists, and corporate executives, to name just a few categories, is indifferent and cynical. They feel that they cannot make a difference.

How can an individual not make a difference? Add these individuals up and they individually and collectively will make a difference.

At the same time, these are very people who complain endlessly about this, that and the other. They do not realise that they would one day be parents themselves and seem oblivious about the future of their children and the country.

This election 50 years on from our Independence is all about showing respect to our Constitution and the national ethos as embodied in the Rukun Negara.

I once again appeal to, and indeed plead with all Malaysians, parents, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbours, co-workers and senior citizens to give a hand, guide and encourage those 5 million Plus eligible voters who have yet not registered to do so and vote on polling day.

This is an non-partisan appeal. It is merely to ensure that an overwhelming majority of Malaysians eligible to vote do so on polling day and that the coming elections should be like no other in the last 50 years.

In exercising our right to vote in overwhelming numbers we individually and collectively can make a real difference. We must uphold our constitution and principles and objectives of Rukun Negara so that we have a united country and a Bangsa Malaysia.

I repeat, please go out immediately to REGISTER, CHECK YOUR REGISTERATION, RE-CHECK YOUR REGISTERATION, and VOTE" come rain or shine on polling day.

It is easy register. Go to the most convenient Post Office nearest you with your My-Kad or Identity Card and complete a simple form. Otherwise, do the same at the nearest Election Commission Office.

Each one of us have to act on an urgent and sustained basis. We can together win over the 5 million Plus eligible voters who have not registered to vote for the party and candidate of their choice.

Din Merican

DESIDERATA:Note that the highlights (BOLDED, thus) are Desi's; I know mGf Din doesn't mind my emphases.

Remember you need to urgently ACT NOW if you are not registered to vote as a Malaysian adult. IMHO, failure to act's a fundamental breach of duty to Self and Country.

After doing so, meet Din and Desi at Subang Jaya for a cuppa (email first-lah, I canKNOT read my ER' minds, neither Din, for we are not fortune tellers. That's also why "Your Vote is Secret, and Sacred!" Don't mind being a bank teller though. I'm steal no way near my 20million; hence I do lots of CSM-ger.
Chow!:) Now obediently go to the Election Commission office nearest thee.