A FOOLISH QUESTION:- CANDIDATE, WHAT WILL YOU DO WHEN YOU GET ELECTED?
The question that is being thrown by many Barisan Nasional candidate, and also some of the voters is “What has the Opposition Candidate Done For the Community?” and “What can the Opposition Candidate do for you if they get elected?”. The Barisan candidate is also quick to list down all the things that the Barisan government has done for the country, the state and the constituency. They always have the difficulty of saying specifically what they are going to do for the area
THE OPPOSITION REPS, IF THEY WIN, CAN ONLY DO THIS….
Now, the truth is that all that any Opposition Member of Parliament or State Legislative person can do for the constituency after he gets elected is to be the people’s representative and Champion – the Wakil Rakyat. He can be that watch-dog in Parliament and outside to ensure that the government of the day is doing the right thing.
The Opposition ‘Wakil Rakyat’ can be out there shout against injustices and highlighting the wrongs being done, and the things not done. That is all. Oh yes, he may also be able to assist the constituents in bringing their problems to the relevant authorities and being the Champion of the people when needed – the service. He can use the media to highlight matters – and this do sometime bring about a speedier response from the authorities.
The Opposition ‘Wakil Rakyat’ cannot get you land or projects, or be able to give you money for this and that, or be able to get you scholarships, etc.
The Opposition Parliamentarian or ADUN only gets his salary and some allowance - there is no multi-million-dollar annual allocation that is given to an Opposition MP or ADUN, which could be utilized for the minor development projects in the constituency. The Barisan Nasional elected representative can reach into his pocket and give RM10,000-00 for this cause or that, whereby that money is really not his personally but money provided to him for just this reason BUT the Opposition representative cannot do so, and sometimes the little that he gives comes from his own pocket.
So, even after getting elected, the Opposition person cannot dole out money and goodies to its constituents – all that a good Opposition elected representative can do is to be a “wakil rakyat” and constantly be vigilant, brave and vocal in standing against injustice and human rights violations.
NOW, IF THE OPPOSITION FORMS THE GOVERNMENT…
Now, if the opposition manages to get more than 50% of the seats in Parliament and/or the State Legislative Assembly, then they will be able to form government and then they can do all those things like getting a bridge build over that river, creating more jobs for the community, providing better schools, abolishing toll and bringing the price of fuel down.
Now the Barisan Nasional party and candidates are going around parading what they have done when they were in power. Honestly speaking, if the DAP or PAS or the Barisan Alternative had been in power, many of the same things would also have been achieved by them (or maybe their achievements may be better.).
HOW WILL IT BE BEING GOVERNED BY THE OPPOSITION COALITION?
Whilst we have no experience of Malaysia being governed by any other party save for some UMNO-led coalition of parties, previously known as the Alliance (Perikatan) and today the Barisan Nasional, we do have states that have been governed by some other political parties – not the Barisan Nasional..
Despite being deprived of funds, support and other assistance from the Barisan Nasional controlled Federal Government, these states, when under the Opposition, were well governed,. There was no chaos or ‘failure of government’ or a ‘mass exodus of refugees’ from these States. Life went on as usual – and some say that things were much better with regard to the quality of life.
Kelantan today is the state with the lowest debt, and that is really impressive. Christians in Trengganu finally did finally get churches approved and build during the reign of PAS. In fact, the PAS-led state governments seem to have provided much more assistance to churches, kuils and temples. When one speaks to even a non-Muslim in Kelantan, there is indication they are rather happy with the state of affairs when under PAS rule compared to when they were under the Barisan National.
WHAT WILL I GET IF I VOTE FOR ….
If you vote for someone, not a Barisan National candidate, then you has done so because you believe in check and balance and CHANGE. This is a great deal for it is so much easier to just not to “rock the boat”.
The Prime Minister and the Barisan National has always considered the fact that they have won the elections as a mark of approval of all that they had done over the past – and that is why if you are not happy with things that the Barisan Nasional has been doing , then you must bravely vote against the Barisan Nasional. The Barisan Nasional has never been beaten, and although they only need more than 50% of the seats in Parliament to govern, they have today more than 90% of the seats – and this has made the leadership of the Barisan Nasional arrogant.
Prior 2004, they used water cannons to disperse peaceful protesters – and they got elected. They now use tear gas and water-cannons and will they still get elected. Next they will just start shooting and killing these peaceful protesters – and they may still get elected.
They increased the price of fuel, the price of electricity, the toll charges – and if they still get elected in, for the Barisan National it is taken as that the people agree with what has been done. and thus in that same direction will they continue to move…
The choice is now in the hands of the Malaysian voter:-
- Who must set aside his FEAR,
- Who must set aside the fact that he may have just received land or house, promised projects and maybe even some money by the BN government,
- Who must set aside the possibility that his town may be deprived of some development if the Opposition gets elected,
- Who must just consider the good of the country, its people now and in the future
And then honestly go and cast her vote.
Charles Hector
