ON BEING FORCED TO VOTE FOR AN IDIOT

On being forced to vote for an idiot

MAY 2 — It’s no secret that most of our politicians are idiots. Exhibit A, for me, is a “gem” of a tweet from a PKR leader in which she basically said that so-called “neutrals” want Pakatan Rakyat to be perfect yet “make excuses” for Barisan Nasional.

What is with this “you’re either with us or against us”-policy with Pakatan Rakyat?

When you point out the opposition pact’s flaws, poor decisions and general lack of leadership — especially where PKR is concerned — you’re painted as a BN stooge/apologist.

To be honest, I don’t think anyone can truly be neutral. Choosing not to side with any political party doesn’t make you neutral — you’re pretty much declaring that you don’t hold for any party.

In a perfect, ideal world, these people who think that both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat aren’t worth siding with would merely be called what they are: Non-partisan.

Or to put it bluntly: You all suck. Thus we, the non-partisan, refuse to cheer for you or wave your flag.

For anyone who refuses to drink either BN or PR’s Kool-Aid, most of our so-called leaders seem hardly worthy of power.

• On one side, we have the ruling coalition made up of old, dead furniture whose youth wings are made up of old fogeys and whose women’s wings are mostly populated by breathy, cheerleader types who wave shawls instead of pom-poms.
• Then we have the other side, heavily populated by ex-members of the aforementioned side whose wings don’t look much different. PR at least has some notably capable women leaders who seem smart, articulate and capable.

Some days, it seems both sides compete to see who can flub the most. There’s our delusional education minister who insists our education is better than in the UK or US. There’s the Opposition Leader who made Azmin Ali PKR Sabah chief. Yes, I’ve harped about it many times and I will continue to do so to remind everyone just why PKR is such a failure in Sabah. There’s that MP who likens women’s periods to “bocor (leaks)” and complains about their driving. Then there’s the ex-PR member who spent most of his time hunting for alcohol and apostates.

Why do crazies end up in politics? Maybe it’s because the saner ones have better things to do.

I have friends saying they’re just going to spoil their votes come Election Day because they feel none of the politicians deserve their vote. My plea to them: Please don’t.

Whatever seat you vote in, you will have to make a choice. Choose the least bad candidate if you must, but remember it’s far better than not voting at all. Because if you let your vote go to waste, you might end up having the worst of the two you could have chosen rather than the better one.

Say you lean towards PR, but the BN rep in your area is a stand-up guy who actually looks after your constituency. Why not choose him instead of your favoured party’s man, known to have the diplomatic skills of a slug and the intellectual capacity of cement? The same rule holds vice-versa.

No matter what propaganda either or any side spouts at you, remember that what serves you as a voter best is to choose the best man for the job and the best representative for your seat.

It’s a pity we can’t vote for our prime ministers because the ones we’ve had for the last two decades have been more obsessed with championing a race instead of our country.

Vote for good people. Give your support to good candidates, because it’s obvious that the good find it hardest to survive in the murky world of politics. It is the outspoken boors, the morons with verbal diarrhoea, the slavish sycophants, the submissive cheerleaders who rise to the top of either BN or PR’s ranks. Because the parties don’t support the good eggs but the ones most likely to toe the party line.

Your vote does matter. It matters enough for you to tell the political parties that you’re going to vote for whomever you want, even if it’s just for the lesser idiot. Remember, would you prefer a few minor idiots or a government full of the worst idiots possible on the electoral roll?

The choice, fellow citizens, is yours.

Erna Mahyuni