Can we please move on?

Malaysia is now gripped by GE13 election fever but some of the tactics to win votes is leaving a bad taste in my mouth

Like the majority of Malaysians, I am a member of the silent majority. I don’t get worked up about politics even though I can talk shop about it for hours. Yes, I will complain about policies and political happenings that yank my chain or I think are idiotic, but I’m not going to attend rallies (unless it involved cars going fast in rubber plantations), I can’t be bothered to listen to speeches by my MP or ADUN and I think marching under the hot sun or trying to occupy Dataran Merdeka are best reserved for anarchists and people who have nothing better to do. I’d much rather spend my weekends driving cars or spending much needed quality time with my family.

I do however know which side I prefer to support. Part of that is due to my upbringing when my grandparents were politicians but the other part is because I don’t think there is too much to be unhappy about. Yes, there are people enriching themselves to obscene levels in ways that aren’t fair, yes I think middle class wage earners like myself are often overlooked when it comes to incentives and yes I am against the constant flip-flopping of our education policies as I have two young children but, I can walk down the street in my neighbourhood without fearing for my life, the general standard of living is far better than in most other ASEAN countries and nobody gets lynched for being from a different race. In other words, life in Malaysia is a whole lot better than probably 75 per cent of the world.

Today however, I actually found myself being turned off by the political messages being used to garner votes in GE13. Sad to say they were being played on commercial radio and were part of an overall campaign that is also being run in mainstream newspapers. You don’t need me to say whom it was from because it seems that only one side of the divide has access to using the mass media.

The said ad played out a situation where a friend spoke to another friend about whom he was going to support. Like many apolitical voters, the one who was going to vote said he would like to give the opposition a shot at governing and if it doesn’t work out, we can always vote them out again at the next GE. That was when his friend painted a dark picture about voting for the said party would affect his cultural and social liberties and how a vote for them was actually a vote for a partner party who would ban his way of life. Also, his friend then went on to give examples of how another state had decided to give the opposition a try and when the incumbent government returned to power, the ‘social norms’ had not been restored. There was some other catch line after the ad but by then I had stopped listening as the red mist descended.

Why was I upset? Well, if you listened to scenario you can draw a few conclusions. Firstly the characters portrayed were not Muslims because the way of life and social and cultural liberties it referred to were apparently against what the partner party stood for. Secondly, it seems to assume all non-Muslims must have free and unlimited access to non-halal products to enjoy life. Seriously?

The last time I checked, all of my non-Muslim friends did things in moderation. None of them were alcoholics and none of them would go into an epileptic shock if they didn’t eat ‘the other white meat’ for a few days. They didn’t frequent dodgy KTV joints either and if they did have the odd night out on the town, it was private and nobody ran down the street drunk and naked.

Beyond that however, what upset me the most is that a party that espouses the message of solidarity and being a united country would so blatantly play on racial, social and religious beliefs. Is that really the best way to win votes? By scaring people into thinking there was no alternative? Malaysia gained its independence 55-years ago and we’re still dragging out that old chestnut of how we’re actually Malay, Chinese, Indian, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and a multitude of other races and religions conveniently put into the ‘dan lain-lain’ check box.

After all that time, aren’t we all Malaysians first, second and always? Sure, we all have our own religions and beliefs but at our core most of us were born in the same country and I think most of us will die here too. When it comes to politics, is it so difficult to move to differences in ideology rather than getting on podium and spouting vitriol about race and religion again and again?

Don’t think the other side is whiter than white either. The amount of social media messaging via blogs, tweets and videos they have done would fill several volumes of The Lord Of The Rings if we dissected every single message they posted in cyberspace.

I’m not a PR man but I seriously think it would be more advantageous for both sides (government and opposition) to talk about their own successes rather than what their rivals have or haven’t done. Instead of saying ‘Don’t vote for them because they have trodden all over your civil liberties’ how about saying ‘Vote for us because we have an achievable plan for your future’? A person who tries to get ahead by pointing out the failings of others is doing so because his own cupboard is bare. Focus on what you can do and have done and I think you’ll get more respect from supporters and foes alike.

As for me, I still know which side I am going to support but parts of my conviction get eaten away with every mud slinging ad I see or hear and every political SMS that gets sent to my phone. I’m a Malaysian and when I vote, I will do so in the hope of getting a better Malaysia.