Ke Arah Malaysia Terunggul / Aspiring To A Better Malaysia..... by Abdul Khalid Ibrahim

http://j.mp/ABetterMalaysia

Ke Arah Malaysia Terunggul / 

Aspiring To A Better Malaysia
by Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (Notes) on Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 10:01am


(English version below)

KE ARAH MALAYSIA TERUNGGUL

Rakyat Malaysia seharusnya menikmati yang terbaik untuk semua. 

Pemimpin kita seharusnya mencerminkan kewibawaan sebenar rakyat Malaysia, layak mendukung harapan dan aspirasi kita, dan mampu merealisasikan potensi sebenar kita. 

Hakikat ini disedari jutaan rakyat Malaysia yang berusaha tanpa mengenal penat lelah demi kehidupan yang lebih baik untuk diri dan keluarga. Masanya telah tiba untuk kita membuang segala ketakutan dan keraguan yang selama ini menjadi penghalang dan mengejar masa depan yang lebih cerah.

Kita tidak perlu lagi dibebankan dengan pemimpin yang hanya tahu 'mengambil', kerana rakyat sepatutnya berhak mendapat pemimpin yang lebih mahir ‘memberi’. 

Kita tidak mahukan habuan dari pemimpin kita; sebaliknya kita hanya perlukan pemimpin yang mampu menguruskan negara dengan bijak dan mewujudkan peluang yang adil untuk semua. 

Yang kita dahagakan adalah kesamarataan di mana kemewahan boleh dicapai oleh sesiapa yang sanggup rajin berusaha dan di mana kejayaan diperolehi hasil daripada usaha kita, bukan hubungan kita dengan mana-mana pihak. 

Kita perlukan pemimpin yang sanggup berkhidmat dengan rendah diri, bukan pemimpin angkuh yang menganggap rakyat wajib syukur atas 'sumbangan yang diberikan'.

Jika khazanah negara digunakan untuk mengisi poket pihak berkepentingan dan bukan dilaburkan untuk masa depan kita bersama, maka sudah tiba masanya untuk harapan baru. 

Rakyat Malaysia berhak mendapat pentadbiran yang telus yang akan membolehkan kita semua melihat dengan jelas bagaimana kekayaan negara diuruskan.

Rakyat Malaysia berhak hidup tanpa pemisahan antara kaum atas sebab-sebab politik. Terlalu lama kita sudah dibebankan dengan pemimpin yang mengapi-apikan sentimen perkauman demi memenuhi kepentingan peribadi.

Rakyat Malaysia berhak mendapat pemimpin yang menyemai dan mengukuhkan semangat muhibah yang sememangnya sedia wujud dalam kalangan rakyat Malaysia. 

Rakyat Malaysia juga berhak merasai demokrasi sebenar – iaitu keupayaan untuk menentukan nasib mereka sendiri secara bebas dan adil.

Kuasa yang dibiarkan berleluasa terlalu lama selalu melahirkan pemimpin sembrono yang bertindak sesuka hati tanpa melaksanakan tanggungjawab kepada rakyat yang sepatutnya.

Kita mesti sentiasa beringat bahawa kita bukan sekadar ingin menukar kerajaan. Kita juga bukan sekadar ingin menggantikan individu atau parti tertentu sahaja. Kita bertekad menggantikan keseluruhan budaya politik feudalisme dan rasuah yang berleluasa. 

Oleh itu kita tidak akan bertolak ansur dengan mana-mana musuh dalam selimut yang mengaku kononnya sekutu kita tetapi masih mengamalkan budaya dan politik yang lama.

Sebarang kegagalan untuk menggantikan budaya lama ini akan bermaksud usaha pembaharuan kita tidak bermakna dan lompong. Harapan perubahan yang dijanjikan kepada rakyat Malaysia bukan calang-calang tanggungjawab malah merupakan amanah besar.

Walau apapun keputusan pada 5 Mei ini, banyak lagi cabaran dan dugaan yang perlu kita hadapi. Walaubagaimanapun, Insya’Allah, ia akan menjadi langkah pertama ke arah membina Malaysia yang unggul seperti yang kita idamkan sejak sekian lama.

Malaysia yang kita impikan ini memang sudah berada dalam genggaman kita. Kita hanya perlu bangunkan semangat yang sedia ada dalam diri kita, dan mara seiringan dengan penuh keberanian untuk merealisasikan Malaysia yang terunggul. 

Abdul Khalid Ibrahim

*

ASPIRING TO A BETTER MALAYSIA

Malaysia deserves better.

Malaysia deserves leaders worthy of Malaysians, worthy of your dreams and aspirations, and worthy of your mighty, untapped potential. We have it in us as a nation to be truly great.

The millions of Malaysians who toil tirelessly to create a better life for themselves and their families, have long known the truth of this. The time has come for us to let go of the fears and failures that have held us back, and to embrace in its stead the bright hope of the future.

No more will you need to suffer leaders who take, when Malaysia deserves and needs leaders who will give. We know that you do not look to your leaders to give you handouts, you look to them to manage the nation wisely, and to give us the only thing you truly need: a fair opportunity.

We know that you look for a level playing field where an honest man will see an honest wage, and where your success is defined by your commitment to hard work, not your connections to ‘higher powers’.

You need leaders who serve humbly, not leaders who demand obedience arrogantly; leaders who understand that respect must be earned and who do not require gratitude from the people, only a clear conscience at day’s end.  Leaders without conscience cannot hope to manage our nation and its resources well.

If your funds are finding their way into the pockets of politicians and those connected to them instead of being invested in a better future for all, then it is time to throw open our windows, and let in the bright light and fresh air.  

Malaysians deserve the transparency that will allow everyone to see if our resources are truly being invested into making a better Malaysia.

Just as we need business without bribery, we need community without communal conflict. For too long, you have been burdened with leaders who drive wedges between us to feed greed and blind ambition.

Malaysia deserves leaders who will build on the natural goodwill that exists between all Malaysians. 

Perhaps most of all, Malaysians deserve a meaningful democracy - the ability to determine their own fate in a free and fair manner. Power that is left unchecked for too long will inevitably rot itself in place, and leaders will begin to do as they wish, not as they should.

We must remain eternally vigilant that we do not replace the old with more of the same. You should not seek to replace only individuals or parties, but an entire culture of political feudalism and rampant corruption. Where you find elements of the same in those who call themselves allies, let your commitment to justice burn no less brightly towards any of these wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Failure to do so renders any reform meaningless and hollow, and those who would promise Malaysians a new hope owe them much, much more.

It is a time of unprecedented opportunity for us as a nation.

No result on the 5th of May can blow away the many challenges we face. God willing however, it will be the first of many steps towards building the great, great Malaysia so many of us have dreamt of for so very long.

This Malaysia is within reach, of that there is no doubt. We need only awake the giants of greatness in all of us, step forward boldly together, and become all that we can. 

Abdul Khalid Ibrahim

TMI: A changed Malaysia come May 6 ... by Jahabar Sadiq, Editor TMI

A changed Malaysia come May 6BY JAHABAR SADIQ, EDITOR, TMI MAY 04, 2013

A placard which reads ‘Change. Save Malaysia’ expresses the hope of many people at the Pakatan Rakyat grand rally at the Esplanade in Penang on May 3, 2013. — Picture by K.E. Ooi

COMMENT, May 4 — No matter which coalition makes the government in the early morning of May 6, one thing is certain — Malaysia has changed and it is business unusual for the new administration.

With the respected Merdeka Center for Opinion Research’s latest survey showing a dead heat between both Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the winner’s first job is to respond to a populace that questions and demands more from its government.

Forget the docile and subservient citizenry that thought government always knew best. That worked for some 55 years but this is a new Malaysia where the people are more advanced and ambitious in thought than their politicians.


A population where pensioners and the bloated civil service are no longer a sure vote bank, where racial barriers have collapsed and people are one as Bangsa Malaysia — concerned more about the economy than the personal lives of politicians.

This single-mindedness and unity comes despite the overt racist tones in the campaign since Nomination Day on April 20 or the fear-mongering being played out by certain political parties.

The results of the latest Merdeka Center poll — 42 per cent of the voters agreeing that PR could govern the country against 41 per cent who felt only BN should rule Malaysia — reflect how far the country has come from elections where politicians just pleaded to be a strong opposition.

“Change happens all the time and in the same way that none of us can ever imagine Malaysia regressing to an age where women are not allowed access to education, we cannot ever imagine going back to a politics that is simplistic, patronising, top-down and unchallenged.

“Even the former opposition parties have learned, over the past five years, what it is really like to be in power and having to be accountable to NGOs and public opinion. It’s been a learning experience for all of us, and I believe we have grown a little wiser too,” well-known academic Dr Farish A. Noor wrote in an essay today.

That wisdom has meant that no government can now simply implement a top-down decision without being questioned by the people or told in no uncertain terms how unpopular some ideas are.

Ideas are being shared and shaped through the Internet, people, young and old, are coming together and ahead of politicians whose mindsets belong to the trunks of their forefathers who travelled in the previous century.

The old must make way for the new, just like party-owned newspapers that will be held accountable for their reportage. The days of being the only source of credible news is over for the likes of the New Straits Times, The Star, Berita Harian or Utusan Malaysia.

There is now a proliferation of news portals and growing rise of video clips that tell a story better and faster than any propagandist can. The new media has become the standard way of creating and consuming news and information, leaving in its wake shrinking audiences for newspapers and state broadcasters that refuse to step into the 21st century.

Why? Because there are more young people now than ever before. More of who want a say in their country Malaysia. More who will come to vote tomorrow as eagerly as those Malaysians abroad last Sunday.

We have changed as Malaysians. We are no longer bystanders and an audience of a national narrative written by politicians. We are the active participants shaping Malaysia’s direction and discourse, looking askance at politicians who think nothing of shifting thousands of voters across the country before the polls.

This is the new Malaysia that will vote tomorrow for a better Malaysia for all who proudly call themselves Malaysians. The Malaysia that keeps its government on its toes for fear of losing its job.

This May 6 the new government will be one that learns more from the people than it can teach the people unlike the past 55 years.

* Jahabar Sadiq runs The Malaysian Insider.

AN OPEN LETTER BY RAFIZI RAMLI

AN OPEN LETTER BY RAFIZI RAMLI

My fellow Malaysians

I was born in a small wooden house surrounded by rubber trees about 36 years ago. My first recollection of life was that of a water well because my house did not have a running water supply until much later.

Like many kampung Malay kids, I grew up not having much of anything. My worldview was shaped by my surrounding. Since some of my elderly cousins became teachers, I wanted to go one step ahead of them – so I started my young life wanting to be a university lecturer (which was the coolest job I could think of when I was eight years old).

Although life was difficult and we were always conscious that we wouldn’t have enough to go around, I grew up with full of pride. My parents raised us not to be apologetic about anything. From a very young age, I learnt that a man’s mortal enemy is his own self pity.

Thus, I grew up in a family environment that was full of energy and positivity. Living a dignified honest life on my own terms becomes an objective that I pursued doggedly from a young age.

We are, after all, the master of our own fate and fortune.

It is this belief that forms the bedrock of my conviction that for Malaysia to progress, we must heal from the self-inflicted wound of mistrust, mediocrity and mismanagement.

After four decades of divisive policies that favour only the well connected elites of the society, the cancerous downside effects on the society’s morale and self-confidence are all too apparent. The very prerequisite that can make this country great again – pride in ourselves – diminishes by the day.

The Umno elites predictably resort to scaremongering and running down the very group they claim to protect i.e. the Malays.

Every day, the Malays are being fed with a concoction of lies that they cannot survive on their own without the government’s protection. The good Malays were systematically replaced by the mediocre Malays in every sphere when the Umno-led BN government ditched meritocracy in exchange for mediocracy – it was no longer skills, qualifications or business acumen that get you a big break, it was which Umno or BN ministers you know.

The unintended consequences of such selfishness and shortsightedness were devastating to nation-building efforts. A culture of mediocrity and mistrust perpetuated by the Umno-led BN government finally allows for mismanagement of the nation’s wealth to go unchecked.

I have always advocated that a change to a needs-based policy (from race-based) is not only morally right to ensure fairness to all, more importantly it is a necessity to instil pride and goodwill in every single Malaysian so that we can move on confidently.

It is not fair to burden the young Malaysians with the baggage of the past.

They have every right to grow up believing that they can achieve their fullest potentials under the Malaysian sun if they are morally upright, honest, industrious and smart. They deserve a society that can feel good about itself, without the bitterness of mistrust and racial connotations. They need to have the confidence that the government will take care of the most vulnerable groups in the society regardless of background and affiliations.

Our young Malaysians deserve to grow up in a positive environment that thrives on the utmost confidence we have in ourselves and our capabilities, only then can we break free from the ghost of the past which inhibited Malaysia’s potential all this while.

We have a lot of work to do if we hope to accomplish this. We need to fix the schools because fixing the schools means we fix the society. We have to ensure that the good ones in the society are given the best opportunity to soar to the sky while we build a net to catch those less fortunate so that no one is left behind.

Malaysians have to look at each other differently. Instead of looking at our differences, we are better off cherishing the common fondness that binds us together – our colourful food does more justice as a testimony to our ability to appreciate each other than we ever dare to give credit to ourselves.

A lot of my friends said that I am a foolish dreamer. They taunt me that there is a fine line between idealism and foolishness. Yet each time detractors belittle my dream of a better Malaysia for all, I am constantly reminded of the beautiful words of a song from the past:

“You are still so young to travel so far, Old enough to know who you are, Wise enough to carry the scar, Without any blame … ”

Malaysia is a young nation. It has gone through a lot and the experience accelerated its maturity. It may have erred in the past, but its future is the brightest on this side of the horizon. Let us look forward to that future and leave the past behind without any blame.

Looking back, I am ever grateful that I was able to cast my inferiority earlier on in my life. I could because I had a good support system and a good education.

The future of our society lies in our classroom and with our young people. I am glad that while I may have pursued a different professional career, the yearning for teaching and knowledge never dies. Deep inside I have always been a student and a teacher that allowed me to go through a journey of humility to see life from different perspectives.

We must ensure that education reforms become an obsession of our next government because every child deserves a chance to cast away his/her inferiority and inhibition earlier on in life, so that they can do wonders later on.
As we go to the polling station this Sunday, I hope my fellow Malaysians hold our heads high and look to a brighter future. The days when we are put down by our own government shall be over. We shall be the master of our nation’s destiny and fortune.

I may be relatively young, foolish and naïve to hope for better things for Malaysia. I don’t pretend to know what my fellow Malaysians want, but I offer my youth, energy and undying love to make it a better home for everyone.

Because we owe it to our young people and ourselves to put Malaysia where she deserves.

Rafizi Ramli, 5 May 2013

malaysiakini: Three days that will shake M'sia... by Azly Rahman

Three days that will shake M'sia

malaysiakini:

Azly Rahman 12:31PM May 3, 2013

I have been engulfed with sadness these days and overwhelmed by it yesterday, as I follow closely the developments leading to our “mother of al elections”. I am referring to the alleged flying in of dubious voters via special/chartered flights that might be the factor in deciding the victory of BN come May 6, 2013. On the status page of myFacebook, I wrote these notes:

1) DEEP SADNESS...

My feelings tonight... thinking of the magnitude of fraud and possible degree of destruction to my beloved nation... three days to the important day and major issues are not resolved yet. We are going to have an election and pretend that the winner will still govern our lives carrying a fraudulent mandate... sadness engulfing me - ar 

2) GE13... a question.

Dilemma...

should we let Nature take its course

and Fate to dictate Free Will?

or should we tie our camel to the olive tree

and pray that it'll not be stolen while we watch

the elections drama of the century? - ar
How do we understand our shattering hope and at the same time address our rage against the machine?

The latest allegation of the flying in of tens of thousands of dubious voters, whilst being made public and the nation now alarmed, could be a factor to shatter the hopes of Malaysian to taste a free and fair election. It is a serious allegation with far-ranging consequences.

A shattering Malaysian hope?
What will another win for BN entail, given its massive control of the media, men, machinery and even the minds of those it has clutched for 55 years in this grand narrative of hypermodernity, oriental despotism, hegemony, and the propping of a façade to disguise a failing state?

How will revenge and retribution look like? How will Malaysians see another period of time and energy wasted to settle scores - time ought to be used for national building and the improvement of the lives, minds, and souls of all Malaysians?

We have unresolved issues which make me wonder if we are actually ready to have an election. Project MyKad or IC in Sabah, the Sulu intrusion, postal voter ballot secrecy, alleged delibility of the indelible ink, and now the mega-issue of all, the “now-every-phantom-voter-can-fly” allegation - all these and what else are making this an election not only plagued with fraud, but one that is shaking the country at its fundamental core.

We are at a beautiful juncture in which we are seeing a genuine and heart-warming display of progressive multiculturalism and religious understanding at the grassroots and the responsive and responsible party-politics levels - something we have not seen much since the days of Mahathirism. 

Yet the threat looming is the might of the machine that is pounding us to render us helpless in the face of a potentially fraudulent outcome of a most decisive election. We are seeing a no-shame display of the abuse power of a caretaker government in all aspects of campaigning.

A larger issue is our rage against the machine - one that is a marriage between the ideology, ideological apparatuses, and the corporate institutions whose interest have been to profit from the rakyat and to continue to patron a dying regime. This is an issue of political-economy.

Seriously, it is a structural and systemic political-economic issue of interlocking directorate-ships, controlling interests and a lack of basic ethics.

Knowing that companies which you support and patron for years are involved in aligning themselves with political parties that work against the interest of the people's just and peaceful demand for good governance.

Knowing that these companies, some huge ones in telecommunications, shipping, infrastructure, entertainment and air transportation, are closely-linked with the political parties that are all out to destroy that nation in a fraudulent election that will destroy the future of our children, what then must one do?

Should these companies be fully-exposed of their link - to educate the people they profit from all these years and a public inquiry be made of the future of their operations?

It is a systemic and structural issue - an ugly aspect of the legacy of ‘Malaysia Inc.’, ‘privatisation’, and also that ‘Look East Policy’. In a country harbouring despotic inter-generational regimes such as Malaysia, for whom do these corporations serve?

What must we do?

How then must they be dismantled? Which pied piper paid for their pathological actions of bulldozing the rights of the people to have a safe and sane election for the sake of the peaceful and ethical evolution of a Malaysian nation - one in which a society is not made of phantom voters, instantly-made-legal illegal immigrants or simply those unfit to be taken in as "Malaysian citizens".

What then must we do to these corporate accomplices to the process of destruction of our beloved nation?

It is time to think of new telecommunications, infrastructural developments, and public transportation providers, etc. after this election. 

It is time to seriously explore ownership and the control of companies based on the ‘cooperative system’ rather than leave everything to the ‘magic of the marketplace’ and the bulls and bears in the marketplace. There are actually no bulls nor bears, but beasts in corporate masks run by over-glorified propped-up billionaires created as ‘models of entrepreneurial excellence’. 

There are only ‘great CEOs’ as inspiration to each race and religion that need a story of ‘rags-to-riches’ of our own myth of Horatio Alger - a narrative that the rakyat can salivate upon while still locked in the master-slave narrative of a Malaysian economy that is now a sinkingbahtera merdeka, the great ship of Malaysian independence.

What then must we do in these remaining "three days that will shake Malaysia"?

---

DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master's degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States.

Hail the Comrades for Change!... By Kee Thuan Chye

Hail the Comrades for Change!

By Kee Thuan Chye | Bull Bashing – 1 hour 27 minutes ago

By Kee Thuan Chye

The purest and most heartwarming feature of this upcoming general election, predicted to be the dirtiest ever in Malaysian history, is the solidarity of the Malaysians who are calling for ubah(change) and proclaiming, “Ini kalilah!” (This is the time to do it!)

In the course of a year, it has swelled into a movement. Partly from the Bersih rallies that brought people closer together because they went through adverse circumstances together. Partly from the rallies organised by the Opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, that gave hope of a viable alternative to Malaysians disenchanted by 55 years of Barisan Nasional (BN) rule.

No one person or party organised the movement. It evolved naturally and organically, thanks partly to the new media. Everyone in this loose fraternity is drawn to the movement by one single goal – kicking out BN and bringing about ubah – and there is a passionate zeal in their quest. It came from the fact that many of them became politically sensitised after the 2008 general election, which was a wake-up call for Malaysians to take an active part in shaping their country’s destiny.

What they stand for is change for the better, change for a country rid of a corrupt and deceitful government, change for a brighter future for themselves, for their children. And what drives some of them is the anger they feel against BN for the indefensible wrongs it has committed.

Converting this into action, they have thronged the Pakatan ceramahs in the current election campaign, mobilised fence-sitters to attend them, contributed funds to Pakatan parties, helped out directly with Pakatan’s campaigning, volunteered to be polling and counting agents for election day.

In informal ways, they have helped to indirectly campaign for Pakatan by circulating e-mails exposing BN’s excesses and abuse of power, blogging, posting comments on media websites, tweeting and Facebooking.

On Facebook lately, their statement of change has seen expression in many like-minded Netizens adopting the ubah mascot as their profile photos. This gives ready recognition of themselves as comrades for the same cause, as well as a group identity.

The more creative ones have contributed towards creating greater awareness by producing videos to spread the message of change and sharing them on social media. Landscape artist Ng Sek San came up with the idea of planting ‘flowers’, dubbed “Malaysian Spring” and made of small flags in the colours of Pakatan’s component parties, in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. They have since sprouted in other locations, planted by other comrades for change.

Out in the streets or in public places, strangers warm up to one another and behave as if they were old friends when the subject of politics comes up and complaints about the BN Government surface, followed by the theme of the need for change. I have encountered this myself a few times.

So have a few of my friends. One was in a taxi coming back from the airport when he and the driver started talking about politics. It seemed like the natural thing to do. It also seemed natural that the driver condemned the Government, and when my friend arrived at his destination and was getting out of the taxi, the driver said to him, “Remember to ubah ah?”

A friend in Singapore reported that while he was waiting at a bus stop, a middle-aged man who must have recognised he was Malaysian, suddenly came up to him with a frown on his face, gesturing to him to look at his smartphone. It was showing a news update about the DAP’s decision to contest under the symbols of PAS and PKR because the Registrar of Societies (ROS) had derecognised the DAP’s central executive committee.

“Stupid idiots! So damn dirty!” the man shouted. Then he grinned at my friend, and my friend grinned at him, and they both shook hands.

Another friend told me that as she was walking out of the consulate in New York City after casting her overseas vote on April 28, a fellow Malaysian who had done the same but whom she didn’t know from Adam turned to her and asked, “Have you done your part?” Without a moment’s pause, she replied, “Definitely!”

Clearly, the comrades for change are candid about their choice and have no qualms about declaring it openly. They don’t abide by the precept that one’s vote is a secret. They even go about to share their sentiment with others to get them to join the cause. They are proud to state their stand.

In contrast, BN supporters appear more muted. Er … probably with the exception of actress Michelle Yeoh. But she found out, to her exasperation, that her public endorsement of BN chairman Najib Razak for prime minister was ill-advised. It incurred the wrath of many Malaysians who bombarded her Facebook page with devastating diatribes. In the course of it, she lost many fans.

Among the comrades for change are Malaysians residing overseas. Some of them have resolved to come home to vote, from even as far as the United States of America.

Those across the Causeway in Singapore have been organising even before the dissolution of Parliament was announced to come back in groups, by car-pooling or chartering buses. A group of about 20 Malaysians resident there were even going around an MRT station bearing placards urging Malaysians to go home and vote.

Their major concern is that every vote is going to count, taking into consideration the allegations of expected widespread cheating through the participation of phantom voters and foreigners illegally given identity cards. And now, as BN secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has admitted, voters flown in by his coalition from Sabah and Sarawak as well. The numbers arriving, alleges Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, are in the tens of thousands.

If Pakatan Rakyat still manages to win the general election despite the odds, it will owe a great debt of gratitude to the comrades for change. It can also be certain that they will expect Pakatan to deliver on its promises. And that they will continue to assert themselves and voice their dissatisfaction if they are disappointed.

On the other hand, if BN wins, they will remain a strong pressure force. BN will face an even tougher time ruling the country being watched closely by these people who have now stepped forward to take responsibility for their country.

A new spirit has arisen in Malaysia. And the clamour for change will continue to resonate. The best scenario is for the wave for change to sweep the entire nation and carry along with it fence-sitters and even BN supporters as well. In fact, it is now growing in momentum and may peak on polling day in a Pakatan victory if the election is free of fraud. But there may yet be many a slip ’twixt the prediction and the result.

As the proverb goes, nothing is for certain until the fat lady sings, and she’s still two days from singing.

* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians, and the latest volume, Ask for No Bullshit, Get Some More!

malaysiakini: Inside 505 Generation: The Youth vote.... by A/Prof Bridget Welsh

Inside 505 Generation: The Youth vote

Bridget Welsh 1:28PM May 3, 2013

GE13 SPECIAL In these final days before polling in the May 5 general election, more and more attention is focused on a third decisive group (besides civil servants and women) - young Malaysians, especially voters under the age of 30. This cohort comprises 2.6 million or 19.5 percent of the electorate, and are distributed over the entire country.

They are particularly featured in BN rallies, often bused to locations, sometimes paid to wear blue T-shirts. They are the energy in the electoral campaign for both sides, riding motorbikes adorned with flags and cheering with great enthusiasm. They will ultimately be decisive in the election results.

While most of the attention on Malaysia's voting behaviour is on ethnicity, as this is the strongest indicator of voting behaviour, there are also important generational divides in the electorate.

Generally, polling shows those aged 55 and above favour BN. Between the ages of 40 and 55 is a hotly contested age cohort, as the battle for the middle-aged voters intensified. Traditionally, this age group has also leaned toward BN, but has since been more divided. However, those between 30 and 40 favours the opposition, due in part to the reformasi and tsunami periods of political awakening.

For the youngest under-30 group, the 505 Generation, the situation is more unknown. Most of these are first-time voters, over the age of 21, which is one of the highest voting ages in Southeast Asia (Indonesia by comparison is 17). Polling shows the 505 Generation has the most fence-sitters of any age group, and are being wooed intensely. In these last few days of the campaign, how they will swing will prove decisive.

Studies of voting behaviour of different generations identify two dynamics. The first is the life-cycle effect, where as a person grows older, they are seen to become more conservative with the weight of responsibilities, financial pressures and family obligations contributing to higher risks of changing their vote.

The older the voter, according to this approach, the more they will stay with the status quo. In this paradigm, Malaysia's younger voters thus embrace change more than older ones.

The other dominant explanation is the cohort effect, where a generation cohort is shaped by the events of a particular period of time when they were socialised and became politically aware.

In Malaysia, the cohort effect can be seen in the different political attitudes historically. The Merdeka generation, the post-1969 race riots with its New Economic Policy (NEP), the Mahathir years of growth, 1998-99 reformasi, 2008 tsunami and now the 505 GE 2013 are all pivotal moments in time where Malaysians have formed their views of politics and where there are clearly different perspectives of issues.

In this campaign, these generational outlooks have been engaged strategically. The fear tactics now used openly by BN are, for example, generally more successful with older voters, as they are relics of old politics. BN, on its part, also taps into the appreciation of the provisions of infrastructure and basic services, especially in rural areas, as a means to woo voters over 40.

For these voters, they have seen changes in their communities over their lifetime, and BN has successfully linked this development with their governance. In this election, the question is whether the young voters have similar buttons for political parties to push.

New voters, new politics

The pattern of political socialisation of younger voters is quite distinct than earlier generations. Increasingly, they do not get their news from the mainstream media, especially newspapers, and they are shaped by their social media relationships, notably Facebook and Twitter.

Rather than read, they watch YouTube and use Instagram. Over 80 percent of youths in Malaysia are online in some form, and they overwhelmingly get their news from the Internet, largely through smart phones.

They are a politically aware generation. Malaysia's under-30 cohort is as engaged in politics as older Malaysians, and have largely similar views towards key governance issues. In particular, they see corruption in the system.

There are largely three groups of young people - those disengaged (an estimate of one in three have not registered to vote), those engaged and those on the fence, who often tune out the political noise and during there campaign period, they are being wooed to tune on. It is this last group, the fence-sitters that will have to stand on one side or the other, and who are being targeted in the last round of hustings.

There are two important distinctive elements of this 505 Generation beyond their source of information. This group is on the frontline of economic challenges, often at the lowest end of the pay scale.

The ‘zaman duit' era of money is most felt by young people who have just entered the job market, with entry salaries, or are looking for work. Disproportionately, the highest level of unemployment is among the 505 Generation, 11 percent reported last year.

Second, the 505 Generation has been socialised with Pakatan as part of the political landscape, they know that there is choice and they have more choices at the polls nationally than earlier generations.

The two political camps have strategically reached out to the 505 Generation. Of the two sides, the most programmes have been developed by BN. Led by Khairy Jamaluddin, Umno did an extensive assessment on how to engage the youth. The focus of their assessment was on economic needs, especially jobs. Thus the creation of the Jobs Fair.

The BN also targeted this group financially through spending. The most known is the smart phones initiative. Youth-friendly initiatives in Najib's 2013 Budget, for example, included the following:

• RM738 million provided for youth and sports development.

• BR1M payouts for unmarried individuals.

• A one-off rebate of RM200 provided for the purchase of a 3G smartphone from authorised dealers. This initiative is for youths aged between 21 and 30, earning RM3,000 and below monthly. A sum of RM300 million is allocated to benefit 1.5 million youth.

• Discount of 20 percent for National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) borrowers, who fully pay off their loans within one year from Oct 1, 2012 to Sept 30, 2013.

• To assist young ICT entrepreneurs, a New Entrepreneur Foundation (NEF) to be set up with initial allocation of RM50 million.

• RM3.7 billion for technical and vocational training of students.

• Securities Commission to introduce the Graduate Representative Initiative with the private sector to train graduates in fulfilling industry needs.

This comes on top of earlier targeted allocations in 2012, also extending into the billions. Many of these initiatives are needed, especially training, but the challenge is their implementation, as much of the money has not reached the youth and many of those most in need have not benefitted.

Powerful persuaders 

Pakatan has similarly developed its own youth initiative. The cornerstone has been free education and enhanced training for economic opportunities. Job creation, training for semi-rural and remote areas and higher incomes are emphasised as well, as the aim is to reach out to youth across the country.

What distinguishes Pakatan's efforts is more attention to political reform for the young, with greater calls to liberalise the political environment in universities, remove the controls on scholarship students and a broadening of the scholarship programme. The focus moves beyond seeing the young as economic actors, but as engaged political citizens whose voices matter.

On the other hand, BN did lift the ban on students joining political parties but stopped short of fundamental political reform for students.

The engagement of the two camps with the youth will ultimately come down to how the 505 Generation will imagine the alternatives. And they are divided, especially between urban and rural areas.

Pakatan has overwhelmingly captured the imagination of the young in the urban areas, but less so in the rural areas, where the BN outreach has been more effective. Interviews in the rural areas of young people in East Malaysia and the rural Malay heartland, however, suggest that the 505 Generation is increasingly moving towards Pakatan, although BN does have its base of support as well. Those moving are excited about the possibility of change and hopeful for the future.

The test on Sunday will be the voters turnout. As they know they matter, I expect high turnout. They are already heading home in many cases to vote and to discuss politics in the household.

In 1999 and 2008, the young were powerful persuaders of voting behaviour within the household and will be the same this time as well. The excitement is palpable among young people - from Selangor to Terengganu.

Like the rest of Malaysians, they are worried about their rights at the polls being compromised by disturbing reports of election irregularities. The 505 Generation is likely to be among the first to come out and protest if their first election is debased by phantom voters and possible rigging. They do not want their rights denied and are intensely invested in the future.

Under-30 candidates

Already there are more young people participating in politics. This election we see the importance of the young in political parties. A record number of young people are being fielded as candidates.

We see more people on the opposition than BN overall, as shown in the available information of the age of the candidates fielded for parliament in the table below, but the changes are taking place on both sides.

The below-30 mark is being broken. In Perak, there are five candidates under-30 - two for BN and three for Pakatan. Almost every state has an under-30 candidate, largely Pakatan although there is the occasionally BN candidate fielded as well, notable MCA. Many of these young candidates are well-qualified professionals, lawyers, accountants and engineers, and some of these have been political assistants to those in office, such as Kasthuri Patto fielded in Batu Kawan.

The numbers of those in the 30s are also increasing, up from previous elections. The youthfulness of the candidates' list speaks to the reality that Malaysia is a younger population, with 56 percent of the citizens under 30. It also speaks to the youth's engagement in politics and are deeply vested in the future.

• RM738 million provided for youth and sports development.

• BR1M payouts for unmarried individuals.

• A one-off rebate of RM200 provided for the purchase of a 3G smartphone from authorised dealers. This initiative is for youths aged between 21 and 30, earning RM3,000 and below monthly. A sum of RM300 million is allocated to benefit 1.5 million youth.

• Discount of 20 percent for National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) borrowers, who fully pay off their loans within one year from Oct 1, 2012 to Sept 30, 2013.

• To assist young ICT entrepreneurs, a New Entrepreneur Foundation (NEF) to be set up with initial allocation of RM50 million.

• RM3.7 billion for technical and vocational training of students.

• Securities Commission to introduce the Graduate Representative Initiative with the private sector to train graduates in fulfilling industry needs.

This comes on top of earlier targeted allocations in 2012, also extending into the billions. Many of these initiatives are needed, especially training, but the challenge is their implementation, as much of the money has not reached the youth and many of those most in need have not benefitted.

Powerful persuaders 

Pakatan has similarly developed its own youth initiative. The cornerstone has been free education and enhanced training for economic opportunities. Job creation, training for semi-rural and remote areas and higher incomes are emphasised as well, as the aim is to reach out to youth across the country.

What distinguishes Pakatan's efforts is more attention to political reform for the young, with greater calls to liberalise the political environment in universities, remove the controls on scholarship students and a broadening of the scholarship programme. The focus moves beyond seeing the young as economic actors, but as engaged political citizens whose voices matter.

On the other hand, BN did lift the ban on students joining political parties but stopped short of fundamental political reform for students.

The engagement of the two camps with the youth will ultimately come down to how the 505 Generation will imagine the alternatives. And they are divided, especially between urban and rural areas.

Pakatan has overwhelmingly captured the imagination of the young in the urban areas, but less so in the rural areas, where the BN outreach has been more effective. Interviews in the rural areas of young people in East Malaysia and the rural Malay heartland, however, suggest that the 505 Generation is increasingly moving towards Pakatan, although BN does have its base of support as well. Those moving are excited about the possibility of change and hopeful for the future.

The test on Sunday will be the voters turnout. As they know they matter, I expect high turnout. They are already heading home in many cases to vote and to discuss politics in the household.

In 1999 and 2008, the young were powerful persuaders of voting behaviour within the household and will be the same this time as well. The excitement is palpable among young people - from Selangor to Terengganu.

Like the rest of Malaysians, they are worried about their rights at the polls being compromised by disturbing reports of election irregularities. The 505 Generation is likely to be among the first to come out and protest if their first election is debased by phantom voters and possible rigging. They do not want their rights denied and are intensely invested in the future.

Under-30 candidates

Already there are more young people participating in politics. This election we see the importance of the young in political parties. A record number of young people are being fielded as candidates.

We see more people on the opposition than BN overall, as shown in the available information of the age of the candidates fielded for parliament in the table below, but the changes are taking place on both sides.

The below-30 mark is being broken. In Perak, there are five candidates under-30 - two for BN and three for Pakatan. Almost every state has an under-30 candidate, largely Pakatan although there is the occasionally BN candidate fielded as well, notable MCA. Many of these young candidates are well-qualified professionals, lawyers, accountants and engineers, and some of these have been political assistants to those in office, such as Kasthuri Patto fielded in Batu Kawan.

The numbers of those in the 30s are also increasing, up from previous elections. The youthfulness of the candidates' list speaks to the reality that Malaysia is a younger population, with 56 percent of the citizens under 30. It also speaks to the youth's engagement in politics and are deeply vested in the future.

On Sunday, Malaysia's youth will tip the balance of power and the force of the youth will not just be at the ballot box, as they will likely not stand idly by and see their future taken from them through the potential manipulation of the results.

Let's hope that the rights of this generation are respected and this cohort will be allowed to fairly and safely shape their own future.

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DR BRIDGET WELSH is associate professor of political science at Singapore Management University. She is travelling around Malaysia to provide her GE13 analyses exclusively to Malaysiakini. Bridget can be reached at bwelsh@smu.edu.sg. 

GE13: Are you ready for change Malaysia? ... by Kee Thuan CHye

GE13: Are you ready for change Malaysia?

The spirit of ubah is now strong, the wave for change is gaining momentum. Will you swim with it or will you be left stranded behind?

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On May 5, the day of the most crucial general election we are about to face, which coalition will you vote for? Will you vote for the same old dinosaur or will you vote for change?

The spirit of ubah is now strong, the wave for change is gaining momentum. Will you swim with it or will you be left stranded behind?

Here are only a few reasons for going with the flow:

Healing the nation – If the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) is retained, there will be strife for another five years. People are now angry with it, they will get even more angry. If Pakatan Rakyat wins, we get the chance to start on a new slate. Its leader, Anwar Ibrahim, has spoken publicly of forgiveness and reconciliation, the way of Nelson Mandela. With the country being so divided now, this is what we need.

Reform – Our system has been abused, polluted, sullied, thanks in large part to BN, starting from the time when Mahathir Mohamad was prime minister. We need to cleanse it. Will BN do it? Why would it? It’s been benefitting from the rotten system for decades and rotting it further. We need a new government to do the necessary. We need an end to Mahathirism.

BN chairman Najib Razak has had four years to bring reform as prime minister, but he has given us only half-measures. He has been more adept at giving out cash to bribe the people into voting for BN. What has he done about corruption? Cronyism? Under Najib’s watch, Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary continued to get huge slices of pie.

Pakatan will bring reform. Its manifesto promises to abolish business monopolies and repressive laws, like the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), the Peaceful Assembly Act. It also promises to reinstate public confidence in institutions like the judiciary, the police, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Attorney-General’s Chambers by freeing them from political control.

Race-based politics – BN, comprised of race-based parties, will continue to politicise the issue of race – and with it, religion. Even now, we can see how fervently BN is playing up racial issues in its election campaign. Mahathir has been the biggest hate-monger. His most unfair statement is saying without any basis that if the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang were to win in Gelang Patah, it would lead to racial confrontation.

Najib has stooped to race-baiting as well. He said sometime ago that if the DAP were to win big, the Malays would find their survival in peril. How will that be so? This is just the straw man argument that BN conjures – to the Malays, it says a vote for PAS is a vote for the DAP and the loss of Malay privileges. To the non-Malays, it says a vote for the DAP is a vote for PAS and the setting-up of an Islamic state. How do you reconcile the two? BN can’t even be coordinated in its spinning. In the end, it just looks like nothing more than a scare tactic.

On the other hand, Pakatan is moving away from racial politics. It has proposed affirmative action that is needs-based rather than race-based, which will be unlike the New Economic Policy (NEP) upheld by BN.

Liberation of the Malays – BN has been deliberately keeping Malays intellectually backward and deceiving them with constant reminders that they cannot compete or survive on their own abilities. It has been dumbing them down through the education system and conditioning them through various means, including Biro Tata Negara (BTN) and TV-disseminated propaganda.

Pakatan is not going to do the same. It will ensure academic freedom for scholars, thinkers, staff and students in all academic institutions.

Two-coalition system – Voting BN out of government will strengthen our democracy because it will ingrain in Malaysian minds that the two-coalition system can be a reality. It has to happen for them to accept it. Too many Malaysians have already been psyched into thinking that the government and the country are the same, so they must be loyal to BN. A change in government will make them realise this is not so.

Besides, we will gain from BN getting the experience of being in the Opposition, without the benefits and kickbacks they enjoyed before. Only then will BN really reform itself. And when BN has done this, perhaps we’ll begin to have both coalitions realising that governance does not mean trying to kill each other off to take all the winnings, but working together for the good of the country.

The economy – Under BN rule, there has been much wastage and leakage and cronyism and rent-seeking. In 1980, our GDP was higher than South Korea’s but today, ours is only half theirs. Singapore’s GDP is almost five times ours.

Najib aims to take us to high-income status with a per capita income of US$15,000 by the year 2020. If that comes true, we’d still be lagging far behind South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. In 2011, according to the World Bank Group, South Korea’s per capita income was already US$22,424, and Singapore’s US$46,241. As for Taiwan, its per capita income is projected to reach US$29,000 in 2020, double that of ours then.

Meanwhile, Pakatan has pledged that it will plug the wastage and leakage so that the savings from this can be used for development and helping the rakyat. It will scrutinise dubious contracts which the government under BN signed with private companies. It will bring back the open tender system that could potentially save the government billions of ringgit.

Petronas – Our country’s golden goose is answerable to the Prime Minister’s Office instead of to Parliament. Why does the prime minister have so much control over an asset that belongs to the rakyat? We’ve heard about Petronas’ money having been abused by BN leaders, and in 2011, the oil company reported that since 1974, it had given the Government a total of RM529 billion. How was the money spent?

If not for anything else, you should consider voting Pakatan so that the truth may be revealed.

Free media – In its current election campaign, BN has been saying all kinds of negative things about Pakatan. But it doesn’t give the latter a chance to rebut. Pakatan doesn’t even have access to state-owned TV stations. BN puts in advertisements in newspapers saying things about Pakatan that the latter cannot defend with counter-advertisements because these newspapers will not accept them.

The electoral reform group Bersih fought for and won the Parliamentary Select Committee’s nod to give the Opposition fair access to the media, but BN offered Pakatan only 10 minutes on RTM to tell people about its manifesto. Meanwhile, BN hogs the TV stations – RTM and those operated by Media Prima, which is BN-owned. It can run its own propaganda on these TV stations 24/7.

Furthermore, the Home Ministry has absolute say in deciding who can start a newspaper. This means that the Opposition has been unable to start a mass-market newspaper because its applications are automatically shot down by the ministry. Is that fair?

On the other hand, PR has promised that if it comes to power, it will abolish the PPPA and therefore take away the power of the ministry to decide who can start a newspaper. More important, the media will finally be given the freedom it badly needs to do its job properly.

Justice – We need healing and reconciliation, but we also need to see that justice is done on those who have caused severe damage to our country – either through corruption, stealing the people’s money or inciting racial hatred.

Mahathir has been all too obvious in desiring to see Pakatan lose. He has been behaving irresponsibly in saying all kinds of things to sabotage Pakatan, some bordering on sedition. Perhaps he has much to lose, perhaps he has much to hide. So if there is one strong reason to vote for Pakatan, it is to reject Mahathir. More than that, it is to make his worst nightmare come true – his own public persecution. Which is something he truly deserves for all the repulsive things he has done, all the vitriol he has vomited to drive the races apart.

At the very least, you might get to see what could happen to those who have been committing slander, fabricating untruths, taking money that didn’t belong to them, cheating the rakyat, killing people … the list goes on. Wouldn’t it be a great feeling to see justice done?

Surely, that alone would be worth your vote?

* Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to MSN Malaysia

A new dawn within reach: By Former Bar Council President

A new dawn within reach: By Former Bar Council President

Open letter by Former Bar Council President. 
In an open letter, Yeo Yang Poh exhorts Malaysian to move forward and make a change to improve our nation while we can.

Dear Fellow Malaysians,
The curse of a realist (a euphemism for “pessimist”) is his inability to ignore the size of the dark cloud in favour of its silver lining. But this time around, even a realist such as I brings exciting tidings – that a new dawn is within sight, at last!

History is largely cyclical. The time has come for Malaysia to stride, be it quietly or vociferously, into the next cycle. But it will not happen by itself. We need to act, in consonance.

I want to convince you that we must act now.

There will be those who simply refuse to wake up and smell the coffee. Leave them to their comatose state of being. There are enough of us to succeed without them, provided we work hard, and act in concert.

Fall of a decadent government
About a century ago, Chinese educationist and writer Yu You Ren described 3 premonitions of the fall of a corrupt regime:

(a) The people are impoverished, the country bankrupt. National wealth is put out of reach of the people, looted by the ruling elite and their cronies.

(b) Good practices are not promoted; bad practices are not curbed. Corruption thrives, and morals decay.

(c) Money has become King, in every aspect of life. National interests are sold for private gains. The filthy-rich few reign over the poor majority.

Venturing further back in time, a Qing Dynasty thinker, General Zeng Guo Pan, penned his version of the three characteristics of a collapsing regime, as follows:

Right and wrong are turned on their heads.
The meek have become increasingly submissive; the incompetent increasingly arrogant and doing as they please.

Every wrong will be officially ‘justified’ using some illogical nonsense, and the common people feel resigned to their ill fate.

There are, of course, other warning signs as a government slides towards self-destruction. But the above will suffice in making the point.

Today’s Malaysia fits the picture
The state of affairs in Malaysia today fits rather squarely into the picture painted by the Qing Dynasty scholars I have referred to above. Those worrying tell-tale signs exist in present-day Malaysian society for all but the willfully blind to see.

Have we not witnessed the induced death of meritocracy in the public sector generally, with the incompetent being perpetually promoted, and the capable sidelined (unless they toe the line and play the same game)? 

Are not racism and religious fanaticism more rife today than, say, 30 years ago? 

Are they not being arrogantly promoted by those in power through their proxies (or at the least with the turning of a blind eye)? 

How else do you explain the pathetic existence of Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa?

In today’s Malaysia, isn’t it money that speaks the loudest, and corruption regarded by many as the norm in relation to public institutions (spreading also to numerous types of commercial transactions)? 

Corrupt leaders preach saintly principles in the open, while in the quiet they steal the nation’s wealth and rule over the meek populace with the help of those whose loyalty they have bought with the proceeds of their loot. No wonder the “Satu-Malaysia” slogan is renamed in the streets as the “Sapu-Malaysia” concept.

In today’s Malaysia, do you hear informed Malaysians confidently telling you that they expect justice and fairness from the Malaysian administrative and judicial systems?
Have there not been countless times when black became white, and white black? When was the last time we paused to count, and say a prayer for, the perished souls who still await the unearthing of the simple truth – Beng Hock, Altantuya, Kugan, Aminulrasyid, Sugumar, and so many others?

Even a shamelessly pliant and subservient newspaper has recently front-paged allegations of bribery syndicates targeting the judiciary, perhaps not realising that this revelation would be more of a reflection on the judiciary and on the abject failure of our government of these past decades than on the rats who desire to poison the system.

And have not attempts by the authorities at justifying the unjustifiable also become more and more desperate and ridiculous, particularly in recent times? The changing comments by ex-prime minister Mahathir on the subject of the clandestine issuance of ICs to foreigners are an example among many.

What can be more nauseating than to hear our ex-leader gasping to justify turning foreigners into illegal voters by comparing those dishonest acts with the proper conferment of citizenship (upon the independence of our nation) on all the peoples who had fought for its independence?

In a country bountiful with resources, it is ironical that Malaysians are being gradually impoverished – even though those of us who are more fortunate to be at the upper tiers of the economic-pyramid might not yet feel the tightness of the squeeze. In a nation free from serious natural disasters, it is politically-made catastrophes that ruin many lives.
Yet, there is reluctance on the part of many to change, representing a sure sign of them tragically resigning to their supposed fate.

It is not the crooked politicians who are ultimately to blame. It is we, the people, who are collectively the culprits, who have given unchecked powers to thieving politicians to enslave us, without respite, for the past five decades.

The picture of today’s Malaysia is not a pretty sight. But it is so, because of us.

That picture will not change by itself. It requires us to act, in order to change it.

The need to Change
Both the need for change and the possibility of change have never been clearer than they are now.

The mirror of history is filled with millions of images of societies devastated by corruption and the sufferings inflicted by it on the peoples in all corners of the world. Corruption is a multiplying fire that eventually destroys every kind of system ever tried by mankind – kingdoms, dynasties, military rule, theocracies, imperialism, socialism, communism, autocracies, democracies, and whatever else men have been able to think of.

This fire has been burning in Malaysia for years upon years.

You cannot expect fire to put itself out. And you cannot expect fire to die out, when combustible materials continue to be placed in its widening path.

Don’t be fooled by those who lit the fire, when they say they now want to turn it around. The fire today is no longer that fire once lit by them. It is out of their control now. It has been for years. Unless we change, politicians will not change, and are unable to change.
Therefore, the only way forward is to change, NOW.

Only the people’s awakening and action (often late but not never) are the water that can douse the fire of corruption, provided this water rises in waves of sufficient quantities. And provided that each and every one of us does not slumber in apathy, and does not underrate himself or herself in being a small but essential drop that together will make up that wave of overwhelming proportion!

So get up, Malaysians, to vote for change! Half a century of political monopoly must be broken!

Not only must we ourselves get up, we must make sure that as many of those around us as possible get up too, and act!

But – why now?
Because doing it now comes only with sweat and tears, and some short-term inconveniences or aches; whereas the price of postponement (to our future generations for them to effect change, instead of us) will be huge and harsh. Our children will be facing an augmented fire, much more daunting than ours, and will have to pay with life and limb in order to bring about change.

What will your choice be?
Yesterday’s tomorrow; and tomorrow’s yesterday

Many complain about the situation we are in today. We have a long list of serious grouses. We forget that the situation we are in today is the direct result of the choices (actions and inaction) that we made yesterday.

Similarly, today is nothing but tomorrow’s yesterday. What the situation will become tomorrow of course depends on what we do today. It appears such simple logic; yet the inertia of putting this logic into action can prove difficult to overcome. Are we going to change and make things better; or are we going to repeat the mistake we made yesterday?

What will you do for tomorrow, today?

My earnest appeal
I believe (in fact, I know) that Malaysia and Malaysians deserve much, much better than what our present incorrigible government has done to us for the past half a century.

I appeal to everyone to help rekindle the belief in our hearts that we can improve our nation, our society and our peoples, for our future generations; and I appeal to all to translate that belief into action for change.

Together, we will draw open the curtains to greet a new dawn.

Yeo Yang Poh is a former president of the Malaysian Bar.