Election fever grips the country: But will it be a free and fair polls?

While the guessing game as to when Parliament will be dissolved and general elections called for will eventually have to come to an end, the election fever that has begun to grip Malaysians appear to be superseded by a more important and glaring question: Will the 13thGE be conducted in a free and fair manner?

Will Malaysians of whatever political inclination and affiliation be able to live by the final results of the 13thGE? As it stands, the number of Malaysians who question the impartiality of the Election Commission (EC) and their ability to conduct free and fair elections are beginning to rise in numbers.

If doubts and aspersions are cast on the final results of the 13thGE, it would spell as a bad omen for the country as it will be considered that democracy only exists in name in Malaysia. This will cause the nation to be viewed in a very bad light by the international community.

Perhaps what is worse is being viewed as a rogue nation. Being viewed as a rogue nation or failed democracy is not going to be to the liking of Malaysians as it would mean that they will be ostracized or suffer economic sanctions by world powers.

The need for the EC to ensure that the 13thGE is conducted in an open and transparent manner without any fault found in the casting of votes is critical and highly important to ensure that Malaysia’s process of parliamentary democracy is not jeopardized or doubted or called into question in any way.

The role of government machinery during the GE

While it is incumbent upon the EC to ensure free and fair polls take place during the 13thGE in Malaysia, it is equally important that government departments and agencies do not in any way usurp their power and authority by using government machinery to support and assist the governing Barisan Nasional (BN).

Already complaints abound and Malaysians are beginning to comment and notice of how it appears to be that civil servants and government machinery are being called in and relied on by BN to support and assist them in their attempts to garner votes.

Even before balloting has begun and even before elections have been called for BN has begun to crank up their support from civil servants and the widespread use of government machinery causing much unfairness and unhappiness among the rakyat who are witnessing these proceedings but are powerless and helpless to do anything.

But the need to report and bring to light any act of unfairness and wrongdoing before and during the 13thGE is very important and critical to safeguard parliamentary democracy. While to register complains with the EC is important, it might also be of use if the rakyat highlight any act of election wrongdoing to the media.

Every single aspect, every form of action connected to the elections have to be scrutinized and monitored by Malaysians to ensure that any attempt to cheat or tamper or cause doubts to be cast on an election result is checked and brought to the attention of the general public.

This is the role that Malaysians can play in their part to act as the eyes and ears of the country to safeguard the due process of parliamentary democracy and to do so without any fear or favor as their role in ensuring a free and fair election will go a long way in building a better Malaysia.

The players in the game of power

While the battle for votes during the 13thGE is really between BN and PR, the general public should play a vigilant role and act as watchdog to ensure that the elections do not go awry. The safety and security of voters and all Malaysians must be guaranteed by the Polis Di Raja Malaysia during the 13thGE and others responsible for public well being.

For votes to be cast without fear or favor, election candidates must pitch their bids in line with the rules and regulations as spelled out by the EC and subscribe fully to the tenets and obligations of democracy.

Since this is expected to and is billed as going to be “the dirtiest elections ever held in Malaysia,” it is all the more important that everyone be on the watch to spot and bring to light any person or persons, irrespective of their standing in society, who violate the rules and rules of the election process.

Vote buying by politicians and the use of money politics have to be nipped in the bud and any act that violates the spirit and nature of parliamentary democracy must be checked and duly brought to the attention of the authorities and through the use of social media as an added precaution.

Both sides of the political divide must subscribe to fair play to ensure polls are conducted in a totally free and fair manner. If any member of either side of the political divide is deemed to be out of line they have to be hauled up by the authorities and answerable and duly punished in accordance with the law.

While raising issues that are deemed or termed as contentious and sensitive, the public have to observe carefully how election candidates put across their views to ensure that these issues are handled with tact and thought and is in line with the values of free speech and expression as enshrined in the process of democracy.

The quest for power always comes with a price

In the 55 years so far that Malaysia has enjoyed as an independent and sovereign state, the quest for power by a range of individuals in the country has brought about mixed fortunes for them.

Malaysians who are a witness to this 55 year history of the nation will attest to the fact of the evolution and the changing political landscape even up to now causing Malaysians to be unsure and uncertain as to which side of the political divide will eventually triumph and prevail.

This is why for Malaysians to really know the real truth it is imperative that the 13thGE be conducted in the most free and fair manner as possible that the nation is led by people in the quest for power who are of the choosing, liking and respect and trust of the rakyat.

In the present state, in the current run up to the 13thGE it is difficult to ascertain and be unsure of all that is taking place in the political arena in this country as there is a lot of chaos and confusion that abounds.

The situation in Malaysian politics has become not only chaotic and confusing but convoluted to the point where Malaysians are unable to be sure and certain of the truth in any matter concerning the governance and leadership of the country.

This has caused and created an unstable political environment. Malaysians, however, being better informed and better educated now, are surprisingly going to the ground to do the hard work of cross-checking and verifying information before drawing any conclusions.

A good example is the seemingly fantastic results of the Government Economic Transformation Programme that is being spewed by PEMANDU which Malaysians who are in the know will be able to attest to as “facts, figures and statistics that do not correspond to what is really happening in real life in Malaysia.

Malaysians as well realize that there are “lies, damned lies and then there are statistics.” This was the famous statement by John F. Kennedy who also stated that “you can fool some of the people some of the time, most of the people most of the time but not all of the people all of the time.”

Are Malaysians going to consider themselves as fools and swallow all the bull that is being churned by government propaganda using government machinery or are they bold and brave enough to face up to the reality of the facts of life in this country?

For many years most Malaysians have been shortchanged by a government that now needs to be changed and replaced by those who are in touch with the bread-and-butter and everyday issues of life of the common man rather than an elitist BN government serving a minority group of Malaysians.

The realization of that change can come about but only through ensuring that the 13thGE is conducted in an open and transparent manner. In a free and fair poll the truth will prevail and the pretenders to the throne will end up being yesterday’s rubbish.

Malaysia Chronicle