Skip to main content

All Malaysians Have The Right To Vote

I read with revulsion in the Sun Newspaper the other day that the election commission of Malaysia, in response to civil societies insistence on the need for overseas Malaysian citizens to be accorded the right to vote; is considering imposing the rule that voting rights only be given to those expatriates that pay tax to the Malaysian government. This is just wrong on so many levels...

In a democracy, every adult citizen deserves the right to vote. This is a basic democratic right. No exceptions... no compromises. No discrimination regardless of gender, social status, wealth, political affiliation, sexual preference, religious or non religious... no exceptions whatsoever.

Once you start having exceptions, you put a nail in the heart of democracy. Every concession, every compromise, every exception is a piercing strike at the beating heart of democracy and freedom( I don't think democracy is the ultimate form of government, but that is for another write up). This idea that those that do not pay income tax don't deserve to vote is flawed.

If this is so, what about those that do not pay income tax, living in Malaysia? Is voting only reserved for the rich and the middle class? The poor do not deserve to vote? Are they voiceless in the democratic process? I am pretty sure expatriates overseas aren't exactly drowning in poverty(I certainly hope not). But to have one rule for them and another in Malaysia is not feasible, and legally problematic. There is something called the constitution.

This just screams nationalistic jingoism from the government; and let's face it, the election commission is a government organisation. For years, the incumbent government has been trying to force the perception that Malaysian citizens in foreign countries are  unpatriotic. Yes... most weren't happy with the way this nation was being run when they left for greener pastures(which in a lot of scenarios turned out to not be so green after all; Malaysians overseas had had to work almost doubly hard to start from scratch).

Just like us, they want only the best for Malaysia, and they want Malaysia to improve, not to stagnate in the cesspool of third world nations; moving backwards into a banana republic. I wont get into the dangers of nationalism in this write up(that's a completely different post), but to put it bluntly, it is a dangerous precept for all manner of atrocities and violations. Nationalism(or nationalistic fervour, however you put it) is the ugly doppelgänger that preys on the the working class while enriching the rich. Do not be fooled by it, there is nothing good about it.

Loving your country is fine, in moderation. Remember that we are all children of this planet. We have a responsibility to all humans. For the human brotherhood(and sisterhood). Oh well... that is enough of rambling for today. Fight this stupid idea please. ALL Malaysian citizens should be voting!



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The 'Lah' Syndrome - Why lah? Please lah! Don't Lah!

" Why lah ?" a friend inquired with complete terseness. The curt, simple and direct ' Why lah ' cut like a knife and  denotes a measure of bewilderment in the tone of it. I suppose a simpler 'Why?' would have sufficed, but the ' lah ' suffix adds more melodrama where there isn't any. Besides, the ' lah ' has been a staple of Malaysian language inflection for aeons, it is as immovable as a traffic congestion on the Federal Highway. It's not just a Manglish (or an English language) thing too... " Kenapa lah ?" shock, surprise, even a tinge of disappointment. The Malay language is not spared from the ' lah ' contagion. Often used as a suffix that accentuates the dramatic effect of a phrase, ' lah ' could be used in multiple ways: The classic ' Why lah ?' The added for conviction ' Come on lah !' The added for surprise and shock ' WTF lah! ' For added appeal or even being indignant  ...

Homage To Catalonia - Someday I Shall Have Coffee at Huesca

Homage to Catalonia is one of the best(if not the best) wartime accounts from on the the best writer of our times. Serving with the leftist POUM militia(Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista), Homage to Catalonia captures the optimism and idealism of revolutionary Spain. It then explores the mundaneness of trench warfare, which was more like non warfare. The treachery, living in fear of being outed, street fighting in Barcelona all vividly expressed. Even in the humdrum nature of it all, George Orwell writes a captivating account that manages to share with its readers the horrors and poor conditions of those in the front line and the political backstabbing from those that are far away from the actual fighting. A turbulent history of Spanish history with a huge variety of political entities fighting against fascism and against themselves. Homage to Catalonia ends with the hauntingly prescient paragraph in which Orwell expresses his disdain for his fellow En...

The Rah Rah Club Of Indian Politics

To borrow a term from Arundhati Roy, politicians in India are exclusive members of the Rah Rah Club . The Rah Rah Club is a cheeky little way of saying there's a lot of blowing hot air. Indian politics is an interesting yet rather unsophisticated beast, divided amongst rather communal and caste lines. Just the other day, I watched this Indian politician stating as a rebuke to another politicians statement that they will bring India on par of Singapore. To this, this almost predictable politician said his party will make even Singaporeans question how great India has become(of course, under their rule) and they would want to emulate India. What a load of hogwash Rah Rah Yes We Can rubbish! India, the second most populous nation with 1.2 billion people within its borders has a huge wealth distribution problem. With an estimated 30% of 1.2 billion below the international poverty line(that's a paltry USD$1.25 a day). This is where I suspect the Marxists(Left Democratic Front wit...