Tomorrow is Malaysia's 14th General Elections. Everyone will come out in droves to cast their vote for the party that they favour. The excitement and energy has been palpable in the last few months, even from many thousands of miles away. Every family dinner conversation has been littered with talk of politics and my social media feed has been flooded with political news or fake news (I can't really tell anymore). Even my WhatsApp has not been immune from its influence. I for one, am sick and tired of this toxic atmosphere - one that has pinned family member against family member, friend against friend, social media poster against random anonymous commenter. I am so relieved that in less than 24 hours, this will all be over.
Unlike many of my peers, I have chose not to participate in this election. I do believe in democracy - and I have voted in local elections in the UK previously. But in terms of GE14, I have come to the conclusion that all options are just not good enough. I dislike all the candidates that are running for the coveted Prime Minister role. Between a possible corrupt candidate and an ex prime minister who is inching towards being a centenarian who in his recent past life jailed his now comrade, the options are really not that great. If it was at all possible, I want both of them to lose - and lose badly.
Some might call my kind (the non voters) selfish, ignorant or irresponsible. Our ancestors fought for the right to vote and you are taking it for granted! To that, I say every vote is valuable. A vote needs to be earned, one needs to believe in the person or party whom one votes for. And this year, unfortunately, there is no option that is good enough - end of. "Vote for the less of two evils!" one might say. Possible, but no thank you. Does it mean that I am neglecting my civic duty? I would rather express my responsibilities throughout the years by giving back to my local community and nation, rather than expressing it once every five years because of peer pressure.
Maybe one day I will vote in Malaysia's General Election - when people talk more about policy than politics. But until that day comes, I exercise my right as a Malaysian citizen to abstain quietly and observe as the circus comes to a final close. So other Malaysians, I hand it over to you - accepting whatever decision that comes out of it. Heres hoping that on the day after tomorrow, we will be welcoming back some ounces of sanity, normality and peace.
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