On the return flight to Singapore last night, I sat next to a PRC lady who uprooted her family from Beijing and moved them to Malaysia 17 years ago. I wished the flight was longer. She told me how she saw with her own eyes – last Friday, the 7 Indonesian car-washers working at the shop below hers were issued I/Cs and RM200 each – to vote on Sunday. And how, ironically, after 17 years of growing her roots here along with the foreign investment she brought from China, she and her husband have never been offered the same status.
We know it. We know the many reasons to be frustrated over this election and its results, but there’s no need to be disheartened, my friends. Do not say that democracy is dead – it is only dead the day we stop caring and we walk away while relinquishing our citizenships, leaving them to the phantom. As with all major revolutions in the world – they don’t take place overnight, and the build-up is beyond 2 elections. Without a firm foundation, change is anyway not sustainable. We are right now at 40-60 – the best ever seen – we have nothing to be ashamed of unlike our ruling party. It is the greatest awakening this country has ever seen in 56 years, however tainted this “democracy” may be. Let’s not talk about the if-only’s – if only we had a clean election, if only there were no phantom voters, if only more civilians were courageous enough to vote what their hearts tell them to. Let’s not be impatient. Slowly but surely, so long as the right people prove themselves to be deserving, one day we will get there.
The lady told me she donated RM20,000 to the PR over the past few months (though anonymously). She is a foreigner who has now regarded Malaysia as her home, who is not entitled to vote – yet she showed her support in whatever ways she could. When the plane landed, I updated her Lim Kit Siang has won his seat – the delight on her face will put many Malaysians to shame. Now the leaders have done their parts, what about us? Malaysians – we owe it to ourselves to perform that simple duty to our country by making our way down to the polling station once every 5 years.
Before we parted, she made a resounding statement which I will remember for life and I want to share it here – 社会需要良知.
Idealistic you may say, but it is in fact nothing more than Morals 101 we were taught since first day in school. The world is not fair, politics even more so. But democracy is always in the people’s hands and will never be dead – because no dirty tricks will be enough to triumph over conscience, when one day these 13.3 million people finally vote with their hearts.
Me.
chiann
22
17 jan
6H.205.403.06s6b.NBS
loves daddy mummy
loves my family
loves my friends
loves fUng 峯
also love:
* scholarz!
* 6H
* 06s6b
* Delphus
* Impreeeeee
* yamapi, jin
* leehom
* louis koo
* wch, fuhaifeng
* hk dramas
* badminton, vball
* music & piano
* photos
* quality time with loved ones
* words of affirmation