This is the first draft of my Malay Mail column on Thursday, 8th of May 2008
TO SAY we live in interesting times is a gross understatement, given today’s Malaysian political scenario. Belonging to the echo-boomer fraternity of those born in the late 1970’s, I have never witnessed the waves of change plummeting our shores with such tenacity and overwhelming force.
The election results have affected Malaysians in varying degrees. While it has had a direct impact on some of us who are trying to stay on the ball with a never-ending chain of events unfolding, there are others who nonchalantly glance through the news on the front pages before proceeding to devour the sports or lifestyle sections.
I am in the former category. That fateful March night; I was in Seremban, looking forward to a week-long break when the results trickled in from the mainstream press. Our phones literally went off the hook. When news came that the state of Selangor had fallen, I headed back to Kuala Lumpur.
Although I spent the entire duration of the campaign period in Seremban, I still managed to lose my way in the city for a good 45 minutes. I remember the feeling of utter numbness. It was surreal. I felt as if I had had the perfectly orchestrated nightmare. Everything we had thought impossible, was not just possible; it was reality. It happened. The worst-case scenario became the base case.
The 12th General Election is my third. Coming from a family with strong roots in the civil service, I have always been intrigued by the subject of politics and public service. However, adolescent priorities had pushed my political interest firmly to the backseat. In my halcyon days in university, holding strong to the spirit of liberalism guided by youthful exuberance, I shunned away from the Kelab UMNO set up, preferring to focus more energy and time on the Malaysian Students’ Society, and of course, the London scene.
I returned home in 1998, a time when the Malaysian political ambience was stormy, to say the least. (How ironic that the two dominant figures more than a decade ago are still making headlines today.) But the events that unfolded then strengthened my opinion that the reach of politics surpasses the boundary of any given substance. Those events reinvigorated general interest in politics, including mine. Political sentiments were riding high, partly because the events that unfolded forced us to choose between the perceived right and the perceived wrong. Most young professionals of that era wrestled with the Hang Tuah versus Hang Jebat dilemma. Although the Internet and World Wide Web was only a pale shadow of what it is now, the email exchanges among the young professionals group came thick and fast, carrying frank opinions and thoughts.
Yet, at the same time despite these revolution-like scenes, an equal number of friends remained detached from politics, more in tune with the goings-on in the then up-and-coming happening Bangsar, and the English Premier League.
Fast-forward to 2008. There are a number of like-minded individuals still interested in politics in general. Then and again, I am encouraged by the quality of views and ideas of people much younger than my 31 years; some still studying, and communicating concern and awareness of politics that belie their chronological young age.
But as before, there is a segment that remains indifferent towards politics. I firmly believe to each, his own. We live in a true democracy; you choose what you care about. But personally, I have a concern that the “indifferent” segment is growing exponentially. The statistics – approximately four million eligible voters who didn’t register is a cause for concern. This represents more than 30 per cent of eligible voters! There must be a line between active political participation and exercising your democratic right. I feel the latter is a civic duty that all Malaysians must honour.
Above all, I remain a strong proponent that democracy requires action to work as it was designed. When Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj stepped off the plane from the Merdeka mission, there must have been certain expectations of the contribution and sacrifices that we, his children have to make in nation building.
Now is a time where we can’t afford to think of life as a spectator sport. Isn’t it time to come off the bench?
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