Almost like a tradition on polling day, the onus is on leaders as well as members of the grassroots to get as many people as possible to turn up and vote.
Voting is a democratic right – a sacred practice which is invaluable and must be exercised with the highest wisdom.
One single vote matters – I bet there are many who would rue not voting as it would been able to tilt an election result, being the deciding vote in closely contested seats whereby the winner scraps through by a razor thin majority.
In the last Sarawak state election, the Tanjung Batu seat in Bintulu was an example of this close result.
Sarawak United People’s Party’s (SUPP) Johny Pang Leong Ming wrested the seat from the Democratic Action Party (DAP).
He did so by an extremely slim majority of just 23 votes. Imagine if these 23 people did not have the foresight to go out and vote? The result would have been very different.
The same story for the Pelawan seat in Sibu – another hotly contested urban seat, whereby it just took 100 people to make the difference.
DAP’s two-term Pelawan assemblyman David Wong was unseated by SUPP’s Michael Tiang.
Conversely, it only took 93 votes for Batu Lintang incumbent See Chee How to retain his seat against close contender, SUPP’s Sih Hua Tong.
Chee How managed to avoid defeat by the skin of his teeth. The same can also be said for the seat of Pending, whereby DAP’s Violet Yong scrapped through with merely 540 votes.
In rural Sarawak, Parti Sarawak Bersatu’s (PSB) Baru Bian kept his Ba’kelalan seat by a majority of 680 votes over Progressive Democratic Party’s (PDP) Sam Laya. While, long-term Simanggang assemblyman Datuk Francis Harden Hollis survived a close shave against PSB’s Wilson Entabang, winning by a slim 175 votes.
The point I am making is that seats that are closely contested is becoming a norm with many vying political parties.
It showed that election results are not only influenced by grassroots support or how well a candidate has campaigned.
But rather, at the crucial last moment, it depends on the turnout of voters at the polling stations.
There were many tales where people just simply feel too unmotivated to vote, and would rather stay at home or go somewhere else.
In their mind, this decision is justified – probably because they are a supporter of a certain political party, and they feel that the seat that they are voting for is a “safe seat”.
But the reality is that, we can no longer have this attitude that a seat would be safe.
What if 10, 100 or 1,000 people have the same mentality of the seat being safe – and 10, 100 or 1,000 supporters from the oppoition party are voting. Then the seat would be as good as lost.
At the same time, some would abstain from voting as they felt that their votes would not impact the results. As I have just shown, this is further from the truth. While some, just want to remain in their own bubble and not give two hoots about politics – thinking that it is irrelevant.
To these people, I say, politics is not only relevant, but is the precursor to making meaningful change.
Yes, you might be jaded or unfazed by the state of politics in the nation, but it would be a remiss if you didn’t make your voice heard through the ballot box.
They say they are uninterested, but the irony is that most of these people are very vocal on social media putting the blame on just almost everyone for things that are wrong with the country.
My take is this – if you are adamant over wanting change – cast your vote.
If you feel that the country needs stability and politicians must be kept in line – cast your vote.
If you feel that the last four years have been a rollercoaster ride whereby Malaysia has been put through many tribulations in regards to politics – cast your vote.
If you refrain from voting just for the sake of being “uninterested” in politics, you do not have the right to complain.
The platform to make your voices heard is through the ballot box, not social media.
When you do vote, then vote wisely. Don’t be influenced by cheap political ploys.
Your vote matters and it counts.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
