Vote for the man who promises least; he’ll be the least disappointing.
– Bernard Baruch, American financier and statesman
The nomination and polling dates for the 15th general election (GE15) have been announced. Malaysians will go to the polls on November 19.
But all eyes will be on the crucial nomination day which has been fixed for November 5. We will know then who will be fielded and who will be dropped – the good ones will be retained for sure (of course even if an incumbent is good and has had an excellent track record in the last five years, age could floor him or her), the ‘bad and ugly’ will surely be replaced by Young Turks – hopefully. Those with court cases hovering over their heads may or may not be fielded (in this country anything can happen; we’ll have to wait and see).
To me, nominating the right and capable candidates by parties to stand in GE15 is as important as voters making the right and wise choice on polling day.
Parties from across the political divide therefore act as useful and necessary gatekeepers, narrowing down the list of candidates to enable voters to make an informed choice among them and ultimately vote for the representatives to represent the people in Parliament.
Candidate selection is not an easy process. Parties have to ensure a stringent process in selecting a suitable candidate, bearing in mind that a ‘wrong’ candidate elected means five years of headache and heartache for us. Bear in mind that we aren’t selecting a candidate for a post in a private firm where if the selected candidate fails to perform the bosses can ask him or her to leave. In politics once elected you get to stay till the next polls! Unless of course He comes a calling.
Therefore, it’s incumbent on the parties to ensure they nominate candidates of unblemished reputation and character for us to pick on polling day. Please lah, don’t bulldoze any Jimbau, Rohana, Tieu Eng or even Kuppusamy through and expect us to vote for him or her, just because the candidate is from a dominant party!
Of course if the candidates come from a ruling party BM or GX, do we have a choice when the Opposition fellas offer us ‘crabs’? Most of us might still opt for the ‘frogs’ from the coalition.
We want candidates who are prepared to sacrifice themselves and their families for the rakyat and the nation. If they are not willing to do that then please be honest and offer to step down and make way for those – new faces or even those who lost narrowly in the last state election – who are ready to go for it again.
It has been a tradition for politicians, especially in Malaya, to say they will leave it to the constituents to decide their fate – that is, whether the people want them to continue as their representatives or otherwise. Come on lah! You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know what answer these rural or semi-urban constituents will give. Just be honest and fair to the constituents and offer to make way for someone more capable. Period!
One condition I would like to add here is that candidates should have a clean bill of health.
Impeccable health should be a key criteria when parties nominate candidates – to ensure successful lawmakers are able to complete their term. We don’t want someone abruptly leaving this world for the hereafter in the midterm of their political service, forcing the constituents to face a by-election, do we?
Not many may remember that four assemblymen and four MPs have succumbed to health-related issues since the 2018 GE14.
In 2018, two state by-elections were held after the representatives for Seri Setia and Sungai Kandis in Selangor died of colon cancer and lymphoma respectively.
And in 2019, a by-election for Semenyih, also in Selangor, had to be called after its assemblyman died of a heart attack.
As for the parliamentary seats, two by-elections were held in 2019 after the MP for Sandakan collapsed and died of a cardiac arrest while the MP Tanjung Piai died of heart attack.
In 2020, the constituents of Batu Sapi parliamentary seat in Sabah were left without an MP when the seat was left vacant after Liew Vui Keong died of pneumonia. Later that year, the Gerik seat was also left vacant after its MP Hasbullah Osman died of a heart attack.
There were no by-elections for the two seats because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parties should therefore make it mandatory for their candidates to be evaluated for their health, though some people will argue that it’s not democratic to force candidates to undergo health screening.
And I have to reiterate here that those with court cases pending – regardless of who they are – should be dropped. Don’t use the age-old excuse that one is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and bulldoze the candidates to us. Let’s be practical here, for God’s sake! Yes, it’s all about winning, but let’s win with style and quality! Mesti ada gaya sikit lah!
Finally, to our voters – the true kingmakers – please vote wisely come Nov 19.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
