AUGUST 21 — It’s amusing how the two loudest advocates for the Undi Rosak movement are crowing, saying their actions were justified.

Obviously like too many Malaysians they have only been reading news headlines.

I think that people both underestimated and overestimated the power of the vote.

It reminds me of the disappointment Americans felt after Barack Obama was elected. 

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They didn’t seem to realise that just because the US voted in a black man for president, it didn’t mean everything that was wrong in the US would be righted overnight.

That’s the same for Malaysia. It is a big achievement to vote out a sitting government; it demonstrates that Malaysians really can choose their leaders.

This is not the case in countries such as China where there is no real opposition, and the citizens have no real say about who leads them.

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The vote is a powerful thing but it is not a magic wand. Unseating a government is but one step, a single, but important action.

Right now the world economy is shaky thanks to a certain president who is intent on starting trade wars.

Part of the reason he is in power is not just because of the people who voted him in, but the people who refused to vote for his opponent. 

It’s well-known that many Bernie Sanders supporters refused to cast their vote in protest.

To paint non-voting as some sort of conscientious decision is a fallacy. It comes with consequences; it is, in fact, almost equivalent to giving a free pass to whichever side has the clear advantage.

Protest non-voting for me is too much like cutting off your nose to spite your face. 

Voting is a precious right and one too many people do not appreciate it enough. It wasn’t that long ago that women marched on the streets to demand for that right, some even dying for it.

The Undi Rosak movement was wrong then; it is wrong now. Don’t let people convince you to give up on a right that some would gladly strip from you. Hold on to that right, and believe in that power that lies in having a vote.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.