JANUARY 27 — I do not speak for #UndiRosak. I am not its leader. I don’t even think it has a leader. I speak for myself, and only myself.
I am just someone who thinks that #UndiRosak is a fantastic way to democratically hold politicians in Malaysia to account for their promises, and their performance, in the run up to the 14th General Elections (GE14). To be specific, Pakatan Harapan (PH) politicians.
Barisan Nasional (BN) has nothing to worry about by #UndiRosak because, by my estimate, GE14 is already in the bag for BN. The only question is whether or not BN will get 2/3 majority in Parliament. The smart thing for BN to do, at this point, would be to just stay silent and let PH and the #UndiRosak people argue amongst themselves. (This is a free tip from me to BN.)
Dear PH,
Think of #UndiRosak like a poor copy of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, without the marching or camping out. Yes, it’s that lame a “movement”, I readily concede. It’s lame and it’s lazy. It exists only in social media.
And, that’s exactly why it is so scary, isn’t it? It’s an idea. And you cannot fight an idea other than with a better idea. And so far, critics of #UndiRosak have relied mainly on ad hominem insults, doomsaying of what awaits Malaysia should BN win, and general appeals to ‘do the “right” thing for the “greater” good’. These all fall short of addressing the main reason (as I see it) of the movement.
The main reason for #UndiRosak is Tun Mahathir (Tun M) being named prime minister (PM) designate should PH win GE14. Many people do not like this, myself included. It boggles the mind that the man so reviled by PH before (and its earlier incarnation Pakatan Rakyat, PR; and Barisan Alternatif, BA) is now leading it.
Yes, many PH leaders, who had actually suffered under Tun M’s premiership, have now let bygones be bygones. They have embraced him as their leader to fight BN in GE14. Well and good. That is their right, and I respect that. But they do not speak for me. And they do not speak for their sympathisers who are now supporters of #UndiRosak because, obviously, we vehemently do not want Tun M to be PM designate. We do not want Tun M to be PM of Malaysia ever again.
That’s the long and short of #UndiRosak, to me anyway.
I do not want PH to be hypocritical. I want PH to take stock of its original values and motivations and if it means postponing its march to Putrajaya for five years, then so be it. And if you think I am a shill, I don’t care. I know I’m not.
The goal, for me, of #UndiRosak? To use my one vote, and voice in social media, to remind PH that in a democracy, the electorate has the power (for this issue, now more than ever) and that it will use that power as long as it is able to, not because it hates PH but because PH did not listen to the many admonishments in the past few months before it named Tun M as PM designate.
Now, PH is listening. And that’s very good. Because we have gotten its attention. What PH does from now on is up to PH. The ball is in PH’s court. It can listen, or it can ignore. Either way is fine by me.
This is what a vibrant and mature democracy should be. Didn’t PH use that very same reason when defending street protests during Bersih? It’s the same reasoning here: Vibrant and mature democracy.
Supporters of #UndiRosak will not be bullied or guilted to abandon our stand. If you can convince us with logical, intelligent, and unemotional arguments, please do so. If they are good, I will abandon my support and promotion of #UndiRosak.
Let me be absolutely clear — I fervently believe that it is PH and its supporters who are the ones who have lost the plot. I am just reminding them of how far they have strayed from their original path. And I’m doing it with my one vote, and a hashtag.
Let’s discuss, as intelligent adults, if you want. This is a democracy after all, isn’t it?
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
