I GET a lot of phone calls and messages from people who want to know whether the general election will be on soon following an article, “PM (Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob) will make an important announcement.”
I choose not to answer a lot of these questions which to me, is just a waste of time. If the general election (GE15) is on, it is on. If it is next year, let it be.
Now, I am no prophet or fortune teller to predict when the GE15 is on. Let me show you how to read between the lines.
(1) PM to make an important announcement? What does this mean, but something very important. Well, it can be both ways: (a) Agong (Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah) has not consented to a general election. The decision is final (b) Agong has consented to GE15 which will be held on (DATE).
(2) Agong lifted the state of emergency in a few constituencies. What does that mean? It means he is also prepared for any eventuality, or maybe, he just did it after being reminded of it. No big deal.
(3) You do not hear that much rumbling from UMNO’s court cluster in the past one or two weeks. What does that tell you?
(4) But the budget was tabled. So what? That’s only laid out as a sweetener to those whom they are pandering to in the coming general election. Listen again to what finance minister, Tengku Zafrul (Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz) said: “This budget can be tabled again.” Meaning? It’s a bait for those who think that the budget is good. It is unlikely that they will want the Parliament to debate further because the budget is weak towards the majority of Malaysians. Period.
I leave it at that, as ANYTHING can happen in this country. Decisions are not cast in stones. But, I can say GE15 is ON any moment from now to July next year. GE16 will not be on so soon.
Who to vote?
The next question I get from a lot of people since I expressed my disgust with Pakatan Harapan (PH) in Selangor.
Well, my answer is: Vote according to your conscience.
What do you see in the country? What is happening to the welfare of the people? Who is to be blamed if things continue to be rotten the way it has been?
It’s you. It’s me. We voted for the wrong people. Blame no one else.
Would I vote for PH or (Barisan Nasional) BN? I think my answer is obvious with me saying even a word. But, what about the ‘bad’ politicians in the coalition? My answer is SNUB THEM. Don’t even waste time attending their ceramah (talks), but continue to vote based on your own observations for the past 5 years.
What about the Selangor state government? Would I vote for them? Well, it depends. As I said, if the PH council continues to recycle the non-performers in the state exco and all the rejected elected representatives, I would cast a spoilt vote for Selangor.
I think 2+1 terms for PH in Selangor is good enough, but if one more term is what they are looking for, I would like to see who they have on the Selangor state candidature. Are these people still in, whether in Selangor or elsewhere?
- Amirudin Shari
- Ng Sze Han
- Elizabeth Wong
- Izham Hashim
- Hee Loy Sean
- Tony Pua
- R.Sivarasa
- P.Waythamoorthy
Any of the two councillors in my zone: Ng Wei Keong and Calvin Cheong.
And on the parliamentarian level, are they still standing for election?
I would vote for PH if DAP fields someone like Ronnie Liu, which goes to show that the DAP is willing to accept even amongst them people with dissenting views.
And, would I vote for the Independents? No, at the moment, Independents are just going to be as “jumpy” as the frogs. These are worse – they are “toads.” Today, they are here, tomorrow, they jump elsewhere. Where exactly they stand, no one knows! Maybe, the toad culture will attract those who go for sweets, especially when they are already asking for crowdfunding.
Until we have two strong coalitions, toads are not going to make an impact. They will just split the votes. – Oct 10, 2022
Stephen Ng is an ordinary Malaysian who has contributed his thoughts on a number of issues to stimulate the country’s thinking public.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
