Of Being Political And Trying Not To Sound Like One At The Same Time

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Short and sweet. Hopefully.

As we are all very much aware, the election is just around the corner. If you are not, you better jump-off from any cliff now. The heat is on and everyone is talking about it. Even kindergarten kids nowadays are jumping into the bandwagon. Sweats.

This election is particularly exciting to me, as it will be my first time casting my vote, insha Allah. As a law abiding citizen, ehem, I think it is a natural obligation for me and everyone else to vote. 

All the tantrums about the government is not doing this and that, all the coffee-house chitchats about we need change and all the ruckuses about our grievances were not being attended, well, this is the time to change all that. Every vote counts as it represents what we believe in. Leave all the grumbles in the coffee shops and mamaks and let us all show that our votes do have a say.

Having said that, which party do we vote? Or rather, which ideology should we give our trust this time around..? The answer is of course, personal. I mean, of course it is very easy nowadays to tell whether a person is leaning towards the ruling government or the opposition. Just look at his/her status or tweets and voila! The truth shall prevail. Hehe.. 

But when it comes to the ballot box, it may be a different story altogether. I dare saying this because I have heard people who seemed to support someone else, but ended up voting for the opposing party on the election day. Traitor? I don't think so. From a very practical point of view, supporting and voting might be two different things. 

You might be supporting this particular party, and you dedicate your utmost loyalty to them. But you may not want to give the mandate to the party of yours, because you think they may not be able to deliver this time around. It may jolly well be due to their dismal track record, or complacency, or rampant corruption that have hit them. Sounds familiar..? Ahah. But hey, you still love them! So how now brown cow?

That's why, my principle is very straight forward. I'm not voting for the party, nor do I vote for a particular figure. But I vote for their policies. If the policies will bring more goods than harms, will bring about more benefits and can thwart evils and prevent mischief yada yada yada, I think I'll go for that. Yes, those things are subjective. But subjective things can be somewhat objective if you know how to put them in context.

Ok, apalah Inche gabbana mengarut ni. Fat sweats.

I know a lot of people out there who are anxious about this coming election. They want change, a significant and long-lasting one, but they are not pretty sure about it. Not so much about which party to vote, but rather, whether the change would eventually take place.

As well, there are also a significant number of potential voters out there who do not want to appear supporting any political party of ideology. This does not mean they are apolitical. As long as they know who to vote and why are they voting for that particular party, I think it's good enough.

I find it ironic, living in a so-called democratic country, who's supposed to champion the freedom of expression, yet we tend to condemn those who are seemingly on the fence (Read: Atas pagar). I mean, come on. What's wrong with people who just don't want to display his or her affiliation to any party or ideology..? We are matured enough to brush off the nonsense of with-me-or-against-me. That crap. If we are all for this party, fine! But don't impose what we believe on others! Yes, we can encourage and we can promote, but not to the extent condemning, criticizing or boycotting those who are not with us! Pfffttt. 

Politics is not everything. It is part of our life, yes, but life has more to offer. Don't let politics ruins your life, let alone destroys your principles as a Muslim. Stand up when you have to; sit down when it needs be.

And I bet, after 5th of May, everything else will turn back to normal. Phewwwhh. What a relief. So much for the hype. Meh. 

-gabbana-

Sweet? May be. Short..? Nah, it's me after all. Hahaha.. Stay tuned for more 'political' write-ups. Watch this space. Eheh.