ONE VOTE – TWO GOALS: SAVE MALAYSIA – DESTROY UMNO

By P Ramakrishnan

Malaysia will never recover from the ravages of greedy Umno politicians who have raped, pillaged and looted the country. We must stop Umno.

This election takes place not because the democratic process has fulfilled its five-year life span. If it had, then the GE15 would be the natural process of parliamentary democracy taking place next year any time before July 2023 – not on 19 November 2022. This is not the election that people wanted in November because of safety and security concerns during the monsoon rainy season.

This election was forced upon us by opportunistic Umno politicians hoping to wrest power and dump all that is right into the dustbin and redeem themselves from the clutches of the law. This is a matter of self-preservation for them. People’s safety and security cannot and will not deter their devious scheme to escape from the long arm of the law.

Therefore, GE15 must be held now at all costs – come what may! This is the reason why they pushed for an early election and succeeded by twisting the hand of the weak Prime Minister who is beholden to them for his survival.

If we don’t rise up and defeat this attempt to steal the election by destroying Umno, we will be doomed forever. Malaysia will never recover from the ravages of greedy Umno politicians who have raped, pillaged and looted the country. If they come to power, we will never revert to what we were in the past – a model of diversity, always tolerant and inclusive, and always a harmonious and united nation with a place for each and everyMalaysian.

If we lose out in this election, they will take over all the institutions and destroy the values and ethics that we Malaysians represent and force these institutions to act according to their will. Rule of law will become alien to our notion of justice.

We have witnessed with aching hearts how criminal charges were dropped without subjecting these cases to the scrutiny of the courts. It was becoming a trend not to pursue justice and seek convictions. We must stop this and defend the principle that determines what is right and wrong.

We have a heavy responsibility to safeguard this nation and get rid of corruption. If we fail, then the wicked who capture power in this election will put their hands in the till and help themselves to the wealth of the nation without let or hindrance.

But a problem persists!

It is quite obvious that many are upset and angry with certain decisions taken by the Opposition either to drop deserving and capable serving MPs or deny candidacy for someone who had proven his worth by ignoring his sincere aspiration to serve the nation. There is also a suggestion that the Opposition must be taught a lesson by refraining from voting or rejecting them.

This is no time for vengeance. This is no time for emotion. This is a time for collective rationality; we need to act responsibly.

The choice for all of us is simply this: either Umno or Pakatan Harapan. It is not a difficult choice. Let’s elect Pakatan Harapan and give them a five-year space to bring back sanity, restore hope, make our lives meaningful, redeem our dignity as a people, improve our economy, create jobs and provide decent salaries for all. This is a time to banish discrimination and establish policies that are fair and inclusive. We have so much to look forward to.

This can be achieved only without Umno being around. Umno is the number one enemy and it is our duty to destroy it. We can be the architects of the new dawn that promises a better future for this country.

The question before us is: Are we going to allow Umno to steal this election? Or are we going to bury Umno so that their devious ways will be put to rest once and for all? We must rescue and redeem this nation so that it will be home for every Malaysian.

We have one vote but we can accomplish two things. We can elect Pakatan Harapan as the next government and destroy Umno for the good of the country.

The future of this country is in your hands. Let’s be guided by the saying, “Voting is not only our right – it is our power.”

(The views expressed are those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rebuilding Malaysia.)

First published in Aliran on 1 November 2022

P Ramakrishnan is the long-serving former president of Aliran who served three and a half decades on its executive committee, and has been with Aliran since its inception in 1977. Now an ordinary Aliran member, he continues to highlight issues of public interest to a larger audience.