+..WHY I WON'T VOTE Barisan Nasional..+

This is good write up based on experience by a Kelantanese via my gmail. Read on, and THINK. Please don't be a chimp!

When Kelantan fell to PAS for the first time in 1990 I thought that's it, we're screwed. There goes our free text books, scholarships and no more development for this state.

By : Afif Rais

Although I was born in Kuala Lumpur, I spent most of my childhood days, growing up in Pasir Mas and Machang in Kelantan. My mum and my grandma especially, were staunch supporters of UMNO and BN. Naturally I was brought up to believe that UMNO/BN is good and the opposition PAS/Semangat 46/PKR or whatever were bad. Not to mention the fact that the government controlled media had been brainwashing us, even the young ones, with Barisan Nasional propaganda ever since the time I can remember.

When Kelantan fell to PAS for the first time in 1990, I thought that's it, we're screwed. There goes our free text books, scholarships and no more development for this state. Surprisingly though, nothing of that sort had happened. We still get our free text books. I still get my scholarship when I got into boarding school and the state did progress over the years, although not as much as the other states especially along the West Coast of Peninsula Malaysia.

As I grew up and crossed-over from adolescent to adulthood, I didn't care much about politics. I did not bother to register myself as a voter because I thought BN was anyway going to win and continue to rule the country. Nevertheless, I still see myself as a pro-Government and pro-UMNO and view the opposition with much suspicion. That of course thanks to the pro-government mass media.

But it all changed last year at around the time the Prime Minister announced his marriage to his current wife. I was curious to know about Jean Danker. Hence I surfed into Google and looked up for her name and I stumbled upon this revealing article on Malaysia Today.net, written by a man named RPK. RPK didn't actually paint a rosy picture about the Prime Minister or his future wife and I was curious to know as to why he did not appreciate our Prime Minister as much as I would have expected him to. I was amused, as to what the PM did to deserve such a treatment. So I surfed into the website Malaysia-Today.net read every article posted there, from the beginning to the end. It was on that day that my political believes changed almost overnight.

Unlike the other politically aligned media, Malaysia-Today provides a fair and impartial views to both sides, the government and the opposition as well. Although I must admit that they do a lot more government bashing these days, the opposition is also not spared. True to it's tag line, Malaysia Today is the undisputed, credible source of independent news for the country. If you're a foreigner and you'd like to know the facts about Malaysia, don't go to the popular news websites like The Star or The NST, instead surf into Malaysia-Today.net. At Star and NST websites, you'll be fed with a censored, pro-government and toned down version of all events and happenings in the country. Meanwhile, Malaysia-Today.net provides uncensored, no holds barred and the real news of what's happening in the Corridors of Power and around Malaysia today.

Take the recent rally held by Bersih (the Coalition for Clean and Fair Election) for example. I read with disgust what the mainstream media wrote (or lack of) about the event. They played down the event like almost nothing had happened. Their write-up, perhaps suggested that approximately, only 1000 people came out into the streets? Who are they kidding? If you just do a little bit of surfing into Google on the internet, you can see the numbers should easily surpass the 40,000 to 45,000 mark from the pictures shown by the alternative media or the foreign press.

It is no secret that these papers are controlled by the Barisan Nasional component parties like UMNO, MCA and MIC but they have just destroyed any tract of credibility and professionalism left by choosing not to publish what really happened on that historic day. I used to be a regular NST reader and I read The Star from time to time but since the Bersih fiasco, I stopped buying or reading those newspapers altogether. Let's not kid ourselves. There's no such thing as press freedom in this country.

Why I won't vote for BN

Politics is a very dirty word in this world. Be it the government or the opposition, you will get your hands dirtied, the moment you step into politics. This perhaps, is just from my point of view, that the BN-led government is much more corrupt and dirty than the opposition because they hold the power. Power corrupts but absolute power corrupts absolutely. That's why we need the opposition for the sake of democracy. If we don't have any opposition than the ruling party can do whatever they want. They can bulldoze a bill through parliament, appoint any judge in their favor, arrest and lock up anybody who speaks out their mind or dare to let out the truth. Heck, even if they wish to sell off the country to Singapore or Brunei they can because who's going to stop them? We need the opposition to provide some checks and balance in the running of the country.

Another reason why I won't vote for the BN, is because of their extremely arrogant leaders. Take Nazri Aziz for example. During the beginning of the Lingam video clip controversy, he casually boasted that the people don't need to go to the streets to protest against the government. If you don't like the present government, vote them out in the next general election. Trust me Mr. Minister guy, that's exactly what I and all like-minded people will do in this upcoming election. I can name a few other equally arrogant and foul-mouthed Ministers and BN leaders like ZAM, Tengku Adnan, Ali Rustam, Mohamad Mohamad Taib, Samy Vellu, and KJ for example. KJ even has a special name for us as bloggers and monkeys. Well I've got news for you dudes, we monkeys are the ones who will take over the country's leadership in the future. We hold the power to decide as to who runs this country next and unlike our ignorant, brainwashed forefathers and people in rural areas; we get our news from the Internet. Unlike them, we are immune from the BN government's propagandas that have been etched into our forefathers' head for generations.

I believe in the not too distant future and when the Internet reaches out to every corner of Malaysia and every facet of society, people will stop reading, watching and listening to BN controlled mass media. Then, people will know the corrupt practices of their beloved BN leaders, scandals, lies, cover-ups, mass accumulation of wealth from the tax-payers money, and everything that the Rakyat is blissfully ignorant about now, would surface above and then the truth would prevail. If only my folks in Gua Musang, Lipis, Chemor, Mukah or Beaufort, or in short, everybody in the rural interior areas of the country has access to Malaysia-Today.net, I won't be surprised if the BN government is toppled in the next general election.

Time to change

All my life I have been a BN/UMNO supporter and deep inside I still do. It's just that for now I have absolutely no faith on the current administration. I greatly admire what Tun Dr. Mahathir did for the country and although he was not a saint, you have to admit that he is a visionary and he knows which direction to guide the country to in the best interest of the people. At least he doesn't flip-flop with his decisions or let his son-in-law run the country. I still can't recall what the current PM did for this country over the past four years! Did he turn Malaysia into an economic powerhouse in the region? No he did not. Mahathir did that. Mahathir led the OIC and NAM? That's Mahathir's legacy too. He envisioned that Malaysia can become a developed country in 2020. Wait, that's Mahathir's doing too. What I can recall is that the PM wasted billions of Ringgit of people's money on some obscure boat-race, hike up the fuel's price and toll rates, bow down to the Singaporeans, go for holidays in his private jet that was bought with people's money, and send one damn lucky tourist out into space on some more people's money and introduce his very own brand of Islam which nobody understands. Let's not go into the part where he sleeps during meetings and functions, I mean whoever does that? He's the butt of jokes of other countries for goodness' sake!

So guys if you think the country is in good and capable hands, the economy is burgeoning well and you can walk on the streets without fear for your safety, think again. Take a moment to see what's really happening in this country at Malaysia-Today.net. It is not as rosy as what the BN controlled mass media write in their newspapers, radio and TV stations. I don't exactly follow what RPK writes, like a Gospel perhaps but as much as I am aware, this guy does not go posting any bullshit on his site. He has got pages and pages of rock-solid proof to boot. Even assuming that only half of what he wrote is true, it is good enough for the country to go to the dogs. Imagine the country's top policeman is a crook himself, in cahoots with the underworld crime lords. I shudder to think if all of them are true.

In this forthcoming election, I'll be voting for the first time ever and I assure, I won't be voting for any party with a scale as their symbol. Now is the time to show those arrogant BN leaders that we the people who hold the power to decide who runs the country. They say the opposition is not capable of running the country but we'll never know until we try them out - right? Though I think, it's almost impossible to have a new non-BN government this time, at least we can give BN the beating of their life. I'm calling all my friends, fellow Kelantanese working outside the state, KL, Selangor, Johor, Penang or elsewhere, to return home and vote BN out. Mari kita pakat kelik dan ngundi PAS! If some BN or UMNO people approach you offering some means of transportation to go home, just take them! Remember, on polling day let us vote for any opposition party, other than BN. Let's give them a taste of their own medicine. They think we are stupid and that they are smart? Let us make it known to them that we are the BOSS.

In 2004, we had BN members coming on a door to door visit and giving folks clothes, kain pelikat and other gifts. Sometimes even money was folded up nicely inside the gifts. You know what my folks back home did? They don't mind receiving the clothes and the money, after all they're just donations right? But on election day they'll still voted for PAS and had a nice big laugh at those BN losers.

We people of Kelantan don't care so much about your so-called development and progress. We're content with what we already have and are more concerned with the life hereafter. I don't want my beloved Pasir Mas to turn into some faceless bustling urban setting like PJ or JB. I want my beloved Pasir Mas to retain it's charming idyllic ambiance, no skyscrapers, no traffic jam, very little crime, everything is laid back and relaxed where people and neighbors still care and look after each other. Pade doh AAB, KJ, Najib and their cronies hijacking the country's wealth and lying to the people. Let's give the opposition a chance. We have nothing to loose and so much to gain. They say the PAS government didn't create enough jobs for it's people that's why thousands move to big cities like KL, JB and Penang to make a living. I say have you counted the number of people who hail from Kedah, Perak, Pahang, Melaka and Sabah who did the same? It's quite normal for people to flock to urban areas like KL, JB and Penang to look for better job opportunities. Just like in Indonesia where people flock to Jakarta. In India people flock to New Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta. Hong Kong and Shanghai in China.

We bloggers are not all anti-government or pro-opposition. We represent the new generation of open-minded and learned young Malaysians who speaks out our mind because we care for the country and would like to correct what is wrong. Gone were the days where they can spoon-feed us with propaganda through the print or electronic media. Today's youth have unrestricted access to free and independent news and information from all over the world. We are not opposed to progress and development but we are against any form of an oppressive government who think they can control and shape our minds with brute force or threats. We're against corrupt and dishonest leaders and we certainly have a very low tolerance for bullshit.

I think ZAM and KJ have really underestimated the power and roles played by bloggers like you and me. They've certainly messed up by stereo-typing and name-calling us bloggers. If you scour around the Malaysian blog scene today you'll find more anti-establishment bloggers than pro-government ones. Yesterday the pen was still mightier than the sword, today the keyboard can do much more damage than the sharpest razor blade. The future lies in our hand and let us say exactly what we have in mind, by going out in forces to vote for a change in this coming election!