— Lucius Goon
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 18, 2013

FEB 18 — Forget about Nick Xenophon, or any support from the United States, Australia, Human Rights Watch. Our neighbours and those that pretend to be in our neighbourhood (Australia) have their own calculations on who they would like to see govern Malaysia.

The needs or wants of Malaysians don’t factor in their calculations.

After all, wasn’t it Rudd the Dud who praised Malaysia as a robust democracy some time ago and now some columnist in the Australian calls Malaysia one of the top democracies in the region. (Aussies must be breathing some strange air.)

This election is about you and me. What aspirations do we have for Malaysia, the country where we and our children were born? It is about going to vote in numbers so that any attempt to subvert the electoral process will be defeated.

Too many Malaysians are expecting someone else to bear the hardship and fight their battles. That is why many of us donate money to politicians, hoping that they will get their hands dirty and fight for causes we believe in.

I am sorry but staying on the sidelines is not an option this time.

This is a fight we have to get involved in personally. Why do I say so?

Because at stake is not just some election but the future of Malaysia. Is it going to be a country where the likes of Ibrahim Ali and the narrow-minded racists and chauvinists hold sway or where the moderation espoused by Tunku Abdul Rahman once again is championed?

Are we going to have to put up with Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his dysfunctional and corrupted ideals on race, the economy, religion, the media?

Is this country forever going to be defined by what separates us instead of our shared destiny as nation?

Are we going to carry on tolerating corruption and cronyism and allowing family members of the rich and famous to plunder and rob this country or are we going to demand accountability and stop the thievery?

Actually you and I know the issues. We talk about it at breakfast and any other occasion but always think that our duty ends after we return to our desks in the office or to our homes. It does not. We have a duty to vote and to make sure that our friends and family members also vote.

Going by the supportive statements by the Election Commission for the deportation of Xenophon who was championing clean elections, the evidence of cheating uncovered at the Sabah RCI and unexplained spike in voters across the country, it is incumbent upon Malaysians (I am talking about those born and bred here and not those who just got their ICs last week) to ensure a large voter turnout to prevent any fraud.