by P Ramakrishnan
ALIRAN
P Ramakrishnan advises pensioners what they should do if they are worried that their votes won’t be secret.
There are civil servants and pensioners who are fearful of voting for Pakatan. They would very much like to do so but they are afraid.
The civil servants are scared that if they are found out for supporting the opposition their promotion prospects may be affected. They think they may even be dismissed from service.
The pensioners are apprehensive that their pension may be stopped if they do not support the BN. They believe that it is the BN that is giving them their pension.
To begin with, it is not possible to trace your voting ballot paper. It does not have any serial number on the ballot paper. So, it is impossible to trace you.
With regard to promotion, there is nothing to worry. When Pakatan takes over Putrajaya, nobody will be victimised for partisan politics. Your promotion will depend on your merit and nothing else. You will not be dismissed from service for exercising your right to vote.
As for the pension, it will continue even after Pakatan takes over the federal government. The pension is part and parcel of your service. You will continue to receive it and your spouse, if alive after your death, will receive your pension as long as she lives.
So, there is nothing to fear at all.
But if for whatever reason you are still not convinced, this is what you can do. Don’t go and vote. If you are fearful of voting for the opposition, don’t vote. If you go and vote, you will force yourself to vote for the BN just to feel safe. Don’t do that. Stay at home.
Voting is not compulsory. Don’t waste your vote by forcing yourself to vote for the BN. If you don’t vote, you will be helping the opposition. In this way, believe me, you will be helping Pakatan to go to Putrajaya.
Some of you may find yourself in a difficult situation on polling day. If a BN friend comes along and offers you a lift to the polling centre, go with him. Play along with him or her that you are keen to vote. But once inside the polling booth, don’t mark your ballot paper. Cast a blank ballot paper into the ballot box. Your blank ballot paper will be rejected as a spoilt vote.
This is what it means: you have not supported the BN but you have, in fact, supported Pakatan.
On polling day, either stay at home or cast a blank ballot paper. In this way, you would have freed yourself from fear. What more, you have refused to be exploited any more.