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by Ibnu Hakeem

I address all right thinking Malaysians, the people
who inhabit this most beautiful land, country and
nation that we call Malaysia. Our nation is in danger,
extreme danger of being swamped by the insatiable
greed, utmost dishonesty, blatant corruption and gross
stupidity of those whom WE (including me) have helped
put in power. I have none other to blame except
myself. Never before in the history of our young
nation have the lives and the future of so many
millions been at the mercy of such a handful few
incompetents. We must eradicate this unfortunate
condition from this country and make sure that we are
never put in these same circumstances again. The time
has come to act.

With almost all avenues for free speech and expression
tightly controlled by the Government, there is only
Cyberspace left open to us. And we are thankful that
it is a huge amount of space that we still have. A few
good men and women, the 'Band of Bloggers', are
leading the charge in Cyberspace to correct the things
that are wrong with the leadership. This leader has to
go out the window into the tong sampah with all the
other soiled pampers.

The time has come for all Malaysians who are of voting
age to make sure they are registered to vote. This is
no more our civic or patriotic duty. It is a matter of
life and death. If we wish to live well then please
get yourself registered to vote. Tell your children,
family, friends and relatives to go and get registered
to vote. Do it fast while the voter registration rolls
are still open.

And also when the time comes, please go out to vote.
Rain or shine, thunder or squall, we must all go out
to vote in the upcoming General Elections. And please
vote wisely. Recently in Johor Bharu Tun Dr Mahathir
Mohamad called upon all Malaysians to vote wisely.

Every vote is counted and every vote will count. We
have heard of electoral rolls being rigged and
elections being stolen - this has happened on all
sides - but let this irritation not hinder anyone from
voting.

To the Malay voters, you are the largest voting group.
Look around and see all that has been wrought. If you
are happy, then vote your conscience. If you are not,
then show your disagreement.

To the Chinese voters; the large majority of whom are
strong supporters of BN; do not be afraid to vote as
per your conscience. It is not the end of the world if
you do not vote BN. The Chinese have always been a
practical people, who are rightly concerned about
their wellbeing and the future of their children.
After all, in the final analysis, that is all that
matters. But because of this the Chinese have
frequently been subject to blackmail, coercion and
threats. The Chinese fear too much that without a BN
government there will be chaos. So they toe the line.
Perhaps it is time to step out of line just a little.
Not too much but maybe just enough. Trouble only
starts if we create it. So let us not create any
trouble. Let's just go about our businesses and go
about voting our choice without creating any trouble.

The Indians have always been the most loyal supporters
of BN. Their almost undivided loyalty to the BN is
legendary. Never in the history of elections in
Malaysia has the Indian vote ever been successfully
split or deviated away from the BN. But the Indians
too must consider carefully where exactly the country
is headed. It does not look as if the country is
headed anywhere anytime soon.

Having been born and bred under a BN Governments since
Independence, many of us are too comfortable with the
BN and do not want to see the BN lose in the
elections. But the BN has become too much of a
dinosaur. The BN is either too constipated or suffers
embarrassing incontinence. Too many of us now feel
that the time has come to reduce the size of the BN.
The excess fat, the sluggish, the snobbish, the
corrupt and the fools have to be culled. The time has
come for some drastic carving with a meat cleaver.

Tun Dr Mahathir said vote wisely. What does it mean to
vote wisely? We must remember that the urban
constituencies are only about one third (approx.) the
importance of the rural constituencies. This means a
rural constituency with 10,000 voters has as much
importance as an urban constituency with 30,000
voters. This means one voter in a rural constituency
has as much power as three people voting in an urban
constituency to determine our future.

And remember that the strength of the BN is in the
rural constituencies. This means that even if the BN
loses all the urban constituencies but wins all the
rural constituencies, they will still rule, thanks to
the delineations carried out by the Elections
Commission. Therefore BN supporters in the urban areas
can be more flexible or generous with their voting
preferences this time around. Don't worry. Even if you
don't vote BN in the urban constituencies, BN will
still rule from the rural constituencies. Don't worry.
So vote wisely.

We voters cannot give all our support to BN any
longer. If there were three friends voting BN, let
there be one less vote for BN this time round. If
there were five voting for the BN before, let there be
two less now. If a husband and wife both voted BN, let
there be only one only time. And to all voters, if
there are two seats on the ticket, a Parliamentary
seat and a State seat (DUN), give just one to the BN.
We have to reduce the size of this dinosaur that we
the BN supporters have created. We have to do this to
save the BN from self-destruction and from destroying
the country in the process. For the good of the BN and
for the future of this country, reduce the support
that we have given to the BN.

This is the power of democracy. This is the power of
each individual vote. Register as a voter. Voting is
your right. Vote wisely.