THE CICAK.com

Why I’m voting, why we need to fix the flaws in the system

Photo by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid
By FAZLY M. FAUZY

Yes, the title is correct. I am observing the current build up to Undi 2008 as a citizen of Malaysia, a local KL’ite, born into a middle class Malay family and this year hopes to celebrate 28 years of my citizenship. This will be the first election in which I will participate in. I was in the United States completing my undergrad degree during our last election and to be honest, was not even mildly interested in it.

Now, it has been almost four years since my return from my studies abroad and here we are again ready for another round of elections. This time around I had registered to vote though not without a nudge from my father who had been constantly reminding me to do so for the past year.

You see, even as recently as a year ago I was rather apathetic towards the political scene in our country. Some may say that I was jaded and I was not alone. Most of my friends were. We didn’t see a point in getting involved since we truly believed regardless of who was in charge nothing was going to change. I think that we all agree and have spent countless hours talking over teh-tarik on how corrupt our police are, how bad the red-tape is in our government departments and how we have first world facilities but a third world mentality.

So why get involved now? What has changed?

Well I suppose maybe deep inside I truly believe that there is still hope for our country and that change will take time but steps must be taken towards it. So my question now is what is this “change” that we want? I think at the bottom of it all we want a government that serves the people but then again, shouldn’t that be a prerequisite? The climate today it seems to reflect that of discontent and anger more so than recent times.

What I attribute this to is us; the youth of Malaysia, the twenty and thirty something’s of us, the YouTube generation if you will. The liberalization of information means we are more informed and not easily swayed by a singular point of view. We are more concerned because our future now is in the hands of politicians who are not necessarily in touch with issues that are relevant to us.

As I mentioned grew up in KL, went to primary and secondary school in PJ and later pursued my tertiary education in the US. I am a product of my environment, my education and foremost, my upbringing. My environment has thought me that we cannot leave in isolation. We are a society of different races and religions. If we are to move forward we must be able to cross cultural divides but it seems today there are those who want to widen this gap rather than bridge it.

I don’t think that it is too bold to assume that the NEP is at the heart of this. While it is not my intention on discussing the merits or demerits of the NEP or of its relevance today, I would just like to say that I believe that credit should be given to where credits’ due.

I feel that those who use the NEP as crutch rather than as launching pad are the real culprits and the source of discontent.

My education then, especially my college years abroad has opened my eyes to new ideas, philosophies but more importantly, a new approach to learning. I felt that our educational system was severely lacking in one principal: to question and ponder on what we have learned. Our
students have become robots who are just good at rote learning memorizing past year exams.

The biggest culture shock for me during my first year in college was how unashamed the students were to ask questions, to seek clarifications. There was desire to know more and have a better understanding of the subject. And that was how classes we conducted. Students interacted with professors and lecturers, discussing and engaging in intellectual discourse without fear of being wrong.

It was OK to disagree in a civil manner. I took that to heart and since have always said to myself never to take anything at face value and it is ok to question if you’re not comfortable or unclear with the answers given to you.

Challenge ideas not for the sake of arguing but for the betterment of the idea itself.

The problem we face I feel in Malaysia is that to talk-back is considered rude but voicing one’s opinion or questioning someone’s point of view shouldn’t be construed as disrespectful if done so properly. What I wish to surmise from this is that we should be able to have dialogues addressing real issues facing Malaysians today with maturity and dignity because only then can we be heard over the shouting and screaming of the masses.

Finally I’ve had the fortunate benefit of growing up with parents who could provide for me emotionally, physically and financially. Their hard work and success is a testament that we have come a long way. To be able to afford to send both myself and my brother to study abroad (without government support) shows that honest hard working people can be rewarded for their efforts.

All you have to do is put your mind to it and do it you cannot rely on others to help you if you don’t help yourself. Are there flaws in the system? Sure but I challenge you to show me one that isn’t.

The mistake that we can make is if we allow these flaws to deteriorate to catastrophes and we have come to a juncture where can chose to ignore the cracks or do something to fix it. The choice is yours.

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FAZLY M. FAUZY is a contributor for theCICAK.

Fazly is an electrical/computer engineer by training but currently working as a remisier at an investment bank. He’s a Star Wars geek, a grunge and metal music lover and an avid guitarist.