COMMENT | Vote decency and decently in GE15

COMMENT | Our interaction with the government doesn’t start and end with general elections, but at the same time, we must make full use of them. Especially right now, the elections present a powerful opportunity to set the government’s priorities and values in which all voters need to take part.

With polling day in slightly more than a week, barring further surprises such as major floods occurring, small left-behind towns suddenly find themselves at the centre of attention. Every bigwig and their army of assistants will want to make sure that they have shaken every shopkeeper and roadside vendor’s hand, and while they’re at it spend a little bit of money as a show of their support for small businesses in their constituency.

More often than not, large portions of the working voting-age population of these constituencies actually live elsewhere in bigger cities for work or study. Which poses a challenge to candidates vying for the seats, how do you win over enough of their votes for a majority?

There are the traditional phone banks, that somehow have access to your personal phone number, but no one wants to pick up a call from an unknown number these days due to the prevalence of financial scams.

Social media, including TikTok, is the go-to these days, which theoretically makes sense because of audience targeting tools. In any case, any tool for this purpose is going to cost a bomb.

Voters care why govt isn’t working

Alas, one’s fair countenance isn’t enough to win over the thousands of out-of-town voters who face a frustrating cost of living and working pressures in economic centres.

Specific local promises have some appeal on an emotional level, but often these voters no longer have the present context in their minds. The hometown is a nostalgic, almost mythic idea. But the city is very real, and they feel every punch.

People get upset by the RM45 they have to fork out for a ride to get to work in the morning because the Kelana Jaya LRT line is down and buses take too long. They feel anxious when the rain has been going on for hours, and there’s no telling when it will stop. Their stomachs hurt from cutting back on food due to rising inflation.

Yes, talk to us about schools and municipal concerns, but please explain why so many primary concerns are in shambles. Especially if you are the incumbent government, for an election that decides on the next federal government. Competing parties too need to dig deep and present their vision of administration, beyond pledging that they will not be corrupt nor rob the country blind.

This doesn’t mean presenting a detailed blueprint for the next five years, or even five days after the election, but presenting relevant, desired information that can inspire people’s confidence for a specific candidate or political grouping.

People will turn up to watch popular speakers at ceramahs, and share viral videos, but what matters is whether or not campaigns address concerns that people hold.

Decent, at least, and useful

Should we expect candidates to be paragons of virtue and intelligence? Perhaps not. They need to be minimally virtuous (as in people with at least basic decency and common sense to not lie, cheat, embezzle, or any other personal failing) and of course, competent and capable of the difficult job ahead.

Perhaps we also need to add “not a proud racist” to that list of attributes. It is unfortunate that so much of this election’s campaign still revolves around racially-charged issues and misinformation, obviously done on purpose.

It redirects anger from things that people are upset but feel powerless about to whole communities of people who are being scapegoated over deeply emotional issues.

In either instance, you are told to vote to right a wrong, but only one of those wrongs actually exists and stands in the way of your better quality of life.

For campaigners, it pays to not oversimplify your voters. Malay voters don’t only vote Umno, Perikatan Nasional, or Pakatan Harapan because they are so-called nationalistic, religious, or liberal.

Malay voters have various different political outlooks and considerations, and not all are dogmatic towards one coalition or the other, as is true of any other ethnicity and large communities.

If a candidate feels that all they need to do is appeal to stereotypical interests to win more of the Malay vote without genuinely trying to understand or address the sources of those insecurities, voters will sense that.

Rather than gain votes, the candidate may find that “yang dikejar tak dapat, yang dikendong berciciran” (what’s pursued is lost, while what’s cradled slips away).

LUTFI HAKIM ARIFF is co-founder and podcaster at Waroeng Baru, a not-for-profit collective to promote democratic participation and resilience. He is also the co-author of the book "Parliament, Unexpected" and an unrepentant believer in the power of local independent media. Lutfi tweets at @ltf_ha.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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