LETTER | As a second-time voter, I always believe in my own philosophy of democracy - a change only happens when we believe in it and once we do, we must realise it.

I was initially shocked when told that polling will be on a Wednesday. Not Saturday. Not Sunday. It's midweek. I asked my wife whether she would cast her first-time vote and she said "Of course, I will!"

Fortunately, both of us vote in the same state. Unfortunately, our favourite politicians don't contest in our constituencies. Still, I kept my advice and whispered to her that "How could we believe that a change can happen if we are not making it?"

I'm grateful to live my life in this democratic country where I can experience the fever of the electoral seasons like GE14. Campaigns are held everywhere peacefully, and leaders of both coalitions can even be in a photo as if "they are just enemies at work, but in life, they are blood brothers." That could be captioned on their Instagram.

Elections are elections. They are not just seasonal gatherings where everyone meets old friends and rarely-seen relatives. It's more than that. It's a path that we pave for the future of the country. Importantly, it's a means of a transformation.

Regardless of when they happen, elections should be greatly welcomed like other festive seasons. Not even one excuse to skip it can be corroborated. Employers, despite their business scales, should find ways to organise their businesses without “infecting” employees' moods to cast their votes.

Encouraging them to vote is a sublime thing to do. Every employer must believe that their employees are change-makers. They would speak their inside feelings via ballot boxes. And, they would 'kill off' dysfunctional leaders who didn't walk what they talked.

On Twitter, those who help out others, either financially or logistically, highly earn my respect and applause. #CarpoolGE14 is an inspiring initiative by the blue-bird users to boost voters' turnout, especially first-time ones.

I was touched when I found out that a few anonymous users are willing to spend their bucks to make sure students, whose voting places are in Sabah and Sarawak, can fly back to vote.

They are beauty-hearted humans whom I thought their existences are fictional. Undoubtedly, they greatly believe that changes can't only be made by talk at the warung or even by being keyboard gangsters, but by casting votes to turn wishful changes into reality.

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