Dear representatives,

In the past few weeks, a whirlwind of stories about our politicians were smeared all over the country. All sort of stories, mainly negative. If there was an underlying strategy behind these fiascos, that would be surprising, considering that the rakyat was not entertained by them at all.

We are, in fact, exhausted by the news. There are tons of national issues that require attention by the people that we chose to represent and to listen to our cries and needs. 

When we chose them during May 2018, we envisioned that they could be different from the previous ruling government. However, for the past few weeks, things haven’t changed. Leaders are acting like children all the way.

All the unnecessary brouhaha over the degree issue, provocation on nomination day for the Semenyih by-election and recently, a conspiracy about a no-confidence vote against the Prime Minister. Really, are these the same people that we actually chose to represent us in May 2018?

Being critical of Pakatan Harapan does not mean we regret supporting them and thus, we want the previous government to step in and take over. Being critical is necessary because they seem to be complacent in dealing with things, when things are actually bad for the rakyat.

The high cost of living has taken a toll on people, less favourable business conditions, hike in food prices, you can name a few other national issues that demand attention from our politicians, but instead, they choose to deal with their internal drama and fighting over power. Indeed, “nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power”.

Harapan must step up and prove to the people that they are worth our votes. They need to listen to the voices of people, people who chose them with the hope for a better Malaysia. They need to be able to listen to the heartbeat of Malaysians who are begging for a real change. They need to be serious and put peoples’ needs on the front row.

In conclusion, do not disappoint your people. Because candidly, they have the ability to disappoint you when the time comes. When they do, you may find there is no turning back.

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