YOURSAY | ‘Malaysiakini should vote Zaid's message to be the message for 2017.’

Vote wisely, Zaid says in his New Year message

Trueglitter: Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim, it is rather perplexing and disheartening to say the least that despite your apparent glorious insight and uncanny depth of analysis on the political uncertainties affecting the country, it nevertheless has cast a long shadow of doubt over your disinclination to join the ranks of any of the opposition party, suggesting your hidden design to join the party only when the battle has been fought and won by the opposition.

Regrettably, it would by then, be perceived as a "little too little, a little too late" for you when the battle dust has settled and you are not in sight, to deserve the accolades from a grateful and appreciative nation when the Umno-led BN government has been trounced in the impending GE14.

The battle cry of downtrodden rakyat could be heard wide and far and it is opportune for you to not cocoon yourself in your comfort zone but to emerge as a true son of the soil to heed the cries of angry men and women and be at the forefront to also lead the charge.

Hang Babeuf: "Vote wisely." But for what? For whom? What is likely to be put on offer at the GE14 polls? What plans, what platforms, what programmes?

And what effective teams to implement them? One may not have any option, be given any possibility, of voting wisely. What then?

Legit: Zaid, you know your message will only be read by the educated urban voters. This message must reach the rural folks, especially in the east coast and Sabah and Sarawak.

Our electoral system is so skewed that these uninformed and uneducated folks are the ones who decide the government of the day, not the well-informed and educated urban voters.

This has been the failure of the opposition and people like you who take great interest in the nation's well being. As you know, this is what exactly happened in the recently concluded US elections.

Donald Trump touched the concerns of the rural heartlands and the less sophisticated working class of America, while Hillary Clinton only spoke to the urban elite. Though naturally Hilary got the popular vote, Donald got the electoral college and won.

Your message has to be simple, translated into simple Malay, and directed to the less-educated and rural folks. Otherwise, you are just wasting your time and energy.

Just a Malaysian: Zaid has brought up many relevant points. One point I would like to elaborate on is the extensive dependence on China investment.

China Incorporated is a huge strategic economic arm of communist China. It is the party way of expanding soft power. China started to woo the world with their huge market and then start to buy strategic assets of distressed companies with their huge reserves.

Maybe it is karma for a race so hated by the Malays to have their day of reckoning by the same race. Malaysia should wake up to the agenda of communist China and love loyal Chinese Malaysians more.

Kingfisher: Malaysia's socio-economic engineering during the last 30 years, and especially under the predominance of a myopic ‘ketuanan’ ideology that disregarded a win-win socio-economic model for vibrant multiracialism, has resulted in the marginalisation of Malaysians of Indian and Chinese origin.

These two communities’ significant historical role in the growth of modern Malaysia in education and commerce should have been continually nurtured with wisdom and moderation under the ‘ketuanan’ ideology while promoting the legitimate all-round development and emergence of the ‘native class’ from the ills of a past colonial administration.

Presently, modern Malaysia is importing foreign professionals from India and commercial talent and resources from China while many of the astute and hardworking Chinese and Indian Malaysians are relegated to being petty workshop operators/vendors and flotsam member of our communities.

Zaid is obviously PM material for a progressive ‘ketuanan’ ideology.

Worldly Wise: Zaid cannot do anything alone. Perhaps he must join DAP or Amanah or Bersatu.

Control of the media and press has led to dictatorship with false trappings of elections and voting. US$6.5 billion is a lot of money to go missing.

Anonymous 278451459939581: He is a brave man indeed. Listing out everything we are all aware of but between apathy, hopeless and fear, have kept silent about.

Hats off to this brave Malaysian for stating clearly the Chinese menace invited to Malaysia just to save MO1's and Umno's hide.

Ash Burn: China has the financial muscle. The US has the military muscle. China has for long sailed the seas in this region. It did not conquer us.

There are positives in engaging China in the infrastructure and development projects in Malaysia. China has successfully demonstrated that a socialist state can lessen poverty and develop wealth outside the usual capitalist economic models. This fact alone is an anathema it now faces.

I heard some six or seven months ago that there were two or three million unregistered voters. If true, this is indeed shocking given the state of this country. Does anyone out there know the exact numbers?

The Analyser: Ash Burn, a more recent figure from the Election Commission is for more than five million unregistered voters. That is more votes than the PKR and DAP combined received in GE13.

The fact that the opposition has done nothing to enlist those voters speaks for itself. Basically, they have no policies that might attract young people... in fact, no policies at all.

They are symptomatic of the widespread attitude throughout Malaysia than young people are vermin, to be repressed at all times. Yet young people under the age of 27 make up nearly 50 percent of the Malaysian population.

Anonymous_1388029052: Malaysiakini should vote Zaid's message to be the message for 2017.

Zaid should now translate that message into Malay and let all opposition political parties spread it to the Felda and rural areas throughout Malaysia.

Only when the rural folks understand this important message will Malaysians have hope of a new government.

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