The common talk on the street is about general elections (GE) being called soon within the year. It is speculative and anybody's guess could be right; though the government of the day have the mandate till 2013 to dissolve parliament, which is 2 years from now. Within the last 3 years we have witnessed 16 by elections and more than RM11 million spent from the tax payers' pockets. Though the elections were unavoidable, we must not ignore the fact that it is eventually the rakyat that forks out the expenses to elect credible representatives that will project the voices and concerns of the commoners. Only then a represantative is qualified to be called a responsible politician.
The million dollar question is- have the current parliamentarians done their jobs efficiently thus far deserve a vote in the ballot box in the coming GE?
Of late, the Parliament, as the august house has been used more of a personalised platform for arguments rather than policy making debates. In the eyes of the public, it has been perceived that many parliamentarians are too engrossed taking potshot, mud-slinging and name calling during the valuable time allocated rather debating on policies that affect every citizen in Malaysia. We clearly lack wisdom among many of our members of parliament. Some members have never seem to even debated any critical point for the past years. All they do is enjoy the perks as representatives. Such politicians definitely need to be booted out in the next election regardless which party they come from.
Politicians must realise that politicking is not about shouting the loudest in front of thousands. It is about performing to expectations of the rakyat. The rakyat needs a true voice in parliament and not rethorics which has become a norm today. We want calibered individuals with an eye for detail at grass root levels and not skewed on racism, nepotism and cronyism attitudes. With alternative media the rakyat is far more exposed to information and knowledge. Though the extend to its truthfullness is always questionable, it still makes an impact weather we like it or not especially among the young voters.
The younger generation of today weigh values on a different scale and it is high time politicans take them seriously. The wave of change and political upheavals in many nations have gyrated around the younger flock. Their voices and actions have penetrated the hearts of many leaders and have initiated transformations in thought process of governments. They demand a direct say rather than cascade their call via bereaucracies and red tape. It is an accepted fact that social medias on the internet are an integral part of the ruling systems globally even in third world countries. Virtual pressure groups can longer be sidelined by our politicians as they know the repurcussions can be grave especially if a critical issue is at its tipping point.
In today's scenario, it is sad that finding a true leader among the many politicians is synonym to looking for a pin in a hay stack. Many go into hibernation after winning an election and only wriggle when their comfort zones are rattled. We do not see them for years until the following election.
A true political leader not only commands respect but also makes an effort to engage directly with his people. In that perspective, credit is definitely due to our Prime Minister. He has indeed showed true leadership by engaging directly with all levels of society in the country. Despite having a herculean task of spearheading various transformation programmes, he makes every effort to meet the people on the gound. This is the attittude and practices that must be embedded and emulated by all other politicians before we can call them leaders. I am confident that many among our parliamentarians will fail to match the benchmarking set forth by our PM.
As voters, let us make the next general election a platform to only elect true political leaders and not just politicians. Vote-in those who can lead political, social and economic reforms for a better Malaysia.
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