Swamped By Trust Issues

By: Natalie Shobana Ambrose

theSun, Malaysia (pg 12) May 22, 2013

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/columns/onpointe

How do you quieten the voice of distrust? The past few weeks there have been many accusations about foreign voters with Malaysian identification cards, discrepancy in voting procedures, mystery yellow boxes appearing, blackouts at counting sites and other allegations.

Some of these claims were later refuted by citizens who gave their personal accounts of the day while some came forward as witnesses adding weight to the allegations. Both groups need to be applauded for speaking up for the truth.

Yet something lingers through all this – trust issues. As a country, we seem to be plagued by distrust and the question that needs to be asked is why. Why are so many Malaysians willing and wanting to believe that all these allegations are true.

Have they been given cause to do so? Perhaps so. Our country suffers from many unsavoury findings and is listed at the bottom tier of many surveys we should not even rank on. Yet there is little real action to ensure that we do not suffer the same fate over and over again. This causes distrust.

Then there are too many corruption cases and inaction towards corrupt leadership. People want swift action, not drawn-out court cases with little end in sight and no real punishment enforced. This is a sure way to cause distrust. It is not that voters were ungrateful or that a particular race caused a vote swing.

This was an election where those who came out to vote were more informed and did not vote by the race of the candidate standing – that may have been what happened in the past but today's voter is much more mature.

This is thanks to organisations like Bersih and Tindak Malaysia who championed voter education vigorously causing Malaysians to look up terms like gerrymandering and question the delineation of seats.

Ungrateful people won't bother or take the time to come out and vote or even register to be a voter. That perhaps is the group we need to look at – all seven million of them (the unregistered and registered but did not vote group).

So how do we make seven million people believe that their vote matters – because their indifference still affects our electoral process. The story is the same around the world; trust.

Building real trust in political parties, leadership, institutions, media and processes is key – and trust is different from perception.

In the "Future of Europe" survey, respondents were asked to agree or disagree with the following statement: Nowadays, there is a big gap between the people's opinion and the decisions taken by the political leaders. 89% of Europeans rested on the "totally agree" or "tend to agree" marker.

Political theorist Ivan Krastev in his TedTalk further illustrated the point saying findings from the survey stated that only 52% of survey respondents from the 27 EU countries believed their vote matters inside their country.

What about the other half of the population? So, how would we as Malaysians respond to this question? Our voter turnout of 80% might better illustrate the answer. Even if we feel that there is a gap in what we want and decisions taken by leadership, we still believe our vote counts.

It may be a bitter pill to swallow and we can call it all kinds of names but this is the loud voice of distrust – and it is not something that can be silenced with threats or token book and phone vouchers.

It is something that can be silenced by transparency, election reform, independent institutions, better governance and doing away with xenophobic thinking, statements and policies.

Yes, that means more than just eating foods of other cultures, taking photos with a myriad of races and talking about living as one in harmony – that still does not deal with the real issue of distrust.

Natalie believes that it is time we stopped spending money on perception but start working hard at the real issues to build public trust.

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

Hold The Manicure

By: Natalie Shobana Ambrose

theSun, Malaysia (pg 19) May 2, 2013

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/columns/onpointe

The weekends are usually the busiest day for manicurists. So it's a pity that this weekend is panning out to be slow for nail specialists, especially when we are told to hold the manicure and think of it as a national sacrifice. That's the kind of official voter education guidance we are getting. To paraphrase quotes of high officials, instead of a manicure, we should proudly wear our indelible ink mark to show that we have exercised our voluntary right to vote.

While it's amusing that such high officials are concerned about personal beauty care, I'd much prefer to know what exactly to expect in a polling station and be able to find clear, accurate voter education material from the Election Commission.

So we're clutching at straws and depending on word of mouth, memes on Facebook, instagram images and creative videos on YouTube. Fold the ballot with one hand to make sure the ink doesn't smudge the ballot paper, don't use the tissue paper given – it will splotch, wear gloves, no don't, bring cling wrap instead, don't paint your nails, paint your nails – it doesn't matter, use a pen, no a pencil – it's provided for la.

Make sure you don't wipe off the ink, check that there are no marks on your ballot paper, make sure the clerks checking aren't writing anything next to your IC number, mark your vote with an "X" no a "√" will do – actually anything will do even if you colour within the lines. What about a thumb print since my finger is inked? No that's to ensure no double voting silly. You have a right to request for a new ballot paper if you sense anything fishy, no there aren't enough ballot papers to simply change. There will be independent observers there, no there won't, yes there will. Don't stay and linger, go home, no stay as an observer it's your right. It's a tab bit confusing to say the least.

I'm quite capable of getting ink on my hands when using a pen, and I never fail to create a mess when I need to get thumb printed. That's just one issue. How fast and well am I going to fold a paper with one hand – and this is saying a lot as I've got good coordination skills. So why not just do it the right way and indelible ink my finger after I've voted? Not only do you avoid wasting ballot papers, you ensure there are less spoilt votes, and imagine the time saved? With all due respect, we aren't the most efficient when it comes to processes, so you can anticipate waiting in a long queue at your polling centre.

It seems like we're adding obstacles and creating more confusion instead of using tried and tested procedures and methods. The use of indelible ink is not new, and has been used in many countries. So why are we choosing to not follow logic?

What we already have is a system open to criticism with regards to seat delineation, add on phantom voters, electoral roll discrepancies, the guessing-game of election dates, and now the application of indelible ink before instead of the conventional after casting your vote. All this continues to erode away our trust in systems that are meant to have high standards and work for the people. Why not be clear and transparent about these issues.

On Sunday, when Malaysians overseas voted, there were so many whispers of serial numbers not matching, no extra ballot papers if one were to object to the ballot paper given and the inconsistency of information about marking ballot papers.

Not only did these Malaysians have to travel from different parts of the country to the central High Commissions, they also probably paid premium priced tickets to do so because of the last minute announcement of election date – many could not vote because of travel plans made earlier. Is this the way we treat our citizens? And does this reflect a clean election mechanism is in place especially since we are a democracy?

Silence from those in authority is not acceptable, neither is it now, when early voters have claimed that the indelible ink can be washed off. Perhaps it's all rumours but to show credibility, we need a commission that does not take things lightly or to heart but works toward winning and building trust because its mandate is not from a particular political party or government.

Five years ago, I can honestly say my voter knowledge bordered more on passion rather than fact. Thanks to the work of many concerned Malaysians who have laboured so hard to educate us, we now have a heightened interest in the election process, better knowledge of our rights and we also have the surety that there are many who believe and share a similar passion for Malaysia. I am truly amazed at the creativity and initiative of many who have come up with voter education videos and even parodies of politicians, political parties and the election process.

As we get closer to polling day, we know for a fact that whatever the outcome, this is a significant election and that next week onwards our country will be different no matter which party secures the majority vote. With all the noise surrounding us, take a few moments to think about fairness not just for yourself but for everyone in this country and then cast your vote wisely.

Natalie believes if you don't vote you don't get to complain.

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

What Happens Next?

By: Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun, Malaysia (pg 16 ) April 19th, 2013
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/columns/onpointe

Page turners tend to bring out the little child in us asking what happens next at the end of each chapter. It's the element of a good story and shows that people are paying attention and care enough to want to know "what next?"

It feels like we've been on a roller-coaster of a story the past year at least, being held captive by the big "what next" question of when the elections will be called. So many plans put on hold with the contingency "what if" parliament is dissolved on .... But now that we know, we can get on with our lives in some way.

Campaigning has been going on for the last couple of years and has definitely heightened in the last few weeks. With all the hullabaloo, it makes me wonder what will happen after the election.

Judging from the smear tactics, it won't be a pretty aftermath in terms of sore losers. As a voter this worries me because as we move closer to May 5, the tactics are becoming dirtier.

While I value my privacy, and candidates and parties that respect their opponents, this form of maturity is absent in Malaysia's political playing field. It's not a fight between a bad party versus a good party for voters here as it is made out to be. Our options seem to be between who is least vile.

Sunday night was my first experience of such revolting mud-slinging when late at night, someone walked up to my house and left some very nasty booklets about political leaders with doctored photos on its pages.

Printed in colour and on high quality paper, it just made me disgusted by how low politicians will stoop, how much money they have to waste on such rubbish, making me question where the money is coming from as I fill in my tax form. It could have been put to better use that's for sure.

If this was a tactic to influence my vote, it most certainly did but perhaps not in the manner hoped. Such behaviour has only highlighted clearer the insecurities of the people behind such acts.

As a voter, my concerns are deeper than the latest sex scandal.

My question of "what next" deals with wanting a safer, more liveable Malaysia, where I don't waste away in traffic jams so that I can have a good work-life balance, earn a living proportionate to my capabilities and potential so that I can choose how well I live, and live in a Malaysia where I don't have to be in constant fear of being robbed or raped always needing a chaperone. Those are just some of my concerns.

But can this be addressed? Right now, what is most important to our politicians is winning, but what is important to me is not who wins the vote but how the "what happens next" question is answered.

It's not just about policy but adapting to the change. Will our civil servants be mature enough to distinguish between serving the country and serving a party, and do our civil servants have that right – not just on paper but in reality.

A few days ago in Bangsar, flags of one political party were removed by authorities while flags of another party were left standing. The people questioned such acts and by the end of the day the flags were replanted. This incident was unnecessary and has left a bitter precursor of what to expect in the lead up to the election.

There seems to be this notion that winning is what matters most but what is the point of winning the battle and losing the war?

In the past few months, a few other countries have gone to the polls and their leaders won by the skin of their teeth. Venezuela has a new leader, yet his vote tally win was rather embarrassing at 50.7% compared to his counterpart's 49.1%.

Kenya's new president-elect Uhuru Kenyatta is in a similar position having just barely made it past the 50% mark with his opponent. From an outsider's view, these new leaders have not won but inherited a tumble weed deterioration of the economy, structural, institutional and social messes.

What is more important is how these leaders are going to turn things around for their countries.

That is the same question I am asking as a voter. It is obvious that we are not voting for the now but for a better Malaysia in the near future and for generations to come. It's time our politicians start answering the "what happens next" question and not in a rhetoric manner.

Natalie does not appreciate getting voting advice or polling questions through SMS at any time of the day, particularly past midnight.

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com