What’s in it for me? (UPDATED with Chinese Translation)
So the voters in Hulu Selangor are smarter than you give them credit for. Now they have both parties falling over each other to satisfy their whims and fancies. It’s almost like having two lovers going overboard to prove that they are the better person. Meanwhile they play one against the other and enjoy the attention they are being given.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
There are a few good pieces today regarding the recent Hulu Selangor by-election, which I have uploaded onto Malaysia Today.
3. Message from the by-election
4. Stop blaming BN’s money politics, says DAP’s Kula
5. They don’t want change, do they?
6. So why did PKR lose in Hulu Selangor?
7. PKR must leverage on multiracialism, says analyst
I attended a three-day course in Melaka about eight years ago. It was conducted by a German political strategist who was instrumental in engineering Gerhard Schröder’s election victory in October 1998.
Gerhard Schröder is just like Anwar Ibrahim. He was a reformist who led the charge for reforms in Germany. Schröder attracted controversy when he helped founding member of the Baader-Meinhof terrorist group, Horst Mahler, secure an early release from prison and helped get permission for him to practice law again in Germany.
Anyway, Gerhard Schröder’s victory was short-lived as seven years later, in November 2005, his party lost the election and he was forced to step down as the Chancellor of Germany. This shows even advanced societies like Germany changes it mind from election to election, what more less-advanced societies like Malaysia. So don’t expect the March 2008 political Tsunami to remain forever. Even in Germany it lasted only seven years.
The Melaka course was quite educational and an eye-opener. All the PKR leaders attended, even the president, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. It was like a group therapy session where everyone was asked to give her/her opinion about the strengths and weaknesses of not only PKR but also all the other opposition and ruling parties.
The German political strategist did not tell us what was wrong. He got us to admit what was wrong. So the arguments came from us, not from him. He just acted as the ‘psychiatrist’ to probe what was in our minds and make us pour it out.
A few good points were raised. Almost everyone admitted what the problem was. And everyone also admitted that the 1999 general election ‘victory’ would be short-lived, and unless a change of strategy is applied, then, in the next general election, 2004, the opposition, in particular PKR, was going to get wiped out.
Everyone agreed what should be done. But nothing was done. And in the 2004 general election the opposition, in particular PKR, was practically wiped out as predicted.
The sore point about this was that we had identified the problem and there was no disagreement from everyone who attended the course. Everyone agreed what needed to be done. But no one did it. And PKR paid the price for this in March 2004.
One very important point that was raised by the German political strategist is that voters, anywhere in the world, are selfish. Never mind whether it is in Europe, Asia, the United States, Latin America, Africa, or whatnot. Voters are all the same the world over, even in advanced countries like Germany, said the strategist.
We have to know what the voters want and offer them this. And if we can deliver what the voters want then we will get their votes. It is as simple as that. There is no magic or secret formula in getting the voters to vote for you. It is so simple that it makes me want to cry that we can’t do this even when we know what needs to be done.
Of course, it is not always possible to give the voters what they want. Sometimes what they want may be beyond our capabilities. But it would be a good start if we can at least understand what the voters want and not campaign under illusions and misleading theories that will eventually lead us up the garden path.
We always assume that the voters want what we also want. That is the first fallacy. In 1999, we thought that the voters wanted reforms and that they supported the opposition because the opposition promised them reforms. We assumed that the voters loved us and loved what we stood for. In short, we assumed that we were united by a common love for good governance, an end to corruption and abuse of power, more transparency and accountability, separation of powers, an independent judiciary and an end to selective prosecution, and whatnot.
Actually, in 1999, we were not united by love. We were united by hate, hate for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. So, in 1999, the voters voted for the opposition because they wanted Dr Mahathir out. And, in 2003, when Dr Mahathir left and handed power to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the voters returned to Barisan Nasional and gave the opposition is worst ever defeat in the March 2004 general election.
So what is it that the voters want? The voters, as the German strategist told us, are a selfish lot and they will only vote for you if they can what they want. Even in Germany this is the same. And the Germans are more advanced than Malaysians.
In 1999, the voters wanted Dr Mahathir kicked out. And when that happened in November 2003 they no longer had any use for the opposition and returned to Barisan Nasional the following general election in March 2004, just four-five months later.
In 2008, they wanted Abdullah Badawi kicked out. That has now also happened. So do they still need the opposition? Or is it now that Abdullah Badawi has been kicked out they are very happy? Or are they still unhappy and this time they would like Najib Tun Razak also kicked out?
Time will tell and we will know the answer when the next general election results are announced.
Let us go through the shopping list or Christmas wish of the voters. And understand that some of these wishes may be reachable and some not. And some may be so simple it will make you laugh, while others may be so complex it could never be delivered in our lifetime.
Let us look at the more complex ones first.
Some Malaysians will vote for good governance, more transparency and accountability, separation of powers, an end to corruption and abuse of power, an independent judiciary, etc. — what some would label as ‘western values’.
How many percent of Malaysians fall into this category? Who are they and where do they live/vote?
These people would be the professionals, those in the higher income bracket, those with established careers and a stable future, those who have received tertiary education, those who have studied or worked overseas, those in the urban areas, those who have internet access and read the discussions and discourses on the Internet, and so on.
But how many percent of the voters come under this category? Undoubtedly, they are in the minority and a safe guess would be around 20%, plus-minus, of the voters. Nevertheless, this is what they want and they will vote for the party that can give them all these ‘western values’.
You may argue that these people are too idealistic and not practical and that Malaysia is not yet ready for all this. Nonetheless, this is what they want and for their own ‘selfish’ reasons they will vote for the party that can deliver this.
In short, they are still voting for what they want out of the party they vote for. As much as these may be noble reasons and for the benefit of the entire country, it still boils down to they will vote for you if there is something in it for them — good governance, more transparency and accountability, separation of powers, an end to corruption and abuse of power, an independent judiciary, etc.
So it is not about giving you power. It is about what they gain from giving you power. And if by giving you power they will get good governance, more transparency and accountability, separation of powers, an end to corruption and abuse of power, an independent judiciary, etc., then they will give you power. It is still about what do I get by giving you power.
Then we have the group of people who will vote opposition for the sake of voting opposition. And when the opposition comes to power they will swing the other way and vote for the other party that used to be in power but is now the opposition. These are the ‘perpetual objectors’ who do not like the government, any government, never mind who forms the government.
We can’t win over these people unless we remain the opposition forever and never get to form the government. Then they will continue to vote for us.
Next, we have people who will vote for someone only from their own race. If both candidates are from the same race, such as Malay versus Malay, only then they will vote for the candidate from the party of their choice. And if they do not have any particular party of choice, then they will vote for the candidate who speaks better, smiles more, shakes hands more, looks into their eyes when he/she shakes their hand, is better looking, ‘warm’ with the voters, or whatever.
In other words, it boils down to personality and not what he/she stands for.
Then we have people who will vote for you if they receive direct benefits such as cash, gifts, grants, scholarships, land, etc. I get something from you then I will vote for you. This would normally be the poorer people who live from hand to mouth and when the benefits they receive is more than a month’s income then you get their votes.
They do not care about national issues or the needs of the community. They are too poor to worry about all that. Their worry is about how they are going to find money to put food on the table and every day is hit-or-miss day. Most times they get to eat but sometimes they do not. And it is always a worry about where their next meal is coming from. So that is their priority in life. And these, of course, are the easiest people for Barisan Nasional to buy.
However, trust me, if you were placed in their situation you would do exactly the same. Your stomach and that of your family comes first. Have you not heard of families selling off their children because they are too poor?
If they can sell their children to put food onto the table what is selling their vote? That is nothing. And you who lives in a RM500,000 home and drives a RM300,000 car want to judge these people? Have you not heard the saying: a soldier fights with his stomach? A soldier with an empty stomach stops fighting.
And, in Malaysia, this group is a very large group indeed.
Then we have the racist or religionist group. They will vote for someone only from their own race and/or religion, never mind which political party they represent. And if both candidates are not of their race/religion, then they will not come out to vote or they will spoil their vote as a mark of protest.
Now do you understand why we see a high incidence of spoiled votes? Did you think that this is because the voters are too stupid and do not understand how to mark the ballot papers? No, most do, only a very few do not, and they spoil their votes to demonstrate their unhappiness with both candidates. They will only vote for a candidate from their own race and/or religion. Even Umno people do this. PAS, DAP, PKR, MCA, MIC, etc., people do as well. They have no party loyalty. Their loyalty is to their race/religion.
So, as you can see, all voters are selfish and will vote for you only if you can give them what they want. Some of what they want is good for the country — like good governance, more transparency and accountability, separation of powers, an end to corruption and abuse of power, an independent judiciary, etc. Some are very personal in nature — like money in the pocket. Some are race or religion based reasons, which is also a selfish reason and boils down to what they get by voting for you — one of their ‘own kind’ being sent into office.
Understand one thing. Voters do not vote for you. They vote for themselves. They vote for you only if they can benefit from voting for you. They will not vote for you if it only benefits you but not them. Some of the benefits may be universal. Some may be personal. However, universal or personal, it is about what they can benefit from giving you their vote.
In Hulu Selangor last Sunday, the voters there have weighed the benefits of voting for Barisan Nasional instead of for Pakatan Rakyat. Be it money or whatever, it is still about what I get by voting for Barisan Nasional as opposed to voting for Pakatan Rakyat.
In fact, the Hulu Selangor voters now have the best of both worlds. Now both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat need to look after their needs — Pakatan Rakyat because it is the state government and Barisan Nasional because of the by-election promises. This can’t be a more ideal situation to be in.
So the voters in Hulu Selangor are smarter than you give them credit for. Now they have both parties falling over each other to satisfy their whims and fancies. It’s almost like having two lovers going overboard to prove that they are the better person. Meanwhile they play one against the other and enjoy the attention they are being given.
Hmm….I just love this. And we thought the Hulu Selangor voters are stupid. No, they are smart.
Translated into Chinese at: http://ccliew.blogspot.com/2010/04/blog-post_5217.html
