A spoiled vote is a protest, not a vote for Pakatan

It is also a vote against both sides for having ridiculously sacrificed their principles for votes.

Hafidz Baharom, Free Malaysia Today

I write in reply to Chew Jian Li (Letters FMT) who says a vote for Pakatan Harapan would be a protest vote.

As an #UndiRosak campaigner, I believe this is far from the truth.

Pakatan Harapan is now led by the same mind who ruled this country for 22 years and gave us the draconian standards that still exist today. Others have bought into believing that his racially-inclined Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia will be beneficial to the government, but I don’t.

You can’t fight racism by supporting racism just because you want to win an election and have abandoned the quest to make Malaysian people less racially-inclined.

A racist party is a racist party. You can’t call one out without the other, and yet Chew believes in omitting this fact.

At the same time, a vote is a vote. A vote for PH is a vote against Barisan Nasional, and vice versa. A protest against the ridiculousness of both sides to sacrifice principles for votes is in no way a form of protest – it is instead a form of encouragement.

I am glad, however, that Chew understands that the right to spoil our votes is a sacrosanct choice in an election, something those against #UndiRosak do not seem to understand.

Chew believes that the policies proposed by Pakatan in their manifesto are good. However, two points are lacking: funding a Shadow Cabinet, and putting a “none of the above” (NOTA) box on the ballots.

As for economic policy, the Pakatan and BN manifestos are both economically unfeasible and unsound.

For Pakatan to remove the Goods and Services Tax and bring back Sales and Services Tax instead will actually create a shortfall of government revenue. Abolishing tolls will exacerbate the issue.

Yet, Pakatan has provided no explanation about how they will make up for this shortfall. In short, Pakatan has no tax plan other than to abolish GST and reduce import duties on cars, without explaining how to make up for it.

Chew must also note the confusion about minimum wage. BN’s manifesto promises a gradual increase to RM1,500 while the PH manifesto has kept it vague.

Will they implement a minimum wage immediately, or gradually, as mentioned by PPBM youth leader Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman during his Sinar Harian debate?

At the same time, why would I want to give RM500 in healthcare expenses to each family in the B40 segment? This plan is odd. Why give RM500 in tax ringgit to B40 families to spend, at a maximum of RM50 per visit at a private clinic?

Consider this: treatment at a government clinic only costs RM1 while a private clinic is likely to charge RM60. Even with the card, the B40 family will fork out RM9 more than just settling for public healthcare.

Is Pakatan now subsidising private healthcare too?

Similarly, what use is the Pakatan plan to provide 10,000 buses if at the same time cars become cheaper to buy and tolls are abolished, while abandoning rail lines for mass transport?

Is this yet another fetish about letting people drive without being able to properly afford a car?

While on the topic of cars, has anyone taken a look at what under-1300cc cars there are which qualify for the proposed PH petrol subsidy? Last I checked, you’d have to ride a Perodua Axia.

Let’s not forget about PTPTN (higher education loan) repayments being made payable only when the debtors’ salaries reach RM4,000.

Would anybody care to calculate how long it took for their own incomes to reach that amount? What will be done with the rolling fund until then? Will more cash be pumped in, or will loan amounts for the next generations become smaller and smaller until the fund goes bust?

I also see a similar bailout plan in the BN manifesto with their Felda funding. Settlers were to have saved up themselves for replanting, yet BN now wants to give them RM7,500 per hectare to help them.

Why spend so much on something the settlers should have known themselves and saved up for, over a period of 20 years?

If both sides want to promise the moon and the stars, Chew can choose to vote Pakatan for herself. As for me, and most of other #UndiRosak voters, we have seen Pakatan backtrack from having called former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed all sorts of names since the Reformasi days.

If Pakatan wants to turn hypocrite so as to become the government, they must do so without our support. After all, they seem confident enough even now.

So let us agree to disagree and we shall see whether Pakatan will deserve our support in 2023.