What now, what next?

YOU either woke up this morning happy or your eyes hurt from sad crying yourself to sleep last night. Needless to say, most of us are suffering from election fatigue. I know I am.
But what now? You might be thinking.
What next? You might be asking.
Well first we will have a few days to recover. Honestly it is a wait and see kind of period. A time of readjustment, perhaps even apologising for our own election behaviour and it may be a time to reflect and plan.
Perhaps we can start with a few questions about the election process.
Was it clear, simple, clean and fair?
Was the indelible ink saga of the previous election resolved at this election?
Did you understand what was expected of you the voter before the elections and on election day?
Did you need to only mark an 'X' or could you mark your choice any other way and did this cause confusion?
Was the messaging from the Election Commission clear, accurate and timely?
And a more important question, do you trust the current Election Commission to carry out their duties in accordance to the law and without bias?
I can't answer all these question for you but since it is still fresh in our minds, perhaps there are some factual events that should be mentioned to ensure that these things are rectified.
After all the Election Commission has five years to come up with better systems with a RM500 million election budget. With a budget that high, there has to be accountability even if their main event happens once every five years.
First, we should understand that an election is our right. It is also a privilege not in terms of a higher authority bestowing the privilege on us but a privilege of being a citizen.
So an election in this country since it is not a dictatorship should be a smooth, easy process. It should not be filled with unnecessary and deliberate challenges and obstacles. However, it is a bit difficult to exercise your right to vote when you don't know when the election date is. This is a clear obstacle.
We spent a fair bit of the last year guessing and being teased unkindly about when the elections will be held. Guessing was almost a sport and a question as frequent as the Malaysian staple "dah makan?" (have you eaten?).
We did have a few clues – some very important legislation fast-tracked its way through Parliament (the Anti-Fake News Bill 2018) and the Dewan Rakyat very quickly agreed to redraw election boundaries without taking into account that there were cases and objections disputing the exercise. So we kind of knew an election had to be called soon.
Then low and behold it was announced that there will be an announcement. As ironic as it sounds.
So the media stood watch at the palace gates waiting to get a glimpse of who was granted an audience with the Yang diPertuan Agong while we the rakyat, anxiously waited. Then it was announced that Parliament would be dissolved at the end of the week. A few days later the exact date of the elections was announced less than a month shy of the May 9 polling day.
What is the big secret about election dates? Many democracies announce their election date at least six months in advance. Other key dates are also announced like the dissolution of Parliament, when overseas voting starts, advance voting and the last day to enrol in the election. People are given time to organise themselves and instead of obstacles to casting their vote, people are better able to plan their lives, work, finances and travel.
Instead we had our elections right smack in the middle of the week knowing that voter turnout on a weekday tends to be lower and challenging.
Then there was the 11 campaign days. Now if you didn't already know, flags were put up much earlier. Millions spent on YouTube advertising and pop-up adverts on news sites. Even though 11 days is welcome in terms of not having to deal with a longer mud-slinging and lofty promises period, it affected overseas voters greatly. There was not enough time for the ballot papers to reach them even by courier and if it did reach them, there was not enough time for the marked ballot papers to be sent back to Malaysia on time.
There was also confusion as to how to register as a postal voter. These are things that the EC should have made clear much earlier. Since the date of the dissolution of Parliament is kept secret till it happens, there should be provisions made to ensure every eligible citizen does not have to jump through hoops to cast their vote.
Then there was all the fracas that happened on nomination day with candidates which led to an automatic win for one uncontested candidate. The de- registration of parties. The confusion about party logos that were usable and who's face can and cannot be on campaign materials. The wrong message posted on the EC's Facebook page which was reported in the news on Sunday, an electoral roll which has many discrepancies and the list goes on including denying the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia from monitoring the general election. Unnecessary obstacles.
So even with all these challenges, Malaysians helped each other to make sure everyone who could vote had a chance to.
Ordinary Malaysians started a fund to get Malaysians back home to vote.
Ordinary Malaysians trained to be polling and counting agents.
Ordinary Malaysians flew home with postal votes to be hand delivered.
Ordinary Malaysians just came together to stand in the gap for their fellow Malaysians affected by these challenges and obstacles.
That is an extraordinary strength which is unique to Malaysia. A love for the nation that is ours.
Whether you woke up happy or cried yourself to sleep, these next five years is the time to partner with the organisations and people that are working on voter education and election monitoring agencies. You do not have to join a political party to do this but you can be an active, informed citizen and help. The next five years will not be easy, but we as the rakyat need to be better prepared. Because if this election was tough, the next one will be even tougher.
So, while we wait for what next, we can be entertained by how fast local petrol prices recover after being pegged for the last few weeks leading up to the election.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com