YOURSAY | ‘This ONE vote of mine may make all the difference.’

Yoursay: #UndiRosak – the good, the bad and the ugly

Harapan leaders decry cyberattacks against #UndiRosak activist

 

Anonymous 1802761448130592: It’s easy to be disillusioned, to be frustrated and to blame others, but never easy to see how others sacrificed their well-being and comfort, having to live constantly under the threat of imprisonment; how they strived so hard to right the ills and rot wrought on our country.

Look at all the corruption cases, religious and racial extremism. Who fought persistently and work tirelessly to bring the culprits to account for their wrongdoings? Yes, they have mostly failed to bring the culprits to court to face charges, but are they to be blamed?

#UndiRosak activist Maryam Lee and co, if I may be allowed to ask, what have you done to right the ills of our country? Will spoiling your votes help? I am much tempted to do likewise and blame everyone else for the problems in our country, but would that help? No!

I choose to be responsible. I choose to treasure my vote – the most precious right bestowed on me as a rakyat Malaysia. That ONE vote of mine may make all the difference.

Existential Turd: #UndiRosak is a campaign to goad the opposition to come up with a better alternative than just a rehash of old failed BN system.

The response, or the lack thereof, from the opposition parties have been rather disappointing. If you want their vote, it is the responsibility of the parties in contention to offer a choice that appeals to them.

If every vote counts, as the opposition parties want, then they should be more active in engaging the people. Not by bullying/shaming them or tell them to take it or leave it.

What the #UndiRosak campaigners want is also what all who yearn for reform want. In a democratic country, it is the right of the people to demand the kind of government they want. Ultimately, people deserve the government they settle for.

Ah-hah!!!: I used to view favourably what #UndiRosak activist Hafidz Baharom wrote years ago. But of late – about three or four months ago – I have stopped reading his articles.

And when I watched Hafidz on KiniTV’s ‘Spoiling GE14 #UndiRosak’ video, it was crystal-clear that he is worse than I had imagined.

As one of four adults supposedly in an intellectual discussion, he alone was arrogant and not only in the way he dismissively retorted and interrupted other speakers, but even in his body language.

He has every right to espouse his views, but he should respect the fact that others have differing views.

Clever Voter: The majority suspect an ulterior motive behind #UndiRosak campaign. Maryam must expect this. It would naive of her not to expect backlash. Some have been polite, if not subtle, in their response.

Sadly, the campaign is not helpful to many who are genuinely fed up with existing corrupt regime, and for pragmatic reason accept the opposition as a possible alternative.

#UndiRosak is anti-democratic and is perceived strongly as a campaign that helps the establishment. The people behind this campaign are not only naive, and they deserve to be rejected, perhaps not violently.

XED: Spoiling votes on a big enough scale would lead to a two-thirds majority for BN. My question to Maryam: is that what you want while you smugly count the number of spoilt votes?

If she doesn’t want that result, it appears that she has insufficient understanding of the consequences of her call to voters to spoil votes because no candidate or party is worthy of her support.

If she believes in freedom of ideas, she must be willing to accept criticism. A serious question: is the BN behind the campaign, unnoticed by people like Maryam?

Stop ‘misogynist’ cyberattacks against #UndiRosak activist, demands NGO

ConstitutionIsSupreme: Maryam, I do agree with your desire that everyone needs to debate the #UndiRosak issue objectively, whether male or female, pro-Harapan or pro-BN, rich or poor.

But I cannot comprehend how, when one is objective, can say such thing as “Harapan leaders are still silent, mum, not taking responsibility for this unruly behaviour, as their intellectuals and spokespersons keep refusing to address core issues raised by the #UndiRosak campaign.”

On what objective basis can one hold Harapan leaders responsible for some unruly behaviour by its supporters?

I have asked #UndiRosak advocates to explain how their no vote/spoilt vote can contribute towards a more democratic and people-centred government, but none has answered specifically except keep emphasising that they have the right not to vote/spoil vote.

On the contrary, the #UndiRosak opponents have pointed out many flaws of #UndiRosak claims and the very damaging effects in stifling the positive growth of our democratic and reform process.

Quigonbond: What a shame. The harassment should stop. Actually, they could come with very frustrated Harapan supporters, but I’m also not surprised if it is also the doing of Umno cybertroopers who are quite pro at doing stuff like this.

In my mind, most commentaries about #UndiRosak are gender neutral. Most people are concerned about the effect of any damaged votes on overall results, especially if the election can go either way. It could be down to the wire of one or two votes.

Harapan is also asking #UndiRosak folks to share their actual concerns. It’s not right to say they keep silent. The “silent” claim would be appropriate if days go by without a response. But if it is just hours, people don’t have their eyes glued to social media.

Headhunter: People are angry and rightly so. But while others fight so hard to change for a better government than the one we have, Maryam encourages others to spoil their votes. This is insane.

Sure, you can have your personal opinion but when you influence others to follow your lead by spoiling their votes, it goes beyond expressing your opinion.

You are in fact dividing the nation and helping to keep the rotten government that we now have. Sorry, but don’t expect sympathy from us.

Vijay47: In a field as vibrant as the news portals and Malaysiakini is, it is expected that there would be diverse opinions and viewpoints and it is equally expected that many of these thoughts would not coincide with our own.

Inasmuch as we have the right to agree with and support, we also have the right to disagree and criticise. Sure, by all means, let us attack the thinking we do not share, subtly or savagely.

Having said that, where do we draw the line? Yes, it would be fair and noble to ask that we focus on the idea, not the person.

Though that is far from easily achieved, especially when it comes to a certain unpopular politician and his fat wife. Ooops!

Anonymous 428911434555133: The logic of #UndiRosak is very simple: if BN is so bad that you cannot vote for it, don’t vote for any other party either because whichever party takes over the government will also be equally as bad.


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