Boycotting GE14 will only help BN, say analysts, activists

Looi Sue-Chern Looi Sue-Chern Updated 6 years ago · Published on 21 Jan 2018 7:35AM · 4 Comments

Abstention and spoilt votes are not only likely to deliver the election to Barisan Nasional, but also win back for the ruling coalition the two-thirds parliamentary majority that it lost in 2008. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, January 21, 2018.

SOCIAL media has become the platform for a general election campaign of another kind – the kind that calls for voters to boycott the polls or to cast spoilt votes to protest the lack of choice.

These anti-GE14 campaigners have started online discussions and are spreading messages under the hashtags #UndiRosak or #SpoiltVote, and #ProtesPRU or #GEProtest.

The arguments against voting centre on Pakatan Harapan’s choice of prime minister candidate, who is its chairman, Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Others presume on the pointlessness of voting in a “dirty” election.

Although observers do not expect the majority of voters to be convinced by anti-GE14 campaigns, paying heed to such sentiments can help Barisan Nasional to stay in power. 

On a new Facebook page called “Undi Rosak” (Spoilt votes)  “The people who are so sick of Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan politics have the right not to vote or to spoil their votes.”

A Twitter user with the handle @AMIR9110 tweeted: “You taught me to hate Mahathir, you taught me who gave billions worth of projects to cronies, you taught me who enriched his children. Now you want me to support him. No way #ReformasiDead #BoikotPru14 #BangkitAnakMuda.” 

“Groups like this reject politics. They are leftist, anarchist and aggressive. On a macro-level, they won’t be able to convince voters to support their campaign because they have nothing concrete or substantial to offer,” said political analyst Hisommudin Bakar.

These sentiments were “baseless”, even if the emotions were strong, as they were unable to present concrete solutions to the people’s problems, he said.

Hisommudin, who conducts voter studies, believed anti-GE14 campaigners were unlikely to sway fence-sitters, whom he described as “politically alert” despite their lack of affiliation to a political party.

“Everything they (anti-GE14 groups) say is based on emotions and sentiments. They have no answers to the people’s issues, their needs and hopes.

“For instance, they reject Dr Mahathir but what has that got to do with policies that affect the people? Can they also be indifferent if Prime Minister Najib Razak stays in power for another term?”

Hisommuddin said the question was whether one would waste one’s vote by protesting or utilise that vote to support the party that gave them hope.

“This is a baseless campaign. Rational and objective voters, who will assess which side to give the mandate to, will not throw away their votes by protesting,” he said. 

Few spoilt votes

Malaysian elections traditionally have a low number of spoilt votes and given the track record,  anti-GE14 campaigns are unlikely to succeed,   Hisommudin said.

In the first general election in 1959 to the last one in 2013, spoilt votes made up less than 5% of ballots cast.

The fewest was 1.11% in 1959 and the most, 5.3% in 1969 and 4.65% in 1974. The last time spoiled votes reached 4% was in 2004.

Political analyst Hisommudin Bakar says anti-vote sentiments are baseless even if the emotions are strong, as they are unable to present concrete solutions to the people’s problems. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, January 21, 2018.

Hisommudin doubted that the power of social media would help the campaign gain much traction.

“In Indonesia, they have the ‘Golongan Putih’ or Golput - voters who submit blank ballot papers. The Golput campaign targets the educated voters.

“They started since 1955 and the percentage of voters who skip the polls or cast spoiled votes is high. They hit 27% in recent years,” the Ilham Centre executive director said.

“But in Malaysia, where we are moving towards a two-party system with BN and PH, those who choose not to vote or spoil their votes will become isolated from those who chose either BN or PH.”

Helping BN

But if successful, Penang Institute’s political and social analyst Dr Wong Chin Huat said, a spoilt vote campaign would likely reinforce the current electoral system in Malaysia, instead of reforming it. 

“If 51% of the votes are spoilt while 25% vote for A and 24% vote B, A will still represent 100% of the voters. 

“I think we should change our system to make it more representative, but spoiling your vote will only likely entrench the system.”

He said in some countries, the ballot paper had the ‘none of the above’ or ‘against all (candidates)’ option; and if that option won the most votes, a fresh election would be called with new candidates. 

“In such systems, rejecting all available candidates can be productive,” said Wong who does not believe in compulsory voting.

Abstaining or spoiling one’s ballot will also likely deliver the election to BN and more; the ruling coalition which lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority in 2008 will have a strong chance of winning it back.

Wong said BN retained the federal government in 2013 with only 47% of the total votes. With the current redelineation exercise and multi-corner fights this time, BN might win a two-thirds majority, even with less votes. 

“If BN succeeds, it can add more seats in the Dewan Rakyat; and with another round of redelineation exercise that must be done in two years, you can expect worse gerrymandering and malapportionment.

“This can be defeated by a high turnout of voters voting against partisan delineation. 

“If you choose to abstain or spoil your vote, you will be effectively helping Najib get a two-third majority. It’s of course your democratic right to do so,” he said. 

Hurting other voters

Masjaliza Hamzah, the executive director of Watan, a non-partisan activist group championing electoral awareness among youth, also sees limited impact in the anti-GE14 campaign.

But she said it should be monitored as it might pick up support since no date has been set for the polls.

While the disappointment of some groups at the lack of fresh choices in the election was understandable, an election boycott would be a loss to everyone else, she said.

“Voting is not a game, but a civic duty. Votes will decide which party forms the government and its policies, and we want the leaders and government chosen to be in line with what the people want. 

“A bigger voter turnout will also show a healthy democracy,” she said.

Efforts would be better spent on pressuring political parties to present manifestos and policies that benefit the have-nots in society rather than campaigning for a boycott, she added.

“It is very sad that in 2018, people who have never had to fight for the right to vote are telling others to boycott the election,” she said, citing the hard-won battles of women and African Americans to be given the right to vote in the West .

Masjaliza said political parties and the Election Commission (EC) should note the unhappiness of anti-GE14 campaigners and supporters, and think of non-punitive ways to overcome the problem..

“Ask the grassroots why they want to boycott and think how best to attract the youth to see politics as something relevant to them,” she said.

Watan, Masjaliza said, would continue to promote voting as a responsibility and encourage more to register as voters, even after the elections

She said the second phase of Watan’s campaign was to encourage registered voters to vote. 

Watan has organised events to boost voter registrations, roping in local celebrities like Marina Mahathir, Daphne Iking and Remy Ishak to help, but the results have not been encouraging. 

The EC reported recently that 3.6 million Malaysians aged 21 and eligible to vote as of September 2017, have not registered as voters. The electoral roll registered 14.8 million voters up to the third quarter of last year. In the last quarter, EC received 212,042 fresh voter applications.

PH Youth mobilisation director Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin said the wing was willing to hear the grouses of youths.

“PH Youth has agreed to meet and listen to youths personally to find out if they accept what PH offers,” he said.

The Amanah Youth vice-chief said election campaign-wise, PH was calling on all citizens to cast their votes to remove the current ruling government.

“This is the right call if we just look at the current situation. 

“Youths are facing fewer job opportunities, high cost of living and loans to pay while earning meagre salaries.” – January 21, 2018.

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Comments

  • Is there a likelihood of BN having a hand behind these campaigns? In my opinion, those calling for a boycott of the GE14 general elections are selfish individuals who do not care a hoot for the welfare of the downtrodden Malaysians, a majority of whom are struggling to make a living and feed their families. Besides, in lamenting for a lack of choices of candidates in the forthcoming GE14, have they put forward any proposals or suggestions for alternate choices? It's in the best interest of our beloved country to ignore these group and come out in force to vote! Your own future, the future of the next generations are in your hands! The force is with you!

    Posted 6 years ago by Ong Taik Kheng · Reply

  • From.day of Merdeka, the Alliance, now BN has counted on divide and rule as a strategy. It's not just those who refuse, excuses for notifying, every leftist environmentalist, DAP dissenter, Bersatu and PKR dissenter, Sabah Sarawakian who refuse to join the coalition, they are in bed with Hadi Awang. The problem is our system of first past the goaline has little room for too much differentiation. It literally there is no room for a multiple of priority.

    Posted 6 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply

  • The GE 14 is a rejection of who is worse. Mahathir had 22 years to move away from race-based politics, and get back recognition of his ancestry. Mahathir could not show his family tree on his father side beyond his grandfather whereas politicians in USA traced their roots hundreds of years back into Europe, and they do not feel they are less-American. Mahathir had to outwardly purify his blood to claim to be 100% Malay so as to play the race-card. Zahid called him Iskandar Kutty. That proves that all along UMNO members knew all his past, and kept silent where appropriate. The Malaysian constitution allows Indian or mixed Malay like Mahathir to be PM, with Mahathir pretending to be pure Malay. Had Mahathir chose to follow the lead of Tunku to make this land for all its inhabitants, helping those based on needs, and opened up UMNO to all Malaysians like Dato Onn Jaafar wanted, no UMNO members during that 22 years dared object, and Malaysians perhaps could be proud of him for doing the right thing. Unfortunately, he chose to use the race-card, and that allowed him to use cronyism to legalize institutional corruption. The UMNO leaders after him just followed his playbook, and with the government institutions rendered to serve the powerful, Mahathir can now say that the corruption is more rampant now than it was in his time.

    Some 60 years after independence Mahathir has created PriBumi, a pseudo-UMNO to contest in GE. PriBumi has only 1 MP and two ADUNs, and yet it is given the top-dog position in Pakatan Harapan. Quite obviously, Mahathir will not change his racist-way in governance. MCA accused DAP now of joining Priumi led Pakatan Harapan quoting the damage Mahathir had done to the country. MCA forgot that it was in Mahathir's government that Mahathir perpetrated all those sins. MCA could not stop Mahathir then and it should not stop DAP from trying.

    Najib did not deny that he had 2.6 billion ringgit in his personal account. He said it was a gift from Saudi Arabia, and we know that Saudi is implementing GST. Najib wants us to believe whatever he has said. But Malaysians are educated, and we can think quite independently. AG told us that there was nothing to investigate, and many reports on 1MDB are now state secret. If there was nothing wrong, isn't it better for the government to prove it, since Saudi GST says that they do not print gold, currency notes yes.

    1MDB alone tells us that the government should go. But UMNO will not change unless it is forced to. The only way to force UMNO to go back to its role back to Tunku's days is to force UMNO to be out of federal government. Pakatan Harapan can make that happen. At 93 Mahathir serves during the pleasure of God. He can't do too much harm in a limited amount of time. In any case we want UMNO to change, and Pribumi will help in that regard. So for the GE 14, choose PH so that UMNO can emerge a better political party. Hopefully MCA is totally wiped out.

    Posted 6 years ago by Meng Kow Loh · Reply

  • The GE 14 is a rejection of who is worse. Mahathir had 22 years to move away from race-based politics, and get back recognition of his ancestry. Mahathir could not show his family tree on his father side beyond his grandfather whereas politicians in USA traced their roots hundreds of years back into Europe, and they do not feel they are less-American. Mahathir had to outwardly purify his blood to claim to be 100% Malay so as to play the race-card. Zahid called him Iskandar Kutty. That proves that all along UMNO members knew all his past, and kept silent where appropriate. The Malaysian constitution allows Indian or mixed Malay like Mahathir to be PM, with Mahathir pretending to be pure Malay. Had Mahathir chose to follow the lead of Tunku to make this land for all its inhabitants, helping those based on needs, and opened up UMNO to all Malaysians like Dato Onn Jaafar wanted, no UMNO members during that 22 years dared object, and Malaysians perhaps could be proud of him for doing the right thing. Unfortunately, he chose to use the race-card, and that allowed him to use cronyism to legalize institutional corruption. The UMNO leaders after him just followed his playbook, and with the government institutions rendered to serve the powerful, Mahathir can now say that the corruption is more rampant now than it was in his time.

    Some 60 years after independence Mahathir has created PriBumi, a pseudo-UMNO to contest in GE. PriBumi has only 1 MP and two ADUNs, and yet it is given the top-dog position in Pakatan Harapan. Quite obviously, Mahathir will not change his racist-way in governance. MCA accused DAP now of joining Priumi led Pakatan Harapan quoting the damage Mahathir had done to the country. MCA forgot that it was in Mahathir's government that Mahathir perpetrated all those sins. MCA could not stop Mahathir then and it should not stop DAP from trying.

    Najib did not deny that he had 2.6 billion ringgit in his personal account. He said it was a gift from Saudi Arabia, and we know that Saudi is implementing GST. Najib wants us to believe whatever he has said. But Malaysians are educated, and we can think quite independently. AG told us that there was nothing to investigate, and many reports on 1MDB are now state secret. If there was nothing wrong, isn't it better for the government to prove it, since Saudi GST says that they do not print gold, currency notes yes.

    1MDB alone tells us that the government should go. But UMNO will not change unless it is forced to. The only way to force UMNO to go back to its role back to Tunku's days is to force UMNO to be out of federal government. Pakatan Harapan can make that happen. At 93 Mahathir serves during the pleasure of God. He can't do too much harm in a limited amount of time. In any case we want UMNO to change, and Pribumi will help in that regard. So for the GE 14, choose PH so that UMNO can emerge a better political party. Hopefully MCA is totally wiped out.

    Posted 6 years ago by Meng Kow Loh · Reply