In the quest to be āseenā, thousands of metres of cloth and millions
of reams of paper have been turned into election material promoting the
party and the candidates.
Hundreds of workers will be paid to do
the menial jobs ā putting them up and plastering every available space
with party paraphernalia.
In two weeksā time, except for a few
which will be kept in mint condition as souvenirs, the others will be
discarded as rubbish ending up in the many landfills around the
country.
Does the poster war denote anything? Will it entice or
make voters change their minds after seeing a continuous row of coloured
flags or buntings? Or are they a show of power, dominance and money?
Breach of election rules?
Then,
there are the freebies, including buns, bags of rice and even hand
sanitisers, with the names and faces of candidates and their party logos
emblazoned on them.
Wouldnāt that constitute a bribe and be a
breach of election rules? The chairperson of the special committee on
corruption, Rais Yatim, has decreed that the practice of having symbols
of political parties on goods or items given to the people during
election campaigns is a form of corruption and a breach of the
anti-corruption law.
Any form of assistance given to the people,
he said, should be void of any political party symbol as it is a form of
bribery to canvass for votes.
For the sake of democracy, your self-worth is much more valuable than a packet of rice and a bottle of cooking oil.
Anyone
who receives aid packages (which have political party symbols) should
immediately make a police report or directly to the MACC.
The MACC
itself is also in election mode. It has set up operations rooms across
the country to facilitate complaints and channelling of information
regarding acts of corruption and abuse of power throughout the campaign
period.
What can the MACC do? They just receive the complaint and
by the time they complete their investigations and send the
investigation papers to and from the Attorney Generalās Chambers,
another general election will be due!
Already, there are images of
such āgiftsā circulating and whatās more blatant are video clips of
money being handed out. Remember the: āI help you, you help meā slogan
created by Najib and replicated by many others?
Would the promise
of allocations āif we winā be a bribe in the true sense of the phrase?
Section 16 (b) of the MACC Act states: āAny person who by himself, or by
or in conjunction with any other person corruptly gives, promises or
offers to any person whether for the benefit of that person or of
another person, any gratification as an inducement to or a reward
commits an offence.ā
So, does this opening of service centres serve a purpose or is it a syiok sendiri exercise? Perhaps, the MACC can tell us how many were prosecuted in the past for giving bribes to voters.
Itās
goodies galore for now and until polling day, candidates will be
pictured with brooms and dustpans; topping top engine oil to
motorcycles; clearing lalang in the neighbourhood and even hand-feeding the infirmed.
But
what you wonāt see are posters degrading one race and calling them pigs
or a man dressed in a bathrobe with a toothbrush and toothpaste in
hand. Neither would you see him smashing beer bottles outside a
government buildingā¦
Not a foot could be put wrong. Do it even if
you have to sell your soul, swallow your pride and forgo your beliefs
and principles.
Once in five years, itās a sacrifice worth making.
Who knows? You could be an ambassador or even get a posting for your
spouse or your son.
