Selamat mengundi!

APRIL 24 ― A friend and I were up on the highest level of the Thean Hou Temple, in Seputeh, two weekends ago.

We were up there for two reasons: my friend, a social worker wanted calm, and I was there for my research. Instead, we sat on a bench and looked up at the sky, while a porcelain figure of the Goddess Kuan Yin poured water from a fountain attached to her nearby.

We were both exhausted by the campaigns, the anger and bitterness, and yes, excitement. The latter is high octane energy but it can sap you. Facebook, Twitter, emails are all harping on about what’s right and wrong, who would win, everything and anything that is political in the country.

Our politics is about extremes; you’re either with us or not. You cannot be objective, you cannot see the truth for what it is. It is their truth, not yours, that matters. Anger, righteousness and sneers are virtues these days. For some, posturing and a lot of swagger.

We all want change. I certainly do. But I wonder if this desire for change can be detached from the bitterness and spite. Yes, many of our policies, however well-meant they were at the time of creation, have fallen to abuse and corruption. There is so much to be angry about, and with the kind of politics we have been experiencing since 1998, can we be forgiven for being jaded?

My friends and I have been engaged in rather unsettling conversations with friends. Whether they are Barisan Nasional supporters or not, you cannot question or even think aloud some of your misgivings.

One example is this, which was bandied about among friends of all political leanings. If Pakatan Rakyat takes over Putrajaya and implements new economic policies or revises and strengthens current developments and policies, and in four years they are voted out, will the new government disregard all the work they had done and start afresh? The same question was put to a few friends who support BN.

In the end, who loses in this ping-pong match? The rakyat.

I have learned my lesson: my poor ears were singed good and proper. And I have learned another lesson from expressing other views about other things that will affect Malaysia in the future: if people don’t consider these issues, and you, seriously enough, they’ll brush you off.

Karen Armstrong, in her book, “12 Steps to A Compassionate Life”, states that we are addicted to egotism.

“We cannot think how we would manage without our pet hatreds and prejudices that give us such a buzz of righteousness.”

Armstrong’s book pinpointed what I feel is missing in our landscape: Compassion.

You see, anger, salaciousness, cynicism sell. They sell especially well in the media, and the media needs them to thrive. It’s not just advertisements that keep the media afloat.

And because of what many Malaysians have gone through, they feed on these, to feel justified in their anger.

When we vote on May 5, 2013, we will vote with many emotions and thoughts. The first-time voters I interviewed will be excited. Everyone who votes on that day, will have a special place in Malaysian history and change.

Perhaps, prior to voting, we should ask ourselves what power is to our country and us. What kind of power do we Malaysians want?

The Vietnamese Buddhist Zen master, poet, scholar and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, wrote in his book, “The Art of Power”: “Our society is founded on a very limited definition of power, namely wealth, professional success, fame, physical strength, military might and political control. My dear friends, I suggest that there is another kind of power, a greater power: the power to be happy right in the present moment, free from addiction, fear, despair, discrimination, anger, and ignorance. This power is the birth-right of every human being whether celebrated or unknown, rich or poor, strong or weak. Let’s explore this exact kind of power…”

Do you want a dogmatic government? Do you want a heavy-handed government? What and how would you like the government post GE13 to exercise power?

And don’t forget. When we vote, we are exercising our own personal power.

Just don’t vote angry.

Be generous and kind to yourself.

Selamat mengundi.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist