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This coming Saturday is Malaysia’s Election Day.

As it were with so many elections before it, this one will only give the people of Malaysia an illusion of the democratic process at work. A mere formality that we have to go through once every 5 years.

Why then, you ask, should the people be bothered with voting at all?

If you are a die-hard supporter of the ruling party, this is a non-issue. Election day is a day for you to reaffirm you allegiance to the almighty government. They must have done you tremendous good. And I am happy for you.

If you are leaning towards the other end of the political spectrum or if you have no political preferences at all. You will probably be thinking, “It’s not like voting against the ruling party would actually give the opposition a chance to topple their dominance. Why waste time?” or, “Even by some miracle the opposition wins the election, what’s to say that they will be better than the old government? They could be much worse!”

So better not to vote at all, right?

Not really. Because by not voting, you will be perpetuating the status quo. You, by doing nothing, by not getting involved, are encouraging the ruling party to become even more corrupt, even more smug in their response to criticism, even less in touch with the struggles and needs of the rakyat.

Not to mention in the 50 years of their continued rule, the issue of racial inequality, unequal distribution of wealth, cronyism, mismanagement of public funds, and the decimation of Malaysia’s Constitution have gotten worse by the day.

Granted, a simple vote would not automagically solve all these problems. But at least it will send a message. It will make known to the government that the people will no longer stand to be lied to, threatened, bullied and pushed around. They better shape up, or get out.

In the end, whoever you decide to vote for, remember this.

Don’t vote for a government that will be sleeping on the job.