Parlimentary Opposition Leader YB Lim Kit Siang speculates that the General Elections are a mere 70 days away!

Either way, there is no doubt that I will be ‘watching’ two important elections, the Malaysian GE and the American Presidential Elections in 2008.
The reason I say ‘watching’ is because I missed the window for voter registration, which is as simple as walking down to the post office with my I/C. But regrets aside, there will always be a next time.

This years GE will be very interesting for several reasons. For the first time, alternative media in the form of blogs and online news portals have gained a respectable following. Government leaders have responded sternly, even harshly that such alternative sources of news are ‘lies’ and ‘a threat to national security’.  The main spin of the alternative news is of course corruption, incompetency, religious intolerance in the government and the playing up of ‘Malay superiority’ by certain UMNO politicians. Judicial integrity and economic imbalances are also important topics that the government has been forced to respond to.

As important that these issues are, this GE will be decided on the basis one word: Competancy. Who will be more competent in running the country? On the back of a weak US dollar, high oil prices and global political instability, which party can deliver security, growth and and fair economic distribution. As important as the above are to any concerned citizen, these issues will not be at the forefront for many voters. Serious contenders in the GE will focus on one thing, keeping Malaysia’s economy relevant in the world.

The winner (whoever it may be) will certainly be forced to take more positive steps in liberalizing and removing the protectionism inherent in our economy. Competition within ASEAN and Asia is enough to see to that fact. This has a silver lining to it: Effective cultural change brokered by a need for a more quality education. Although I have a personal distaste for the utilitarian use of education, nevertheless even the sleepy headed AAB will not remain oblivious to the fact the current state of secondary and tertiary education available locally is inadequate.

And with education comes enhanced democratic awareness, something which Malaysia could use a little more of.