Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Aiya, my vote is only one vote what!

During every registration drive, I'm told by at least 15-20 people, "My one vote makes no difference la". We have on average 6 drives in a month, so I would have encountered 120 people every month who don't think they can make a difference with their singular vote. Note that this is from only ONE location.

If one volunteer from one location meets 120 eligible non-voters;
one volunteer from ten locations would meet 1200 eligible non-voters!!!


The Hulu Selangor and Sibu by election were won by BN and PR with a margin of 1,725 and 398 votes respectively. If all the unregistered voters in these two constituents believed they could make a difference and came out to vote, don't you think the outcome would have been very different???

Don't you remember the tale told to us when we were young about how its easy to break one pencil in half, but its hard to break a bunch of pencil in half?

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.
Each and every vote makes a difference because collectively, we have the power to determine the fate of our future generations.

4 Million unregistered voters.
4 Million chances to make a difference.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Are we going backwards instead of forward?

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government".
Patrick Henry (1736 - 1799)
Advocate of the American Revolution



Maybe Patrick Henry's words were a little too harsh especially the use of the word "restrain", but the principle of his thoughts back in the 18th century are on the right track. The Federal Constitution provides us, the citizens, with a right to choose and elect a competent government; whilst at the same time, provide rules and regulations on how the government is supposed to lead the nation with a duty of care.

If Patrick Henry could understand this principle 230 years ago, why are there 4,000,000 (YES, 4 MILLION) un-registered eligible voters in Malaysia who do not understand this?

If you are one of the 4 million people out there, PLEASE REGISTER TO VOTE.

Why Should I Vote?

This is perhaps the most common question asked by an eligible but unregistered voter. It is nearly impossible to answer this question as everyone votes for a different reason. However, the principle of voting is to UPHOLD DEMOCRACY, where WE THE CITIZENS have the right to STEER THE NATION into a positive direction which benefits each and every one of us, irregardless of gender, race or religion.

Before asking "Why should I vote?", try asking yourself these two very simple questions:-

Am I happy about how my country is being run?

Do I want my children and future generations to continue living in this country?


If your answer is YES, then give your current representative a pat on the back and continue voting for him/her.

If your answer is NO, then choose a representative whom you believe can make a change on your behalf.


So this is why you should vote.
Your VOTE is YOUR VOICE.
You VOTE to MAKE YOUR DECISION HEARD.



P/S: If your answer to the above questions are "I DON'T KNOW", then open your eyes and ears. With knowledge, you will get an answer.

Formal Introductions

As is customary with every first encounters, formal introductions are in order. Well, here goes:-

Hi, we're Jpag. We are a group of men and women who share one common ground, where we believe each and every citizen of Malaysia should exercise their right to vote as provided in the Federal Constitution. Our unwavering passion led us to band together to raise voters' awareness by organizing voters' registration drives across Johor Bahru and hopefully, across Johor in the near future. We stress that we are a neutral, non-partisan group whose only goal is to encourage voters to exercise their right in determining the future of our country and we will strive to educate the public towards a fair and merit-based society.

As you continue to read our blog, we hope you yourself are, or will become, a registered voter.

And if you would like to go that extra mile, do join us as we could always use more volunteers.