COMMENT | The one reason why we must vote on Nov 19

COMMENT | There is only one real reason for us to turn out and vote on Nov 19, come flood or high water. And that seldom mentioned reason is the driving motor, the beating heart of a representative democracy: ‘We, the People’ are far better than any elected government.

Whether in war or in peace ‘We, the People’ are far better at managing our hearths and homes. ‘We, the People’ know when to beat swords into ploughshares and when to stand and to fight. And ‘We, the People’ of all classes are more law-abiding than our elected reps.

So whatever the party and whoever their leaders, Malaysians must not fall prey to the idea that these politicians alone know how to make our country a better place for all; that only they know how to make Malaysia great again and that we must be grateful to them for that.

No! No! No! Forty-five years ago at my umpteenth job interview, seated next to the Malaysian human resources manager of a company located in the Sungei Way FTZ (Free Trade Zone) was its general manager, one Mr Kon, a Japanese with a stern, unsmiling face as hard as granite.

I desperately wanted a job, any job, to get started on my journey towards financial independence and to also repay the debt I owed my parents for their many sacrifices. Earning a salary and being able to say, “This is my money!” was a delicious prospect indeed.

After answering some relatively easy textbook-type questions from the human resources manager, it was now Mr Kon’s turn. Looking me over thoroughly, he lowered his gaze and asked: “Do you think you are better than this company or the company is better than you...