Democracy via Ballot Box

suppadmin | September 3, 2015

Sarawak United Peoples’ Party Media Release by Adam Yii – Publicity Secretary

“SUPP supports Democracy via Ballot Box”

Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) strongly advocates the public to use the democratic processes and institutions for voicing their choice of the nation’s leaders.

Our current leadership have all been democratically elected through an election mechanism that is legal. Therefore, any one desiring to make a choice of their leader should avail themselves through the same democratic mechanism.

We agree that there is room for improvement in our election mechanism; however any changes need to be undertaken using legal and democratic processes.

The recent trend of holding parades and rallies which are overly aggressive to voice dissatisfaction cannot be used to pull down a democratically elected government. The public must be aware of the hidden agenda of some of the organisers.

Just because a political party feels it cannot get into power via the electoral process does not mean it can use rallies and demonstrations to obtain political power.

This approach has many negative consequences, such as economic and political instability leading to a lack of confidence by businesses in our country.

The recent statement by UMNO’s Jamal Yunus that next month they will hold a rally with the target of one million people government supporters leads to a vicious cycle of holding rallies and counter-rallies which are childish and counter-productive to our country’s well-being.

This type of mentality could lead to a stalemate or dead end type situation that has existed in Thailand between the ‘Red Shirts’ and the ‘Yellow Shirts’ for the last 7 or 8 years with no end in sight. What started as rallies and counter-rallies eventually escalated to violent confrontations over the years leading to unnecessary loss of life and mindless destruction of businesses and properties, harming the livelihood of so many people.

We as citizens and a nation must make sure this never happens in Malaysia.

We must practise a mature form of democracy with changes in the system along the way which enhances people’s participation in the governing of our nation. Stability and prosperity of our people must always be the utmost priority in the minds of our political leaders.

Overall, SUPP whole heartedly supports the right of every citizen to participate in parades, gatherings and rallies. However, we must bear in mind that only the ‘Ballot Box’ should be used to express our choice and selection of leaders