The politicians that we have today are the direct result of our own doing. Politicians are reflective of the people who have voted for them. They are decadent just because their voters are rotten.

During the 15th general election last year, on the night the votes were counted, my wife and I witnessed with awe the massive green wave sweeping across much of the country.

We were worried, and couldn’t help but started to plan for our children’s future.

We reached a consensus, that we must make sure our children are proficient in English, so that they could settle in a place where they will have a bright future.

Right then we were pretty pessimistic.

I have never considered myself a BN supporter. I have in fact developed a powerful sense of distaste for arrogant BN leaders, and abhor the corruption cases involving Najib Razak and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, hoping that they could be instantly sent to where they should have belonged.

When the dust finally settled on the election outcome, and when it was obvious that no single political coalition could win enough seats to form the government alone, and that the ultra conservative and extremist PAS emerged as the single biggest party in parliament, we had to subconsciously lower our bottomline.

All that crossed my mind then was that the federal administration must not fall into the hands of extremist parties.

So, we were transported back to the dilemma of having to pick the “less rotten of a basket of rotten apples,” which the nation has unfortunately been unable to transcend over the past six decades.

When “corruption” and “extremism” were put at the two opposing ends of the same balance, it appeared that “corruption” was not that bad after all. How on earth could we come to this point?

The so-called “corruption” may not directly impact the day-to-day lives of average Malaysians, but “extremism” will have a direct impact on our everyday freedom.

Probably because Malaysians have grown so accustomed to “corruption” that it has become a non-issue now, as we prefer to go back to those rotten days that we used to live with, rather than putting ourselves in the risk of a much bigger, erosive havoc.

Of the two vices, most Malaysians have naturally learned to be more tolerant towards the BN.

Since the establishment of the unity government, the performances of individual representatives in the August House couldn’t have been more divergent, and this is obvious.

Few are doing their jobs conscientiously, but plenty are engrossed with playing politics and creating troubles. The quality and behaviors of most elected reps are anything but desirable.

And this bunch of people have been sent into parliament by us through the ballots in our hands. Can we still look to these YBs to voice up for the rakyat?

Although the country is practicing parliamentary democracy, there is still a “whip” system in place. This means so long as an MP has been elected under the banner of a political party, the party’s will shall supersede that of individual rep.

As a consequence, we should not naively believe in everything an elected rep says. Everything that they say must have been painstakingly calculated, with all kinds of agendas behind their every move for the sole purpose of winning the vote in your hand.

Before we cast our ballots, have we ever done our homework and made an effort to understand our candidates as well as their parties’ ideologies better?

Political ecosystem is inseparable from the big principle of supply and demand. The politicians will customize their speeches to cater to the needs of their audience.

Every word that comes out from their mouths have been meticulously devised to please the ears of their specific target audience.

Some politicians don’t think properly before they speak, and will invariably insert a couple of sensitive issues to incite their audience just because this is exactly what they love to hear.

Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has so fearlessly transgressed into the taboo 3R realm, and this in reality reflects the prevailing standpoint of his own supporters.

As a matter of fact, each and every elected rep that we have sent into the August House with our votes today directly reflects the quality of our own people.

If people buy into the argument of Kelantan’s incumbent deputy MB that there is development because there’s an Aeon mall in the state, and are still willing to endorse Hadi Awang’s highly insensitive and instigatory claim that “non-Muslims are at the root of corruption,” and will continue to send this kind of people into our parliament, this shows that our people do approve this kinds of remarks and characters.

When a handful of Singapore parliamentarians and political leaders quit politics because of inappropriate extramarital relationships, it shows the city-state’s high expectations from their elected reps.

As for Malaysians, we have been highly tolerant of such politicians. We don’t mind them making seditious remarks, approve of their rotten private lives, accept those with court cases to continue to serve in the government and party.

Sure enough when we infinitely expand our tolerance towards our politicians, they will naturally become even more fearless.

All I can say is that the politicians we have today have been the result of our own doing. Politicians are reflective of the people who have voted for them. They are decadent because their voters are just as rotten.

It doesn’t matter whether we are going to vote in accordance with our preference for a particular party or the candidate himself, in the upcoming state elections, please come to terms with the reality that in the Malaysian political ecosystem, the will of a party shall prevail over that of individual politicians.

So, open up your ears to listen and analyze all the sweet words flowing out from a candidate’s mouth, and don’t easily fall for the grandeur of the election atmosphere they have molded during the campaign period.

All sorts of political propaganda made during the 14-day campaign period are very often just tricks deployed to manipulate public sentiment.

The voters need to have more wisdom and maturity to think soundly before we drop the ballot papers into the box, because all we want are elected reps who are wise, matured and have a sound mind.