Oh no! I dont have land to run on!

Nothing can beat the reality of walking the streets of Malaysia to see just how things are gearing up for the parties, the candidates, and of course, the people.

I’m a very positive and happy person. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I am never without a smile or a hearty laugh even in the most stressful of situations.

Happiness and positivity is my philosophy in life. I need to have these elements in my life to be able to do my work, to interact with family and friends, and just to survive.

Now that the general election is here, I am happy and excited as this will be the third general election that I will be covering as a journalist, and the first as a voter (I know! Right?).

Since the important dates were announced by the Election Commission, I have been in the field, deep in the heart of my constituency, Lembah Pantai, getting a feel of the surroundings.

One of the first stops I made was to the biggest and most striking ops centre in the area – Barisan Nasional – which is located on Jalan Bukit Bangsar.

I was happy to see the atmosphere was pretty upbeat and like a small party. People were fixing up flags and banners, chatting and joking away while they were working.

Then, one party member who was sitting at a stall nearby called me over for a chat. He started spewing out his party rhetoric.

I listened intently. I was, after all, a journalist on duty, and this was, of course, election period. What he was campaigning about isn’t as important as his parting message to me.

“Kalau aku dapat tahu kau orang PKR, tak cukup tanah kau nak lari! (If I find out you are a PKR man, there won’t be enough land for you to run on!)” he said smiling slyly.

I smiled in return. As I have mentioned earlier, I am a very positive and happy person. So I did not want to negate my life philosophy if I feel it isn’t worth it.

This incident reminded me of other negative things that have been uttered by campaigners this election season which just bothers me so much.

Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, has been over and over again harping about the dangers of violence occurring if Barisan National is elected out of office.

He seems to be trying very hard to keep the ghost on 13 May 1969 alive for everyone in Malaysia to be haunted by.

Former Lembah Pantai Member of Parliament, Datuk Seri Sharizat Jalil, has also been warning the public of the possibility of riots if Barisan Nasional loses.

I do not like violence. In fact, I absolutely hate and abhor it. I do not wish to see violence happening in my country Malaysia. But I’m not going to be persuaded by fear to vote.

Fear mongering and creating panic is not a nice way of campaigning and of securing votes during a general election. It certainly doesn’t appeal to me.

I am but a humble Malaysian journalist and voter. But I do have a word of advice for the candidates and parties that will be and are campaigning this time around.

If violence and fear is continuously talked about and highlighted, the self-fulfilling prophecy might just occur and then it wouldn’t just be talk and rhetoric anymore.