We often say that rural areas are the heartland of the Umno vote, where the majority have no access to the Internet and glean their information about the world from the mainstream media - Utusan Malaysia or RTM.
We denigrate the rural people because of their lack of knowledge, and excuse their ignorance because of their location. We tar them with the label of being less politically savvy than their cousins in the cities.
Two widows, Amira and Zaharah, live 320km apart, and live on their husbands’ pension, of about RM800 per month. Both are uncertain of their future and struggle to make ends meet. Both were asked for their opinions about GE13.
Amira, who is 66, lives alone in her own home.
Will you vote in GE13?
Amira: I don’t know, yet. It depends if I can get transport to the polling station, but I am more worried about leaving my house unattended. Crime is rampant and even shoes left on the porch go missing.
Nowadays, you can’t trust anyone. There are several foreigners around and the police are too busy to come and investigate. The papers say that crime is down. I don’t know who to believe.
Which party might you vote for, if you do vote?
My parents and all my relatives have always been Umno supporters. Look at the money the government is giving to the community. They are so generous, the BR1M is a godsend.Are you aware that this money is funded by you, the rakyat?
I always thought the money came from Umno but then I never gave it much thought. So am I handing money over to the government, for them to give away? I don’t earn enough to pay tax, so that cannot be true.
People who earn enough and pay tax, contribute towards this payment. Some pensioners and low-income earners will be paying tax in other ways. When you buy rice, electricity or petrol, you are paying tax. Would you consider voting for the opposition if they are more responsible in managing your money?
I would never allow the Chinese to overrun and rule this country. They will turn us into another Singapore. If possible, we should send the Chinese packing.
The Chinese are also Malaysians. If your car broke down tomorrow, who would fix it? You once said that you trust only your Chinese mechanic to repair your car.
Perhaps, some Chinese should stay.
Why do you fear the Chinese?
When I meet friends at my weekly religious classes at the mosque, we are told that the Chinese will take over Malaysia and make it a Christian country.
Malaysia cannot become a Christian nation because it is stated in the constitution. Moreover, the Christians only make up 9 percent of the population. You went to a mission school, so did they convert you to Catholicism?
I spent some of my best years in the Convent, together with other Malay girls. None of us became Christians despite going to chapel, attending services, celebrating Christmas at friends’ homes and singing carols.
Do you think the Malays of today are less religious?
I see more people going to religious classes and wearing tudung. There are more halal restaurants. Malays today are possibly more religious but in my time, we were more relaxed and I hardly read things like baby dumping or people dying while escaping the moral police.Do your clothes define your religious conviction? What about some of our grandmothers who did not wear the tudung?
My mother and her grandmother were very religious people despite not wearing the tudung, but I worry about the behaviour of some Malays today. Some tend to go on the umrah after committing bad deeds. I thought Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was remarkable to go three times in two months, until someone said she had been involved in some scandal.
Do you think the Malays of today are better off than in the 1940s, 50s or 60s?
Yes, I think so. The twin towers are proof that the Malays are successful. More Malays are at university. Look at the Malay involvement in building Putrajaya.
The twin towers and Putrajaya may be symbols of modernity but they are also symbols of corruption because much money has been siphoned off into politicians’ pockets. Did you know about this?No, I didn’t know that, but I remember Imam Hoslan Hussein talking about corruption in the mosques. I can’t understand why he was jailed for a year.
Government projects are not always put to open tender. In some cases, a company will have won a closed tender, because they have bribed an official involved in awarding the contract. Usually, the cost of the building spirals out of control. Are you aware that cost-cutting, the use of inferior materials and poor workmanship contribute towards defects that have led to buildings and bridges collapsing?
Is that what happened to the Terengganu stadium? When my son’s tender for a small building contract was unsuccessful, he said that someone else “paid” to get the contract. Now I know why.
Do you think that Malays are better educated than in your schooldays?
I attended school up to the equivalent of Form Five but I think I speak better English than many graduates. There are more Malays with degrees now but they have not used their education properly.
My husband, a civil servant, used to complain that some Malays lack confidence, and hide their insecurities behind a veil of arrogance. I think perhaps, they are lulled into thinking they are excellent, when in truth they could do better by being more humble.
Similar questions were put to the other widow, 74 year-old Zaharah, who lives in a village in central Perak. She was forced to move, because her land was compulsorily purchased for a mining development.
She now lives in a clearing on the outskirts of her former kampong. She has no emotional attachment to this area. She has seen kampong life being strangled and has not noticed any improvements for pensioners.
Zaharah is scornful of attempts to help the young while ignoring the elderly, and so has tried to keep abreast of political developments, with the help of family and friends who visit from the city, or by attending the occasional ceramah. She knows which party to vote for GE13.
Back in Petaling Jaya, Amira is thankful that she and her husband had purchased their semi-detached home 40 years ago.
She copes with retired life in the city because two of her children help with the finances, but her complacency means that she has not bothered to find out why prices are rising, or considered that she and the other taxpayers will eventually have to pay for the largesse of the BN government.
It is clear that it is not just the location or the availability of the Internet or alternative media, that makes a person, politically ignorant.
Amira said: “My son says that Umno Baru is not the Umno that I knew. I must say that I have seen many improvements in PJ in the last five years. So maybe, I should vote for the opposition, this time.”
(Names have been changed to protect the innocent.)
