By Mrs C

The much awaited 14th general election (GE14), aka the “mother of all elections”, is going to dawn on us soon.

The Federal Constitution provides that the Election Commission (EC), which can be considered the “referee”, is supposed to work towards having constituencies that have an approximately equal number of voters.

However, we have 222 parliamentary constituencies in total, some hugely and disproportionately unequal.

In the latest redelineation exercise, voters from various constituencies in Penang, Perak, Selangor, Melaka and Johor submitted objections claiming that the EC had not followed the rules.

The Federal Court and Court of Appeal both said they could not interfere with the work of the “referee”.

So what can the spectators do?

Unlike in a boxing match, the average Joes cannot afford to be mere spectators who will just cheer, jeer or watch the fight on television. Like it or not, this is one fight where the spectators need to make a stand and get involved.

If we remain disinterested or engaged only on social media, just forwarding stuff and doing nothing else, then nothing will change.

To quote Albert Einstein, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

But there are some who say: “I don’t like both sides, both also the same.”

Webster defines Hobson’s choice as “an apparently free choice when there is no real alternative”, or “the necessity of accepting one of two or more equally objectionable alternatives”.

The reality is if we do nothing because we are unhappy, disillusioned, etc, then nothing will change.

However, if we decide that we cannot have more of the same, meaning institutions that don’t work, leaders who are not accountable, etc, then not choosing and not taking sides is not an option.

The key here is “acting out of necessity”.

The laws of the land give power to the people once every five years.

For those who do not understand, help them understand. For those who are undecided, it is time to make a decision.

For those who are disillusioned, can they be magnanimous and look at the big picture?

For us to experience real change, there must be in place a two-party system. Until that happens, it will be same old, same old.

Change is a process, transformation is a process. We all need to be part of the process. We cannot afford to be bystanders or spectators anymore.

We have allowed things to be decided by default for too long. The greatest irony of our time would be if something that is the opposite of what we would like or expect happens because we choose to do nothing.

And hey, when the “referee” does not enforce the rules, ordinary Joes can play a part at the ringside by keeping score of what goes on in the box – as polling and counting agents.

The gloves are off. Doing nothing is not an option any more.

Mrs C is a lawyer and is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.