Of late, I have been driving up and down to Penang every week for work. Driving on our north-south expressway is quite exhilarating with its breathtaking scenery and vistas. You get a sense of the beauty of Malaysia when driving on this highway.

The country’s undulating landscape, the greenery, and the contrast between the flatlands, mountains and valleys make it a fabulous drive. That is, until you hit some badly maintained stretches, and generally encounter terrible driving by our road users.

Driving on our expressways can be tedious and cumbersome at times. The problem is not with the infrastructure, although some sections of our highways are clearly built by rather dodgy contractors. Massive traffic jams also occur when there are accidents, at weekends or during public holidays.

For instance, a few weeks ago, at the Meru-Menora Tunnel before Ipoh, I was about 6km behind a truck that apparently overturned. But the intermittent inching-forward and standstill took over two hours. Rescue operators took time to get to the accident site because the road is quite narrow and perilous, and Malaysian drivers take an undue amount of time to actually decide how to make way for emergency vehicles.

So, the problem is really with Malaysian drivers.

On my last trip back, between the Simpang Pulai and Tapah stretch of the highway, I had an epiphany. It occurred to me that Malaysians vote just like we drive on our highways.

Often, our road using style is completely haphazard, and without foresight or mindfulness. And actually, our driving attitude correlates quite significantly with our chaotically led nation.

You will regularly find the ‘fast-lane-hogger’. This is the selfish and unfair driver who decides to drive on the far-right lane, which is built for overtaking, and faster moving vehicles. As you approach them, they will ignore you and maintain the same 80km or 90km per hour speed with no inclination to move to the left lane.

I call these drivers the people who in their mind think, “…this is my father’s road”. They might feel that it is simply their prerogative to do as they please on highways, without paying any attention or being mindful of the other users.

There are Malaysians who vote like this, too.

They don’t think, or analyse any issue critically. They don’t care about the overall wellbeing of other citizens, but cast their vote with narrowmindedness and a parochial attitude. They will disregard whether their chosen politician is allegedly or even proven corrupt. They will just continue to vote for that person or party mindlessly.

Such people will say it is their right. Their vote will be biased towards race and religion, or the fear that someone of an alternate race and religion might come into power.

Then of course you have the absent minded ‘fast-lane-hogger’. These are hapless drivers who have their mind in the clouds. They may be in deep conversation with the other passengers in their vehicle, and will be totally oblivious to an approaching faster car.

If you find yourself behind them, you need to go close enough while maintaining a safe distance and use your high-beam to get them to clear off the right lane. Sometimes they will come to their senses and move away quickly. While at other times, they might take offense at your perceived aggression and want to “teach you a lesson” by slowing down even further.

Some Malaysians are like this in life, too.

They are ‘vacant’ and don’t even bother to register to vote. They are oblivious to the machinations of Malaysian politics. And, these citizens need someone to ‘flash’ at them to ‘wake up’.

Only when there is a severe scandal or some awful miscreant behaviour by a politician, will  they snap out of their slumber and vote. But even then, they might not have enough cognisance or information to cast their vote according to their beliefs.

I also notice that the most dangerous highway users are the ditherers. You know, the hesitant drivers who cannot decide what exactly to do. They move indiscriminately between lanes, or attempt to pop out to the far-right lane without the basic act of ‘mirror-signal-manoeuvre’. A move that we all learn at driving school on our first day.

These are the drivers that cause the greatest number of accidents and mishaps. They are also the voter types that cause accidents and mishaps to the country.

Malaysians who dither and cannot make their minds up on who they should vote for, are ultimately damaging the process of choosing a decisive government to lead our nation. As we come out into a post-pandemic and post-corruption-laden world, the country needs a clean, effective and reformist government. If voters waver and vacillate, we are not going to get what we need.

Instead, it will be another round of strange coalition bedfellows, all out to stab each other, as we witness currently.

Finally, you will see the impatient driver with a powerful car. These are the drivers who get irate with the slow drivers on the fast lane. They will come barging and start tailgating you without giving you enough time to move. They weave and push their way to the front. Their only concern is to get to their destination as quickly as possible.

I equate them to the opportunistic voter. These Malaysians will vote only for those who can give them their next project or approve their next scheme. They don’t care who the candidate is, as long as that politician or political party being voted to power allows them to enrich themselves.

So, are you guilty of clogging up the right-lane without minding anyone behind you? Are you slowing down everyone because you can’t make up your mind? Or do you just barge around with zero mindfulness?

Election season is upon us. If we vote like we drive on our highways, it’s going to be another dreadful five years.

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