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| Cyber assault: Chua Lai Fatt’s MyKad as posted and circulated on Facebook. |
The Sunday Star
by Roger Tan
Democracy is about accepting finality through the ballot box and due process of law.
IN
the 2000 United States presidential election, despite Al Gore having
won the popular vote, he did not get to become President.
He
received 266 votes and George W. Bush obtained 271 at the Electoral
College due mainly to the vote recount fiasco in the state of Florida.
The matter went all the way up to the US Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4
in favour of Bush. This was by far one of the most divisive and
controversial US presidential elections, so much so that Bush was
described as the President elected by the US Supreme Court.
Even
though Gore strongly disagreed with the apex court’s decision, he was
nevertheless gracious in defeat. Indeed, it took a big man like him to
admit defeat. I remembered his concession speech almost moved me to
tears.
Gore said: “Almost a century and a half ago, senator
Stephen Douglas told Abraham Lincoln, who had just defeated him for the
presidency, ‘Partisan feeling must yield to patriotism. I’m with you, Mr
President, and God bless you.’ Well, in that same spirit, I say to
president-elect Bush that what remains of partisan rancour must now be
put aside, and may God bless his stewardship of this country. Now the US
supreme court has spoken. Let there be no doubt, while I strongly
disagree with the court’s decision, I accept it. I accept the finality
of this outcome ... And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people
and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession. I know that
many of my supporters are disappointed. I am too. But our disappointment
must be overcome by our love of country.”
This is what democracy is all about – accepting finality through the ballot box and due process of law.
Alas,
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim refused to do so. He has vowed to move on with
a “fierce movement” by holding protest rallies throughout Malaysia to
challenge the 13th general election results. This is not democracy. If I
may coin a new word for the Oxford’s English dictionary, it is
democrazy!
If we want to indulge in an orgy of rhetorics that
Barisan Nasional won by massive fraud, then I say Pakatan must have won
by massive lies spread over the social media such as that:
> 40,000 foreigners were flown in from east Malaysia to vote in the peninsula;
>
a bomb planted by Barisan supporters had exploded at the Johor Baru
immigration terminal in order to frighten Malaysians working in
Singapore from coming home to vote;
> new ballot boxes were
added or exchanged when there was a blackout in Bentong in order to
enable Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai to win.
