"At the heart of democracy is the voice of the people – the layman's clarion call for the right of equal access to power," declared Mohamed Mokthar Ahmad, Lecturer and Trainer in the Election Academy. "And that is precisely why the youth of our nation must be aware of the weight of their opinions and act on them by exercising their right to vote, at the same time keeping in mind universally accepted liberties."
As part of Nilai University College's (Nilai UC) Corporate Social Responsibility programme, Mohamed Mokthar was invited to speak to students and staff recently. His two-hour talk touched on many areas concerning the electoral process in Malaysia and Mohamed Mokthar also gave plenty of constructive advice on implementing an efficient and transparent elections system.
The latter was especially useful as Nilai UC puts great stock in giving students a taste of the democratic process via its annual Student Representative Council (SRC) elections. Mohamed Mokthar also pointed out that for such organisations to be effective, there had to be several key factors – transparency, integrity and apathy. The Electoral Commission was impressed by Nilai UC's efforts in getting students involved in the democratic process and lent a helping hand by providing the transparent ballot boxes for the SRC elections.
He believed that such initiatives would help combat apathy, which is a major stumbling block to the work of Mohamed Mokthar's organisation. "It is a shame that an apathetic culture has made pervasive inroads and has sunken some deep roots into contemporary Malaysian mentality," said Mohamed Mokthar. "Only 40.12% of the population have registered to vote and that is nowhere near the number of those eligible."
Proceeding to explain the unique structure of Malaysia's "parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy", he asserts the significant role of the Election Commission in ensuring a foolproof, transparent elections system in order for the entire bureaucracy to work. However, Mohamed Mokthar clearly states that although the Election Commission conducts elections, registers voters, prepares electoral rolls, and reviews the electoral constituencies, these measures are nothing but mere technicalities as true democracy requires that the electorate be non-apathetic, politically mature, and informed.
Mokthar Ahmad went on to outline the qualifications one need to gain the status of a registered Malaysian voter – which is solely to possess Malaysian citizenship. Sparing the audience of the nitty-gritty intricacies of procedure and policy, he neatly capped the seminar by delivering an impassioned verdict on the indispensable importance of transparency and lauded Nilai UC's pioneer efforts in conducting its first ever campus-wide elections for the appointment of the 17 Students' Representative Council office-bearers in May 2008.
"I am thoroughly delighted that Nilai UC is making decisive efforts in inculcating democratic values in its students and encouraging them to take active, independent ownership of major decisions pertaining to their life in campus," remarks Mohamed Mokthar to Michael Yei, Director of Nilai UC's Department of Student Affairs and Sports. "I am also particularly honoured to be the first speaker to conduct the first ever tertiary awareness seminar on this topic at Nilai UC."
Mohamed Mokthar said he looked forward to lending "a helping hand in training effective SRC leaders and potential candidates who will accurately represent the voice of students in Nilai UC." Democracy is not just well but alive and kicking at Nilai UC.
