As part of their campaign, opposition party leaders are promising a smidgen of the freedom of speech - the freedom to hold public protests. I have to admit, superficial as it is, they've accentuated the key issue that is the most recent of public discontent against the government - for now. In the wake of the many recent protests that were effectively attenuated by false reports, this is the one issue that might stand a chance of swinging votes. It's a faint flicker of hope, but it signals at Malaysians' awareness on the importance of voicing their disagreements and taking action against injustices, be it social, political or of any other motivation.

What saddens me, though, is the near fecklessness of this promise. Take the US Presidential elections. All of the Presidential candidates, from both the Democratic and Republican camps, have been consistently pursuing issues that Americans are most concerned about - making education and health care more affordable, making health insurance more accessible, improving immigration laws, dealing with the situation in the Middle East more tactfully so their soldiers don't pay the price, finding alternative fuel solutions. I don't mean to glorify the Americans as the leading society of the world (as Obama puts it) , but I must applaud their discernment towards their rights and how to translate those needs into realistic demands.

As in Malaysia, these candidates' promises (or guarantees, as some of them prefer) is a response to what the American public are demanding for themselves. They want better health care, a better education system, a cleaner environment to live in, a safer country. They demanded that of their government and the candidates are wrecking their brains to come up with plans to fulfill those demands in order to stay in favor of the public. In a nutshell, the public gives birth to the kind of leaders that will best serve their interests, and vice versa.

The scenario we witness in Malaysia is similar, except that the issues that are gaining interest ones that will not go any further than a few months after elections. Year after year party leaders throw out promises of temporal nature and we lap them up in the hopes that they will lead us 'to a better future', 'build a better society', 'creating a "masyarakat glokal"' and all that nonsense. Year after year, the same places in the country are flooded during monsoon seasons. Instead of pushing for better drainage, flood victims are quickly pacified by local ADUN who stop by to hand out RM100 gift hampers on their way to the next luncheon. Every time the highway toll rises there's a public outcry and the newspaper's reader's section is filled with letters from disgruntled drivers. Sami Vellu feints concern with statements saying he will look into the matter and promises that the new toll rates 'will not burden the public'. With that the issue, with the help of the government-controlled media, is downplayed and we go back digging deeper into our pockets. For the rest of the election term, the Malaysian public pay the price for their choice in restless doldrums.

It paints a sad picture when a person is ill-equipped to choose what's best for himself/herself. I don't mean to incite public uprising and encourage people to overthrow the government. Countries that work on that system of anarchy are already paying a dear price. I think as Malaysians, our responsibility lies beyond the pickets and rallies. We need to arm ourselves with the more powerful tool - education - that would put the freedom of speech to good use. As a Muslim, I fully understand the responsibility to educate myself that is put upon me by God. We need to educate ourselves on the standard of living we so rightfully deserve, the equal opportunities that no Malaysian should ever be denied of, the right to formal education that no child should be deprived of. We need to demand to know where each sen of the taxpayers' money is going. We need to demand for a better education system. We need to demand that the impoverished of the society is not digging through the trash to make ends meet while we strive to build the biggest, the tallest the longest of materials.

We should make demands. Each of us has the right to do so. But first we need to enlighten ourselves on what those demands should be.