If the ground rules governing the recent general elections are similarly applied to a public lucky draw, Malaysians generally would have cried foul and would simply refuse to participate. Somehow it is easier to be discerning when one has the choice to not play along.

But it was the general election. In this country, that means that it is that few seconds once every five years when we can stand up and be counted without running the risk of being thought of as a criminal. With so much at stake, staying at home seemed to be a folly. And no matter how ridiculous the rules were, we did play along. And what a farcical Sunday it turned out to be.

Notwithstanding all that, Malaysians like Tai Lo Chin seem to profess that they are happy with the results. Or is it relief? Relieved that this cumbersome appendage to democracy is over with this time around, and the results are more of the same. No matter how creative we can get in dressing up this illusion of national consensus, it is the relief of 'nothing-has-changed-so-we- can-go-about-our-daily-lives' that is the more obvious.

It is almost like we give the powers-that-be the licence to do whatever it takes - including using undemocratic means, some guised in shoddy management - to ensure that things remain the expected and the familiar.

I had dared to hope for a lot more. For one, I had hoped that we'd move away from racial polarisation of politics. But all we get after Sunday is more of the same. It is scary because that will translate into a more polarised society. Only a self-deluding optimist would deny that it does not exist in pervasive terms, and that it does not augur well for our children and grandchildren.

My point is, if we dare not risk the mundane comforts of today for the assurance of a better tomorrow for our children, then democratic elections are indeed superfluous. After all, as their political advertisements warned, since we get to sleep peacefully, eat and live well, why risk it?

Apparently, they feel that self-actualisation and the minimum standards of human dignity which come with basic human freedom are not deserving of the farm animals that we are. They may have guessed correctly, because sadly, last Sunday we confirmed it.

I suppose, it all depends on who actually voted. Last Sunday, many of us were not allowed to. In a truly democratic society, one such denial is one too many. The Election Commission chairman and the secretary, in all their pomposity, reflect a ruling elite that is full of empty barrels. They have to go. Or don't I get to vote on that, too?