E-Day

So many young people I spoke to have not registered to vote. Of course, with the election called so suddenly, many just couldn't register in time. A disturbing estimated 80% of the 4.9 million people who haven't yet registered to vote are between the ages of 21 to 30. I just can't understand why people can't do their duty as a concerned citizen once every 4 years, especially when the country is in such a mess. It is no longer a question of better drains outside your house, or better roads. We are worried about injustice, corruption, nepotism, religious freedom and racial rights.

So imagine my joy when my bro who works in Singapore suddenly arrived home last night just to vote! He didn't come back for mom's birthday and CNY but he's back for the weekend to cast one vote. I was also impressed with my friend Y who, despite just arriving in Hong Kong the day before from New York, hopped on the next flight home just to vote also.

And so this morning we met at my mom's house, had a short discussion and agreed on our family's voting modus operandi and started out to our respective polling stations, me and mom to vote for the Api-api seat and my bros to vote for the Luyang seat, both of which are predominantly Chinese areas. At the polling station, I asked mom, "Now where do you put your vote?" "The eye." "Cross or tick?" "Cross." "Okay, let's do it!" Wow. I felt like I was performing national service.

If you have a copy of today's papers, there are pages of info on the candidates and the seats they are vying for. I noticed that nearly all the rural areas had only two candidates, one from the ruling party and one from the opposition. That is good in that opposition votes won't be split, bad in that there will be scumbags who jump to the other party after winning a seat. In more developed and urban areas, the contest is usually 3 or 4-cornered, which sucks because this means voters will be split among the opposition candidates. I read Malaysia Needs A Strong Opposition, by Michael Backman, an Aussie journalist for The Age (as informed by Ah Beng in his blog), and again it is very frustrating to accept the fraudulent practices in our elections. Based on Michael Backman's article, in the 2004 elections, 64% of votes were for BN and that garnered 198 seats/representatives in parliament. Opposition voters made up 36% but they only got 21 seats. Proportionately, the opposition should get about 79 seats, so why is this not the case? Well, back to the same dirty practice of having large urban areas allocated one seat and interior or undeveloped areas getting many more seats. Which means that one vote in the kampung/village equals upto 5 votes in the towns! In urban areas with large populations of over 40,000 only one state/parlimentary seat is given while areas as small as 8000 in the interior are also given one seat, so that urban people being more knowledgeable about what's going on will have less say while the rural people being simpler, less educated and thus easier to influence (gifts of milk powder and even water tanks were used in the previous elections) will actually have more voting power.

Compounding all that, there's the question of the neutrality of the Election Committee, the rumors of illegals being ferried by the busloads to polling stations...It is just so...dirty.

But, it is now 5 pm and the polling stations have closed. It is raining inccessantly. I noticed voters turn-out was very low in the few stations that I passed by. Whatever, I'm praying for the best. Some of my friends are coming over to my house tonight for 'election results watch'. I'm baking cheese and onion bread, an apple sponge and some other tidbits. If anyone wants to come, please do so. But if you aren't opposition, you are kindly requested to stay away.


The biggest billboards belong to the ruling party. And guess who's paying?


Even in the rural areas, the ruling party dominates.


"Your iron chairs along Foh Sang were good, Dr Yee. The best thing you did for the people, those chairs, yeah."


We can be horizontal...


...or vertical. Either way, we'll have the biggest billboard and guess who's paying the costs again?


Once in a while you get the opposition. I was so dumb, I told mom that this is "The Eye" but this morning when I read the papers and saw all the symbols, I was alarmed to see this is double crescents.Is this a religious or political party?


The BN has the most decent-looking symbol although by now the balance is heavily loop-sided.


Now I vote this affable guy as "The Happiest Candidate" with "The Best Grin". Is he a dentist btw? Independents (see the keys symbol) have in the past turned out to be the worst of the lot. They are potential frogs. If they win, they usually jump to the ruling party. No price for guessing why.


Hmm. This is the other opposition party. While Double Crescents send shivers down non-Muslims' spines, DAP's phallic symbol--with a big 'O'-- should send shivers down BN's spine--blue being BN's color...


RIP, until 2012.