Sunday, March 09, 2008

Power of the People

Barisan Nasional announced the formation of a new government at 2.45 am (almost 3 hours more than the expected midnight announcement) after securing a simple majority representation in Parliament. Samy Vellu and Shahrizat are out, among others. Shahrizat was a picture of class when the press interviewed her (I saw this on Bernama) & she congratulated Nurul Izzah for winning the seat. To be fair, Shahrizat has done well to put female leaders in high regard and has worked tirelessly to champion women & children's rights. Samy Vellu on the other hand said goodbye to the pressmen right after the announcement, and took off. I'd like to see him addressing the press, out of morbid curiosity, more than anything else. Khir Toyo was reportedly shocked, for good reason. Perhaps now we can find out what really happened during the PKFTZ deal. Ghani Othman practically blubbered through his press conference when questioned why Johor lost a Parliamentary seat and a few State seats to the Opposition.

The tide has turned & the people have made their point. Media folks are talking about the 'writing on the wall' (for some ministers) and the 'unaddressed new voters' who consist of the youth and have a mind of their own. Whatever it is, BN should take a long, hard look at the results and assess it objectively. As for the Opposition, now is the time to work and prove their worth. Tunku Abdul Aziz's column in NST today contained a photo of some members of the Opposition with the caption "Opposition parliamentarians must get out of the mistaken impression that it is their bounden duty to oppose, often for its own sake" underneath it. I do believe that the Opposition will deliver and that BN leaders will wake up and smell the coffee- the coming Parliamentary sessions will be worth watching and listening to.

God bless Malaysia and its people!

Saturday, March 08, 2008

My Vote Has Been Cast

Voting day started early today. I woke up early, not by design, but because Umi switched on the lights and asked everyone to get up & get moving. Since I was up since 6, I had my breakfast, took my bath and walked to the polling station at 7.35 a.m.

2 guys were already there before me. At 7.45 am a queue was formed outside the school gate and we were allowed in at 8.10 am. A couple of Puteri Umnos wrote down our IC numbers, the reasons for which is not explained. If at all I get into any kind of hanky panky situation, I know who to look for.

Who did I vote for? It's a secret. I thought long and hard for as least a week before polling, about actions, consequences and possible outcomes... and today I made my choice.