I've been meaning to write on the election since Saturday, 8th March 2008, the election day itself. I was however taken over by events. I've actually been busy reading the works of others and enjoying them so much that I did not find time to write myself. I realised this is such an important event in my life and as such I must put it on record for my children and grandchildren to savour my feelings of joy.
I started my Saturday early. After breakfast, me, my wife and 3 children set off for the day. First, it was Sultan Abdul Samad in PJ where my wife is to cast her vote. It was for DAP and PKR. We do not even know who the candidates were but it does not matter any more. I know one of them is very active with the residents association but the other I have no idea. My wife? She does not even care as long as it is opposition. How sad, when we reach a stage where we became so fed up. The constant propaganda on the main stream media really pushed us to the limits.
Then we headed for Kg Dato Keramat (Titiwangsa) for me to vote. That was where I registered in the early 80s upon my return from my studies. I was staying with my cousin and his friends who were UTM students when we registered. I'm quite sure if anybody were to check, there maybe 30 names with the same address as me. Most of us do not bother to change our address and continue to come back to this place to vote. I checked my voting number at the BN booth. The line was not too long at my Saluran 3 but I still had to stand for about half an hour. Everybody in line seemed to be very quite as though they were really up to something. I tried to start a conversation with the guy in front of me. Though he responded I feel he was just trying to be courteous. When it was turn, I took my time as though to savour the moment. As I put in my ballot, I even took the opportunity to peek through the transparent ballot box to see what the others had voted. I voted the first name on the ballot.
We then headed for Taiping to attend to my staff's wedding reception. I was quite relaxed all the way. Traffic was rather heavy but still smooth. When we reached the Changkat Jering toll, we meet up with my staff in his full pengantin gear. He was actually waiting for the bride from KL. So, I joined the bride's entourage which was quite small as most of their relatives had gone back to Kelantan to vote. At the recption, me and wife even managed to sit at the main table.
After some time we left the reception and headed to Taiping town. I told my children I want to look at the poster war as I've read that the BN candidate there is going to face a tough time defending his seat. As we drove through Taiping we can see people still voting. It was already 4:00pm. Finally, we checked into Taiping Resort where we will put up the night. After taking a short nap we went out to get some food. Not knowing where to look for food in Taiping, we headed back to Changkat Jering. At the restaurant, we watched one of the TV channels which had a special program on the elctions. There was a panel discussions involving some academics. To me these academics are no better than my office boy who did not even pass his PMR. They are so full of the ruling party's rhetoric that certainly did not do justice to their PhDs. By 7:30 we were already back in the hotel.
What happened during the night was a pleasant surprise. I only managed to sleep at 4:00am. The Malaysian public has finally waken up from their long slumber. There have been so many factors that came into play. Which is the most significant is anybody's guess.
It was FANTASTIC night. The only blemish was that Manchester United lost to Portsmouth in the FA Cup quarter finals, at home. But I would have gladly traded Manchester's Premier League and Championship's challenge for the election result anytime.
I hope to write on this again, sometime.
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