Weekend Bites: General Election Edition

So we Malaysians had our national elections on Sunday.  I’m no political scientist, so don’t expect any deep, thought-provoking analysis. I did follow it quite a bit though so here’s my own selected observations on the event: 

Great increase in voter turnout

I was very proud to see Malaysia turn out in vast numbers to vote. Credit to all parties from either side of the divide for working hard to bring them out. I hope we get a similar turnout next time around as well. I approached a few voters for their thoughts early in the day and they were all happy to talk. Maybe wearing this t-shirt helped :p

                                               

Karim Raslan shines at Astro Awani

As expected, most of the mainstream media supposed ‘political analysts’ were pretty much chickenshit in their commentary. One fascinating exception was Mr Karim Raslan. A breath of fresh air, he praised either side when he felt they deserved the praise, he was very forthright in his criticism of EC, very forthright in his criticism of Awani itself for not being up to date and being late at reporting results, especially those where the opposition had won, when the results were streaming in from other media channels. He also applauded Malaysia’s voters for rejecting some of the extremists that contested, which brings me to: 

Rejection of Ibrahim Ali and Zulkifli Noordin

These two have been an embarrassment to most of Malaysia as a whole, so I was thrilled and relieved to hear of their losses in their respective constituency.  For me, this is the best election news I’ve heard. Feel free to disband Perkasa, although I sadly know it’s not gonna happen. But thank you to the majority of Shah Alam and Pasir Mas voters, I salute you! Having said that:

Racism is still alive and well, sadly

Malaysia still has a long way to go. I’ve seen too many Facebook threads full of hateful racist remarks. Be Malaysian first, people!

Gerakan considered irrelevant?

A lot of news has focused on MCA’s failure, but what about this BN component party? Teng, the BN Penang Chief has rightfully resigned from all posts, assuming the responsibility for Gerakan’s failure to perform, but after an even poorer performance than last time, does Gerakan have any real reason to continue existing? I just don’t see it.

So much for the Independents

I mean seriously. There are candidates who ended up with less than a 100. TWENTY ONE was the lowest I’ve seen. Were they deluded? Or were they fooled by their followers into believing they had a chance? It’s all well and good to want to represent your people but you need to seriously find out whether there are enough people who want you. Sure you don’t care about losing the money but what about your credibility as a person? Oh, for those leaving your party to run as an independent? Nice try. but no cigar.



So there you have it. Make of it what you will. Life goes on... make it a good one!

Short post on the Boston Marathon incident..

I woke up this morning to some horrible news on my twitter feed. The Boston Marathon has been the scene of multiple bombings. As of the last update I read on CNN, there are now 3 dead, and 141 injured, of which 17 are in critical condition. I can't begin to imagine the horror.

I live in Malaysia, which is half a world away from Boston, USA. However, I know quite a few marathon runners, like my brother and some friends from boot camp workouts. I hope no one I know was affected by the incident, and my thoughts and prayers go out to those who were.

The thing is, I'm attending the Standard Chartered Marathon in June, although strictly speaking I'm not running the full marathon, but the 10km run portion. Ever since I registered a few months back, it's been in the back of my head. It affects my decision-making when deciding whether to take a bus or walk. Whether I take the escalator or the stairs. Whether I eat cereal or fried noodles for breakfast. Whether I should wake up early to exercise on Saturday mornings. And of course the need to ensure that the date remains free, so no planning holidays around that time.

But never once have I thought about the potential of the marathon becoming the scene of a bombing. Never once have I thought it could be the target of a terrorist attack. And now, it will undoubtedly manifest itself at the back of my mind. Whether or not it will affect my run in June, I cannot say. I still plan to run, and I pray I am strong enough.

I hate the people who have caused this. A marathon is supposed to be an example of the triumph of human spirit. It still is, but now it is associated with an act of madness. I can only hope and pray that this incident does not happen again.

Again, my thoughts and prayers to all those affected by this terrible, terrible incident.

Post-script: I just read about the Iraq bombings as well. It's a sad day for humanity...