Election Day!

I cast my first vote today! :)

Kak Yom, Abafan, Kakak and I walked to our polling station: Dewan Serbaguna Taman Keramat at 9am.

Someone in a PAS-decorated car offered us a ride but since the Dewan is just a short distance away, we politely declined.

After checking our names, we joined the long queue. I met three of my former schoolmates there! They all have finished their study and are now working.

After about 30 minutes, our turn finally came. Kak Yom went in first, followed by Kakak. Both of them took a short time to cast their vote. I guess they made up their mind long ago.

Then, came my turn. After ticking off my name, the SPR officer said loudly: "ROS-YA-DA Sulaiman". I grimaced. Boy, I do hate people mispronouncing my name like that.

Surprisingly, being the fence sitter that I am, I also took a short time. I looked at the candidates' names, took a deep breath, proclaimed Bismillah, and ticked. Went to the boxes to slot my voting slips and then it was over.

Wow.

So that's how voting feels like.

Leaving the Dewan, a Keadilan man casually asked: "Dah pangkah dah apa2 yang patut dipangkah?".

My sisters just smiled *undi adalah rahsia* in response

When we arrived home, Mama & Papa have not left home to vote yet. They are supposed to vote in Sek. Ren. Agama Taman Keramat.

Then Mama dropped the bombshell. They haven't left home yet because Papa decided NOT to vote in this election.

*G A S P*

Papa?? Not Voting??

That's so unlikely. Papa & politics go hand in hand. He's like the most "politically and socially engaged" person in the house - He devours the newspapers daily - He keeps tracks of all the latest election news...

What's happening here?

Braving myself, I asked Papa why he's not voting.

He replied that he has no confidence in the present leadership and yet he did not believe the opposition either.

Oh. I see.

I guess Papa feels the same way as me. I guess a lot of people feel the same way as well.

If they did vote for the opposition, it's not due to the opposition's capabilities, but more of a protest aimed at the government.

The list is rather long isn't it?
-The indelible ink fiasco
-The V. K. Lingam video
-The whole Khairy controversy
-The biased media
-Widespread corruption

Will the opposition make a better government? I have my doubts. But I do think that we need a strong opposition in the Parliament. Otherwise, there's no check and balance system in place.

We shall see how Malaysians vote tonight. Whatever the results, to quote Malaysiakini, "Those elected, please get down to work tomorrow!"