Voting Is Secret ..ssshhhh

Thursday 4th March, 2004

Malaysian parliament to be dissolved
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Malaysia Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced Wednesday the dissolution of parliament effective Thursday.

The move paves the way for the country's 11th general elections, the Malaysian Star reports.

Once Parliament is dissolved, the Election Commission will set the date for nomination and polling. The whole process must be completed within 60 days, but the election is widely anticipated to take place at the end of the month.

The government's five-year term was not due to expire until November, but a snap election has been widely expected.

Although Abdullah is nearly guaranteed to return to power, the big issue for observers will be the margin of victory. The United Malays National Organization, which he heads, leads a 14-party ruling coalition that currently holds 151 of the 194 seats. (Source - Malaysian News Network)

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I'm gonna get to vote !!! Yahoo!!!! I'm so excited that finally I'm gonna get a chance to put in my vote in that ballot box. The last election was in Nov 1999, I was 19 and NOT ELIGIBLE YET !!!! This time however I'm gonna be there !!!! putting my cross next to the symbol of .........(ssshhhh) CANNOT SAY !!!!! hehehe
VOTING IS SECRET !!!!
(To Singaporeans bloggers reading this, you may skip this entry!! There is nothing in the political scene in Singapore to be excited about (hhmm...maybe the Steve Chia nude expo'se is the most interesting political snippet ever!! So I guess u wouldn't understand the fascination we Malaysians have with the political ongoings in our country )

When the announcement for the dissolving of the Malaysian parliament was made last night it was almost audible, the 2 major poles of reaction
---> Relief + Anticipation : To know that after such a long time under Dr M we are finally gonna have a change of style of leadership under PM Badawi and to finally get a chance to have our say thru the ballot box.
----> Moan + Groan: The thought of having to go back to your kampung (for those who dun bother to change addresses) just to vote (think toll fees + petrol fees + extra 2-3 days leave) And thoughts of why even bother ? Dun we all know who's gonna win again and again just like all these years !!!!

The official date of the election has not been announced, but unoffcial info is that its gonna be the end of this month. I await with bated breath.........
Its such a sorry state of affairs when the majority of citizens take their voting rights for granted, or worse, a burden !! . Ok ok maybe I'm being enthusiastic coz its my first time voting but seriously I really dun think we should take this opportunity to have a say in the governance of our country lightly. We may not realise it but every single cross on that ballot paper COUNTS!!!!!
(BTW There shld only be ONE cross on that ballot paper!!! Dun spoil ur votes. U might as well dun go down to vote !!!)

It'll be interesting to see the fielding of candidates this time. Will there be new faces?? Are the old coots oopps I mean Veteran Politicians gonna still be in the running or will there be fresh blood this time round? Rumours have it that probably yet another Northern state is gonna be wearing the green shawl this year .....or will the blue flag prevail...?

Let's wait and SEE...................