Malaysians, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Fingers...

Alas. The GE13 is over. And the ruling party has continued its reign with the PM sworn in yesterday.

The news of the general election caught the attention of my fellow Japanese friends. One of the (grand)mothers who was waiting outside of Waseda Kindergarten, waiting to pick her granddaughter up from school, commented on the election. She expressed her amazement that the same ruling party has been governing the country for 56 years. That is so unlike Japan, she said. When we feel that the ruling party is not doing well in managing the country, we change the government. Sometimes, said the 65 year old robust lady, change is needed. And to her change is good. Deep in my heart, I believe that she is right. We need to change in order to escape from the comfort zone.

So change I did. For the first time ever I exercised my right to vote.
Why have I never voted, you asked? Well, I was supposed to vote for the first time in 1999 but could not do so since I was not able to return to my hometown (in Langkawi then), from Selangor where I was working, due to some unforeseen circumstances. And I was not able to vote during the following GE as I was in the early stage of my confinement period. And the next GE saw me busy writing my thesis in the land of the rising sun. Since voting by post was not accessible back then, I had no other option than not to vote.

Since GE13 is the first time for me to vote,I had to do it in style. No, I did not book a flight ticket home. That would be too expensive for a mere housewife like me. I just voted via post. A week earlier than the date of GE13.

When I heard that voting by post is accessible for Malaysians living overseas, I took the liberty to register 2 months before the Parliament was dissolved. Semangat!

But I nearly lost my semangat when the day of the election came. Not only did the Election Commission changed the date a few days before the election (the initial date stated in the registration form varies from the date mentioned in the press release), the election procedure was unquestionably 'transparent'.


As I was seated in front of the witness, trying to pry open the envelopes that contained the ballot papers, I was stunned when he asked " Are you a government scholar?" What has that got to do with me voting, I thought. Then, it struck me! The Deputy Chief of Mission / Minister Counsellor / Head of Chancery was giving me a hint. No, perhaps it was not a hint. It sounded like a warning. So, what if I was a government scholar? Technically there was no government during the election since the Parliament has been dissolved. And besides, isn't it the duty and responsibility of the ruling party of a country to provide for the countrymen's education? Furthermore, he has no right to ask me such question since Malaysia is a democracy country, or is it not? Although stunned and angered by his question, I smiled and merely replied "Eh, bukanlah Encik... Saya surirumah je..." I wanted to be a smart alec and answered " Yes, JAPANESE GOVERNMENT scholar" but I knew that would be disrespectful to a person of his position. And besides, I just wanted to vote not pick a fight with someone from the embassy.

But what came next was totally unexpected. There was a form in each of the envelope given to me. I was supposed to verify the serial number of each ballot paper and put my signature on the form which clearly indicated my name, the serial number on my ballot paper as well as details of the witness. And to top it all, I was supposed to put the form together with the ballot paper before sealing it and inserting the envelopes into the mail bag! Wow~! Transparency at its best! Apa ni? What happened to " Undi adalah rahsia"??? Where is the confidentiality of my vote? No wonder not many Malaysian living abroad would like to vote by post. And no wonder many would fly back just to vote on election day. If only I was not a mere housewife, or if I was indeed a government scholar, I would have flown back for the election. JPA scholar kaya woo~ hahaha *judging from the numerous allowances they receive as compared to the Monbusho scholar*


Since I do not have a pic of an inked finger to prove I have voted (no ink for overseas voters I was told), I will leave you with a pic of my "Urusan Seri Paduka Baginda" envelope. Hehe...