Election D-day

 It's all up to us!

Campaign observations

If not for the occasional party flags fluttering by the roadside, I would be hard put to remember that there is a nationwide general election (GE15 or PRU15) going on right now. I mean, the campaigning is so lowkey, not only in Bukit Mertajam where I stay but my friends tell me that it is generally the same in other parts of Penang. There's really no excitement here. Everybody already expects the Pakatan Harapan party to sweep 11 of the 13 parliamentary seats at stake in Penang. And it's not like they will be winning these seats for the first time. No, they are simply defending their tenure although there may be some different faces in some of the seats. 

I see a lot of Barisan Nasional flags and banners in Bukit Mertajam and a reasonable number of Perikanan Perikatan Nasional flags too. But Pakatan Harapan flags? Only a handful, as far as I could see. Possibly outnumbered 50-1 by the other two parties combined. But it should be a foregone conclusion. Steven Sim, the incumbent Parliamentarian, should win hands down come polling day this Saturday. From his facebook page comes this explanation (the translation is mine, but not totally):

From the first day of PRU I've committed not to spend big money. This was my promise to the people. The money donated for the PRU campaign, I use as minimally as possible, the rest I make a fund to help the people 🤝🏻.

Every day I'm with the photocopying volunteer team to fold leaflets at the office. Yes, they're not printed in colour at any printing shop. We photocopy them in black and white, make as many as we use so that there is no wastage. It's JIT, just-in-time. The photocopier is efficient, economical and saves cost by more than 90% 👍🏻.

Our crooked T-shirts have become a hot item. We print them ourselves at the office and at home. These few days, friends everywhere had called to buy these T-shirts 😁. When I tell them the website jalanteruih.com they thought that they could buy it there, but we don't sell there either. Instead, we teach how to print the T-shirts ourselves 😅. Print for yourself, print with the kids at home, make it a family activity; we struggle for their generation. If you can still afford it, print the T-shirts for distribution to your friends 👍🏻. Two pieces or 10 pieces, it doesn't matter. We make them together and tomorrow we can proudly tell our grandchildren that this crooked T-shirt was a sign of the struggle of Malaysians during PRU15.

Politics is not the game of the rich. Politics is the struggle of the common people. This is our battlefield, let us make it happen. The most important thing is to walk first 🚶🏻.

By the way, I was contacted by a DAP representative to enquire whether I could help out as a volunteer during polling day as I had done so during the last two general elections. But alas, I told her that although the spirit was still willing, the flesh was not. I'm recovering from an injury to my leg and would like to recuperate as much as I can without reaggravating the pain in the joint again.

 

A 100 percent support

So the MCA guy beat his Bersatu counterpart in the Tanjong Piai parliamentary by-election last Saturday by a big landslide margin. It surprised no one that Wee Jeck Seng won, seeing how the sentiments on the ground were shifting to his party. But the margin of his victory surely surprised onlookers everywhere. Except for perhaps the people in Tanjong Piai itself.

I was fortunate itself to visit that part of the country on Monday. Of course, it was in the aftermath of the by-election. We were to Kukup to visit the seaside village town. And we came across this temple in the midst of the Chinese community. Maybe I should add that in my view, Kukup is predominantly Chinese. The houses there are built on concrete stilts into the sea.

We explored the temple like any other tourist and then noticed a banner which hung on a stage opposite the temple. It was very telling. When I saw it, it totally explained why the Bersatu party had absolutely no chance of winning the by-election.

Not only in Kukup but all over the Tanjong Piai constituency. If the temple's committee leaders were 100 percent behind the MCA candidate, and had made their view so clear to all the inhabitants and residents there, what chance did the Bersatu party have of defending the seat? How can they compete against a determined lot bent on teaching Pakatan Harapan a lesson for their indiscretions? None whatsoever.

Who will do better for George Town?

Who do you think will do better for George Town's status as a UNESCO world heritage site? The present Penang government under Pakatan Harapan or a would-be Penang government under Barisan Nasional, if they take control of the state in the forthcoming 14th General Election (GE14)?

I read that the Penang Barisan Nasional had, on 15 April, launched its state manifesto, themed “Save Penang: Penang BN Pledges” which outlined six core pledges with 60 initiatives to be implemented if BN were to wrest Penang from the Pakatan Harapan government. Among them is a pledge on tourism and heritage which would:

• Encourage more direct flights, total stopovers of cruise ships in Penang.
• Limit sales of heritage building to foreigners.
• Preserve status of Georgetown as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Create “Penang Food Heaven” zones and improve food tourism activities.
• Revive, upgrade “ Living Heritage”, Artisan Streets at George Town World Heritage sites
• Maintain, conserve, Penang historical buildings and create World Musical Fiesta Tour.

In response to these election promises, the DAP Penang chairman, Chow Kon Yeow, today issued this media statement below. I shall leave it to my readers to judge for themselves which side has made their point better:

George Town recognized by UNESCO as an "Good Example of Heritage City Management"

The Penang Barisan Nasional has made several promises on heritage issues in their 14th General Election Manifesto.

As the caretaker State Government, together with George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI) and Penang Island City Council we like to respond to these issues. We want to reassure Penang BN and the people that we have been recognized by UNESCO as a "Good Example of Heritage City Management" and we will surely do better than Penang BN.

1. To limit the sale of heritage building to foreigners

Data from 2008-2017 indicate that foreigners (non-Malaysians) own 194 premises or 3.5% of the 4,100 Category II heritage buildings within the George Town World Heritage Site. The statistics indicate that the ongoing drastic demographic changes do not relate to the owner’s nationality as much, but more on the attitude and appreciation of heritage property owners towards our shared heritage.

The Penang State Government mitigate these challenges by identifying the root cause, and manage the problems with the most constructive and sustainable strategies. Limiting the sale of heritage buildings to foreigners will not solve the problems as it is not a thorough approach.

In 2017, the State Government initiated the RM3 million Heritage Habitat Seed Fund for the George Town World Heritage Site as the pilot approach in mitigating the ongoing challenges. The fund aims to aid the physical restoration of heritage premises to provide relief on the restoration cost, thereby preventing an increase in the rent charges and maintaining long-term tenancy at the site.

Qualified premise owners will receive an incentive to refurbish or conserve their premises, and subsequently charge affordable rent for 10 years. Both tenants and owners shall agree to conserve the premise according to heritage regulations and will be provided with related training. The Fund provides housing for long-term tenants who have contributed to the conservation of the cultural heritage and Outstanding Universal Values of the heritage site, while ensuring that long-term tenants can remain within the site.

We believe this is a better approach to ensure conservation of heritage properties and keeping long-term tenants in the World Heritage Site.

2. To preserve the status of George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

George Town and Melaka were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2008 for their remarkable examples of historic colonial towns on the Straits of Malacca that demonstrate a succession of historical and cultural influences.

Since 2008, the status of the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site has been well maintained with the strong political commitments from the State Government. It established George Town World Heritage Incorporated in 2010 to be the one-stop site manager. George Town World Heritage Incorporated has been delivering its mandate and has proven to be one of the best site managers in Malaysia and Asia. It has been recognised by UNESCO Office Jakarta as one “Good Example of Heritage City Management” (Malay Mail Online, 1 March 2018).

The State Government has enacted the State Heritage Enactment and gazetted the Special Area Plan as the main guidelines of management. A Heritage Technical Reviews Panel (TRP) is also established in MBPP to scrutinize all development applications to ensure heritage guidelines are complied with before approvals be given.

The State Government has also engaged in several heritage conservation projects, demonstrating its strong commitment to sustain the Outstanding Universal Values of George Town.

The State Government has also collaborated with international experts in promoting and conserving artefacts and objects in Penang.

3. To revive and upgrade “the Living Heritage” and Artisan Streets in the George Town World Heritage Site

The annual George Town Heritage Celebrations conducted on 7 July has mobilised over 20 local communities to document, present and share cultural heritage topics through themes such as Living Legacies in 2014, Eat Rite: Ritual Foods of George Town in 2015, Mai Main: Traditional Sports and Games in 2016 and Walk the Talk: Oral Traditions and Expressions in 2017

The Penang State Government has initiated the Video Documentation Project on the Artisans and Practitioners of George Town (2015-2017) to document and archive the intangible cultural heritage of George Town. The ongoing Oral History Documentation from 2013 till 2018 has produced at least 111 interviews with the artisans, practitioners and long-term residents of George Town.

The Cultural Heritage Education Programme (CHEP) was launched since 2016 to promote local cultural heritage to the younger generation (aged 10 to 17) through creative educational programmes. This is the only heritage programme offered to school children in Penang and Malaysia.

George Town was also invited as a working partner by UNESCO Category II Centre: The International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (ICHCAP) under the auspices of UNESCO to collaborate on intangible cultural heritage related projects.

There are more constructive and practical initiatives to be adopted by the Penang State Government to safeguard George Town’s living heritage.

4. To maintain and conserve the historical buildings in Penang

Conservation of heritage buildings requires strong institutional commitments, sufficient resources and sustainable human capacity. Since 2013, George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI) has been conducting heritage conservation workshops for the public to enhance their knowledge and increase public capacity in conserving heritage properties using the proper methods. Through these workshops, we train heritage property owners, contractors, architects and other professional consultants on the principles and techniques of conservation, requirements and guidelines for conservation work, and the documentation needed for the restoration and renovation of heritage premises.

It has also conducted heritage building inventories throughout the state of Penang. Among the projects completed are the Inventori Warisan Ketara Pulau Pinang in 2012, Inventori Bangunan Warisan Ketara Seberang Perai Utara in 2013, Inventori Bangunan Warisan Ketara Seberang Perai Tengah in 2014 and Inventori Bangunan Warisan Ketara Seberang Perai Selatan in 2015. Penang State Government is in the process of getting the consent from heritage property owners before gazetting the property as a heritage building under the Penang State Enactment, 2011. It is only with the active participation of heritage property owners that the conservation of heritage properties in Penang can be sustainable and meaningful.

Conclusion

Since 2008, the Penang State Government and its agencies, together with the stakeholders and communities have committed to the preservation and maintenance of the World Heritage Site in accordance to the Heritage Management Plan. The various initiatives and programme carried out since 2008 has shown great success in making George Town a vibrant, lively and enchanting heritage city.

We believe we can do better for George Town.

Thank you

All the best, Dyana Sofya

Today's the day...

All the best, Ramkarpal Singh!

Today's the day...

DAP appreciation dinner

This was the huge crowd of about 400 people at last night's appreciation dinner at the Penang Chinese Town Hall which the Democratic Action Party had held for their members and people who had volunteered their services to the political party at the General Elections 10 days ago. It wasn't as formal as the one two nights ago for the Air Putih volunteers but definitely, it was more animated.

Mind you, this was an appreciation in kind in lieu of services volunteered. Nobody gave out any angpow. Nobody gave out any redeemable lucky draw ticket. No money, ever, changed hands from party to people or from people to people. No cash payment at all. Everything was above board. Just like to make it clear, as I saw it.

Of course, Lim Guan Eng spoke at the function. It's totally obligatory. Who else would you expect to speak at such a function if not for the party's secretary-general who so happens to be the Chief Minister of Penang as well?

He spoke of three significant classes of people who contributed to the success of the Pakatan Rakyat during the general elections:

• In the first instance, he acknowledged the role of the first-time voters. Many had come back to Penang from working in the other states of the country while some had even chosen to return from overseas just to exercise their constitutional right. With touch-in-cheek, he termed them as virgin voters. 
• Secondly, he was much gratified to observe that the youth in our country have finally come out to fight for their own future. They have a voice and they have a mind of their own, and they have chosen to make themselves heard,
• And finally, he paid an immeasurable tribute to the women of all races, both young and old, who had joined the queue to make their votes count.

Later, LGE weaved around slowly from table to table to greet all the diners. Needless to say, everybody wanted a group photograph to be taken with him and Chow Kon Yeow, and that delayed his momentous stop at our table. But eventually, they did finish making their rounds.

But was there any respite for them and some of the other Members of Parliament who were around too: people like Jeff Ooi and Lim Wei Aik? You'd be rather silly if you think there was. Immediate after his walkabout and group photograph, he was waylaid by people all clamouring for his autograph. Rock(et) star treatment for this man, indeed. Such adulation, I haven't seen in a politician before.

By the way, during Chow Kon Yeow's pre-dinner speech, he was mentioning that the sales of merchandise - including T-shirts, vests, caps, badges, banners and stickers, Ubah toys and books - at the DAP Penang headquarters in Rangoon Road during the crucial weeks leading up to the general elections went far beyond their expectations.

The above picture does not do enough justice to my comments above as I took it about 10 days before the general elections but the crowd swelled up significantly as the date drew closer. Anyway from the sale of the merchandise, I heard from inside sources that more than RM1 million was collected at the DAP Penang headquarters alone, what more from the other DAP branches across the state? This amount excluded the moneys donated by the people of Penang at the political ceramahs during the campaign period. I did heard a figure mentioned as well but sorry lah, you'll have to excuse me. I can't remember everything I heard at my table. 

Black 511 @ Batu Kawan Stadium

So this was the 80,000-strong crowd at the Batu Kawan Stadium in Province Wellesley, Penang on 11 May 2013. Speakers included Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng and Mat Sabu.

Black 505

Below was the scene at the Black 505 rally at the Kelana Jaya Stadium on Wednesday, 8 May 2013. I hope when the Pakatan Rakyat holds the rally at the Batu Kawan Stadium in Penang tomorrow, 11 May 2013, it will be equally filled up.

Second term for Guan Eng

At Sri Mutiara this morning, the swearing in of Lim Guan Eng as the Chief Minister of Penang for the second term.

GE13: Commotion at Ayer Itam Road

What a day I've had! Yesterday morning saw me going to Taman Siakap in Seberang Jaya to cast my vote in the General Elections. As usual, the roads leading to the polling station, a primary school that my children had attended when we were still staying in this town, were jampacked with people and vehicles.

I only managed to park the car some distance away, squeezed between two other vehicles,and then walked pass the makeshift stalls that were set up by the supporters of the two main political parties, the Barisan Nasional (BN) and the Parti Keadilan Malaysia (PKR). I didn't pay much attention to their last-minute attempts at canvassing for votes and proceeded directly towards the school.

At the gate, I was given directions to my voting lane but there, a mild shock awaited me. A queue of about 50 voters were already there waiting in line. Luckily, a cool breeze blew throughout my long wait till the front of the queue. Possibly waited about 50 minutes or so but the time passed by quickly enough. Friendly faces around who were all too willing to strike up a conversation with me.

Then it was my turn to enter the classroom. The polling clerks asked for my identification and then covered my left forefinger with their supposedly "indelible ink" which washed off later with soap and water. Then was issued with two folded slips of ballot paper and directed to the polling booth.

I took a look at the two pieces of paper. The only name that I could recognise was that of the parliamentary candidate for Permatang Pauh: Anwar Ibrahim. I have to admit that the other candidates were all aliens to me. In fact, when it came to marking my ballot slips, I had to make doubly sure that I was selecting the PKR symbol.

Voting over, I made my way to the island where, for the very first time, I was scheduled to volunteer my services as a polling and counting agent for the Democratic Action Party (DAP). My destination, the Kong Min school beside the roundabout at Ayer Itam, was one of four or five polling and counting centres for the Air Putih state constituency.

As I made a slow drive towards the roundabout, traffic was already heavy. I was wondering where to park when suddenly, I noticed an empty parking space on the opposite side of the road. Instinct made me mmediately swing my car round the roundabout and park there. As it turned out, it was a very good decision as the road from the roundabout towards the Ayer Itam village soon became the scene for dramatic vocal exchanges between groups of people supporting rival political parties.

At first, I had put all the noise down to rowdiness and people who were simply enjoying the carnival-like air of a general election. Air horns were blaring and shouts of "Ubah" were heard regularly. Then almost without warning, a group of young Chinese motorcyclists - obviously, these were the paid BN mercenaries - dressed in blue tees made their way down from Ayer Itam. As they rode past, they were jeered good humouredly by the DAP supporters. What would you expect? The moment ended but my fellow DAP volunteers who had gathered within the school compound knew that they would soon return.

True enough, around two o'clock or so, we again heard a commotion outside the school. Further up the road, a group in blue tees had gathered. The leader among them, a bulky Mamak gorilla with a permanent scowl on his mug led his Chinese machai riders right into the DAP supporters.

They were booed and jeered at the face-off. There were lots of tension when this happened. Though I had a vantage point from within the school compound, unfortunately I couldn't see much as my view was generally blocked by people.  

Suddenly, the blue mob turned around and the two groups of people began jostling one another. Amid pleas to stop from spectators on the road, plastic chairs and motorcycle helmets became projectiles. Sticks were suddenly being used to attack and whack people.
 

What made this incident into a farce was the attitude of the traffic policemen on duty. I know that they were supposed to deal with the traffic but to turn their back to the commotion which was just feet away and ignore it? Was traffic more important to them or stopping fights? A policeman is still a policeman, no matter what's his assigned duties, right? And it was several seconds later that a group of blue-clothes policemen donned their vests and rushed over to investigate the incident, by which time everything was over. Huh!
 
In my opinion, the provocation was all done by this mob of BN hooligans led by this Mamak gorilla. He was the instigator. Somewhere in the video below, you can see him gesticulating and waving his hand to urge his people onwards. If that is not provocation, I don't know what is. Anyway, here is the video of the incident. You can make your own conclusion.

How much will our votes matter at the end of today?

Today is an important day for everyone in my family. We are going to the polls to choose a better Malaysia not only for ourselves but for all Malaysians of all ages, race and religion.

I shall be going to Seberang Jaya in a few hours' time to cast my vote in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency while my wife will be joined by my daughter and son to vote in the Bukit Mertajam constituency. I have full confidence that they will do right with their choices.

This shall be the first time that my two children are able to exercise their constitutional rights. They are pretty excited over it. My daughter, while working in Kuala Lumpur, arrived home yesterday. My son returned from the island.

Yesterday, we were a complete family unit again and we sat down to dinner discussing the political process. We haven't done that before, imagine that!

Also yesterday, I bumped into a neighbour. He used to run a sundry shop amidst a Malay-populated area along Jalan Permatang Pauh - that's multi-culturalism for you - but gave up the business several years ago as he was getting old and no one among his children wanted to follow his footsteps. He asked me whom I was going to vote for. "Anwar Ibrahim," I answered unhesitatingly. "Me too," he told me. We looked at one another and laughed. There was an irony. Although we now stay in Bukit Mertajam, we did not want to change our voting centre from Permatang Pauh. We wanted to be a part of the history in this constituency.

My neighbour mused to me. He told me that he had been a party member of the Malaysian Chinese Association since 1969. Until 2004, he had been voting for the Barisan Nasional party. But after the injustices suffered by Anwar Ibrahim, my neighbour had been voting for the opposition since then. He told me that suddenly, he saw for himself all the excesses and hypocrisy of the ruling political party.

As for me, I do not remember the first time that I was able to vote. I registered myself late and so I think it was only in the 1980s that I began voting. Perhaps in the past too, I had been politically naive and just didn't care who won in my constituency. Sometimes, I just thought that all the candidates in my area were useless.

In fact, what I remember vividly was that in 1995, it was on purpose that I had spoilt my vote because I couldn't bring myself to vote for Anwar Ibrahim (at that time, he was still in the Barisan government) or his PAS opponent. But ever since that same year, 2004, it had been Anwar Ibrahim or his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, all the way.

Tomorrow's the day!

Does Penang need the free port status?

I was greatly puzzled when first Teng Chang Yeow and then Najib Razak promised to return the free port status to Penang. Were they kidding? Ever since this status was removed from the island in the 1970s, time has moved on. With so much development in Penang, do we still need this status to survive? Okay, I understand that in the past, Penang island was mainly an entrepot. If you don't know what this French word means, just look it up in any dictionary. But basically, it means a centre where goods are received for distribution, transshipment and repackaging without incurring any Customs import or export duty.

It worked well in Penang prior to the 1970s. The whole of Penang island was a duty free area, but not Province Wellesley on the mainland. Movement of goods was very well monitored because there was only one link - the ferry services - between the island and mainland. Of course, it did not mean that nobody attempted to smuggle duty-free goods across because they did, and were generally caught. But as a whole, the Customs checkpoints at the Butterworth end of the ferry services were quite efficient.

I do remember the few occasions when I had to cross over from the island to the mainland. At that time, I was still staying on the island and going to the mainland generally meant to catch an inter-state bus or a train down to Kuala Lumpur. There were two ferry services: one connecting directly to the Malayan Railway station and the other connecting to the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal. The ferry that connected to the SAH terminal was served by the ferries that existed until today (although the old ones have been replaced.)

No matter, whenever passengers alit from the ferries, they would be required to pass through rows of Customs staff who would open their bags and luggage to check for duty-free goods. Similarly, people that had crossed by cars were herded into lanes and asked to declare their goods. (We still see this today when passengers and cars cross over from Singapore to Johore Bahru.)

Generally it worked very well because there were only two crossing points. It took the ferries about 20 to 25 minutes to travel one way across the channel and this was more than sufficient time for the Customs to complete checking all the passengers and cars.

But Penang has moved on since the free port status was removed. We have become industrialised and there is now a Penang Bridge that facilitates quick travel between the island and the mainland. Pretty soon, there will be two Penang Bridges and in the longer term, an undersea tunnel as well.

I dread to think how the Customs will implement their checks if the free port status is returned to the island. Okay, the situation at the ferry terminal - there's only one now, unfortunately - will still be manageable but I don't see how Customs can work out the logistics nightmare at the mainland end of the Penang bridges and tunnels.

Will cars, buses, lorries and trailers be stopped for hours in order to enable a complete Customs check? Or will Customs close an eye, generally allow the vehicles through and only perform random checks? If so, that is a dereliction of duty by allowing duty-free goods to be openly smuggled across a free port boundary. Imagine the loss of revenue to the country.

And another thing: if this free port status is confined to only the island, I shall be among the first ones to protest this discriminatory implementation. Isn't the mainland not considered part and parcel of the state of Penang?

I would demand that Teng Chang Yeow and Najib Razak make the whole of Penang - regardless of island or mainland - into a free port. To order to provide equitable treatment to all the people in Penang, I would demand that these two fellas then shift whatever Customs checkpoints to the borders into the state wherever there is an access point ... along the north-south expressway, the federal highway, the Butteworth-Kulim highway and all the secondary roads that connect Province Wellesley to Kedah and Perak. Nothing less than this will satisfy me or else it will show up their chauvinism and insincerity.

Unless they are prepared to do that, please lah, don't make stupid promises to the people of Penang. We were actually very disappointed with the federal government when our free port status was removed but we moved on. We moved on to succeed despite all the odds against us. Now just because they are shaking in their boots and underwear with the General Elections round the corner, they are promising returning the free port status to us if they win back Penang. We see through you. Go bugger off, okay?

Pakatan Rakyat rally

For the record, last night's mammoth Pakatan Rakyat ceramah at the Han Chiang High School grounds attracted some 70,000 people, all standing in the rain for five hours. Like Lim Guan Eng said, there was no free food, no free drinks, no free angpows at the ceramah but only free (rain) water for everybody. And yet, people came from far and near to listen and to support.

Sad to say though, I could only be there in spirit. I don't want to give any excuses for my physical absence but I'll willingly share the reason in private with anyone that cares to know. But thanks to Ubah.tv, I managed to catch some of the speeches. I did get to watch Anwar Ibrahim, Gobind Deo, Ong Kok Fooi, Chong Eng, Karpal Singh and Lim Guan Eng speak. The only frustration was that Ubah.tv's transmission terminated before Lim Kit Siang appeared.

I would like to congratulate the courageous folks out there that had braved the weather and the traffic jam, and who had readily donated some RM236,000 towards Pakatan Rakyat's general elections war chest. Such was the traffic congestion that I also heard some people arrived home past one o'clock in the morning.

Blue Penang

I had a reason to go out to the island last Friday: to go search for a particular pharmacy along Campbell Street that sold a certain brand of Chinese embrocation oil for my aunt. Finally found the pharmacy but it was a rather long walk from Kimberley Street where I had to park the car. Whilst walking back to collect the car, I detoured into Rope Walk and was quite astonished to see the length of the road decked out with banners and flags.

On Sunday, I happened to go out to the island again to attend the annual general meeting of The Old Frees' Association. My homeward drive took me through the heritage zone of George Town and this time, I was truly appalled by the desecration of common property.

This was Kimberley Street on Sunday. Almost overnight, the flags and banners had appeared along the whole length of the road.

This was Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong. As I drove down the road, I confronted this wall of blue flags outside the old Prangin Road market.

Even the street art in the city were not spared. Flags were shoved inbetween the metal railings without a care whether they would affect the artwork. 

Now, if these idiots do not appreciate our street art, how can they even appreciate the UNESCO world cultural heritage status that took George Town so long to obtain. How can we ever trust them to uphold our cultural heritage? Do you want to trust them to build the monorail line in George Town at the risk of our beloved city losing its UNESCO status? The Barisan Nasional party makes mockery out of all of us. With every promise, they mock us every step of the way.   

Mind you, these are not supposed to be political flags if the words of the caretaker Prime Minister in 2010 were to be believed. But does the corrupt Barisan Nasional regime care nowadays? They continue to indulge in money politics, more so during this General Elections campaigning period.

How much money has been thrown away to provide free food, free lucky draws, free entertainment to the people in Penang. How much money has been siphoned off too by the people who were contracted to provide these free. How much money goes into their personal pockets? How much?

I continue to see the corruption everywhere, and in blanketing the island and the mainland in swathes of blue, it has become a BIG turn-off. If those jokers had hoped to be able to sway the minds of every right-thinking Malaysian that free food and free entertainment can buy their political party support at the polling station, they better have another think coming!

PACA for GE13

Come this Sunday week, 5 May 2013, I'll be doing something which I have never done before and that is, to be a polling and counting agent for a political party. How this came about is actually a long story but to cut this long story short, yes, I did agree to volunteer my services at a friend's request.

Previously, a very, very long time ago when I was still staying in Ayer Itam on the island, my father and I had worked as counting clerks. I think it must have been 1982. Or was it 1978? Can't remember exactly.

I also don't remember where we went to but all I remember of the occasion was that we spent the whole night at the counting centre until the wee hours of the morning waiting for the arrival of the ballot boxes, then the unfolding of the ballot papers, flattening them out, getting them scrutinised by the counting agents that represented the political parties, separating them into as many heaps as there were candidates, then starting the counting process as if we were counting currency notes.

It helped that I was already working in a bank then. The experience counting other people's money must have certainly come in useful. People were impressed with our efficiency. My father and I swiftly breezed through the pile of ballot papers with a lot of confidence. There weren't any hitch.

This time however, I shall be on the other side of the counting process. This time, I shall be scrutinising the counting clerks and ensuring that the interests of the political party I'm representing are looked after. People tell me that it is all very easy but I don't believe it. It is going to be a daunting task. There is a lot of responsibility involved. All I can say to my friend is that I shall try my best. Wish me luck!

Election excitement

You know that excitement over the whole General elections thing is escalating wildly when people that you hardly converse with start talking to you about politics.

For example, while I was at the vegetable seller's stall at the Kampung Baru wet market in Bukit Mertajam last Sunday, the proprietor suddenly opened his mouth to tell me that there would be a Pakatan Rakyat ceramah (political talk) at the market's car park that same night.

Okay, so I do know this chap. He sees me every time I go to the market with my aged aunt - only nowadays, it is me that goes alone because she now walks with much difficulty - and we hardly say anything to one another. I would pass the vegetables to him and he would tell me how much they cost.

But not that Sunday morning. Like two guys in a conspiracy, he lowered his voice and told me to "come round tonight" to the ceramah. "Okay," I whispered back, "I'll be here."

So when eight o'clock came around, I left the house. A brisk 15-minute walk took me to the market. the public address system was already cranked up loud. I could here someone talk long before I reached the car park.

Already, there were lots of people standing around. Or sitting around the perimeter of the market. And all eyes were watching the speakers. One after another, the Pakatan Rakyat candidates were introduced to the people and they went on and on to talk about themselves, what they stood for and the excesses of the previous Barisan Nasional federal government.

I looked around. The crowd were enthralled, drinking in every syllable from the speakers. But I must admit that their words were mostly lost on me. Couldn't understand, see. For not the first time in my life, I regretted not knowing Mandarin. But around me, people were listening intently.

Despite my handicap, I was greatly surprised to find myself staying on for so long at the ceramah. Ordinarily, I would have left long ago, but not that night. Sorry, but I have no reasonable explanation for this. Perhaps, like the vegetable seller, I too had been caught up in the whole excitement of the General Election. Can't wait to cast my vote.

P.S. By my guestimate, there must have been around two to three thousand people gathered at the ceramah by the time I decided to make my way home.Now the question remains: since I can't catch a word of what they are saying, should I continue to attend these political talks??

Nomination day in Bukit Mertajam on GE13

I was supposed to go support a friend at a Nomination Day function somewhere on the island today but somehow, my plans changed almost at the last minute. With time a little free on my hands, I then decided to throw in my support for the Pakatan Rakyat parliamentary and state candidates in Bukit Mertajam.

So at nine o'clock in the morning, I found myself walking to the Jalan Song Ban Kheng-Jalan Betik road junction. The side of the main road was already filled with cars, supporters and yet more supporters! Found a vacant spot by the roadside and managed to squeeze my car into the space.

Possibly about 200 people - a mix of Chinese, Malays and Indians - were already there at the junction, mostly garbed in yellow T-shirts while I sported the Ubah T-shirt that I had bought days earlier from the DAP Penang headquarters about a week back. The flags of the DAP, PKR and PAS were flying everywhere, and the people were clearly enjoying themselves. Party mood.

A short distance away from us was the Police roadblock. Nobody bothered with them and they just stood staring impassively at us.

However, I found it disconcerting that barbed wire had also been stretched across the roadblock. Was it really necessary when everyone were in carnival mood?

The Pakatan Rakyat candidates were milling around with their supporters. Shortly after nine o'clock, they were allowed to pass through the Police roadblock. Only the candidates and their seconders were allowed through for the short walk to the nomination centre at the Public Works Department Office.

The four candidates (left to right): Chong Eng (DAP), Steven Sim (DAP), Ong Kok Fooi (DAP), Lee Khai Loon (PKR)

From my vantage point, I could see a similar roadblock set up about a hundred metres away to block off the opposing Barisan Nasional supporters. Very difficult to estimate how many of their supporters were there but it didn't really mattered.

About 10 minutes later, we noticed that from the other end of the road, the candidates from the Barisan Nasional had also arrived at the nomination centre.

Now the wait for the nomination period to close at 10 o'clock. Nobody was impatient. People were getting to know one another. Someone with a loudspeaker started informing the crowd to attend a ceramah that night in Machang Bubok. I walked around and bumped into a group of people I knew. Decided to take a few photographs with them. Here's one.

From left to right: cousin, acquaintance, old schoolmate, former work colleague, myself

Shortly after that, I decided to leave. The little time on my hands had ended and there were other things to do. So I took leave of this group of people, glad that I had at least now experienced the atmosphere during nomination day.

Political illiterate

“The worst illiterate is the political illiterate. He doesn’t hear, doesn’t speak, nor participates in the political events. He doesn’t know the cost of life, the price of the bean, of the fish, of the flour, of the rent, of the shoes and of the medicine, all depends on political decisions. The political illiterate is so stupid that he is proud and swells his chest saying that he hates politics. The imbecile doesn’t know that, from his political ignorance is born the prostitute, the abandoned child, and the worst thieves of all, the bad politician, corrupted and flunky of the national and multinational companies.”