Tag: election

Election 2008: Part IV

The elections results are finally out. The opposition takes 5 states – Kelantan, Kedah, Perak, Selangor and the Penang. The opposition also managed to deny Barisan Nasional a 2/3 majority forcing the Barisan Nasional to declare a simple majority.

This general election also marks the exit of a few well known politicians such Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil. Poor Samy Vellu lost his seat which he had been holding on since 1974 on 8 March 2008, on his 72nd birthday. I was told that his supporters prepared a cake to celebrate his ‘victory’ and birthday. Unfortunately, I don’t think he was at any mood to cut any cakes.


Dr. Lo’ Lo’ .. what a name..

Fellow blogger, Jeff Ooi won comfortably at Jelutong. My cousin also managed to win a state seat in Perak. He’s only in his late 20s! Another surprise would be Low Gwo Burne, the man behind the V.K Lingam video and KeAdalian candidate for Kelana Jaya. For a person who is not even a registered voter in Malaysia, he has created an upset by beating the Barisan Nasional candidate.

My polling station was at SK Seri Mega, my former primary school. It’s been more than 10 years since I stepped into my old school.

Just as I stepped in front of the main gate, I saw Ms Carol Chew, candidate for Barisan Nasional helping out an old uncle with his motorcycle – surrounded by a group of photographers. Ms Carol Chew whom my mum dubbed as “Fei Poh” (translation: Fat Girl) is actually quite petite and fit. Her campaign pictures were not very flattering.

I bet that this uncle is actually an Opposition supporter…

I was directed to a room which I used to sit when I was in standard 2. The transparent ballot box laid in the middle of the room. The polling agents were screaming all sorts of funny numbers. As soon as I dropped by vote into the ballet box, I left the place and went on a tour of my school.


Place to check on voting details..


My old classroom..

My school didn’t change much save for the new computer lab. I started snapping pictures of my alma mater.

A policeman approached me and politely informed me that I cannot take pictures in the compound. Thank god he didn’t confiscate my camera.

Few hours later, Teresa Kok was declared winner of the Seputeh parliamentary seat with a majority of 36,492 votes, one of the highest highest in Election 2008.

Election 2008 – Part III

It was Monday morning and I had my newspaper spread over the table with my daily dose of coffee by my side. I was having breakfast at Kedai Kopi Beng Huat, one of my favourite spots for breakfast.
A lady in her 30s approached me asking whether I could share my table with her. Together with her was another man. Without hesitation, I agreed as there is enough space for them. However, an elderly couple joined them leaving me with no choice but to keep my newspaper. I was surrounded by a group of strangers.
I soon realised that the elderly couple was Japanese tourists. It’s been a while since I conversed in Japanese – its all down the drain now. I kept quiet and ate my food.
Carol Chew Chee Lin, the young 27 years old candidate for the Barisan Nasional and her entourage suddenly entered the coffee shop and started shaking everybody’s hands. I was quite surprised as I didn’t expect any politicians to step into this coffee shop of mine.

After she made her rounds, she dropped by my table and offered to shake the Japanese elderly couple’s hands.
Both of them ignored her.
HAHAHAHAHA!
But when someone explained to her that Carol was actually a politician vying for a spot in the parliament, the elderly couple quickly Carol’s hands.
Incumbent Teresa Kok of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) will be running against new comer and n00b Chew Chee Lin of Barisan Nasional for the Seputeh parliament seat. Teresa Kok is also running for the Kinrara state seat. This has caused uproar with the Barisan Nasional – labelling her as greedy.

Teresa Kok

Transliteration: Kong Tou Chou Mmm Tou, Foh Chin Cheh Tai Pao.
Translation: DAP is all words, no action.
Recently, I noticed that there are numerous billboards depicting a feminine caricature of a rocket. One of the posters impliedly showed that the said rocket was dumping her old flame for a new one. It is understood that the said rocket is no other than Teresa Kok dumping Seputeh for Kinrara.


These billboards were allegedly approved by Carol Chew Chee Lin. Teresa Kok, being the fiery MP, protested and labelled these billboards sexist.
Related Links
Undignify Act by Carol Chew
Kok raps rival over ’sexist’ posters (Malaysiakini)
Protest Against Sexist Caricature Bill Board
To be or NOT to be…Carol Chew VS Teresa Kok

Election 2008 – Part II

Recently, I received an email alleging that the Electoral Roll has phantom voters. In the email, it was stated that the following identity card numbers reveals persons who are over 100 years old and have been designated with a polling station!
801018775059
800311086231
811028045577
830416610017
841207065917
851222740019
850513106435
851117106729
850802106378
850916086838
860320145365
861101105077
860208145701
860320145357
861217145011
860126145839
870914105781
870418105790
871016146308
881231100432
881103750027
880505066047
880906087033
881030136332
891102740096
891129740088
890520610089
890112146416
890920076065
890403615016
910609755079
920622710069
(note: you can check the details of the voters @ http://daftarj.spr.gov.my/daftar.asp)
And indeed the above persons have been designated a place to vote!!

AH LONG FATT IS 109 YEARS OLD AND STILL ALIVE AA?
Few days back, Bernama reported, in order to clarify on the confusion by the Opposition, that the Master Electoral Roll used for the general election is free of the names of voters who had died.


    February 29, 2008 00:02 AM
    Master Electoral Roll Free Of Dead Voters
    PUTRAJAYA, Feb 28 (Bernama) — The Master Electoral Roll to be used for the general election is free of the names of voters who had died.
    The roll containing the names of 10,922,139 voters who died up to Dec 31 last year was gazetted on Feb 5.
    Election Commission (EC) secretary Datuk Kamaruzaman Mohd Noor said it had removed the names of 697,902 voters who died between Jan 1, 2004 and Dec 31 last year.
    He said the commission was mindful that there were registered voters who died between Jan 1 and March 7 this year.
    “The general election laws do not allow EC to remove the names of the deceased from the Master Electoral Roll. Their names will be exhibited in April for public viewing,” he said when commenting on the confusion among Opposition parties.
    “Political parties and independent candidates need not worry as claims that some people will be voting in place of dead registered voters are baseless.”
    The EC would be distributing the list of voters who died between Jan 1 and March 7 and their identity card numbers to all polling centre heads, he said.
    “This will enable them to be aware of voters who had died to prevent the issuance of ballot papers in their names.
    “They have also been directed to get police help to nab those who turn up to vote using the identity cards of dead voters.
    “The offenders will be arrested under the Criminal Procedure Code and the offence is punishable under Section 7 of the Election Offences Act 1954.
    “Those who disguise as voters can be jailed for up to two years and fined a minimum of RM1,000 or up to RM5,000.”
    In an effort to clean the electoral list of names of dead voters, the EC had despatched teams to police stations nationwide to get copies of the burial permits.
    Last year, it succeeded in removing 10,064 names of dead voters from the electoral roll and informed their next of kin to produce copies of the death certificates.”
    Kamaruzaman said a team was also sent to 2,764 longhouses in Sarawak between January 2006 and October last year, and 12,807 dead voters were traced and reported to the National Registration Department.
    After consulting the longhouse heads and supported by the district officers, the 12,807 names were later removed from the electoral roll.
    — BERNAMA

The above article is unclear and a bit contradictory. On one part they said that the Master Electorate Roll is free from dead votes. On another part Datuk Kamaruzaman Mohd Noor stated that the general election laws do not allow EC to remove the names of the deceased from the Master Electoral Roll. And later in the article, it was stated that:-
In an effort to clean the electoral list of names of dead voters, the EC had despatched teams to police stations nationwide to get copies of the burial permits………..
…After consulting the longhouse heads and supported by the district officers, the 12,807 names were later removed from the electoral roll.
The EC had admitted that under the election law, the names from the Master Electoral Roll cannot be removed but now they have removed the names of deceased from the Master Electoral Roll??
Hallo EC?? CAN EXPLAIN??