And now for a touch of comedy

From the maestros of Comedy Court, Allan Perera and Indi Nadarajah, I present to you their latest piece called Goodbye Sam. Enjoy!

Goodbye Samy Vellu

Penang Gives Opposition 2/3 Majority

This was one big win for the opposition - 11 of 13 Parliamentary seats won; and 29 of 40 state seats.

It is time for the opposition to prove their mettle and work towards making changes for the state. They have been given the chance to make their promises happen. Just don't disappoint the citizens or it won't be such a happy picture for the opposition alliance in 5 years time.

The most amazing thing, I have to say, is the huge win garnered by famous blogger Jeff Ooi in the contest for the Jelutong Parliamentary seat. If you lookup the EC's website stating the official numbers (lookup for "Keputusan > Parlimen > Pulau Pinang > 2008 > Semak") and look for Jelutong (P.50) numbers...

You'll see Ooi Chuan Aun (that's Jeff's name in the national register) garnering a whopping 30493 of 46406 (unreturned votes 743, spoiled votes 41)... a majority vote by 16246.

That's just half the story. It was firstly a surprise that he (a first time candidate no less) was put in Penang to contest for a Parliamentary seat.

Secondly, people who had gone to the opposition's campaign speeches had come back saying that Jeff didn't manage to engage the crowd he had... e.g.

1) didn't pick the right topic to speak on when among the audience are a large number of people who most likely never even heard of him and his blog; and

2) can't even cajole the crowd because he didn't speak the local Hokkien dialect.

But yet he won and won BIG.

So, what does that really tell us?

1. Did Penangnites really care who were the candidates they were voting for and whether they had a proven track record? Maybe not. Some may even say "Obviously Not".

2. Or were they just tired of the same old, same old and wanted to see more of what they really want (things closer to their hearts) get done? Probably too complicated to say but it's not something that I want to speculate on. Everyone has their own story to tell.

Note: At this time... if you try to get to Jeff Ooi's blog... chances are the traffic to the website may still be so congested that you can't even reach it.

Malaysia goes to vote

Firstly, are you 21 of age - registered with the election commission and have you done your duty to play your role in the 12th Malaysian General Elections?

If your answer is a big resounding "NO" - shame on you. It's your duty as a citizen to cast your vote in a democratic system. If you have registered at least more than 30 days ago but was told by the Election Commission (EC) that you are not qualified to vote until the next round... shame on the EC for not utilizing the latest technology to enable more qualified voters to participate in today's voting process.

Read the plugged article below as food for thought... is the blame to lie on the side of ignorant eligible (potential) young voters, or is it because of poor record keeping practices on the EC's part or are both equally to blame for poorer turn out of the new generation of voters?

Plug: Malaysia Elections 2008: Young Voters, Where Art Thou?

As I am writing this, the results are starting to come in. My home state of Penang appears to have elected the opposition alliance of DAP and PKR (or according to the Associated Press... People's Justice Party... literal translation of the political party's malay name).

As someone who had just come home to Penang trying to look for a non-engineering (super technical scientific-physics-mind-numbing) related job, I can say that I am not convinced that the job market is all that well in the state.

Are there really as many job opportunities as that has been claimed to be available in Penang? As far as I'm concerned... if you are not an engineer... you are pretty much screwed in landing yourself with a job position in Penang in the shortest time possible. I know it is easier to get into the job field of my choice if I was in Kuala Lumpur. I do have my reasons as to why I have to be back in Penang but that's not the point of this blog post.

The political campaigning of BN (National Coalition) in Penang

Were they confident of winning the state and parliamentary seats in Penang? The answer is a possible "NO". The evidence itself was in the posters and banners of the BN. How is it that the wordings on a prominent politician like Dato' Koay Kar Huah's read something like this --> "Please give me a chance. I will be a better MP"?

Is this the failure of the BN's campaigning machinery because of the poor use of the English language or were they plain insecure of their position in the state? If the poster had said this instead --> "Give me another chance. I will be an even better MP"<-- I would be better convinced that you know what you are doing and would strive to do better. The former statement sounds like a beg for votes. You don't beg if you know that you have the confidence of your people.

Note: I am just giving an example. I am not a voter for that particular constituency.

12:00 AM, Sunday, 9th March: Hot News - Live on Telly

Just over the national news, outgoing Chief Minister (after serving for 4-terms since 1990), Koh Tsu Koon who lost in his bid for the Parliamentary seat of Batu Kawan, made mention that it looks like the opposition is set to win 30 of 40 seats in Penang (yet unconfirmed total).

Koay Kar Huah (BN) vs Karpal Singh (DAP) for the Parliamentary Seat of Bukit Gelugor, Penang:

Karpal Singh wins by a landslide. My point exactly.

Now... I'll just stick to watching the television for the latest... I'll probably link to the site with the final tally at a later time.