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.