Wednesday, March 5, 2008

To or Not To

To vote or not to vote, of course. That is what everyone is talking about of late - even those who are not registered voters. I undertook this voting responsibility simply because I was old enough - kind of like donating blood. I personally have no interest in politics nor knowledge of what goes on in its murky world. One can hardly believe anything one reads, sees or hears, in this realm where all the pots call the kettles black, and the kettles accuse the pots of conducting heat. Honestly, how could one be absolutely sure that one is making the right decision when it comes to such pots and kettles? How to make a choice?

Several friends provided several amusing suggestions.

"If you don't like either candidate, rosakkan your undi lar" one told me. How? Put a tick instead of a cross; draw a circle; draw an arrow pointing to a name and label it 'I choose this'; draw a tortoise... you name it.

"I am going back to my hometown to vote for the Opposition!" declared another. Which opposition party? Apparently that is irrelevant. "DO NOT spoil your vote. Vote for ANYONE BUT BN. We must show them some colour!" someone said emphatically. The latter expressed similar sentiments as the former, but a lot (and I mean a LOT) more strongly.

"Aiya, just vote for the one you like lor..." someone else told me nonchalantly, perhaps believing that one teeny weeny tiny vote won't make much of a difference. But even my politic-illiterate self understand that every vote counts, and I mustn't think that mine doesn't. Furthermore, how do you define "liking" for anyone of those pots and kettles?

"Spend 2 hours to get to know those parties..." and this has got to be the sanest I've got. Well, I still stick to my opinion that you won't really get to "know" them in 2 hours. Perhaps not in this lifetime.

If you have to choose, please at least choose the lesser of the two evils.

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