Why I care
The more I read about yesterday's march, the more I am becoming incensed at the authorities. And our local media.
Try this entry out for size. Local media reported 4,000 marchers. BBC, quoting a police source, estimated 10,000 to 30,000 marchers.
It is hard not to be disgusted with the local media.
Then again, you could say they are "just following orders", like the FRU (Federal Reserve Unit) who were "just following orders" when they sprayed water cannons and tear gas at innocent civilians. Like the police, who set up roadblocks around the country, creating massive traffic jams all over the place, willy-nilly detaining anybody dressed in yellow to prevent them from attending the rally. One guy commenting on Malaysia Today said he arrived back in the country from a trip to Singapore and was thoroughly searched at the KL International Airport just because he was wearing a beige shirt.
As for our Prime Minister's comment that the people should effect change through polls, hello, how to do that if the electoral process is not fair and transparent? Heck, I registered to vote in June this year (okay, okay, better late than never) and my name was still not included in the 3rd quarter updated electoral rolls released last month.
Blink had a similar experience: he registered in June, but by September the online check still returned "record not found". He sent an email to the Election Commission to inquire about it, and they replied that he was registered under his previous mailing address, which he had never registered with! He then went over to the post office to change his address -- and his name was not found in the system...
I am starting to think that this is all a ploy to make it more difficult for people, so that they won't bother. Bah!
And why, when registering to vote, do I need to put down my race and religion in the form? How is this at all relevant to voter registration?
The Election Commission has also taken it upon themselves to strike off 24,000 voters who have yet to switch their identity cards to the oh-so-technologically-advanced MyKad. And if you read about all the other crap that's been going on with phantom voters and whatnot... gosh it makes my blood boil.
Which is why I finally registered to vote. I'm quite looking forward to voting for the Opposition, dammit. Enough is enough. Like I told a friend recently, "You might not care now because you think it doesn't affect you, but by the time it does affect you, it'll be too late to care."