IF, General Elections were to be held in Malaysia today -WHO Would You Vote for?

MARCH 2010 UPDATE::

P.94 Hulu Selangor, Selangor by-election. MY Weltanschauung's Poll extended!

SEPTEMBER UPDATE:

Bagan Pinang, NS by-election. MY Weltanschauung's Poll extended!

MY Weltanschauung have decided to extend the Poll conducted due to the just announced Bagan Pinang, Negeri Sembilan by-elections. Prior to announcement & Update, 21 votes have been casted!

Please vote. TQ.

In conjunction with the Permatang Pasir by-elections, MY Weltanschauung is conducting a general poll to gauge the general sentiment of people on the ground i.e. the silent majority. The poll is titled " IF, a General Election were to be held in Malaysia today -WHO Would You Vote for? ".

The last political poll conducted by MY Weltanschauung was in February of this year...in response to the Perak Constitutional crisis. The question asked - "Which Party Should Determine the Formation of the PERAK State Government? ". Poll was closed on 31st March 2009. The results...from 32votes cast are as follows:-

• 01 (3%) - Palace/Sultan
• 01 (3%) - BN
• 02 (6%) - PR
• 06 (18%) - Courts
• 22 (68%) - Rakyat via Fresh Elections

Hence, it can be said that even though there are pockets of support for the 4 out of 5 different institutions involved in the plot...the silent majority prefers for fresh elections to be called!

INDONESIA.......the 4th NATION, worked!

Indonesia is the 4th country i've actually "worked" in. The other 3 were the UK, Philippines and of course...Malaysia!

7 things I liked about Indonesia:-

• NOT having to wait for taxis.


• CHEAP Services e.g. Haircut, Shoe repairs by a Cobbler, Reflexology massage etc.


• ENTREPRENEURIAL people.


• One's patronage at most establishment are really valued/appreciated!


• RANGE of Choices to suit one's budget...from dead cheap to extremely extravagant.


• Spending around 1million Rupiah per month for a shared Room(Rumah Kos) with laundry & ironing thrown in!


• CREATIVE, elections!

Summary of my exposure:-

INDONESIA (the 4th NATION): Internship programme at the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta. Attached to the Political & Security Co-operation Directorate under Mr. Termsak. APSC is one of the 3 pillars of the ASEAN community. May - July 2009.

I like to dedicate the song "BERITA KEPADA KAWAN" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAaFPPTSvhY ) to all my Indonesian friends. I find this song so apt to describe Indonesia...so much potential and resources whilst at the same time so much sufferings!

PHILIPPINES (the 3rd STATE): Attached to NDT, Manila and went to PETRON Depot, Sasa City, Mindanao. Mindanao was my first ever experience in a 'conflict' area...skirmishes were taking place at Cotabato. What an experience...to be 'working' with one's back to the beautiful sea and experiencing cool sea breeze whilst surrounded by guards with guns & machine guns watching anxiously! Never been back to Mindanao, since.

United Kingdom the second Country (1991-1994)! As a student...mainly menial labour! Dish-Washer, General Cleaner, Kitchen Assistant, Cook & Head Cook. My main employer was Kelly's and Salina's German Coffeehouse in Sheffield.

Also did small-scale businesses...mainly food-related.

MALAYSIA (HOME COUNTRY). 1st Paid Job was as a Shop Assistant when I was 8-9years old...1st official Job - at Shangri-la Hotel, KL after my SPM. Other organisations included A&W, Athlete's World, EON Finance(EON Bank Group), UNISYS MSC...where I was attached to the PM's Department at the newly completed Putrajaya administrative city in 2000-2001, Perfect Know-How & Araf Vektor.

MY RM177 Comment / 177 Rupiah Ngobrol:

Having stayed in Indonesia (Jakarta, Bandung & Yogyakarta...in addition to Bali in 1996) - but NOT as a tourist, I'd learnt to appreciate Malaysia more. INDONESIA for me is a SLEEPING GIANT, so...so much potential...if only they can get their act together!

PS: This posting was supposed to appear before I went to Jakarta....BUT due to security reason(s) namely not wanting others to know of my absence, only NOW is the posting made!

JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE!!! ...We Are NOT Living in UTOPIA

" JUSTICE is KNOWING the JUDGES who DECIDES,
DEMOCRACY;
is KNOWING the PEOPLE who COUNTS the VOTES "

Much brouhaha have been said about the importance of Judicial Independence (JI). The notion sounds good and appeals to the hoi polloi but, the fact remains that Judicial Independence as a concept is USELESS if the judges aren't impartial.

In MALAYSIA, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is supposed to be the first step towards JI.....but even then who can say to a science that the judges nominated won't be biased based on the premise of religion, race, culture, experience, sex or age!

In USA...the so-called benchmark by Hollywood aficionados as a being bastion of JI, selection/nomination of judges to the Supreme Court is based on which party(Democratic or Republican) is holding power. Republicans tend to nominate judges who are more conservative and pro-life whilst Democrats will be skewed towards nominating liberal and pro-choice judges. One can argue till the cows come home but, can anyone prove that the judges nominated are impartial? With an average age of 68 who dare argue that they won't be biased towards the young! Coincidentally, the USA was home to the first recorded terrorist in the modern world.

In UK...who can prove or disproves the notion that Law lords and judges are not biased in favour of English culture and conservatism when deciding cases involving cross-culture matters. Even the term "LAW LORDS" smacks of the "hollier than thou" attitude....as if they were a cohorts of Demi-Gods!

JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE remains an illusion which is an abstract in concept unless a judge's impartiality can somehow be solidified. JI.....Anywhere in the WORLD???

......COME ON! Unless, I've died and when to heaven....or, am dreaming of Utopia and Shangri la in the same dream.