Election debates.
I’m curious, is there anybody out there just freakin’ sick of hearing about the elections?
I’m frankly pretty tired. I just want it over and done with. Unlike America with their state preliminaries and presidential elections where you get to know the candidate and party well, here it is just feel-good Barisan Nasional brainwashing every single day in the newspapers.
I have been following the American 2008 elections recently with what little free time I had and Democrat presidential candidate Obama Barack was inspiring when he spoke about hope at his party’s convention in Washington. I haven’t heard anything remotely inspiring from any of our politicians. Not from BN and not from the opposition.
It’s such a shame that we don’t have the state assemblyman or the Parliamentarian debates that is like the American presidential debates. I remember watching the one where George W Bush was pitted against John Kerry in the last round of the debates and I thought it would’ve been awesome to see PKR’s R Sivarasa take on MCA’s Donald Lim in PJ Selatan back in 2004, which is my constituency. I think that would be the best way to gauge intellect, galls and all. I’m not bothered with who has money to do what. As far as I am concern, Jalan Universiti until Jalan 16/1 in Petaling Jaya has the WORST roads in the world. I’m sure Lim has plenty of money and clout to get PJ City Council off their arse to do something about it but they haven’t. I am faithless about what my MP can do for me because it has been evident in the past 4 years - he has done nothing.
Crime rates are skyrocketing in Section 5 and Section 17. Development has gone rampant resulting in immense environmental damage. Can you feel PJ getting hotter each day with less and less trees in sight? Even the Section 16 junction took forever to build. It was something as simple as flattening the roundabout and completing the pointless flyover, but no. The contractors worked as and when they liked. Also, there are way too many cars in PJ already. There isn’t a day that goes by without getting caught on the Jalan Gasing or Jalan Universiti jam. There are also jams in Section 14. Have you seen the number of traffic lights regulating the city? It’s killing my brakes!
Indeed, my MP and my ADUN Gerakan’s Lim Thuan Seng has done nothing. I feel my life is unsafe when I go out. When I’m in my car, it’s getting wrecked by potholes on the road. Let’s not even talk about the cost of petrol or worse, the useless MBPJ officers asking for bribes every chance they get. I’m beyond money. I am beyond politics. I am beyond what anybody can do for me.
I am voting for principles and vision. I am voting for a guy with balls whom I think would have at least tried to fight for something because he wanted to and not because it is merely to keep him in office. With my idealism taking over me, I think the best was to gauge this is to pit the candidates together for a ceramah perdana. I’m sure BN candidates have nothing to fear.
Sure some will say to vote not for what they say but for what they do. I’m sorry but for whatever they do I know it would - in all likelihood - involve crony contractors and shoddy dealings, inflated prices and above all, no real sincerity to help the people. Yes, I am also cynical like that.
I am all for candidates participating in an open debate so I can gauge their characters and listen to their promises. Whether they fulfill it or not or turn into a monster after elections - I’m not too fussed. At this point in time, whatever my MP or ADUN is going to do for me - it’s clearly too late because it is all a ploy. I can see it. Can you?
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4 Responses to “Election debates.”
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By the time I finished reading your article, I felt pretty sick and tired too.
Not with anybody, just you.
You live in PJ, and you complain about the roads and traffic lights? You mention the crime rate, but where are your hard statistics? You complain about things which are superficial, theres nothing in you’re article that I haven’t heard before.
If you want to hear inspiring people, find the time, and look for them. Have you attended any ceramah by the opposition or the BN? You claim you have little time, but just enough to check out YouTube or CNN and watch the Democratic party debates. There are debates and challenges to debate going on always in this country, but we have people like you who don’t pay attention. Plus one has to understand that in real democracies, private organisations like the ones above do a lot to bring attention to their candidates’ debates. Just one Malaysian man-on-the-street factor on why we aren’t a full democracy, when many blame just politics and the EC.
I saw a few BN politicians during the orientation week at my university, UPM, more than a year ago. Yes, they were inspiring, K.Devamany, the guy who almost got WHIP’ed’ by Najib when he dared talk about Indian rights, and Dr. Wee Ka Siong, who has a better grasp of national identity than most MCA politicians. A month ago, I was on my way to a party, when I noticed Anwar Ibrahim was in my backyard, Kepong, giving a ceramah. If I wasn’t late I’d have taken the time to go see it.
The big picture is, we have people taking care of communal rights on both sides of the boat, we have idiots who will abuse their power no matter what they say before the election, and the stooges in the Opposition are just as washed up in Malaysian realpolitik as their counterparts in BN.
Thus, take the time to get yourself informed or keep your opinions to yourself. When your ignorance reduces to the point where you can see that free speech shouldn’t be an avenue for the uninformed, please feel free to write more.
while i appreciate your views, i’m rather disappointed by your lack of intelligence to understand what i’m putting through.
i’m talking about debates - it means two candidate are pitted against each other on the same stage. your ignorance of how american elections debates highlight your inept grasp of what the word ‘debate’ means. i’ve even attended parliamentary debates, have you? if not, please step off your arrogant ass and apply for a pass.
as for stats, have you ever tried asking police for stats of crime in your ares? if not, shut up. please don’t act like you know better. i know of people complaining and resident associations meeting on this matter. crime rates are inflating, you don’t need to be mugged yourself when half your family’s been snatched before to know what’s going on. if you think you have better insight on what goes in in PJ, then please, share.
i’ve been to more ceramahs than the pubes in your pants. lol. get your degree first, or else your UUCA enforces will come get you.
“Thus, take the time to get yourself informed or keep your opinions to yourself. When your ignorance reduces to the point where you can see that free speech shouldn’t be an avenue for the uninformed, please feel free to write more.”
likewise, mate.
Excuse me Mr. Oliver, would you like some ointment for your BURN?
Okay, you know why Malaysian politicians do not held debates? Simple:
1.Pak lah is not good in challenges. He has to rely in Khairy and Najib for interviews and complicated issues. After all, have you seen his interview with CNN? It looks as if he needs Khairy more than ever. He can’t even speak good command of English. Infact, almost everyone in the cabinet can’t speak good English. Samy Vellu and Datuk Zam anyone?
2.Coalition & Opposition politicians are too scared to face the public honestly. Not all politicians, but the main ones are quite scared. Imagine Pak Lah debating Subri Arshad. They’re both lack confidence in their looks, and both lacks an aspirational look most US candidates have. In the end, both would end up as a laughing stock. However, if you set up a debate between Khairy Jamaluddin and Jeff Ooi, man that would be awesome!
3.The mainstream media don’t know at handling debates unless if the debate is hosted by themselves. Look at Fox News. They’re good at covering their own presidential Debates, but they lack coverage of the YouTube and MSNBC debates