I certainly never expected it to happen. But Malaysians finally are starting to show a bit of spine. They are demanding fair elections in a peaceful rally that had to be dispersed with water cannons. Apparently, the gathering was illegal because the permit for it was never issued. I tried looking for justification for denying these people the permit and I could find none. I shouldn't be surprised. In a rather anti-climatic twist, here is a potentially controversial article.
http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/11/find-the-patter.html
Read the link that leads to the freakonomics column.
Steven Levitt is saying that voting is pointless if you want to make a difference, and as much as it defies everything that I have ever learned, I have to say that he is right. The first thing that I thought of when reading the article was "what if everyone thought like you? then there would be no democracy". Then I realized that the scenario would be impossible because we don't vote to protect our self interests anymore. We have come to accept that our vote does nothing to change the outcome of policy. What it does do, however, is massage our egos and give us the idea that we are good citizens.
Will I vote? I guess.. Just to stick it to the big man, I will. Its my way of picking a side.
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I got this from Lim Kit Siang`s speech.
" To put it crudely, if Burma, the most repressive regime in the world, tolerated public gatherings for two consecutive weeks before the harsh crackdown, it is hard to see why the Malaysian authorities cannot stomach a four-hour peaceful gathering."
though at the end of the day, I agree, that it probably won`t make much of a difference even if the election is 'reformed'.
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