Never let it be said that I don't embrace diversity. Or have dedication.
Bonus: bigger version and original here.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Translations
Never let it be said that I don't embrace diversity. Or have dedication.
Bonus: bigger version and original here.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Exercising my democratic responsibility: voting at the Malaysian High Commission in Canberra
18 April 2013: A day that will go down in Malaysian history. It was the day where Malaysians overseas were given the right to vote in the 13th General Elections (subject to caveats).
For my part, having decided to commit myself to electoral reform, it would be hypocritical for me to not exercise the hard-won democratic privilege that was eventually extended to me. So I took the 14 drive journey from Brisbane to Canberra.
But this is not the about road trip. This is about a 5th generation Malaysian making the effort to vote.
Canberra in April is pretty wild: the daily temperature range swings from 0C overnight to 20C during the day. On 18 April, one of the warmer days: woke up to 7C.
Knowing that the polling station/Malaysian High Commission was only open at 9am, I had a leisurely Sunday. Slept in a bit. Had breakfast at Macca's. Took the 10.25am bus towards the diplomatic quarter to Canberra, Yarralumla.
I met 4 other Malaysians on the same bus as me, also heading to the High Commission. They were all students in ANU, and looked shocked when I mentioned that I had come from Brisbane. It was a good way to pass the time, and at least I would have company for the journey.
Canberra has poor public transport. Many bus routes don't run on weekends, and those that do run have huge gaps on where they cover. The closest bus to the Malaysian High Commission is along Hopetoun Circuit, from there is it a good 15-20 minute walk to Perth Avenue.
Since I was there to pretty much vote and do nothing else much, I didn't mind too much. But certainly if one is to enjoy Canberra a car is a must. Getting around Canberra is really difficult without a car. A lot like Malaysia actually.
Autumn in Canberra has it's own beauty. There is something about walking amongst the dried leaves that make it very pleasant.
The streets of Yarralumla are quiet and pleasant. While a fair number of diplomatic missions are based here, it is also a residential area, with normal homes and normal people going on their lives.
Canberra is a city designed for cars. If anyone is planning to visit it in the near future do drop by the National Library of Australia: their "The Dream of a Century: the Griffins in Australia’s Capital" exhibition provides a interesting insight into how Canberra was planned, and how different (and similar) is has become to its original plan.
Eventually we arrived at 7, Perth Avenue. And was surprised to see the number of cars parked outside.
Getting inside the compound was a normal affair: one had their bags searched, body scanned by a metal detector, writing your name and your contact details in a logbook. They must have hired the security staff just for this occasion.
In the car park a few stalls were set up to sell food from home:
It wasn't exactly a one-off event: the High Commission has a small little thing at the side everyday which sell's things like Nasi Lemak on a daily basis when they are open. (Probably the wives of the consular staff doing the cooking) Most people who come down to Canberra to deal with Immigration/Consular matters are pleasantly surprised they can get a taste of home without too much cost.
Voting was held in a small little annexe called "Merdeka Hall", next to the main building of the High Commission. As no form of photography was allowed, all I have are my memories of how it happened.
Beyond the sign was the voting area. Before walking pass the bushes a security guard checked the ID's of people to only ensure that Malaysian nationals passed. This is probably the only time where my Malaysian Identity Card (IC) has ever been of any use in Australia.
As you walk to the foyer of the hall, 2 lines are formed from 2 doors, based on where your constituency is. I joined those voting in Selangor, the Federal Territories, Perak and Kedah. As I stood in line with the bored gaze of security guards looking at everyone and forcing people into a straight line, I took the time to read the voting procedure posters stuck to the door of the entrance to the hall.
The hall isn't very big. We had to wait at the entrance to the hall until it was our turn. Right in front of the door of the line is a table where the postal vote ballot papers were. Once it was my turn I greeted them, and their politely responded. One person to my left took my IC and started to flip through the papers to find my name to cross out. The second person on my right started going through the postal vote envelopes.
The first person on my left asked if I was from Selangor. I said I was from Sarawak. He looked surprised and started flipping the sheets of paper, trying to find Sarawak. I noted that there were 14 voters in the Sarawak list, with 2 names crossed out. So it looks like there are 14 Sarawakian voters for Canberra. I saw 2 which were in the Sibu constituency, and another person in mine. I was probably the 3rd Sarawakian that day at the time.
My postal envelope was eventually found, and handed to me by the second person on my right. The first person on my left made it conspicuous that he was crossing out my name. After handing over my IC he smiled and said "Selamat Mengundi". I was directed to the EC officer who will then verify my identity.
While there were 2 desks doing the distribution of postal voting envelopes, there was only one person who was acting as a identity witness, which slowed things down. To pass time I opened the postal envelope, which contained the following materials:
When it was my turn I showed my IC to the EC officer, who looked bored and probably wished he was somewhere else on a Sunday. After checking that the serial number of my ballot paper was consistent across the envelopes and my identity was in order, he stamped Borang 2 to certify that it was me who was actually voting, and I made my way to the polling booths.
As I unfolded my ballot paper, I took time to take in this moment. One couldn't help but feel that this was a historic occasion. The polling booth consisted of a marker pen which was chained to the polling booth and a stick of glue. Looking around, I saw no camera's mounted on the walls. The staff looked too busy to deal with the steady stream of people coming in to be interested in me.
I made my vote, and folded by ballot paper with some special gymnast tricks, so that the serial number was sticking out, but to actually see my vote they had to unfold the elaborate folds.
Carefully, I slid my ballot paper into Sampul A, and with the aid of the glue stick sealed it. This Sampul A with the ballot paper inside it was then put into Sampul B with Borang 2, and sealed again.
I walked to the postal bag, and slid the Sampul B into it, and walked out.
All in all, the whole process took about 15 minutes. I was surprised at how smooth it was. Being the first election with postal voting, I expected all kinds of teething problems. While certainly there are improvements that could be done, and no doubt other Malaysian Missions had issues with the postal voting process, overall Canberra managed to get things done rather well.
Mingling with the crowd, I met a few people who held out themselves to be election observers, who had arrived at 8.30am, despite the fact that the gates only officially opened at 9am. Most were positive and said things seem to have progressed according to plan. One even described it as "boring" as there wasn't much happening and the voting process seemed to be moving along without a hitch.
I hung around a bit, looking at the stalls, purchased a box of Nasi Lemak for lunch, 2 boxes of kueh to nibble, and took in the place. It was a clear autumn day, sunny but cold. There were quite a few young families. One even brought along his Caucasian wife. It would have been like any other Malaysia Day event that is organised from time to time in Australia, but for the significance of the day.
I left around 12.30pm. There wasn't much to do after one had voted. Yet as I left the cars kept coming and people turned up to vote.
I started making my way State Circle, and spent the rest of the day in the heart of the Australian Government, Central Canberra.
Final thoughts:
Unlike in 2011, at least the Canberra High Commission was prepared for this round of postal voting. I must say I was surprised how smoothly it went. Then again, I didn't go with any expectations other than the fact that it was our first election with postal voting. Singapore has had postal voting for its citizens for 7 years and they're still trying to iron out the kinks.
Could it have been done better? Certainly. But all things considered, it went rather well overall. It would be prudent to make a note of what worked, and focus on what needs to be improved.
My vote certainly wasn't "screwed".
For my part, having decided to commit myself to electoral reform, it would be hypocritical for me to not exercise the hard-won democratic privilege that was eventually extended to me. So I took the 14 drive journey from Brisbane to Canberra.
But this is not the about road trip. This is about a 5th generation Malaysian making the effort to vote.
Canberra in April is pretty wild: the daily temperature range swings from 0C overnight to 20C during the day. On 18 April, one of the warmer days: woke up to 7C.
Knowing that the polling station/Malaysian High Commission was only open at 9am, I had a leisurely Sunday. Slept in a bit. Had breakfast at Macca's. Took the 10.25am bus towards the diplomatic quarter to Canberra, Yarralumla.
I met 4 other Malaysians on the same bus as me, also heading to the High Commission. They were all students in ANU, and looked shocked when I mentioned that I had come from Brisbane. It was a good way to pass the time, and at least I would have company for the journey.
Canberra has poor public transport. Many bus routes don't run on weekends, and those that do run have huge gaps on where they cover. The closest bus to the Malaysian High Commission is along Hopetoun Circuit, from there is it a good 15-20 minute walk to Perth Avenue.
Since I was there to pretty much vote and do nothing else much, I didn't mind too much. But certainly if one is to enjoy Canberra a car is a must. Getting around Canberra is really difficult without a car. A lot like Malaysia actually.
Autumn in Canberra has it's own beauty. There is something about walking amongst the dried leaves that make it very pleasant.
The streets of Yarralumla are quiet and pleasant. While a fair number of diplomatic missions are based here, it is also a residential area, with normal homes and normal people going on their lives.
Canberra is a city designed for cars. If anyone is planning to visit it in the near future do drop by the National Library of Australia: their "The Dream of a Century: the Griffins in Australia’s Capital" exhibition provides a interesting insight into how Canberra was planned, and how different (and similar) is has become to its original plan.
Eventually we arrived at 7, Perth Avenue. And was surprised to see the number of cars parked outside.
Getting inside the compound was a normal affair: one had their bags searched, body scanned by a metal detector, writing your name and your contact details in a logbook. They must have hired the security staff just for this occasion.
In the car park a few stalls were set up to sell food from home:
 |
| When I arrived it was around 11.15am. The day had warmed up considerably by then. |
 |
| The southern hemisphere sun was still as glaring and strong as ever. |
 |
| The overall mood was very relaxed. |
 |
| I must say the Kueh was really nice. |
 |
| Bought 2 containers.The second one served as breakfast for the next day. |
 |
| Prices: not unreasonable by Australian standards |
 |
| Multiple stalls set-up by various people |
 |
| Where postal voting was held (image courtesy of Google Earth) |
Beyond the sign was the voting area. Before walking pass the bushes a security guard checked the ID's of people to only ensure that Malaysian nationals passed. This is probably the only time where my Malaysian Identity Card (IC) has ever been of any use in Australia.
As you walk to the foyer of the hall, 2 lines are formed from 2 doors, based on where your constituency is. I joined those voting in Selangor, the Federal Territories, Perak and Kedah. As I stood in line with the bored gaze of security guards looking at everyone and forcing people into a straight line, I took the time to read the voting procedure posters stuck to the door of the entrance to the hall.
The hall isn't very big. We had to wait at the entrance to the hall until it was our turn. Right in front of the door of the line is a table where the postal vote ballot papers were. Once it was my turn I greeted them, and their politely responded. One person to my left took my IC and started to flip through the papers to find my name to cross out. The second person on my right started going through the postal vote envelopes.
The first person on my left asked if I was from Selangor. I said I was from Sarawak. He looked surprised and started flipping the sheets of paper, trying to find Sarawak. I noted that there were 14 voters in the Sarawak list, with 2 names crossed out. So it looks like there are 14 Sarawakian voters for Canberra. I saw 2 which were in the Sibu constituency, and another person in mine. I was probably the 3rd Sarawakian that day at the time.
My postal envelope was eventually found, and handed to me by the second person on my right. The first person on my left made it conspicuous that he was crossing out my name. After handing over my IC he smiled and said "Selamat Mengundi". I was directed to the EC officer who will then verify my identity.
While there were 2 desks doing the distribution of postal voting envelopes, there was only one person who was acting as a identity witness, which slowed things down. To pass time I opened the postal envelope, which contained the following materials:
- A bigger envelope, called Sampul B
- A smaller envelope, called Sampul A
- Borang 2, which contained my identity information and the serial number of my ballot paper
- My ballot paper which was shrink-wrapped
When it was my turn I showed my IC to the EC officer, who looked bored and probably wished he was somewhere else on a Sunday. After checking that the serial number of my ballot paper was consistent across the envelopes and my identity was in order, he stamped Borang 2 to certify that it was me who was actually voting, and I made my way to the polling booths.
As I unfolded my ballot paper, I took time to take in this moment. One couldn't help but feel that this was a historic occasion. The polling booth consisted of a marker pen which was chained to the polling booth and a stick of glue. Looking around, I saw no camera's mounted on the walls. The staff looked too busy to deal with the steady stream of people coming in to be interested in me.
I made my vote, and folded by ballot paper with some special gymnast tricks, so that the serial number was sticking out, but to actually see my vote they had to unfold the elaborate folds.
Carefully, I slid my ballot paper into Sampul A, and with the aid of the glue stick sealed it. This Sampul A with the ballot paper inside it was then put into Sampul B with Borang 2, and sealed again.
I walked to the postal bag, and slid the Sampul B into it, and walked out.
All in all, the whole process took about 15 minutes. I was surprised at how smooth it was. Being the first election with postal voting, I expected all kinds of teething problems. While certainly there are improvements that could be done, and no doubt other Malaysian Missions had issues with the postal voting process, overall Canberra managed to get things done rather well.
 |
| With the people I met on the bus to the High Commission |
Mingling with the crowd, I met a few people who held out themselves to be election observers, who had arrived at 8.30am, despite the fact that the gates only officially opened at 9am. Most were positive and said things seem to have progressed according to plan. One even described it as "boring" as there wasn't much happening and the voting process seemed to be moving along without a hitch.
I hung around a bit, looking at the stalls, purchased a box of Nasi Lemak for lunch, 2 boxes of kueh to nibble, and took in the place. It was a clear autumn day, sunny but cold. There were quite a few young families. One even brought along his Caucasian wife. It would have been like any other Malaysia Day event that is organised from time to time in Australia, but for the significance of the day.
 |
| Well what do you know: maybe it was another Malaysian cultural event after all |
I left around 12.30pm. There wasn't much to do after one had voted. Yet as I left the cars kept coming and people turned up to vote.
 |
| Side view of the Malaysian High Commission |
 |
| Looking at Parliament Hill from Perth Avenue |
 |
| National Rose Garden |
Final thoughts:
Unlike in 2011, at least the Canberra High Commission was prepared for this round of postal voting. I must say I was surprised how smoothly it went. Then again, I didn't go with any expectations other than the fact that it was our first election with postal voting. Singapore has had postal voting for its citizens for 7 years and they're still trying to iron out the kinks.
Could it have been done better? Certainly. But all things considered, it went rather well overall. It would be prudent to make a note of what worked, and focus on what needs to be improved.
My vote certainly wasn't "screwed".
Twitter Gems, part 51
No, really:
 |
| Souce. |
This is Pakatan's next frontier: the moe-otaku vote.
On a more serious note, I can only hope that when history is written, 08 March 2008 will be acknowledged as the day where Malaysia changed. It could not have happened without Abdullah Badawi, and I hope history will be kind to a man who truly had the country's interest, not political patronage, at heart.
Saturday, May 04, 2013
First time voting tips, the moe way
Let's get this out of the way: I'm a moe tragic. Also, the ship for debating moe in the anime fandom has sailed. This is 2013 people.
But I had to smile at this:
And for once, a Facebook infographic relating to the 13th Malaysian general election that is not filled with dubious information and/or questionable understanding of facts.
Yes, I'm looking at you, 政治改一改-趣图看一看 and 我们全力支持民联 We Fully Support PR.
But I had to smile at this:
 |
| Source: cheechingy.com |
Yes, I'm looking at you, 政治改一改-趣图看一看 and 我们全力支持民联 We Fully Support PR
RTMPDump parameters for NHK World, round 2
For reference only:
I wonder if NHK World is monitoring me? They seem to change their FLV streaming structure rather frequently.
rtmpdump -r "rtmp://flv.nhk.or.jp/ondemand/flv/nhkworld/newsline/update/flv/features_h2013050121021468774.f4v"
-a "ondemand/flv/nhkworld/newsline/update/flv"
-W "http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/common/player/flv/player_vod.swf?x=520154"
-p "http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/newsline/201305012102.html"
-y "mp4:features_h2013050121021468774.f4v"
-o features_h2013050121021468774.f4vv
I wonder if NHK World is monitoring me? They seem to change their FLV streaming structure rather frequently.
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Twitter Misinformation (alt title: this vote isn't "screwed" by not being able to read instructions)
Seen on Twitter:
I have no idea how Borang 2 ends up in Envelope A, because the instructions I was given by the witnessing officer was to put only my ballot paper into Envelope A. The sealed envelope A is then put into envelope B with Borang 2.
(Or to dumb it down for Malaysians: the voting paper goes into the small envelope. The small envelope and Borang 2 goes into the big envelope)
If nothing else, the posters make it perfectly clear what goes into where:
And they were placed prominently, if photos from around the world are to be believed:
Certainly in Canberra there were placed right in front of the hall where you have to enter to vote. If one has to queue to be able to vote, I would think that is enough time to read the poster outlining the procedures to vote.
Complains that it was all in Bahasa don't make sense: its like an Australian voter overseas complaining that the ballot papers are in English. If someone like me can still read and understand it after not using Bahasa since I left school, I'd expect people who went through 11 years of compulsory education to be able to at least read government documentation.
I can't say for the others, but not "all" 200 votes in Canberra is screwed. This one isn't.
I have no idea how Borang 2 ends up in Envelope A, because the instructions I was given by the witnessing officer was to put only my ballot paper into Envelope A. The sealed envelope A is then put into envelope B with Borang 2.
(Or to dumb it down for Malaysians: the voting paper goes into the small envelope. The small envelope and Borang 2 goes into the big envelope)
If nothing else, the posters make it perfectly clear what goes into where:
 |
| Source. |
 |
| Source. |
 |
| Source. |
 |
| Source. |
 |
| Source. |
Certainly in Canberra there were placed right in front of the hall where you have to enter to vote. If one has to queue to be able to vote, I would think that is enough time to read the poster outlining the procedures to vote.
Complains that it was all in Bahasa don't make sense: its like an Australian voter overseas complaining that the ballot papers are in English. If someone like me can still read and understand it after not using Bahasa since I left school, I'd expect people who went through 11 years of compulsory education to be able to at least read government documentation.
I can't say for the others, but not "all" 200 votes in Canberra is screwed. This one isn't.
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