Thursday, March 13, 2008
Semester 1 2008 and "What I think about the elections"
It's been a whopping three weeks since I last updated, and I apologise for that; just getting used to the new semester, that's all. Being the Student Council Treasurer as well as the Nature Society President both at the same time ain't easy work, and to top it off, not forgetting my choral and academic obligations as well. Then again, what else is new?
Anyway, the new semester started off with a rather hectic orientation. This semester marked the first time that the student body is being more involved in conducting the orientation than merely acting as buddies/guides throughout the week. Despite that, we managed to survive and orientation ended on an unceremonious note; as happened in previous semesters. Of course, I'm looking forward to increased student involvement in the coming semester as it'd bring Monash Sunway Campus closer to the idea of a typical university orientation program. We'd need a lot of planning for that, however.
Probably the only interesting photo I took during Orientation Week
On the other hand, this year's Orientation Bash was crazy. Typically, the Orientation Bash/Party is a free-for-freshies event that happens on the first weekend of the semester in order to further orientate students in the new intake. This time around, there were 220 participants and only about 30 or 40 buddies to manage them, resulting in widespread chaos. Nevertheless, the second half of the day spent in Sunway Lagoon as opposed to remaining on Monash grounds, allowing us to enjoy the theme park in the company of newly-made friends. If it weren't for the Sunway Lagoon portion, I would've (sadly) branded the event a disappointment. Fortunately, it wasn't.
My Orientation Bash group at Sunway Lagoon. And what a great bunch of people they were.
And now for a change of topic; the Malaysian general elections have just recently ended. For the first time in history, the opposition parties have control of five out of the 13 Malaysian states, with Selangor (the most developed one) under the PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat). Prior to this, many Malaysians' woes have fallen on the deaf ears of the ruling coalition; with more than 2/3rds majority in Parliament, many of the people in power have taken their positions for granted. Now that the opposition has taken over, I'm expecting major changes to the country in the coming years.
But you already know that.
What you don't know, though, is my opinion on the matter, and here it is: I can't stand partisan politics. I'm not too happy with the way the country had been managed in recent years, but that doesn't mean that everybody in Barisan Nasional is a corrupt, good-for-nothing, power-hungry man (and at times, with an ugly toupee to boot). Conversely, that also doesn't mean that everybody in the opposition is a country-saving messiah. In national politics, you can't expect both sides to be idiot-free; something that probably should be taught in Political Theory 101. Hence, people should vote not for which party they think is best for them, but for the person they think is best suited to do the job. Unfortunately, partisanship seems to be the primary determinant of voting decision in Malaysia. Except in the cases of how corrupt, good-for-nothing, power-hungry men (and in one case, with an ugly toupee to boot) are finally voted out of power. Thank goodness for that.
With that said, I'm still happy that the opposition has more say in Parliament now. I won't be irrationally exuberant about it, though, unless I start seeing results. The opposition now has a huge burden to bear; the next four or five years will be a hot-water test for them and if they fail to deliver, I won't be surprised if Malaysia kicks them out come the next general elections.
And for the last time, JUST BECAUSE WE ARE A PETROL-PRODUCING NATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT PETROL PRICES SHOULD BE CHEAPER IN MALAYSIA! Someday I'll write something with my shallow knowledge of economic theory and tell you the reason why and act all smart about it.
Pointless Fact of the Day:
And now for something completely different. I have here three pictures that should elicit a giggle or two from you people. First up is a van I encountered today while in Izuan's car on the way to Sunway Pyramid:
Suitably censored to protect the identity of the vehicle.
"The Leading Choice for Impotence Management" it says. Helps you (or your man) during the general erections.
And while we're on the subject of male anatomy, here's a condom that two unrelated friends of mine gave me on separate occasions:
It's the NYC condom from the Museum of Sex in New York! Totally unassuming, it's your run-of-the-mill family planning kit you normally keep in your back pocket. And then you turn to see the back side of the condom:
Good to know that Malaysia's helping in the worldwide fight against STDs and unwanted pregnancies. Do I hear someone saying "Belilah barangan buatan Malaysia"?
Anyway, the new semester started off with a rather hectic orientation. This semester marked the first time that the student body is being more involved in conducting the orientation than merely acting as buddies/guides throughout the week. Despite that, we managed to survive and orientation ended on an unceremonious note; as happened in previous semesters. Of course, I'm looking forward to increased student involvement in the coming semester as it'd bring Monash Sunway Campus closer to the idea of a typical university orientation program. We'd need a lot of planning for that, however.
Probably the only interesting photo I took during Orientation WeekOn the other hand, this year's Orientation Bash was crazy. Typically, the Orientation Bash/Party is a free-for-freshies event that happens on the first weekend of the semester in order to further orientate students in the new intake. This time around, there were 220 participants and only about 30 or 40 buddies to manage them, resulting in widespread chaos. Nevertheless, the second half of the day spent in Sunway Lagoon as opposed to remaining on Monash grounds, allowing us to enjoy the theme park in the company of newly-made friends. If it weren't for the Sunway Lagoon portion, I would've (sadly) branded the event a disappointment. Fortunately, it wasn't.
My Orientation Bash group at Sunway Lagoon. And what a great bunch of people they were.And now for a change of topic; the Malaysian general elections have just recently ended. For the first time in history, the opposition parties have control of five out of the 13 Malaysian states, with Selangor (the most developed one) under the PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat). Prior to this, many Malaysians' woes have fallen on the deaf ears of the ruling coalition; with more than 2/3rds majority in Parliament, many of the people in power have taken their positions for granted. Now that the opposition has taken over, I'm expecting major changes to the country in the coming years.
But you already know that.
What you don't know, though, is my opinion on the matter, and here it is: I can't stand partisan politics. I'm not too happy with the way the country had been managed in recent years, but that doesn't mean that everybody in Barisan Nasional is a corrupt, good-for-nothing, power-hungry man (and at times, with an ugly toupee to boot). Conversely, that also doesn't mean that everybody in the opposition is a country-saving messiah. In national politics, you can't expect both sides to be idiot-free; something that probably should be taught in Political Theory 101. Hence, people should vote not for which party they think is best for them, but for the person they think is best suited to do the job. Unfortunately, partisanship seems to be the primary determinant of voting decision in Malaysia. Except in the cases of how corrupt, good-for-nothing, power-hungry men (and in one case, with an ugly toupee to boot) are finally voted out of power. Thank goodness for that.
With that said, I'm still happy that the opposition has more say in Parliament now. I won't be irrationally exuberant about it, though, unless I start seeing results. The opposition now has a huge burden to bear; the next four or five years will be a hot-water test for them and if they fail to deliver, I won't be surprised if Malaysia kicks them out come the next general elections.
And for the last time, JUST BECAUSE WE ARE A PETROL-PRODUCING NATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT PETROL PRICES SHOULD BE CHEAPER IN MALAYSIA! Someday I'll write something with my shallow knowledge of economic theory and tell you the reason why and act all smart about it.
Pointless Fact of the Day:
And now for something completely different. I have here three pictures that should elicit a giggle or two from you people. First up is a van I encountered today while in Izuan's car on the way to Sunway Pyramid:
Suitably censored to protect the identity of the vehicle."The Leading Choice for Impotence Management" it says. Helps you (or your man) during the general erections.
And while we're on the subject of male anatomy, here's a condom that two unrelated friends of mine gave me on separate occasions:
It's the NYC condom from the Museum of Sex in New York! Totally unassuming, it's your run-of-the-mill family planning kit you normally keep in your back pocket. And then you turn to see the back side of the condom:
Good to know that Malaysia's helping in the worldwide fight against STDs and unwanted pregnancies. Do I hear someone saying "Belilah barangan buatan Malaysia"?
