There is no use pretending. I am growing old. Or, to be kinder, I tell myself I am getting older!
Why do I say this? Well, on Thursday, my colleague Pearl Lee asked me if my son, Owen, was going to vote.
It took me a few seconds to reply before it suddenly hit me. Owen is eligible to vote for the first time.
My firstborn will head to the polling stations on Nov 19 for Malaysia’s 15th General Election, thanks to the Undi18 movement.
For those who do not know, Undi18 is a Malaysian youth movement that successfully lobbied for the Federal Constitution’s Article 119(1) to be changed to lower Malaysia’s voting age from 21, to 18.
In 2019, it was passed by Dewan Rakyat (July 16) and Dewan Negara (July 25). It became law on Sept 10, 2019.
Owen turned 18 in March. The automatic voter registration came into effect on Dec 15, 2021, meaning he will join 675,076 other Sarawakians eligible to vote for the first time. That number consists of those under 21 and older folks who did not previously register as voters.
In total, Malaysia gained 6.23 million new voters – via the lowering of voting age (1.4 million) and through the automatic voter registration (4.83 million).
Besides Owen, my cousin’s son, Triston Martin, 22, will cast his first vote in three weeks. My neighbour’s son, who is also 18 this year, will have a hand in deciding his future.
When I told Owen his name was on the Electoral Roll, he replied nonchalantly: “Ya, I know.”
Pressed if he was going to vote, Owen answered positively but added he did not know whom to vote for since nomination day is next week.
It was the same for Triston, whose mother, Deborah, said: “He has been following the news but feels all the politicians are the same!”
That is why, despite the more than six million increase in voters, many analysts believe voter turnout may not be high for a variety of reasons – voter fatigue due to the non-stop politicking and backstabbing, fears of the rainy season, and that nothing will change, no matter who is in charge.
Former Youth and Sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, a key mover of Undi18, told TIME magazine last week he was confident that the younger generation of voters could be ‘kingmakers’.
We shall find out in three weeks if they will really make a difference.
HIGHEST NUMBER OF COVID-19 CASES IN A SINGLE DAY SINCE AUG 26
There were 3,296 new Covid-19 infections yesterday, the first time since Aug 26 that the country has had more than 3,000 new cases (3,118).
In the past week, there were 16,346 cases. That took the total to 4,893,733.
There were also 23 fatalities in the past week. This means that 36,463 people lost their fight with the coronavirus.
On the recovery front, 12,794 patients received the all-clear this week. That brought the total to 4,827,215.
Worldwide, there are 635,070,134 cases, and 6,592,651 fatalities.
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS SYMPOSIUM
On Nov 10, the Kiwanis Malaysia Academy will host a symposium on special needs education.
It will bring together parents, educators, caregivers, activists, consultants, and business owners to discuss the problems and difficulties associated with teaching and learning for children and youth with special needs.
The symposium intends to advance knowledge, increase networking, and impact Malaysia’s future in terms of special needs education.
The keynote speakers are Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi and Professor Dr Abtar Darshan Singh, Unesco Chair on Harnessing Innovations in Technology to Support Teachers and Quality Learning.
MORE FIRST-WORLD PROBLEMS
When it rains, it pours, as I found out this week.
On Wednesday morning, I heard a ‘click’. The next thing I knew, the room air-conditioning, and bathroom water heater were not working.
Then, on Thursday night, I noticed a thin white line running from the top to the bottom on the right side of my television screen, indicating it might be time to get a new one very soon.
I am now left hoping that I will get a bad dream.
POACHED EGGS IN AN AIR FRYER
Food content creator Eileen Bell, via her TikTok account, has a tip to get perfectly poached eggs in an air fryer. I will try this tomorrow.
YOUR FLAG DECAL WON’T GET YOU INTO HEAVEN ANYMORE
John Prine recorded ‘Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore’ in 1969. It was in his debut album, released in 1971.
It became popular during Donald Trump’s presidency as a protest against the ‘Make America Great Again’ crowd that aggressively waved the flag and other paraphernalia that did little to promote unity.
Until next week, stay safe.
Main image: Election Commission of Malaysia.
