Being young and ignorant

Last Saturday was a coming of age day for me. Well, kind of.

I am officially a registered voter. A full fledged, 6 years late, registered voter.
Yes, for someone who sure as hell talks a lot about our current administration, I was not an official voter, until last Saturday.
But in my defence( however lame it may be) I did not find the need to vote when I was 21 yrs old. I was ignorant then and I did not know enough then. Now that I know I want change, I signed myself up and am going to make sure my voice counts time this around.

Many of you will think that this is not a good excuse not to vote when I hit 21, then perhaps I should share a story with you. Over dinner one night, I spoke to a friend, lets name her T, about the coming elections and stu-, oh I meant,politicians. So, there we were going on and on about it. Then I found out that she has no knowledge whatsoever about the Lingam circus show, or the Atlantuya fiasco or anything else which were hitting the headlines for the past year. (granted it IS boring reproduction of usual BS everyday- what with one tycoon now officially taking over a free daily-we're not going to get anymore straight talking no nonsense reporting anymore) So, with my jaw almost hitting the dirty tables at a SS2 mamak eatery, I said "please do not tell me you do not care about voting either?!"

To which she smugly replied, " I am already registered. Was since I was 21."

With a hint of shame(me being the all high and mighty Oh my God, you dont know anything about the current situation!), I commended her on her "politicial consciousness" at such an early age. But my shame was quickly replaced with shock when she said " I voted for XX party because my mother asked me to. Not like I care and know who I voted for." (See? I rather be ignorant when I was 21 then stupidly voting because my mother asked me to)

When asked what she meant by voting for a person from a party which her mother asked her to, she just shrugged her shoulders and said " I don't know. I don't even remember who I voted for. I don't care really."

Now, I would like to backtrack a little. I have always been a big advocate of the Election Commission taking proactive measures in recruiting young voters. By this I mean that they should go to colleges and universities to encourage the young to sign up and register themselves. Yes, I know university students are not to be involved in politics, but they should be educated on the need to be registered and to be heard. By setting up registration booths at colleges and universities, a lot of students will sign up because its easy and hassle free. (A lot of them, including myself, did not and do not know where to sign up because we were never informed- we were just expected to one day wake up and say EUREKA!I know where to sign myself up!)

Anyways, I digress.

I am now fully convinced that the Election Commission, the Government, and all other people entrusted with the task of educating the people on their voting rights and why they need to vote, are NOT doing their job.I have said this before, but I shall like a broken record, say it again. A lot of people who are registered, are registered for the sake of it. They do not know what they want, and they do not care too much about who they are voting for.

Many vote the opposition for the sake of spite. I hate Datuk X. Hence I shall vote for the opposition just for the heck of it.
Many vote for BN because politicians descend into villages and their constituencies bearing gifts and promises (albeit empty ones).
And many vote because "my father ask me to vote for him ma"

So what has gone wrong? Why are so many people ignorant? WHy are so many people fooled into exercising their right for the wrong reasons? Do they REALLY care about change? Do they really agree to the current administration?

I often wonder how the young will have ANY politicial consciousness at all. Cleo Magazine's YOUNG ACHIEVERS AWARDS feature girls only from the entertainment scene. A Miss Malaysia, a singer-songwriter, a classical dancer, a I-won-a-reality-show contestant and another magazine will have a "I am so succesfull at such a young age" but they forger the other half of it "because my father is Datuk X and if he weren't I would not be sitting on the Board of Directors without any experience" (like please, if you did not have the money you think you will be where you are at 24 yrs old age?) What about those who have been fighting for women rights? Women who have overcome disabilities and triumphed? Those who are politicially active and are in NGOs? Oh, sorry, you're probably too ugly to qualify.

So when magazines catered for the younger generation only promote the popularity, celebrity and beauty = all you ever need to know and care, I do not blame the younger generation for being ignorant. Who needs to know how badly the current administration is doing?

If there is any news I really need to know, E! Channel provides it all.