Can you find a single BN campaign event that is anywhere near as inclusive and multi-ethnic?
Check out the crowd at one of Tan Sri’s ceramahs (look close!) -
But even more interesting was when we went door-to-door campaigning. Our entourage included people from all ethnic groups and social classes. (Full set of pics here, thanks again to Flickr host politikus!)
Here’s Dr. Xavier Jeyakumar speaking to a voter. On the left is En. Bakar (who Jed blogged about) and on the far right was a Tamil-speaking Sikh volunteer from Tian Chua’s Batu Division. Party stalwart Razali was driving the 4WD in the background.
In the above picture, in the background on the far right, you can also see these two young guys who came all the way from Ipoh – a few busloads of people started their journey that morning at 3am.
The old guy (second from left) was also part of the Ipoh group, En Bakar is behind Dr. Xavier.
This guy had an Umno shirt drying on the car he was leaning on :) But as the following pic shows, inter-party relations are not a problem, as long as Khairy isn’t there to stir shit up.
Doing the rounds! The guy on Tian’s left in the first pic was a local supporter helping out.
Our big group photo :)
Reflections: I was overwhelmed with the dedication to the cause that everyone showed. I used to think that I was a dreamer, for joining politics, etc. But it’s nothing compared to these guys (who weren’t even the only ones out there that day!).
Dr. Xavier is a successful dentist, who could lead his whole life in a comfy office; the batik shirt you see Tian in had been completely drenched earlier in the day, but changing/resting/etc was all secondary to getting out there and turning the votes. En. Bakar had come all the way from Melaka, probably still exhausted from the Machap campaign, where I met him. And the guys from Ipoh? One old old man, and two youngsters – people who are obviously sacrificing something to be there.
Were any of these guys paid? Doubt it. Even if they were, I bet tak sampai 10% of what BN canvassers get as their ‘allowance’ :P That’s the great thing about being in the opposition – there’s hardly anyone there who isn’t some sort of optimist who is willing to fight for a better Malaysia. Why the hell else would you be out there working your butt off under an unforgiving sun??
Fighting for every inch with blood, sweat and tears (someone commented that if we got even 15 votes from the whole afternoon out there, we should consider it a success :) – truly an inspiration.
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wow nat.
even i feel like tearing up after reading this…sniff sniff.
’tis true. we ain’t paid. but we are more than happy to contribute from our own pockets for a great party and a brighter future.
consider this our ‘investment’ :)
I adore those two Chinese guy from Ipoh, I adore that Sikh uncle, I adore that one Indian local supporter, you are all so beautiful. I’m sad because I still cannot shake off these bits of racial hatred that I’ve been fed and grew up with, but I do hope that I could de-understand this good-for-nothing sense of individuality as soon as possible. May our future allow each and every single one of us and our generation to sit down somewhere, drink teh tarik mamak and enjoy the beauty of unity. May all the bad ones, Malay, Chinese, Indian or whatsoever repent or disappear from this world and leave us, who really love each other and not the fucking propaganda. InsyaaLLah.