.jpg)
By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright November 2022
We were determined to be early to vote on election day, arriving at our voting centre, Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Damansara at 7:45 am.
We thought we could beat the queue. But by the time we arrived there was already a 200 meter long line from the main gate. The EC recommended 8:00 am for senior citizens and I thought being a senior member I would get priority.
Guess who were there? All the old folks of Bukit Damansara who cancelled their morning walk just to be early, were already in line.
They deserve to be given priority too for this ritual that only happens every five years. Not just me. Ahead of me I recognised people in their late 70s or early 80s whom I have met voting at the same centre since 1970s.
The EC did a good job putting up large tents with overhead fans and plenty of chairs. But the line was moving quite speedily and not many made use of them.
However, when I saw a lady being wheeled in on a wheel chair by a care giver I thought she would be given special attention. But officials thought otherwise and she was made to wait her turn outside the entrance patiently to cast her votes like everyone else.
Almost all in my queue ended at channel 2. The lines on other channels for some reasons were shorter than ours.
Nevertheless I can't complain too much because from the time I walked into the centre at 8:00 am sharp I was able to complete my voting and was out at exactly 9:00 am in time to take a call from a neighbor who is a Malaysian Permanent Resident on vacation in Los Angeles.
He wanted to know the results of our General Election. I told him he would need to hang on till past midnight before we'll be able to see any results.
Overall the voting was smooth quiet and speedy. There was no fight, no scuffles just people lining up patiently wanting to cast their votes.
The weather was cool. Rain fell early before dawn in Bukit Damansara. We are fortunate.
We are more fortunate than those in Baram Sarawak who had to queue in flood water that was knee-deep. I respect them for their determination to exercise their constitutional rights.
Back at Bukit Damansara, we saw some of those at our voting centre later at a cafe not too far away from the school having coffee and showing off their index fingers.
Our favourite cafe Huckleberry gave discounts for voters just for today.
We had a great outing for Election Day. How's yours?
Share your experiences, dreams and hopes for #GE15 and stand a chance to win cash prizes up to RM16,500! Find out how you can participate here.
Mihar Dias is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav.
Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
Newswav is solely an aggregation platform and hosts the content. The views expressed and content above including media (pictures, videos, etc) were provided by the author. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
