THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD

With the controversies continuing rife in the country since the 8th of March debacle, I cannot help putting down a few words less I failed to leave some traces of participation. Right from the hour on that Saturday morning 8th of March I was a spectator at the polling station together with the presiding officer and the other agents at Sekolah Kebangsaan Titi Gajah Alor Star. As a 'wakil' for the party I was one of the polling agent seeing to the voting 'procedures' and later at the end of the show the counting of ballot papers thrown into the transparent 'peti undi' ballot box. This was the breaking point since the first such box was used for the first time. What a break through. Though it did not make any ripple at all. Only where have all the thousands of the old iron boxes gone?

The wind of change was discerning even at the counting of papers in the respective polling stations and only to be confirmed later by the respective regional officers. Perhaps a historical point of note is that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and wife was at the very polling channel where I was on duty. It no less attracted the media to record his presence there. Characteristically many of the senior citizens of Titi Gajah and the polling zone came out to vote. Even those post ninety years, came forward supported by their relatives to do their duties of choosing the next government. This is a tendency to be admired and no less studied by all political parties in future elections. After all ALL votes count.

It must be recorded too that this General Election saw for the first time ballot papers being counted at the very polling booth or 'tempat mengundi' by the respective presiding officers and witnessed by the polling agents of the political parties concerned. It was to assure a faster declaration of result as there is no more counting of votes later at the regional station where all the 'ballot boxes' would be returned. Was that to happen?

Now rest assured that we in Kedah are under the allure of the full moon i.e the symbolic crest of the ruling PAS party and yet to see its strategies and approaches for the coming five years or so. Still even the tested BN coalition government at the federal government has yet to spring out from the starting point. Maybe it is waiting for Parliament to convene and with broadsides all the way then perhaps it will get cracking. What's happening has been lukewarm and certainly not encouraging.

So it seems the idiomatic saying still holds its application and authority. This time however the written words come not on papers but on screens as you are focusing your eyes right on. In Malaysia its resounding success came quite succinctly in the 8th of March 2008 General Election result. Now how could the media different from the printing, radio and TV screen manage to secure a divisive pull?

In the running for the electorates' attention and securement of their votes, political parties and their candidates in particular shifted to the computer screens, pulling in unexpected spectators or guests. While the government machinery's stuck to the old tested media: radio, televisions and the print media truly believing these are tested networks much sought by the populace. The government control radio, TV and newspapers are resources that have for decades won the hearts and souls of the electorates and so it was impossible for not chalking the same result. Caution was however in the air but it only fell on deaf ears.

The Internet, blogs, blogs and blogs of various names with all the stories, comments , news , rumours, pictures. caricatures came out in force to assault our senses. Not to be outdone, the mobile telephones registered many messages too circulated throughout the country and even to the rural areas where TV networks and newspapers never reached their intended group.

The damages have been done. It is too late to learn the consequences. Still the diehards realize the weaknesses and refuse to be outcome and now we have more blogger in outer space including those in the ruling federal government political parties who at one time rue the Internet and spoke lowly of its influences. Yes the written words conquer all yet again recording this time the winning and losing streaks that Malaysian have come to fathom and bear for the next five years at the most. Will the Internet or its accessories with all its facilities and advantages continue to hold strength in the future or do we see another feature forthcoming?