Hang on for a bumpy ride to May 9

The elections are here at last. It’s said to be one of the shortest campaign periods – just 11 days. But is it really? It feels like the longest campaign ever.

SO the show begins. The dates for the long, long-awaited general elections are finally known. And already, the excitement is at fever-pitch.

For months on end, Malaysians have been waiting for the dissolution. And it has finally come to pass.

The wait, however, has not dulled things. It promises to be one hell of a roller coaster ride to May 9.

Already, things are getting hot. The redelineations went lurching from one shape to another and back to the first amendment (not the American one) and got passed in just over two hours. There was a huge outcry. The Anti-Fake News Bill was passed and is now gazetted. Another outcry.

The elections were called on a Wednesday, a working day, with the less-important nominations on a Saturday. Yet another outcry.

That has been settled with the Wednesday public holiday. You can always trust Malaysians to be happy with public holidays and handouts, as proven at a supermarket where a Crown Prince splurged on shoppers.

The outcry wasn’t always on one side. The chairman of the Opposi- tion pact and former prime minister decided on a choice word, and he had to choose a community to go with it.

That was deemed a slur on the Indian community and the knives were out. He had to apologise, they bayed. Then, there were those who lodged police reports to have him arrested.

The man has always been controversial. And he reminds me of the law of karma.

Back in 1990, I stood in awe as another frail, former prime minister was carried on a sedan chair over the shoulders of a huge crowd. He stepped out and in a hoarse, quivering voice, said; “Saya sudah tua, gigi pun tadak, cakap pun susah” (I am old, toothless and speaking is difficult.)

He went on to talk about the two doctors who kept him alive – the one who fed him medicine and the one he wanted to topple as Prime Minister.

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj failed in his final mission. Two months later, he died.

Now, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad seems to be in the same shoes. Karma.

At least he has apologised for his supposed racial slur.

Am I offended, as an Indian? I can’t really say. As a rookie reporter and sub-editor, I spent a hugely enjoyable part of my life at The Star’s office at 11, Pitt Street in Penang.

We still have an office there but the stationery now reads 11, Jalan Kapitan Keling. So, how? You know what they say about people in glass houses, stones, stuff like that.

Back to that Wednesday polling thing. I think the guys at the Election Commission shot themselves in the foot. There are a lot of angry folk out there, based on what you read on social media and the Prime Minister’s Office has moved in quickly to defuse things.

But what really bothers me is the nomination date. Do we really have to wait till April 28 for nominations?

I would have preferred the EC to have nominations at the end of this week, elections at the end of the month and have everything wrapped up by the end of April.

Do they really believe that campaigning will only start after the nominations?

We all know that the campaigning has been going on for months now. All parties, except maybe the recalcitrants, have already lined up their candidates.

Why the 18-day wait before nominations followed by another 11 days of campaigning?

That’s 29 days of campaigning we are going to live with. The flags are flying, the mobile campaign platforms are rumbling around the country. And I guess the helicopters are already filling the skies on the other side of the South China Sea.

The memes are already making their rounds, candidates are being made fun of and posters are being ripped-off, both literally and metaphorically.

When spectacles become bras, that becomes a real spectacle you know. But there have been some really classy approaches this time, instead of the cheesy songs of the last campaign.

Khairy Jamaluddin’s promises to the youth comes to mind. It’s a straight-to-the-point presentation that’s both entertaining and enlightening, the kind of video that speaks to you. Vote any way you want, but do watch it, especially the younger ones.

This old man though can’t wait for the whole thing to end. Then, I will head to Penang, to the office in Jalan Kapitan Keling and walk over to Queen Street to enjoy the Ramadan fare. Now, that’s something I will vote for – without a doubt. No secrets there.

Why the 18-day wait before nominations followed by another 11 days of campaigning?

For the writer, who can be reached at raj@thestar.com.my, this is likely to be his last elections as a newspaperman. That makes GE14 an exciting enough proposition.