Didn't have much time to update the blog for some time. Been busy with election coverage. As some of you may know, I am attached full time on the nwsdesk of the New Straits Times, and I cover mostly politics, so I was pretty busy in the past few weeks. I was stationed in Gombak during the elections, and of course - it was an exciting night. When it was all over, the opposition had won the Parliamentary seat as well as all state seats. We journalists were huddled in a group with PKR vice president Azmin Ali, while outside - a 2,000 strong crowd of his supporters roared like some monster tethered on a leash. It was  4am before the results were finally announced by the SPR and we could finally head home.

Here is one of my commentaries that came out before the elections on March 6, Page 18:

A message from the new breed of voters

By Arman Ahmad

New Straits Times

FOR eight months in the past one year, I had to dodge potholes the size
of moon craters whenever I drove home.
  But now, barely a week before March 8, this has all magically changed.
  A few days ago, a band of workers appeared out of thin air with their
heavy machinery and fixed everything.
  Yes, you can tell that the election is near. You can smell it in the
air.
  Even if you're as blind as a bat and can't see the million or so
posters strung on taut lines like dirty linen, you can tell by the acrid
smell of tar that hangs thick in the air of countless housing estates.
  And it isn't just the roads leading to housing estates that have been
resurfaced.
  Jalan Riong in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, the site of our office, has
received a fresh coat of bitumen, too. It gleams richly black under the
sun, a reminder to all and sundry that it's election time.
  Elections mean different things to different Malaysians.
  For some, it is a chance to revel in yet another festivity. The
pilihanraya, just like Hari Raya, is a reason to celebrate.
  The festivities start on nomination day and will reach a crescendo on
election day, when the entire kampung will rejoice in the victory of
their newfound leaders in packed community halls.
  In cities across the nation, folks will be glued to the television for
the election results, with scorecards in hand.
  For many others, this is also the time to make money. Printing
companies will be making a small fortune by churning out countless
posters and election paraphernalia for the various political parties.
  The election period has always been an exciting time for me and my
family.
  My mother would be the most excited of all, being a fervent (or should
I say fanatical) BN supporter. When I was 21, she made me register at a
booth set up at our neighbourhood Carrefour, then advised me to vote for
BN.
  She is such a strong BN supporter that should I run as a PKR candidate
in my hometown, I suspect she would, in all probability, vote against me.
  As for me, I have always been apolitical. I have never voted. But I
will do so this year. I feel the time is right for me to vote as there
are many things which I feel strongly about in this election.
  Some people who bump into me think that just because I sport a goatee I
must be a follower of Ustaz Hadi Awang.
  Others, by virtue of my working with a mainstream paper, think that I
am a supporter of Umno.
  But the truth is, I myself have not decided for certain in whom I will
put my trust to run the country for the next five years.
  What I do know is that in the next few days, I will be doing as much
reading as I can, apart from listening to as many ceramah as possible.
  Which is quite easy really. For the people of my generation, who
breathe on Yahoo and YouTube, information is available at the click of a
mouse.
  So this is my message to all aspiring candidates of the 12th general
election, to their party leaders, information chiefs and heads of
election machinery.
  What we are looking for is a candidate who will give the most value for
our vote.
  We are not the same as our parents, who were much less informed.
  We will not be easily swayed by religious dogma or fooled by racist
propaganda.
  We can read about our elected candidates and the parties they represent
in the same way that we read a review on an MP3 player or a new computer.
  And rest assured, if we're not satisfied with the product, we probably
won't buy you again.