Hello. I’m Kevin & I’m 11 ½ years old.
One year ago, I was not interested in the Government, Opposition, Judiciary, free and fair elections etc.
Then, in mid-September 2007, a dramatic video hit Malaysia with a force so powerful! I watched it on YouTube. V.K. Lingam appeared to have used his influence in the appointing of the No. 1 Judge of Malaysia. I was shocked. That incident got me interested in politics.
About 2 months later, there was a peaceful rally organised by Bersih for free and fair elections attended by about 40 000 people! The marchers were shot on with Chemical Laced Water and Tear Gas. I saw it on YouTube and read about it in political blogs like Raja Petra Kamarrudin’s blog and Jeff Ooi’s blog. I felt really annoyed by this.
The recent election campaign period was really exciting for me.
On 27th of February 2008, I attended my first ever political ceramah. That evening, my family and I quickly finished dinner, and headed for Puchong. I heard Gobind Singh’s fiery speech despite his having almost lost his voice. There were 1000+ people at the ceramah.
After Gobind’s ceramah, my family headed for Section 18 Subang Jaya to hear Hannah Yeoh speak. The field was so muddy but there were 3000 people at the ceramah. Hannah Yeoh spoke with conviction. Edward Ling (who is here today) and Tony Pua also spoke, eloquently. I reached home past midnight!
Then, on the 3rd of March 2008, my family & I attended Lim Kit Siang’s ceramah in USJ 12. There were 7 000 – 10 000 Malaysians including old people there, all braving the torrential rain! Malaysians were sharing their umbrellas with total strangers! Some, like my mother, even lent her umbrella to a lady she did not know! There, I saw Malaysians helping and caring for each other. When Lim Kit Siang arrived at about 11.45 pm, there was a big applause. As he walked to the stage, the DAP campaign song was played loudly. People reached out to shake his hand. His speech was inspiring and humourous.
Nowadays, I read political blogs like RPK’s blog and Jeff Ooi’s blog. I now realise that politics is important. I was very happy with the 12th General Elections results.
Thank You.
There were four distinguished Guest Speakers at the Discussion:
Bob Kee, Blogger and Activist,
Edward Ling, Ex-campaign Manager (to Hannah Yeoh ADUN Subang Jaya),
Lee Swee Seng, Advocate & Solicitor, Toastmaster, and
KJ John, Executive Director, OHMSI.
I felt a little nervous when giving my speech because of the V.I.Ps there. If I made a mistake, I would be embarassed.
In the end, I did well. I was very happy with my speech.
