PROSES PENGUNDIAN SEDIKIT BERBEZA UNTUK PRU-13 - SPR

PUTRAJAYA 11 Julai - Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) akan membuat sedikit pengubahsuaian terhadap proses pengundian bagi pilihan raya umum (PRU) akan datang, bagi memastikan proses yang lebih telus berdasarkan beberapa cadangan daripada Jawatankuasa Pilihan Khas Parlimen (PSC) bagi Penambahbaikan Proses Pilihan Raya.

Pengerusi SPR, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof berkata, untuk PRU-13, susunan bilik mengundi agak berbeza apabila wakil parti politik ditukar kedudukannya dengan petak mengundi, bagi membolehkan mereka mendapat pandangan yang lebih baik mengenai pengundi dan proses pengundian.

Beliau berkata, tiga kerani pengundian akan ditempatkan di bilik tersebut dengan kerani pertama akan menyemak nama dan wajah pemilih serta jari mereka sama ada telah ditanda dengan dakwat kekal, selain melaungkan muka surat, nombor siri, nombor kad pengenalan dan nama pengundi supaya wakil parti politik boleh menyemak data tersebut di dalam senarai pemilih masing-masing.

Kerani kedua pula akan mencalit dakwat kekal pada jari telunjuk kiri pengundi, manakala kerani ketiga akan mengecap kertas undi dan menyerahkan keratan kertas undi kepada pengundi terbabit, katanya pada sesi taklimat bersama media di sini hari ini.

Abdul Aziz berkata nombor siri dan cap pada kertas undi juga adalah unik dan berbeza antara satu saluran pengundian dengan saluran pengundian yang lain, selain kertas undi yang mempunyai ciri-ciri keselamatan yang hanya boleh dilihat melalui sinaran ultra violet bagi mengenal pasti sekiranya terdapat kes kertas undi palsu atau kertas undi tambahan. - BERNAMA

KD: Sesuatu yang baru.. tak sabar nak pergi mengundi!!!

THE END OF AN ERA FOR GENERATION X


By Chok Suat Ling | sling@nst.com.my 

As the general election draws closer, social media sites are imploding with hatred and acrimony. Lies, slander and venomous comments calculated to hurt and injure are spewed without restraint or inhibition. 

"Respect", "tolerance" and "honour" are words that now have an ironic ring. There is no respect for the country, its leaders, or institutions. Many post controversial remarks on Internet forums and chat discussions for no other reason than to provoke an adverse reaction from others.

Elsewhere, there is also now a whole new generation of children who think nothing of growling at adults, calling them "losers", or using words that would have had their mouths washed out with soap and water in the past. For many parents, this signifies the end of civilisation as they know it, too.

The danger of these same children going missing and later found mutilated beyond recognition is also much more real now than before. In those days, children were allowed to roam free with the neighbourhood kids, but even a quick jaunt to the playground now may likely expose them to the preying eyes of predators, child traffickers and paedophiles.

So, is it the end of an era as we -- those in Generations X and earlier -- know it?

Based on all the perceptible signs, it certainly looks like it.

Read more: The end of an era for Generation X - Columnist - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/the-end-of-an-era-for-generation-x-1.71114#ixzz1r8Ol6Xef

KD: Who is Gen-X??

Generation X born between 1965 and the early 1980s, they are independent, resourceful and self-sufficient. They lived through tough economic times in the 1980s and saw their workaholic parents lose hard-earned positions. 

Thus, Generation X is less committed to one employer and more willing to change jobs to get ahead than previous generations. They adapt well to change and are tolerant of alternative lifestyles. 

Generation X is ambitious and eager to learn new skills but want to accomplish things on their own terms. Unlike previous generations, members of Generation X work to live rather than live to work. They appreciate fun in the workplace and espouse a work hard/play hard mentality. Generation X managers often incorporate humor and games into work activities.

(Source: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Indian-Malaysian/)

WAYS TO GET YOUTHS TO VOTE
-Letter by Ravindran Raman Kutty, Kuala Lumpur | letters@nst.com.my

I am not surprised to read that 50 per cent of the young people eligible to register as voters, according to the poll done by Merdeka Centre and National Institute of Electoral Integrity (NIEI), are not interested in doing so ("50 per cent of young not keen on voting" -- NST, March 31).

As a communications practitioner, I feel that the young people's reaction is in line with their thoughts and priorities. The young today are certainly different.

They are not into bread-and-butter issues. Their key concerns are fashion, mobile phones, iPhones, new software  applications and how to spend their free time with their friends.

Most of their bread-and-butter issues are handled by their  parents. The child only goes to school or college and attends tuition, music  and self-defence classes. The child graduates and begins work, where his priorities are not about which party will come to power, or who rules.

He or she is only keen in knowing what's new in town, entertainment, fashion or mobile phone applications, cars or motorcycles.

This is the new trend. It's pretty difficult to get the young to become members of any voluntary organisation.

KD: Voting is a responsibility and an action that every member of society must partake in. 

Universiti Sains Malaysia’s social sciences senior lecturer, Dr Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk said, a majority of Malaysian youth are not into politics. They do not feel the need to vote as they feel there are other important things in life. Maybe if the registration process was made easier it might attract them to vote.

PSC - DEBATE, NOT DEMONSTRATE


Bersih 2.0 is not only "disappointed" that several key issues were not dealt with or not dealt with in sufficient depth but also intends to hold another rally to push for the reforms that it wants. Whatever one may say about the PSC, it has been open and thorough and has listened to everyone who has an opinion on the matter. 


While the PSC recommendations may not be everything Bersih wants, their views have been considered and not completely ignored. Whatever the expertise and eminence of its steering committee, Bersih should not think that it knows best and has all the answers. No one does. Though the parliamentary panel's recommendations may have fallen short of expectations, the answer is not to take on a strident tone or convene a confrontation in the streets. 


The focus should be on working together and finding common ground to improve and strengthen the electoral process.

Read more: Debate, not demonstrate - Editorial - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/editorial/debate-not-demonstrate-1.71112#ixzz1r82PuTfn

KD: “street demonstrations bring more bad than good although the original intention is good.”

The long-term effects of the weekend’s events are hard to judge. They might help to unite a normally fractured opposition in common cause against what they can all see as an assault on democracy and peoples’ basic human rights.

For the analysts like Ibrahim Suffian, a director of the Merdeka Centre, one of Malaysia's premier opinion research outfits, believe that the government's heavy-handed response to the rally may have provoked some among Malaysia's growing middle class, who were previously fence-sitters, to take a more partisan role in opposition politics.