Election, election and election!!!

Don't worry, Mus... I'm not going to write about Malaysian politics or politics in Malaysia. Trust me, the last thing I want to do is to torture you with the topic you hated most.

And you too, Zetty. I'm not going to list down all those annoying things in our colourful life, including those power-hungry youth.

What I'm going to write today is the Students' Union Election.

"Choose Your Vote Carefully", cried the front page of Student Direct. This weekly paper, which is run by students for students, also claims that UMSU (University of Manchester Students' Union) is the largest students' union in UK and is renowned for being one of the most politicised and having one of the largest sums of money at its disposal. 4.3 million pound sterling, beb!


The election runs on three consecutive days since last Tuesday and today is the last day to cast our votes. At first, I was not that tempted to vote. I only have less than six months here, so why bother. However, after finished reading the manifesto of those candidates running the election, I feel kind of guilty if I don't lend my support to some of their noble causes.

I'm not sure whether or not you could read the manifesto from the snapshot of the said paper. Anyhow, let me list down some of them which grabbed my attention:

• Action against lazy departments holding back exam marks
• Against war and the arms trade
• Against the Nazi BNP
• Against climate change
• Bring on a green university
• Develop a world class intellectual facility
• Keep Wednesday afternoons free
• NO to Islamophobia, racism, sexism and fascism

And there are also some campaigns which I'm not that sure whether or not to support, such as:

• For free education
• For a woman's right to choose
• More funky, jazzed up club nights in the union
• Keep sex column on Student Direct

Before you guys get wrong impression of me, allow me to elaborate on my uneasiness of the above motions.

While I'm a strong believer that education should be made free to ALL, on the other hand I'm a bit concern if I support this motion, the UK government will be left with no other option but to raise the tuition fee for international students. Currently, we, the international students already paid three times of the fees paid by home students!

On the second issue, as a Muslim, I'm obliged to respect all rights of a woman. And I totally believe that a woman's right is not the same as a man's right. However, this does not mean a woman or a man should be made any worse in any situation. When I dig further the description of this campaign, it also includes a right for ABORTION. Hmmm... to me this part is very, very tricky. A blanket approval to this may lead to uncalled consequences. While I'm okay for rape victims to abort, I don't convince for other cases unless on health ground. Hmm... does this make sense?

For the last two motions, I chose to elegantly say, "No comment".

There are a couple of things that I learned from this election. Firstly, by publishing the views and struggles of each candidate, this facilitates the voters to make an informed decision.

Secondly, there are so many issues that concerned students and a campus election is a good training ground for students to learn and appreciate more about politics. To me, it is a pity to hear youth, including my friends such as Syed, Ril, Zali and Fendi to utter this phrase "politik-politik ni, I tak minat". And these are people with brain, not any Tom and Dick! Can't they see it beyond those undi and peti undi? Can't they see the bigger issues like democratisation, human rights, climate change, globalisation and poverty?

Entahlah... I guess all of us see things differently.

Campaigning outside the UMSU building

A queue with a view

The face of an ethusiatic voter?

Voting papers: To vote or not to vote