Yoa! What's happening, boooo!?

As an apolitical -- as in couldn't-give-a-bother -- individual in the matter of politics and politicians, I find this morning's newspaper to be quite interesting ... and so broke a habit of mine to spend no more than 10 minutes on print versions of newspapers.

What is the article that is interesting enough for me to read it?

Obviously, it has something to do with Singapore since I am still in Singapore and has yet to "QUIT" Singapore ... haha!

And equally obvious, since I am blogging about politics (itself a break in habit ... nah! not really, since you will see I am NOT blogging about politics, but about the Internet or 'Net), it will involve local, Singaporean "politics" (such as it is), since, as I have just said, I am still in Singapore and has yet to "QUIT" Singapore ... haha again!

But the surprising thing of it all is that the said article arises from the news about what's happening in a neighboring country, Malaysia -- which, of course, I have even less interest in than news about what's happening in Singapore, itself already something that I have little interest in, since I AM A NETIZEN, really ...

Digression:

Notice I am using the American version of "neighboring" -- that is, without the "u"? you see, I am thoroughly Americanised already ... haha again and again! So, let's have more "color" in our lives; let's continue to watch our "favorite" movies and listen to our "favorite" music; let's not be rude in our "behavior" nor "harbor" ill-feelings towards others; instead let's give "honor" where it is due and let's have"humor" where it is appropriate; let's "labor" as diligently as ever; let's not pass "rumors" at all; let us use words like "centimeter", "center", "fiber", "liter", and "theater"; let us "analyze", "organize", "realize", and "recognize"; let us explore American English words like "a defense", "a license", "an offense", "to practice", "inquiry" (as oppose to "enquiry") all of which may also be appropriate in Queen's or British or Commonwealth English under some circumstances; and let's have the definitely Amercian English words of "enrollment", "fufill", "installment", "skillful", "jewelry", "quarreling", "traveler", "woolen", "diarrhea", "fetus", "maneuver", "anesthetic", "encyclopedia", "ax", "bank check", "cozy", "draft" vs. draught, "gray" vs grey, "judgment", "curb" vs kerb, "kidnaper", "mold" vs mould, "mustache", "naught" vs nought, "plow" vs plough, "program" vs programme, "pajamas" vs pyjamas, "story" vs storey, "sulfur" vs sulphur, "tire" vs tyre, and "disk" vs disc; and yes, let us drive our "autos" instead of cars and use the "elevators" instead of lifts, and so on and so forth.

Hahahahahahaha ......

Sing this to the tune of "I like to teach the world to sing":

We want to "quit" to America,
We want to "quit" to the USA,
We want to "quit" to the United States,
We want to "quit" today and everyday, ...

Back to the newspaper article that I find so interesting. The article in question bears the title "Lessons to be learnt, says PAP MPs". "PAP" here obviously refers to the "ruling" party, which is the People's Action Party (I thought the government is an agent of the people, not its "ruler", or did I get that wrong all along?) And ... the "lessons to be learnt" in the article's title refer to the lessons from the recent General Election results in neighboring Malaysia.

Hey, don't worry! I am apolitical, remember and have ZERO or LESS-THAN-NEGATIVE (like in, MINUS-INFINITY or MINUS-GAZILLION or MINUS-GOOGOOPLEX, if these numbers were possible) interest in politics and politicians ... So, I am NOT going to bore myself -- or anyone who happens to be reading this blog post or entry -- with the details of that General Election ... and whether the results have any impact or not on Singapore, etc., etc., etc., blah, blah, blah, ....

What I AM interested in, is ... about the role that the Internet (or 'Net) is said to have played in the recent General Election in Malaysia, and this is the verbatim excerpt from that article:

Dr. Ooi Kee Beng, a Penang-born fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, said the BN

[Barisan Nasional; the ruling coalition that had won 63 per cent of the 222 parliamentary seats but ended up with barely half of the 7.9 million votes cast on Saturday 8 March 2008, that is, 51 per cent]

had underestimated the "political education" that voters were receiving through news websites and blogs.

"In the last few years, the Malaysian public was being educated and informed of happenings and scandals through the Internet, which was blanketed out of the mainstream media," he said.

"Governments all over the world, including Singapore, will do well to realise the power of the Internet and flow along with it."

Ah yes ... the above is neat! And it sounds just about right, that bit about "Governments all over the world ..."

And if YOU DINOSAURS OUT THERE don't believe it ... oh well, YOU ARE SO "OUT OF IT", DINOSAURS!

Let's sing that song again, I like to "quit" ...