I remember one question we were asked in our Kajian Tempatan exams. It was something like "Apakah bangunan yang melambangkan demokrasi negara kita?" (What building is the symbol of our country's democracy?)
Without much thought, I wrote: Bangunan UMNO. It wasn't actually a Freudian slip, but rather, that was because it was the big "political" building I always passed by and stared at. The answer was of course "Parlimen Negara" and I hadn't though of that for the simple reason that I only looked at that odd building from a distance, and was simply told that "that is the parliament".
TV cameras make people fat, and they also make small rooms look big. My first thought when I entered the Dewan Rakyat: "Eh, that's small!" Yes, in the TV you look at this huge room with nicely arranged tables in a horseshoe formation. And so reality wasn't so glamorous after all.
But ah, it was worth the experience (Parliament for the observer is an experience after all). We were lucky enough to catch a "fight" but I suppose that happens regularly. Still, we had to wade through the dull and dreary bits (Agricultural subsidies) to get to the nice, drama-drama stuff. I notice that MPs tend to drum/bang the tables whenever they are in agreement. Maybe the comparisons to animals are...er, nevermind.
It was mostly civilized stuff, actually. Most of the time the MPs are well behaved. I saw Jeff Ooi typing away at his laptop,Charles Santiago Manickavasingam (Santiago doesn't sit there!!!) busy shouting "duduk!" to any BN MPs trying to speak when the Opposition was speaking, good ol' Lim Kit Siang staring rather closely at his notebook screen and ah, Khairy Jamaluddin sitting demurely in his corner. Couldn't spot any other BN notables (besides the infamous Bung Mokhtar). The BN section was surprisingly empty. I wonder why. Not sure how BN MPs typically act, but they don't seem fazed much by Mahathir's resignation.
The drama came when Tourism Minister Azalina Othman was asked a question about the five Pakatan Rakyat states and how their tourism programs were cancelled. Then the Opposition MPs started hentam-ing her for "lying" (when she replied they were going on as scheduled). It was curious (and of course entertaining) to watch it. (Malaysiakini report here.)
So we homeschoolers got a glimpse of the inner workings of our nations "democracy". We came, we saw, we went and for me, I was left both enlightened and puzzled. Enlightened by seeing for myself what they actually talked about in Parliament, puzzled by the fact that some questions were somewhat pointless (Stewardess' skirts? Come on.) and while others were obviously asked in the name of transparency, one can't helped but wonder whether our MPs were doing their bit for the rakyat or only forwarding their own political agendas.
But ah, for all we know, the both will always go hand in hand and will always be inseparable.
Without much thought, I wrote: Bangunan UMNO. It wasn't actually a Freudian slip, but rather, that was because it was the big "political" building I always passed by and stared at. The answer was of course "Parlimen Negara" and I hadn't though of that for the simple reason that I only looked at that odd building from a distance, and was simply told that "that is the parliament".
TV cameras make people fat, and they also make small rooms look big. My first thought when I entered the Dewan Rakyat: "Eh, that's small!" Yes, in the TV you look at this huge room with nicely arranged tables in a horseshoe formation. And so reality wasn't so glamorous after all.
But ah, it was worth the experience (Parliament for the observer is an experience after all). We were lucky enough to catch a "fight" but I suppose that happens regularly. Still, we had to wade through the dull and dreary bits (Agricultural subsidies) to get to the nice, drama-drama stuff. I notice that MPs tend to drum/bang the tables whenever they are in agreement. Maybe the comparisons to animals are...er, nevermind.
It was mostly civilized stuff, actually. Most of the time the MPs are well behaved. I saw Jeff Ooi typing away at his laptop,
The drama came when Tourism Minister Azalina Othman was asked a question about the five Pakatan Rakyat states and how their tourism programs were cancelled. Then the Opposition MPs started hentam-ing her for "lying" (when she replied they were going on as scheduled). It was curious (and of course entertaining) to watch it. (Malaysiakini report here.)
So we homeschoolers got a glimpse of the inner workings of our nations "democracy". We came, we saw, we went and for me, I was left both enlightened and puzzled. Enlightened by seeing for myself what they actually talked about in Parliament, puzzled by the fact that some questions were somewhat pointless (Stewardess' skirts? Come on.) and while others were obviously asked in the name of transparency, one can't helped but wonder whether our MPs were doing their bit for the rakyat or only forwarding their own political agendas.
But ah, for all we know, the both will always go hand in hand and will always be inseparable.
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