Maiden Voting Experience

It was, well, bland.

I read the Saturday Special on the General Election, as my Dad drove us to our specified polling station. Enduring 15 minutes of his rants against the incumbent, of which some are warranted and some ridiculous, we finally arrived.

There was a tad of electrical buzz in the air as we joined a short queue of like-minded people waking up bright and early on a Saturday morning. Two white-clad PAP candidates stood near the queue, smiling.

I turned to my mum.

Me: Mummy, who are you going to vote for?
Mum: ...
Me: (rolls up the newspaper and put it beside my ear) You can whisper it here.
Mum: *looks uncertain*
Me: Who? Who?
Mum: Er, whatever Papa asked me to vote for.
Me: Wah Lao! Why don't you vote for what I ask you to vote then?
Mum: ...

So much for having a mind of your own. Tsk! Vote wisely, people!

There was no queue at all inside the premises. Many volunteers were stationed to direct us to our polling booth. In a short span of 200 metres, I had to answer the same question 5 times.

I stared at my polling ticket and the two empty boxes beckoning me to pick one of them. This is it, I thought. I am playing my kuching-kurau role in choosing the destiny of Singapore!

And so, I determinedly drew a cross in one of the boxes and strode over to a subdued-looking box to cast my vote.