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By Mansor Puteh

It was estimated that the Twelfth Malaysian general election had cost a few billion ringgit and most of it went to the printing of these paraphernalia which ended up in the garbage dumps. Most of the money could have been spent to promote the well-being of the voters by the building of bridges and construction of roads, etc, just to give a good idea of how much the candidates care for the people’s welfare.

It is confirmed that the candidates for the next American presidential election are Barack Hussein Obama and John McCain of the Democratic and Republican Parties, respectively.

Chances are Hillary Clinton who lost in the primaries would be Barack's running mate. It is a good choice for him to choose her over another person, especially a man – since a woman in high heels won't be able to catch up with him, running anywhere.

I am sure all those citizens of the small city in Japan called Obama who had been rooting for their candidate will be happy with this setup; so, too, will Barack's former classmates at the primary school in Jakarta where he had spent a few years in the mid-1970s. He was there when I was also in Jakarta for the first time traveling from there to Bali in 1974.

I cannot help but mention that Barack also studied at the same university I did in New York City – Columbia – with him enrolling two years after I left. So we must have been to the same places on campus and entered the 116^th Street and Broadway subway station and entered the door of Butler Library countless times.

And if Barack had Muslim friends and wanted to see them, he might have gone to Earl Hall where our association was, which was beside the Jewish students' association office.

He later went on to pursue his education at Harvard and entered politics in America while I was swayed from it because I felt there was no space for people like me in the local political arena where brains and qualifications don't count for very much.

Once you are trapped in it, you won't want to get out. There is no life after politics in Malaysia. So, no wonder old and vintage politicians who have had their day still clamor for position by whatever means necessary since there is nowhere else they can go.

Former American vice-president Al Gore left office to teach at the School of Journalism and produced a documentary on the environment for which he won an Oscar.

After leaving office, President Jimmy Carter founded an institute to promote global health, democracy and human rights. He has traveled extensively to conduct peace negotiations and establish relief efforts; he is also a key figure in the Habitat for Humanity project. As of 2008, Carter remains a relevant national figure, and has been especially vocal on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter)

Barack will be that rainbow over America and the rest of the world that will shine over us without casting dark clouds like some of his predecessors in the other party had done over the past few decades.

And his administration will do it because all of them believe in the “change we can believe in”, as his campaign slogan stated.

America and Americans are set to create their own unusual history; and it will be a win not just for the pleasure of being able to usher in someone who is more superior to John in more ways than one, but more than that, it is a victory for the moderates in America.

Yes, in America, they too have their 'radicals' and 'moderates'.

The radicals are those who are bent on starting a war at the drop of a hat, while the moderates are the ones who are always trying to stop it and promote true democracy in the world, especially when trying to solve the Zionist Problem once and for all.

In America, they do it differently each time when there is an election. There is no prodding and screaming down slogans and empty promises that the candidates know they cannot meet. With the end of the primaries that had just passed, we have seen how Barack Hussein Obama and John McCain conducted themselves to represent their respective parties.

Was there a time in America when they did not do that? I don't think there ever was. It was not their culture to support the printing industry each time they have an election like what we like to do here, often by spending hundreds, if not billions of ringgit just to show everybody how the candidates look in their touched-up photos, looking like angels, when they are definitely not.

If this not enough, then there are also the gifts that Malaysian candidates often give to the needy including perhaps some cash in envelopes that changed hands during this process.

This has been Malaysian politics for as long as I can remember. And it is also about the tearing and defacing of posters, banners and flags of the opponent parties which has become a favorite Malaysian pastime during any election.

The throwing of mud on election posters had become less these days. I can still remember seeing the photo of my uncle Longche Nayan who was representing UMNO for the Bandar Melaka area in the 1960s with mud on his face.

Doing away with election paraphernalia and unnecessary gimmicks is an American tradition that Malaysia should follow in future, as it helps to save a lot of costs on paraphernalia that only help promote the well-being of those who are in the printing business.

It was estimated that the Twelfth Malaysian general election had cost a few billion ringgit and most of it went to the printing of these paraphernalia which ended up in the garbage dumps. Most of the money could have been spent to promote the well-being of the voters by the building of bridges and construction of roads, etc, just to give a good idea of how much the candidates care for the people’s welfare.

There is no point in them making promises they will not keep. It is better for them to raise funds and spend most of it on serving the community so in the end it benefits both sides.

If you were to look around you in America, you would not notice there is an election happening unless the candidates are campaigning in that town as posters, banners and buntings are reused at each venue.

None of the candidates from either party look desperate or use coarse words on anyone especially the opponents; they try to remain civilized. And their supporters try not to ever clench their fists or grit their teeth and spout nonsensical and idiotic phrases and even expletives loudly. All of them try to go about their business in a cultured manner that befits their status as the so-called beacon of democracy.

So, in Malaysia, their campaign slogan should be the “lie that they can believe in” to paraphrase the one Barack had been using.

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