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Such shared interests include giant pandas, the singer-songwriter Janis Ian, and gadgets. Yet, when I posted a request yesterday evening, and personally sent the same request via the Facebook message system to almost 200 names on my contact list, the response has been very positive. I am overwhelmed and the phrase “the kindness of strangers” comes to mind.

The request is giant panda related. Suzanne Braden, director of Pandas International, has been shortlisted for the Animal Planet Hero of the Year 2009 award. Voting began yesterday and will continue for the next two weeks, ending on 27 September. Just to be shortlisted is an honour in itself; to win would, to use a cliche, be icing on the cake.

The award includes a US$10,000 donation to the animal welfare organisation of the winner’s choice. If she wins, Suzanne will donate it to the precious giant pandas that Pandas International, the organisation she founded back in 1999, has supported all these years.

For some reason, the contest actually allows multiple votes per person but this is limited to one vote per email address per day. I have voted three times so far, including, for some reason, twice yesterday evening and just once this evening. There was a thank you page after my vote this evening which included the following statement:

Please note that your vote is only counted once per day. Any other votes will not be included in the final tally. If you’ve already voted today, please come back in 24 hours to cast another vote.

The voting is one of three criteria to be considered by the judges and carries 25% towards the final score; the other two criteria are level of accomplishments and impact of the Nominee’s actions (40%), and inspirational value that the Nominee’s actions have had on others (35%).

Suzanne Braden’s nomination has further highlighted the plight of the giant pandas, especially in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake on 12 May 2008. To have been nominated is an honour in itself; winning the award will bring much needed funds that will go towards the on-going conservation efforts as well as the urgent replanting of bamboo destroyed in the 2008 earthquake.

If you would like to help Pandas International continue its on-going support of the giant pandas, please vote for Suzanne Braden here.

The giant pandas say Xie Xie Ni (thank you)!

I don’t suppose writing consists in anything more than doing it.

John Steinbeck
Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters

In other words …

Just Write!

Some of them reply that they missed the last voter registration in November 2007, and there is a note of regret in the reply.

I remember registering to vote as soon as I was able to. I was in the first batch of post-Merdeka voters, and was even interviewed by The New Straits Times; it was a big deal in those days. I remember being asked who I would vote for, and my reply – the Opposition. Why? Cuz every government, however strong and fair, needs an Opposition to keep it in check.

As it turned out, I didn’t get to vote in every election, as I was out of the country during the 1990 and 1995 elections. For the latter, I was travelling to Zimbabwe for a work-related trade exhibition, and when we arrived, our hosts turned on the news where we saw that Barisan Nasional had once again won the elections.

During the last elections in 2004, I drove to the old neighbourhood with my father to cast our votes. By that time, mother was living in the nursing home and too frail to come along with us to exercise her duty as a Malaysian. Even though we had moved out of the neighbourhood, we continued to vote in this constituency as it was an Opposition stronghold.

Now that my father has left us, and mother remains in the nursing home, I will be on my own this Saturday. Late last year, I decided to update my voter registration details to my current address. For a few weeks after I made the change, I kept visiting the Elections Commission website to check if the details had been updated, but it wasn’t until 20 February that the info was finally updated; I am now listed as a voter for the Subang constituency (Subang for Parliament and Bukit Lanjan for State).

Yesterday, I went on a drive to look for my polling station, the SK Bukit Lanjan, which is apparently located in my neighbourhood. I couldn’t find it on my side of the humongous flyover system just past IKEA and Tesco, and while I did find Bukit Lanjan, located on the other side, I didn’t find any school in it, just lots of little shops and front yard motor repair workshops. No matter. I’m sure this Saturday, I will see lots of signs leading to the polling station.

Happy voting to all Malaysians registered to vote. Please vote. As Kam Raslan said in this week’s issue of Talking Edge, it’s our right.