Dead Can Dance Vote

Technorati tags: Humor, Malaysia, Politics, Election Commission, Electoral Roll, Irregularities, Dead Voters

Boo!

"I see dead voters. I see them everywhere..."

Just as the opposition has been claiming all this time - the dead live on in our Electoral Rolls. But fortunately, not in our breakfast rolls. And if Beethoven were from Malaysia, his name would probably be on there, too.

From Aljazeera, posted late yesterday evening.

Every vote counts... even from the deceased

Here's Walski's favorite part from the news report:

"When you talk about the dead on the rolls, I admit there are a lot," Abdul Rashid, Malaysia's Election Commission chairman, said on Friday.

"That's why we are going from village to village to verify the dead."
(read the rest of the article here)

Once a registered voter, forever a registered voter, eh? This, of course, raises a few other interesting questions in Walski's mind.

For instance, does a dead person's vote count as a full vote, or merely a fraction of a vote? And is it dependent on the stage of decomposition? "Okay, Mr. Dead Person, you still got some flesh clinging to them bones - we'll give you 0.456 of a vote". Gives a whole new dimension to the term spoilt votes now, doesn't it?
(more dead voter queries in the full post)

And are the dead voters required to go to the polling stations personally, or are they allowed to vote by post? Or are mediums involved in determining the dead's choice?

Of course, the notion of dead voters votes actually being cast was, of course, dismissed by the Election Commission chairman. You know, the phantom voter thing that the opposition always brings up. Abdul Rashid, however, neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of the dead actually casting their votes. Somehow.

Time to bring in Seekers Malaysia to help with the investigations, Walski tells ya. Strange things are afoot in the Malaysian electoral rolls. Including the Mystery of the 120 Ethnic Indian Voters in the Batu Talam rolls. In an area claimed by PAS to only be inhabited by Malays and Orang Asli (indigenous people). Red Indians, perhaps? Yellowmutu Eaglelingam a/l Skulking Crowsamy...

And this business about going around from village to village, to verify the dead? Walski can just imagine the electoral roll, posted at the local village notice board, with this important note:

If your name appears on this list, and you are dead, kindly report to the Election Commission representative visiting your local penghulu, immediately.

Probably a good exercise, too. You know, just to make sure an individual is really dead, and not just pretending to be deceased for tax purposes.

Come to think of it, since the idea of dead voters is kinda scary to some, could this be the real reason why PKR and PAS decided to boycot the Batu Talam by-elections?

Who ya gonna call?

Walski's post-title explanatory note: Apart from the ability to vote, it is also known that the Dead Can Dance, one of Walski's favorite music groups from the 80's and 90's. And like justifying the existence of dead voters on the rolls, trying to place Dead Can Dance into a neatly compartmentalized music genre is equally as difficult. According to Wikipedia, the term Dead Can Dance means "putting life back into something that's dead, or no longer in use".

Dead Can Dance. comprising Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, was formed in 1981, and were originally from Melbourne, Australia. They later moved to London, England, and were signed to 4AD, a notable alternative/indie music recording label. Dead Can Dance produced numerous albums, including "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun", whose cover art is shown here. They disbanded in 1998, but reformed briefly for a world tour in 2005.