Had English mid-yr today. It was ok(that is what my siblings and I always tell my parents, and they always complain that we are always saying that our papers are 'ok').
After the paper, my friend(Joyce) and I were walking out of school(which is located in a quiet area far from the main road, so good for studying but a little hard on the foot) when we saw a pick-up. It was driving along and there was a loudhailer announcing something about what the PAP will do for the Potong Pasir constituency if they won in the coming elections. Or something like that. It was speaking in Hokkien, and even though I am Teochew and Teochew is quite similar to Hokkien, I couldn't hear it clearly anyway.
When we saw it, the first reaction we both had the same reaction: we both said, "Oh my God!" at exactly the same time. I am usually against saying the words 'Oh my God' because the person either does not believe in God, or that he/she is taking the name of God in vain. Perhaps we said that due to the shock of seeing such a vehicle for the very first time.
Of course, we have seen something similar in our history textbooks, but for me it was the first time seeing it with my own eyes. Or possibly I might have seen it before but I forgot. Or maybe I saw it in a picture and it got stuck in my memory, leading me to think I've ssen it before.
I couldn't hear really too properly, but I heard the name 'Sitoh Yih Pin' being said, and before I heard that, silly me was still thinking, which party's truck is this? Then I realised that all the PAP flags were all over the pick-up. Sorry, I am just hopeless. Knowing this, when the vehicle drove past, I was looking for Mr. Sitoh in the cab of the vehicle cos that was what was shown in the history books. However, I only saw a middle to old-aged man sitting there by himself. That was when I realised that it must be a tape or CD of some sort and the driver's job is just to drive past houses and more houses while the taope/CD played of it's own accord.
Now that I think about it, it's really silly to think so. In the past, when the pictures in the history books were taken, things such as tapes and CDs weren't invented yet, so of course the real person had to sit in the back of the pick-up and speaking into a loudhailer. Now, with much improved technology, these tapes/CDs can be loaded onto a pick-up with an appropriate player, then you can just hire a guy to drive the pick-up wherever you want to recommend yourself to the people. This method also cover more ground in a given time, especially in the limited time before the big day, which by the way is on May 6th.
I originally thought that the constituency I was living in was uncontested, but it seems like it is. So this evening at about 6.45, we too heard another PAP pick-up driving past, but this time asking the people to vote for Mr. George Yeo. Or maybe it was Mrs. Lim Hwee Hwa. Actually, it is rather shameful to know the political situation better in the area my school is in than the situation in the area I live in.
My school plays an active part in the voting process. hahahaha. Okay, actually, my school's hall is the voting centre for Potong Pasir constituency and it is at the same time a counting centre for another constituency. A pity I can't vote... not that I really want to vote, but I want to
see the people voting. That's what I'm interested in. So, the school has to surrender it's grounds on May 5th so that specialised personnel can check the school throughly for bombs and such.
Originally, when my school received this news, it decided to move the mid-yr exams which were on Friday, May 5th to the following Monday. However, now they(and following that we) were told that the school authorities only have to hand over the school grounds at 2 p.m. on Friday. So we are having the exams on Friday as usual...
T.T.... and now I have to go study, already used up too much time writing this.