The ballot is stronger than the bullet, said Abraham Lincoln. He’s right. For one thing, it’s stronger than a keris.

I was going to disappoint a lot of people by voting for a change, instead of stability and familiarity. Wait, what do you mean by stability? The world’s not coming to an end if I choose to vote for a change. We just have to get used to something different – something all of us are not.

So why did I vote for the other one? Well, over the past four years, BN has taught us more than we could ever ask for and, in most cases, ever did ask for. We have been fortunate enough to witness some absolutely interchangeable policies on an absolutely identical matter (cough), education policy (cough), amongst other things - their way of overcoming daily tedium in overcoming daily tedium in overcoming daily tedium. Such indecisiveness over important things had led me to believe that my vote would be useless if it’s given to them.

It’s easily understood when our parents - my parents, especially - still vote for Barisan Nasional. Oh no. Undi rahsia? You’ve got to be kidding me, man. When you’ve placed the banners of your favourite party all over your house, do you expect me to think you’re going to vote for the other half? Do you think Malaysians featured in YouTube for 20 seconds right before my Psy’s Gentleman video, would vote for Pakatan instead? Pfft.

Where was I? Yes, my parents - the older generation. They love their TVs and newspapers just as we love our smartphones and newspapers just as we love our smartphones and the Internet. And it’s very difficult to argue with my father that the government owns the media. Similarly, it’s a waste of time defending your points against uncles having their teh tarik sessions at mamak stalls. It’s like arguing with a cat – they don’t understand anything you say. But you CAN pet a cat, thought.

If things don’t go as promised, I will vote against Pakatan in the next GE. It’s that simple. I believe my logic would be the same as anyone else. With anyone else, I mean anyone else who reads news from the Internet and laughs at TV3 and Utusan.

When I cast my vote, I took a lot of time. Perhaps five, ten minutes. Such a waste of time, yes? But then again, Star Wars was playing in my head.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: I have failed you, Anakin. I have failed you.

Anakin Skywalker: I should have known the [insert opposition party’s name] were plotting to take over.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Anakin, [insert Pakatan Rakyat person’s name] is evil!

Anakin Skywalker: From my point of view, the [insert Barisan Nasional person’s name] are evil.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Well, then you are lost!

Pakatan Rakyat is untested. That is true. It’s a big risk. But sometimes, we just have to take a leap of faith. And regardless of the outcome, I’ve made my decision. And I’m going to celebrate that by going out and treating myself with a delicious, overpriced drink.