The headmistress, teachers and indeed the students themselves of the Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Damansara in Kuala Lumpur need to be congratulated for giving us an excellent lesson on how their recent election of a head pupil in a multi-cultural ‘electorate’ should be conducted.

Adequate emphasis was given to the important role of teachers, not only in the election process itself, but more importantly in ensuring that the candidates were drawn from the different ethnic and racial groups and also that there was no gender-bias.

As a result, the school’s Parent-Teacher Association Vice-chairperson, Noor Azima Abdul Rahim, was proud to point out that the pupils ‘did not vote along racial lines’

This was a most significant outcome that was partially due to the fact that time was given for the candidates to deliver speeches after recess and more dramatically to address the school assembly.

I believe this is unprecedented so that it might be said (without sounding far-fetched) that the winning candidate - Johaan Abraham Ramanathan - won with a thumping majority, Obama –style!

Indeed this observation is reinforced by the selection committee which said that he ‘had a grasp of politics that belies his young age’.

Considering that each of the other candidates represented the school in ballet, in the school futsal team and in drama, Johaan was apparently nominated mainly because of his ‘grasp of politics’.

In this connection, if I might be allowed to digress, I understand Johaan was asked who his role model was and he had no hesitation in naming his late grandfather Dr Sam Abraham, who until he passed away in 2007, used to take him and his younger sister (also a prefect in the same school) to public libraries, book shops, the museum, the National Zoo and parks.

Also, regular visits were made to the old Sungei Buloh Hospital and settlement before demolition where Johann’s great-grandfather Dr Charles Abraham worked for many years and passed away during the war.

Johaan also explained that as a pediatrician, his grandfather never failed to tell him about the suffering of poor children in Maaysia and in the world reminding him that he must always do what he could to help them wherever and whenever possible.