17:42 -

The Sivarasa Rasiah campaign bilik gerakan is sedate: the large table, previously employed in the business of folding and assembling pamphlets, is now empty and pushed to a corner. There is a handwritten sign on the door to the media room (in which a large map of the P107 Subang constituency is hung, with coloured pins and red string and copious notes, like Professor Suresh’s in Heroes) that says “DO NOT ENTER! Results collation. They need quiet. TQ.”

The dozen or so people present, returning from their posts as pondok panas hands and chaffeurs, are assembled outside the shop-lot, where chairs have been arranged in front of a television and a wide white-board. The board is still empty. Polling has ended, but ballots are still being counted.

17:52 -

Sivarasa Rasiah has just returned. He shakes hands, and wants to check the news on this terminal — but he’s needed in HQ.

17:57 -

Fahmi Fadzil, a volunteer in the campaign’s media team, scrawls the first batch of results on the white-board. “Red is ours, and blue is theirs,” he says. They are results for one polling station in the Bukit Lanjan subsection; the numbers, in Saluran 1 (the numbers, in ascending order, indicate voter age, from oldest to youngest) are close. Sivarasa is anticipated to be strong among younger voters. “The fact that we are here is very strong,” Fahmi says. The volunteers cheer.

18:00 -

The television goes up, and attention is fixed on TV3 news bulletins. They alternate with a Japanese Ultraman-esque programme.

18:10 -

A second batch of numbers, this time in Saluran 6, go up. The red figure is almost twice the value of the the blue. A separate board, for N37 Bukit Lanjan, the DUN seat Elizabeth Wong is contesting, receives its first numbers. They are heartening.

18:20 -

Anne James, Sivarasa’s wife and perhaps the campaign’s most stoic trooper, comes out to look at the boards. I ask her how she feels. “At this point, after two previous elections, I don’t want to feel anything,” she answers. “I just don’t want to go anywhere in that emotional range.” She seems prepared for any eventuality, even disappointment, but says: “If we lose I’ll feel it a bit — but this is not about Siva. It’s about our country.”

18:25 -

This story at the Malaysian Insider, by “a Special Correspondent” about why he or she does not vote, is a curious read — but the writer raises a salient point:

On an aside, it seems strange that in this day and age, that voters need register. With the MyKad in place and all of us in the National Registration Department’s database, can’t they just register us en masse? Surely if we can identify those that qualify for the National Service draft, we can identify those who come of voting age.

But I guess we have some apathetic policymakers around.

That’s a good question; making the process automatic (a Malaysian citizen with a Identification Card is considered a valid voter the moment he / she turns 21; no extra bureaucratic shenanigans) would probably make dealing with voting irregularities easier. It’s probably not a case of blind apathy.

18:40 -

Khairul, a young volunteer who was in Sivarasa’s entourage, talks about driving around and visiting polling stations: “People were quite supportive,” Khairul says. “It was only some rempits who were trying to provoke us.” How did he deal with that? “Buat bodoh saja lah.” The numbers going on the boards are consistently good, so far.

18:55 -

Elizabeth Wong arrives to general cheering.

The TV3 bulletins are consistently featuring police IG Musa Hassan, who comments on an SMS rumour about PAS leader Awang Hadi being teargassed. It did not happen, apparently. He also confirms that officers seized more than 50 identification cards from PAS supporters. Malaysiakini also currently reports that PKR has an unassailable lead in the Bukit Tambun state seat. “This may be the first Penang seat to fall to opposition hands,” it says.

19:10 -

Sivarasa sits down to scan through the Malaysiakini report. He doesn’t say very much, but it’s clear he’s quite excited. “Good. Wow. Foo,” he says. “We should tally up our lead to so we can update them.” Elizabeth leans over. “This is great!” she says.

It’s raining, but the chairs under the tent are filling up. People are watching the results getting put up as if they are watching a soccer match.

19:35 -

Sory for the long silence; both Sivarasa and Elizabeth took over for a while, crunching numbers and analysing. The latter to the former: “How can you keep so calm?” The exhilaration is somewhat tempered, however. Sivarasa is worried that the opposition candidates are currently leading seem to be Chinese or Indian in ethnicity; “We need strong Malay leaders,” he says, thinking of unified party strength. But the Malaysiakini report is still largely incomplete. Elizabeth, pulling ahead, is of the opinion that the opposition’s apparent lead is “a vote of no confidence” to the BN government. “We have to work hard,” she says.

19:45 -

I ask Brian, the volunteer who is tallying up Sivarasa’s lead on his iPhone calculator, how he feels. “Nervous,” Brian says. “The results are showing a trend,” — but he also notes that the board is still largely empty. Fahmi, sprinting back and forth, pauses to tell me that “we’ve won in Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh.”

19:55 -

Sivarasa addresses the assembled volunteers — which now exceed the chairs available — with a loudhailer. “Saya nak meminta supaya kita semua tenang,” he says. “Tetapi berita secara umum dari seluruh negara adalah baik.” The person holding the hailer for him suppresses a cheer but shakes his fist, happy. Sivarasa is mindful of the 4000 + postal votes that Subang will receive — he needs a more substantial lead.

But things are looking up. Delivering a tally of the current national situation (including the fact that PAS has retained Kelantan, and the possibility of DAP taking Penang), Sivarasa says: “Elizabeth Wong has won Bukit Lanjan.” There is a unanimous roar of approval. Later, Elizabeth says into her cellphone: “I can’t believe it!” and “We are not looking just to win - we are looking at the state.” I ask Elizabeth for a quote. “Oh my god,” she says.

20:00 -

Reports give blogger Jeff Ooi a lead in Jelutong — stupendous news for the significance of the medium you are now reading.

20:15 -

Updates will come less and less frequently, as the number of available computers fall further short of people in the bilik gerakan eager for news. The atmosphere is electric (by the current count, we’ve heard at least 10 people use that exact word). There is laughing, and hugging, and excited talk all round. There is even a little dancing.

20:20 -

Overheard: Sivarasa excitedly telling some friends that his lead is more than enough, so that “I can lose every postal vote and win.”

20:35 -

I misheard. Sivarasa clarifies that it’s close. I asked campaign manager Latheefa for a confirmation; she says: “We’re leading, we’re leading - but we can’t say for sure. Wait for Fahmi to announce.” But she is, for the moment, grinning.

Elsewhere, the typical reaction of people looking at the news is disbelief. “Huh, we won PJ Utara?” etc etc. Mark, a volunteer videographing tonight, simply says: “Whoo!”