HOT FROM INTEGRASI: Our Manifesto Night

Manifesto Night, Integration Valley. Started late with a whimper, ended with a bang. For the uninitiated (or for those of you who have graduated from college too long ago to remember) Kampung Integrasi - now officially renamed Lembah Integrasi - is where students from different houses all stay in the same ring of chalets. In this year's case - Juniors. Who, coincidentally, are running for SC this year.

As always, they began with a sermon by As-Sheikh Firdaus, the pundits' choice for Muscom this year, delivering his famed Aidil Adha sermon on tsunami victims and how we would now have to reflect and look inward, wondering how this tragic incident will change us. Ketua Kampung Nic-O (Vice-President candidate, just in case you were wondering) interjected, saying it was God's will this had happened to us. He went on to ominously warn us - do we now continue the way we've always lived, oblivious to the world around us, or do we let it serve as a wake-up call? Must we wait for natural disasters to occur before the thought of change strikes us flat on the face?

Next, Totoque strode out, as SPR (Election Commission) chairman to explain the rules for the night's campaigning. No diatribes, no personal attacks, just use your 5 minutes well. First to go was Hizami. (NOTE: Due to our role as a perfectly neutral body of journalism...yeah, right...there will be no commentary whatsoever, no fancy linguistic hyperbole, just the simple facts of what happened that fateful night.)

HIZAMI: The Student Council will fight for the students' rights. If I am elected I promise to bring it beyond the confines of a student representative body. We are the democratically, legally elected leader of the students, thus we should not just be contented in conveying the students' needs to the school - we should PUSH to see our needs be acted upon swiftly. We promise we will fight, till the bitter end, even if it means we will experience a long and drawn-out loss, we promise you we will fight till the end.

ABANG DAUD: I have never changed, I am still the same person I am irrespective of whether it is the Student Council elections or not. I am just me, same old me, you know best in your hearts. Words can be deceiving, and I do not want to promise you anything because I realise it would be an uphill task to deliver the goods if the elected Student Council does not have the means at its wherewithal. You will vote for us based on who we have been over the past 6 months, but I would like to reiterate I have never changed.

KENRICK (Vice President): I am not a person who tries to force things in. I am quiet but I make sure things get done. I employ strategy to make sure what I want done is done. Over time you all have known us well enough and our manifestos won't change much. What is important is how you have seen us perform in the past few months - we can deliver "janji-janji manis" (in his own words). I will promise you I will do what the students want but my strategy will surface on Manifesto Night. I will be a leader - but I will also be a servant to the college and the students.

NIC-O (Vice President) : Coming soon. Look out in this space.