Time to row on: Loh checking the kayaks in his storeroom. He is keen to resume his hobby, now that election is over.
PETALING JAYA: For the ordinary folk out there, it’s time to move on to their original plans after weeks of holding their breath waiting for the Parliament dissolution and the subsequent polls.
“Since September, I didn’t dare make any plans to go kayaking because I expected to be busy with work the minute Parliament was dissolved,” said J.S. Loh, who is a company executive at a media house.
Now that the general election is done and dusted, Loh is ready to indulge in his hobby again.
He said that all his kayaks, which he kept in a store room, had gotten dusty in the past few months.
“They are covered with lizard droppings, too. I think I better give them a quick wash,” said Loh, 50.
Loh, who began kayaking in 2009, said he favoured doing so on lakes.
“There are no lakes in Penang that I can paddle on, so I would go on trips to other states like Kedah or Perak. Such trips can last a week or so,” he added.
Hotel executive N. Sasha Devi, 32, had wanted to go for a holiday to India with her friends.
“We wanted to go since June but from watching the news, I had a feeling GE15 would be at the end of this year. But we did not firm up our plans as I did not want to miss out on voting,” she said.
As it turned out, the polling day took place right in the middle of their holiday, if they had proceeded with it.
“I am lucky I didn’t buy the tickets,” she said.
Sasha Devi said she would now make plans to go to India next month.
“But it will be more expensive for sure. In June, the return ticket to India for November was RM1,000. If I buy the tickets for next month, it is bound to be more,” she said.
For journalist Iylia Marsya Iskandar, her convocation ceremony fell on – of all days – Nov 19 which was polling day.
So her session was postponed by International Islamic University to Dec 5.
Yesterday, she met up with her coursemates and collected her graduation robe, in preparation for the big day.
Asked how she felt, she exclaimed: “Excited!”
“I’ve waited for almost a year to have a reunion with my friends, especially those from Sabah and Sarawak, so I was disappointed when the ceremony was deferred,” she said.
Initially, she was hoping that the general election would be held earlier.
“I didn’t expect it to fall on the same date as polling day. My parents and siblings had already applied for leave and had to reschedule the dates,” she added.
Marsya and her friends, who had hired a photographer for a pre- convo shoot, had to reschedule that as well.
“At first, the photographer was not available on the new date so we had to find a new one but thank God, suddenly he said he’s free. Otherwise, we would have to forgo our deposit,” said the communications graduate.
