When the authorities bullshit us.

Last Sunday, 5th of May, 2013 was election day. It was a day I looked forward to. You know why? I just had to know the truth.

You see, earlier voters from the army and police had found the so-called indelible ink not as claimed. According to someone, the ink came off easily when washed. Pictures were seen. Can they be believed? Then, the Election Commission admitted that it was true but explained that it was due to one of the officers on duty being too nervous and had forgotten to shake the bottle before using the ink. Okay, nothing wrong with the ink. Merely, inefficiency of a worker.

I was an art teacher who has used the Indian ink for years to teach my students manuscript writing. The ink is water-proof and it is the best for answering the SPM (the name of the examination at the end of secondary school learning) art paper. It is really indelible and world have your pretty finger looking ugly for at least a few days, So, my students are always very careful with them.

So, it was that at half past eight I was at the voting center to do my duty as a citizen to choose the best possible leaders for my country. I went into a classroom (A school has been chosen as the venue for voting.) and when they found my name, it was read out and one lady painted my finger with a thick ink. Since it is so thick, it must have been well shaken. It did look like it could stay on my finger for a long, long time. I was given a tissue to dry it so that the ink would not smudge my ballot papers and spoil my vote. My marked ballot papers went safely into the ballot boxes, one for state seats and the other for parliamentary seats.

With the ink dried on my finger, I waved to some friends whom I met before taking a slow walk home.
Upon reaching home, I waited for half an hour before I washed my hands with soap and ......fantastic as it may seem the ink came off! What soap was that? Was that a wonder soap? Where did it come from? Oh, no! It may be wonderful for removing ink stains which the election commissioner claims will stick for at least seven days but what can it do to my skin? But, no. It was just an ordinary soap.

Ah! My girlfriends will certainly be happy as it will not blacken their beautiful hands for seven lonely days. So, I phoned a few of them but they were not surprised. Some of them had beaten me to it. Their fingers were already clean even earlier. And that was the cheerful part of this episode.

However, from what I have read, the authorities concerned had spent millions of our country's money purchasing inferior ink.To make the citizens happy with the heavy expenditure, they claim it was ink good enough to stain my girlfriends' fingers for seven days. None of them are going to appear in front of me for seven lonely days. But, it was all bullshit.

To cover up their wrongs, they give other excuses. After all, they have a magnifying glass to look for even a little stain left behind. And it cannot be too indelible, otherwise it is not halal.

Folks, this is what my dictionary inform me:
  indelible    /In"del.I.bl=/ adjective
    1    describes a mark or substance that is impossible to remove by washing or in any other way.

When you get such bullshit from a high ranking officer, what would the law do? I wonder.