GE 2011

Now, who says Singaporeans are politically apathetic?

From the emotionally-driven rallies, the buzz on mainstream media and pulsating online discussions over the past 9 days, the entire nation has almost instantaneously become concerned with our nation’s affairs. Perhaps we ought to thank the opposition parties for creating this phenomenon in local politics.

As the ‘virgin voter’ voting for the first time in my entire 33 years of life (yes, Auntie Tan ain’t afraid to reveal her age to anyone :)), it is indeed an exciting moment, especially when the stakes run high for this GE. I suddenly feel that my vote matters and I, as a Singaporean, can make a difference.

There have also been some ‘hot’ discussions among my colleagues where we had 2 camps – those voting by merit and those wanting an alternative voice. The Merit Voters (MV) are more inclined to support the ruling party while the Alternative Voice Voters (AV), well you know who they are inclined to root for. The AVs are trying to get the MVs to ‘see the big picture’ – to look beyond upgrading, beyond property value and having an alternative voice for the people. The MVs are trying to get the AVs to see a bigger picture – the need for strong credentials and track records and can deliver. While MVs also agree that there can have the alternative voice, it has to be solid, backed with facts and not merely just ‘creating noise’.

It’s a friendly debate and it’s interesting to hear views that are different from mine.

Well, I’m the undecided MV and Uncle Tan kept bugging me to cast my vote early to get it done and over with. I was still struggling to decide on the polling day for one party, or rather one person, speaks to my heart while the other party speaks to my head.

I can’t discredit what the ruling party has done over the past years in bringing stability, peace and progress to the nation albeit the mistakes made along the way. Hey, everyone makes mistakes, just that they could’ve acknowledged it earlier and for some, to be more sincere. At the same time, I’d like to give the other party a chance to prove themselves and I’d like to experience the kampong spirit (for personal reasons, I don’t want any more upgrading in my area and I don’t mind the drop in property value as it means I may have a quieter town thereafter) and personally, I do respect the man who loves Singapore and has done a lot over the years with steadfastness. I admired his resilience and I feel his dedication.

We are brought up in a meritocracy country and I am thankful for that, otherwise I wouldn’t be where I am today. Just that sometimes I’d stop to wonder if we are too concerned with results and KPIs that did we lose something along the way? I asked myself this question – what truly matters to me?

I want to make my vote count, and it did. Well, up to you to decipher how it did :)

It is interesting to observe the behaviours of the voters – the pro-PAP supporters, the undecided, the tenacious opposition party supporters and the ‘any opposition party will do’ folks. Thou I haven’t been to any rallies since Uncle Tan has been down with a bad sore throat for more a week, thanks to YouTube that I’m able to catch some of the actions and the classic much-talked-about moments and getting to read the comments and have a sense of the ground sentiments.

In mainstream media, you can find more media coverage on the opposition parties compared to the past although some still felt that the reporting was skewed towards to the ruling party’s advantage. In new media, it’s a different scene altogether. Pro-opposition and anti-ruling party sentiments were evident. The views were personal and were censored. If an undecided voter were to read the online comments and discussions, perhaps he/she may get swayed to the other side. I felt it was a ‘venting’ channel for the discontented.

Just to share one example which I thought was rather interesting other than the 2 ‘Lings’.

I’ve read on Yahoo news about one opposition party candidate being involved in a scandal with a young girl during his vocation as a teacher. I scrolled immediately to view the comments and strangely, there wasn’t much chastising or firing. Instead there were comments which questioned the victim’s integrity and intentions for revealing the incident at this moment, with some speculating if this was a tactic engaged by the ruling party. One comment “It takes 2 hands to clap; the girl must have done something...” Imagine if the person involved were to be a PAP candidate. If you were to read any other ruling party’s related news, you’re sure to see tons of comments, mostly criticizing the party. Somehow people seem to be more forgiving towards opposition party candidates.

Well, I am one of those who are upset, frustrated and angry at the sudden huge influx of foreigners. While I understand it is a global phenomenon and we need foreign talents to help us further boost our economy, I thought at the rate which had greatly taxed on our infrastructure makes me wonder if the agency is merely concerned about meeting their KPIs at the expense of the social cost.

I recall that 2 years ago, I felt displaced upon my return from Switzerland. It was a mere 6 months of absence and suddenly, I felt I was like as a foreigner in my own country. The neighbourhood had grown to be very crowded even on a weekday. Many sales staff were speaking in English/ Mandarin with foreign accents. The MRT was packed during off-peak hours, with many foreign faces so I noticed. It took me months to adjust and getting used to living in my own birth land. Is this the price we have to pay in order for us to be economically sustainable? I recently read something about how we recruit foreign students and was disappointed and upset at how low we go to ‘sell’ our Institutions of Higher Learning – full fees paid, including lodging. Adding to that, the calibre of the students to be selected was not what I’d expect although those who couldn’t meet academic KPIs would be sent back home, eventually. But imagined the amount of money wasted nurturing these so-called talents who some have become arrogant, claiming that they are welcomed by our government.

Now that the results are out, it’s time to move forward. While it’s good to have some alternative voices now and I believe and hope it would be a powerful voice for the people, this election has also somewhat made the ruling party sit up and start to listen to what its citizens want exactly. Time to take a serious look at engagement in the social media platform. It’s not just another channel to push out info to show people that you’re ‘in’ by having one but ended up like another ‘webpage’.

While it’s not easy since I must admit that we can be a bunch of complainers and spoilt brats sometimes, I hope the feedback and comments would contribute to the betterment of the nation and to our lives, fundamentally rooted to what we believe and what matters to us ultimately Besides the local bread and butter issues, don’t forget that we still have the bilateral ties with our neighbouring countries to look after with great care and the potential threats to look out for. Mistakes in these areas can be disastrous. Where we are today is not by chance or luck and we shouldn’t take these for granted.

I believe the ruling party has heard us and we have the next five years to know if they truly listens.

Just my 2 cents of tot :)