Friday, May 27, 2011
GE2011
Never thought i'd be so excited and fired up about Singapore politics. I for one, have never been involved in any RC/ GRO activities, much less belong to any party. Yet, I've never considered myself to be politically apathetic- after all, I read the newspapers almost daily.. I knew my MPs (though I've yet to personally say Hi to any of them), the ministers, and even some members of the Opposition parties. Through my secondary school years, I relied on the ST as my trusted source of political info, insights and updates, which further piqued my interest in local politics. GE2006 painted a picture of opposition being far from the PAP's match; paling in terms of qualifications, tainted with scandals, lawsuits, police cases ..(ok, mostly with regard to SDP). Yet, some GP talk I attended at AC presented me with a new perspective. I rmb hearing some guy from TheOnlineCitizen talking about mass media in SG, and the rise of alternative new media. Out of curiosity, I began to follow TOC & was impressed by its thought-provoking yet balanced take on issues that were not covered by the MSM. Henceforth, I am glad to say that my political awareness has sharpened, and i've learnt not to simply accept information at face-value. I must add that taking SSA2209 as my SS also gave me a glimpse into the somewhat unfair playing field of SG politics, the PAP- inclined media reporting, and poor portrayal of the opposition. For the record, after reading various online sources,i've heard opposition members who are extremely capable and have noteworthy takes on policies. The ruling party's obsession with filing lawsuits, firing accusations against opposition figures still irks me. After all aren't we all Singaporeans first?
As an undergraduate who may have to vote in 5years time (provided there are no walkovers), I sense the strong importance of being an informed voter; one who does not simply vote for white-on white because of their proven track record( frankly this phrase feels like a broken record playing on & on); neither do I want to be an anti-government citizen who votes any Tom Dick Harry from the Opposition.To me, voting is a right that every citizen possesses. As much as you must 'vote responsibly and ensure no freak election result occurs', I disagree that voting responsibly = voting the PAP. Yes, we indeed ought to be grateful & give credit to the PAP's excellent work all these years. Yet, I feel that gratitude does not necessitate my vote. Neither do I agree that voting an opposition party equates to unpatriotic and ungrateful behaviour. On the contrary, I feel that if an opposition party has proven its worth & is ultimately pro-singapore, why not give it a chance? As Singapore moves forward after GE2011, I'm glad that we have a stronger-than before opposition presence in parliament (albeit minimal). To a young Singaporean, having a PAP dominated parliament just doesn't cut it come to think of it. To have a single party in absolute power quite scares me, no matter how uncorrupt, trustworthy and capable they seem to be. To trust the ruling party to 'change from within' is also unrealistic, despite the flurry of radical changes witnessed so far. Instead, I believe that a credible opposition who is willing to work with the govt would be the best push for 'change', a win-win situation for us Singaporeans.
I have never felt more Singaporean & I am excited to take ownership of whatever responsibilites lie ahead. i.e Going for NDP 2011 for a start (:
3:02 PM MASQUERADE!
