It started off as a joke for me. I mimicked the broadcast from the campaign lorry that drove around my estate over the weekend. It says: "Vote, for the party you can trust. Vote, for the PAP". I mimicked the sentence in a mock-loud-hailer robotic voice and sniggered in amusement. What old-fashioned tactic is this, I thought to myself. Your message is not going to convince me.
It didn't.
I was contemplating to vote for the opposition but I know Brendan will not support my idea.
Why? He asked me.
Why not? I asked myself in my occasional defiance inner voice.
I also have pet peeves on
(1) the high cost of living,
(2) errant taxi drivers who refuse to pick up passengers and create a false demand for on-call services. turn down passengers with destinations not in their favour. the govt is doing a harmless, toothless bite to the operators by telling us to jot down these errant drivers and make a report. are you gonna jot down the number plate every time? for goodness sake, ask the operators to helm up their morals. but wait, no, the operators are privatized and the govt can't make them. So this is what happens when you let your teenager children out of their nest when their morals are half-baked. It is the same with CPG (formerly PWD) PWD equals Public Works Department but we sold it away to the Downer EDi Group (New Zealand) and are now trying to buy it back. It is unsettling for me that the major organs of my country are outsourced, contracted or foreign. Is privatizing our structural organizations really that necessary? So what makes our soul when our mind outsourced our heart? We have so much money in our nation's pockets and in reserves but look at us today (GE 2011), what happened?!
(3) congestion on the roads, MRT and buses.
(4) can they take away the parent-volunteer crap for school enrollment and let every child ballot if the school is over-subscribed. also, please put our Singapore child before the imported ones, or give us one more ballot chance over them. whatever the case, parents must not worry that they cannot get their child into a public school that is just 5 minutes away. Yes, specifically, I am talking about me.
(5) do the PAP ministers really know what we're going through? don't patronise us. Like what Forrest Gump says, I'm not a smart man but I know what love is.
And so, that was the attitude I had.
Like I said, they were pet peeves, annoying but not enough to cloud my judgement.
Over the next few days, my clamoured brain pored through the main newspaper and into cyberspace in the hope to give my divided mind some insights.
I could have voted for the opposition but not declare.
But that is not me. It is difficult for me to be incongruent and so, I have to know why I'm doing what I'm doing.
I was surprised by the tidal wave of negative sentiments in cyberspace and the tsunami of emotions the masses have. 80% to 90% were all bashing our govt and I was shocked to learn that they were all serious about revolting. I fed my mind with these and tried to understand where they are coming from.
Yes, many have an axe to grind. Grievances and angst turned into anger. Anger fuel anger and the mob grew bigger by the hour. Some people told me of their failed businesses, their fail relationships, failed families and failed careers which they proclaim that the govt had not done enough to help them. To these people:- grind your axe, use your chance as it comes, do as you deem fit, do if you think that brings justice for you as I don't have the time nor energy to ask you to forgive, nor are we able to turn back the clock to make the past better. But to the many who were just borderly unhappy, I say:- please don't. Many were just jumping on the band wagon, took the opportunity to forge, everyone got heated and banded together. Like forged metal, boy, the negativity were strong!
Unfortunately, in my view, those are wrong attitudes, very trade-unionist thinking.
Another troubling thing is that I could see some bright, intellects softly advocating anti-govt sentiments. I wonder where are they going with their gifts and if they could ever give the govt a chance to right some wrongs.
Of course I still do have my peeves but I have decided to actively better myself and give everyone including myself a chance. If our PM Lee says they are sorry, I will trust that they really are. Furthermore, the oppositions do not have a shadow of a cabinet, I can give my feedback to the govt later but now, I cannot cast a protest vote for the wrong reasons. We are far better off comparing to our neighbours and we have to give credit where credit is due. After all, no one owes us a living; not our spouses, not our parents, not our children, not our companies, not our society and certainly, not our government.
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"Are we really far better off than our neighbours? I can't be certain about that. We can't live without bread and butter. But neither do I wish to live in a country which only cares about money, economics and upgrading of my HDB flats. True. The government does not owe us a living. So we, as citizens of the country, have to build a country which we want. And the first thing to do is to vote responsibly. For Singaporeans who want to pursue the material lifestyle, I think it is fair enough to be happy about the current system. PAP has done a good job in building a safe, secure country which is thriving well in the economic sense. But for Singaporeans who care enough for abstract concepts like emotional well being, happiness, togetherness, social cohesion, then maybe there is indeed a need for some changes to take place. Looking at the current way Singapore is developing, it is likely that we will be further away from building a nation but closer to building a corporation. And again I shall say, each to their own. There will always be people who care more about economics more than for human rights and equality. The only thing we can do is to vote responsibly and that means to know what it means to vote for the ruling party and what it means to vote for the opposition."
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you know but the bottom 10% of our population has a monthly income of about $350 whereas the top 10% of the population has an income of about $9500. (I just presented on this topic of widening income and social inequality in Singapore in Hong Kong University last week to an international audience so I do have a little knowledge on this =) ) Somewhere, somehow, something is wrong if we care enough for the poor in our country. They are not starving to death but perhaps they might be living a very very tough life which honestly, do you think the incumbent Ministers really understand with their really really fat bank accounts? The government does not owe us a living but neither do I want my government to push for a lifestyle and system with values which I do not share. In any case, the results are out. And I think they are telling enough. For me, I don't think it is necessary nor right for me to convince anyone to vote for any party. But I do wish to influence people around me to care more for the poor, for the disadvantaged and to see how the current system can actually do A LOT more to help them. (J)
The govt don’t owe us a living, neither do we owe them our votes. The govt is a team, the citizens don’t work as one.
ReplyDeleteAs a country, we have lost our soul in the midst of pursuing economic success. We have so much money but it doesn’t trickle down.
In short, we are un-enlightened. There is no short in money, no short in food, but there is short in love.
It happens even within a family, even more so when it’s extended.
The strong alternative voice will make its way via WP, so now we have to see if the PAP will really serve with their hearts. (KC)