JustinLee.sg

Today is Day 9 of the Singapore Elections before a 1 day “cooling off period” for Singaporeans to reflect and think carefully who to vote for. Today is the last day politicians can publicly walk around door to door and speak for their party and what they stand for.

The Singapore elections this year is different from the others. 82 out of 87 seats in Parliament are being contested. This is the first time almost 95% of Singaporeans get a voice to vote. In previous elections, voices of the people get lost in the midst and many resigned to fate, lacking the chance to even vote.

Many Singaporeans are first time voters. You are given a voice in this elections. Think carefully, and vote with your heart and love for Singapore. Even if it is a hard choice to make. Even if it is the unpopular choice. Even if it is the hard truth that every Singaporean needs to hear. We live in Singapore. We work in Singapore. We laugh and cry together in Singapore. We are Singaporeans.

I’ve always believed in the hard truths, and the hard decisions that the government makes in the past which might affect the livelihood of many at the expense of the greater good of Singapore. I’ve always believed competition, capitalism and growth drives a country and its economy further than it is, striving to improve constantly going beyond what it can achieve. There isn’t an end goal, only checkpoints at every step of the journey towards a better Singapore, a better home, a better place to live in.

When I first read the manifesto of the PAP, received the various propaganda from PAP, I was flabbergasted by their lack of substance, lack of vision, and full of confidence that they will win by a sweeping majority, despite the fact that 82 seats are being contested. Their intention was to carry on doing exactly what they have been doing, with no sense of challenge, improvement and lots of complacency. Many of the candidates were new, untested, unknown, and had no charisma. I thought to myself, “Let me give PAP the benefit of the doubt. They have been doing fairly well for many years.”

Looking towards the other parties (what the ruling party calls “opposition”), I went seeking for what I expect from every party including PAP – a strong vision for Singapore.

In this elections, the Workers Party has a very strong vision, a united stand “Towards a First World Parliament”, whatever that might be. A first world parliament might be an imaginary vision of a perfect world, which will never be achieved anywhere else. That is exactly what Singapore was founded on. To continually achieve the impossible, the imaginary perfect world, to strive forward daringly towards the unknown future, building step by step a greater Singapore.

Not only do Workers Party have strong messages, but every other parties like the SDP, SPP, SDA, RP, NSP all had similar sentiments and strong messages in their campaign. From improvement, to bring out the crux of the issues troubling many Singaporeans. A different message from PAP, where it’s just another day in the lives of Singaporeans.

Many people tell me that Singapore has been a status quo country for many years. I don’t know when Singapore started following the status quo, but my memory of Singapore 15 to 20 years back was a Singapore striving to be perfect in an imperfect world. I remember Singapore as a country working hard to move forward continuously, just like our national anthem “Majulah Singapura”, which means “Onward Singapore”. Is it the fault of the ruling party retreating back into their safe havens, trying only easy and proven techniques that had trickled down those sentiments into the hearts of the people?

For the past 9 days of rallying, as the “battle” for Singapore rages on, I’ve grown more and more disappointed by PAP and their immature, pompous, complacent response to every question and situation that the other parties addressed. Only during the past 2 days had the PAP actually get their act together, “repent” for their past actions, addressed in detail their vision of Singapore, and recognized the problems and their own mortality. Who is really “split and divided” here, with various politicians in PAP giving different opinions and stances? For me, it’s too late to say “We’re sorry” because there isn’t sincerity after insults were thrown, not only to the various parties but also to you, Singaporeans.

I went to the PAP rally near my place yesterday, the ONLY rally I personally attended in-person, to give them one final chance to convince me that I’ve been wrong about PAP. The rally started a little after 7:30pm, with a bunch of grassroots leaders giving speeches that exalts the greatness of PAP, and no politicians in sight. Only after 8:10pm did 3 out of 4 politicians arrive to the scene. Furthermore, the topics covered were stale with no fresh input except for a few issues. Arguments were made, flakey with “no substance.” I was disappointed.

I feel PAP has lost its way during the times of wealth and stability in Singapore over the past few years. It is time they start working for their millions of dollars of salary. Just like how our old government would have told us as a loving parent, “This is for your own good,” my fellow Singaporeans, now you have the opportunity to tell PAP the same thing, “This is for your own good.”

Because I care about the future of Singapore, PAP are my fellow Singaporeans, and I still believe PAP has the power to improve, change and bring Singapore to a whole new level, I face the hard choice to make. Just like how you’ve wanted us to face the hard truths and work hard for our own good, this time I return the same message to you, PAP.

From 04 May 2011 – PAP Rally, posted by Justin Ng on 5/04/2011 (53 items)

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