We have voted. We have rejoiced. We have mourned. All because we have started to become more politically aware of the state of things in our country, and have made our voices heard.

The General Election is over and we bid goodbye to a good and popular Foreign Minister. Such is the life of a politician. You’re faced with public scrutiny. You’ve got (almost) all the country’s weight on your shoulders. Nothing ever seems good enough. Then an election comes along, and you’re suddenly out of office, simply because the people have decided to give your very worthy opponent a shot in parliament. Then a public outcry ensues, urging the government to remove a controversial newly-elected colleague from office and reinstate you because said colleague does not appear worthy. And if the people are not heard, if the people’s request is not acceded to, the government will be accused of going back to its old ways, then all talk of “change” and “listening to the people” will be immediately mocked, and it’s another 5 years of being sore, until the next election comes along.

Talk about being idealistic.

A decision has been made. Let’s stick to it, why don’t we? Everyone knew a sacrifice was inevitable. We need to accept it and live with the consequences. We can’t keep crying for a change, and then try our best to put our favourites back in. This is not a game of school yard soccer, and we certainly do not live in a utopian society.

That said, I do hope the government offers George Yeo a seat.

I am not a fan of TPL but I am also not vehemently opposed to having her in office. In fact, I actually do not believe she should be removed. I believe it would be a mockery of the system if the government actually kicks her out, after we have voted her in, riding on supposed coattails notwithstanding. Even if she does manage to single-handedly bring down a whole county (and we’ll cross that bridge if it comes), the government should still stick to its principles and allow her to serve her term. If regulations can be easily altered whenever the people are unhappy, eventually plenty more allowances will be expected, then I don’t see how any one can still respect a government who’s such a pushover. On the other hand, if TPL cannot cope with the pressures of public scrutiny and decides to call it a day mid-term, then clearly, she’s not cut out for this, and I believe we’re all entitled to a chorus of “I told you so”. But if she does manage to rough it out, then I sincerely hope people will be able to give her more respect.

I have zero political science background so this may sound ignorant, but I honestly don’t understand why we need so many Opposition parties for a country of our size. I think it would be a lot more effective if there were only 2 or 3 parties (one or two each representing centre-left, centre-right?). Public agendas can be more focused, the citizens do not have to be overly split in their decision, and we can also enjoy a higher calibre of Opposition parties. Whatever it is, this GE has been historic for our country and the next 5 years appears to be very interesting. I do hope we’ll continue to be more politically-charged and not go back to our apolitical ways until the next GE comes along.

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Song of the Day, because I’m catching her live this Wednesday! Yay! :p

King Of Anything, by Sara Bareilles

I had officially bestowed upon myself the title of swing voter. Now, I believe I’ve made up my mind.

PAP’s rally was certainly different. The first thought that came to mind when I walked in to the rally grounds was everything looked so… organised. And because it was so organised (and probably also because a large percentage of the audience was sitting), it made the mood rather “tame” as compared to the Opposition rally the night before where crowds were scattered on the field and in the stands. I saw how distracted many were as it was definitely less conducive for people to pay attention. With the PAP rally, the highly-organised nature of it somewhat made it easier for people to sit and listen. Not that any of this reinforces Singaporeans’ supposedly docile/subservient nature (whichever way you prefer to see it). I’m just saying.

The crowd was only about a third (?) of what the Opposition attracted. The audience appeared to comprise mostly of the die-hards and other swing voters like myself. Understandably, the main focus was public housing. The issue of foreign labour was carefully treaded on, calling us to think of it more as a strategic partnership. Public transportation wasn’t even mentioned.

The various speakers were generally more eloquent, but we inferred it was because they were all scholars. Their jabs at the Opposition were less personal, and more focused on their supposedly myopic approach to policies as well as their overly-populist ideals. As such, the PAP urged us to vote for them because in spite of their shortcoming, they have a proven track record and will continue to push our country forward.

I think I can figure how many undecided voters will vote. If they are like most people who tend to be quite resistant to change, they’ll just continue to let things roll along unless they have a beef with the current situation. Otherwise, they’ll spoil their vote, which might make some kind of statement because they’re declaring that they are extremely displeased with the state of politics in Singapore. But let’s face it, a spoilt vote would remain just that – spoilt, and redundant. It’ll be the weakest statement.

I really wish more people would take the time to attend the various rallies, or read all the manifestos, and simply be more informed before going to the polling stations. It is important to have a clear, objective picture of what the parties represent, and not just rely on hearsay.

. . . . .

Song of the Day, because Glee did a decent cover of this classic in their last episode.

Go Your Own Way, by Fleetwood Mac

Ah, Singapore politics. Something that has always been spoken about largely in the comfort (pun totally intended) of cabs and amongst close friends.

Never before has our political scene garnered more attention among its citizens. For that, let’s take a moment to thank social media, why don’t we? Because seriously, without it, I’m quite sure it would be as uneventful as the last General Election.

So in my bid to become an informed voter, I went to an Opposition rally this evening. Unfortunately, I left the grounds unimpressed.

Allow me to clarify first that I am nonpartisan with regards to PAP, I read the Opposition’s manifesto (twice, too) and because I haven’t been following the news very closely, I was “untarnished”, so to speak. Therefore, I really did go to the rally with an open mind. I had a few uncertainties after I read the manifesto and was really hoping that they would be addressed at the rally. I wanted to know: how exactly was the Opposition going to address the issues they’ve brought up?

Alas, about 20 minutes in, I started to notice that the Opposition was not sharing with us about the policies they have in mind that will ensure our needs will be met. They simply kept dancing around the issues that us Singaporeans have already been most vocal about: foreign labour, housing and public transportation. In between, there were many choruses of “Don’t let the government continue to dominate! Vote for us!” and “Let yourselves be heard! Let us be your voice! Vote for us!” All of which were cool, until I started wondering if that was going to continue for the full 3 hours. Why aren’t they trying to convince us that they have measures that will certainly reduce congestion on public transportation?

Then there was all the chattering. My gosh, the chattering. I wondered why I had to strain to listen to the various members from the Opposition. Shouldn’t the rest of the audience be interested to listen too? Why else would you be there, right? Why let the small talk dominate when the Opposition finally has a legitimate platform to address us? It was only a bit later, when it dawned on me that many of them are probably only there to listen to one particular person. I theorised that when this member goes up to speak, everyone would hush down and pay attention. And they did. It was almost like a rock star moment. I was half expecting to see strobe lights. The moment became slightly revolting because it made it seem as though the Opposition had been reduced to only one person, who quite honestly hadn’t even had much to show. Again, let’s take a moment to thank social media, shall we?

When the rally ended, I remarked to my friend that for all the talk the Opposition made about being from the ground, and having also experienced the same frustration while taking public transportation, they’d better be catching the feeder bus back home. I’d hate to see them driving off in their little cars, Prius or otherwise.

Tomorrow, the PAP will have their rally. Let’s see what sorta feelings they’ll leave me with.

. . . . .

Song of the Day bears the same name as the title of this post. Like I even need to explain why.

Politik, by Coldplay