Hi,
I would like to share my opinions on this year's General Elections that sparked a huge interest in many Singaporeans. This was the most contested elections ever in history, where 82 out of 87 seats were contested by opposition parties. Prior to the elections, only 2 seats were not held by the People's Action Party (PAP), namely the two Single Member Constituencies in Hougang and Potong Pasir. This year, 7 parties fought for the seats, but PAP eventually captured 81 seats, with the remaining 6 going to the Workers' Party (WP).
I think that it is good for opposition parties to challenge the PAP's power in Singapore because there must be some kind of opposition in order to keep the government going and to make sure that the government continues to put in effort to benefit the citizens. This also helps to make sure that there is more than one party ruling in the government to prevent discussions from being too one-sided. However, I feel that too many opposition parties in the government is detrimental to Singapore's growth as a nation because there will constantly be arguments and nothing will be done. Talking about this, I feel that the opposition parties should put aside their differences and come together to form a united opposition party so that the citizens will not be so confused over the various mottos of the parties.
Recently, there have been many issues brought up by the opposition parties to try to point out the PAP's weaknesses. Some speakers give statistics on these problems, while others simply put down other candidates through harsh means. I personally feel that this is not commendable, as this only sparks off tension between parties and does not help to prove a point that their own party is capable of doing something better. Therefore, I was quite disappointed with the speeches some of the candidates gave because it made this election sound more like a debate, but the speeches should focus more on new initiatives to benefit the citizens instead.
Another big problem in this year's General Elections was that many Singaporeans failed to consider their options wisely before voting. While visiting my relatives on Polling Day itself, many of them were talking to each other about how they were voting for the opposition, no matter how lousy they were. I think this is caused by extremist views planted into their minds by events happening around the world. Due to the rebellions now happening in the Middle East, many people, especially the young, are influenced to vote for the opposition because they think that it is "cool". Some people even bet on who they think will win the constituencies and the thought of this really makes my blood boil! In my opinion, I find it extremely important to consider the strengths of both parties before giving out extremist views, which most of the time are inaccurate. Voting is also an important process because it affects our lives for the next 5 years. Therefore, elections should be considered as a solemn event that cannot be taken light-heartedly.
Lastly, I think that many people were unhappy over the fact that they were placed in constituencies that were not near them at all. I have a relative who lives in West Coast but is placed under Holland- Bukit Timah instead! I think that these trivial matters need to be resolved because I am sure that citizens want to be living in constituencies that are near them so that they can be involved in that area.
On the brighter side, this election has sparked a lot of interest in younger generations, a phenomenon that has never been experienced before. This can be attributed to the fact that politics is becoming more of a larger issue in Singapore and the fact that every vote counts, making teenagers feel like they can play a part to decide Singapore's future. Thus, this election has been beneficial to Singapore in this aspect.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this GE even though I was not able to vote. I really look forward to the election where I can finally vote! For now, I will just have to keep myself updated on current events so that I can make an informed decision when the time comes.
Nathanael
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Dear Nathanael,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you to a large extent. There should be alternative views in Parliament, in order for Singapore's government to be better. Also, your point about extremist views is really very real. I have seen many people who want to vote for opposition for the sake of voting for them, not thinking through who can better represent them in Parliament, and who really can protect their rights.
This is seen from the case of Aljunied GRC. George Yeo was a victim of such extremist views, and thus lost to the WP team. True enough, the WP team was very strong. However, it needed some negative feelings towards PAP for this to happen. People are turning dissatisfied towards the PAP, as shown by the decreasing percentages.
Commenting on your point about the interest of youths in the General Elections, I feel that the election has sparked interest in youths as well because of social media. This time, social media was used widely and thus, people were more involved in this.
Regards,
2I125
Hi Nat,
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post. It’s a really insightful one, and indeed, it is also extremely thought-provoking for me.
Your comments that the youth support the opposition because they think it’s ‘cool’ is a first, and I have never thought of that before. I actually pondered on this for a while, and I realised that what you have said is entirely valid. Could I describe this as some sort of youthful abandon, some kind of wild ambition to “change the world?” Lee Kuan Yew has mentioned many times before that the youth of today do not realise the difficulties faced by Singapore in the early years of independence, thus they are extremely critical of the PAP. I feel that this is extremely true, as perhaps, all that we see are rising prices, and we neglect the other contributions that the government has done for us, whether in the past, present or future. Thanks for bringing up this point.
Also, on the point that some people were placed in constituencies that were not near them, I believe that the right term for this is gerrymandering. Low Thia Khiang has previously mentioned during a rally that the PAP changes the political boundaries every elections, so that they can balance out the opposition support and PAP support, ultimately benefitting them. My parents have also told me about this, and they were highly critical of the PAP’s inclination to not follow a uniform geographic standard but instead resort to changing the boundaries to suit them everytime.
I have a suggestion for you. Perhaps you could have talked more about your own opinion. More specifically, you could have talked more about your opinions on some of the points raised up during the rallies and speeches given by the candidates. You could also have evaluated their comments. There are many issues brought up during this election. Be it the rivalry between Tin Pei Ling and Nicole Seah, or the criticisms towards Dr Vivien Balakrishnan for the overinflation of the YOG budget, many points have been brought up, and I believe that your post will be better with your personal input. :)
On a whole, though, I really enjoyed reading your post. Nice work there! :D
Cheers,
Roystan