Vote Your Conscience

At 29 years of age, I finally have a chance to put an action to my inner voice. In 1997, I lived in a fairly affluent estate which meant that alot of the proverbial carrots that were dangled didn’t apply to us.

We had many passionate people who dared speak up against what I thought was the government. The legendary JB Jeyaratnam and his team led the Worker’s Party in Cheng San GRC. As an impressionable 16 year old, I listened and found myself wishing for a change.

I remember my school mate and I were eagerly watching the news on polling night for the results and, after watching conspiracies on television and the big screen, we saw one unfold before our eyes. Cheng San GRC was the last GRC to have its results announced, even well past the mid-night hour. How can it take so much more time to count this GRC compared to others? As we discussed, it could be various recounts that were made at either party’s request. After all, this was right after the Florida recount debacle of 1996 (Bush v Gore). As much as we suspected the current ruling party was the one that demanded the recounts, the suspicion was unfounded.

Until 2001, Cheng San GRC was never to be heard from again. Its districts were divided up between the Ang Mo Kio GRC and the newly formed Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC.

That aside, another possible clue was that one of the Workers’ Party candidates was driven to bankruptcy and forced to leave the country by what many citizens have ‘affectionately’ termed the ruling family.

Imagine my disdain when we had to move to a new estate and it turned out to be in the legendary GRC, home turf of the Mentor of the Ministers (a position no other country can boast and, while highly paid, is a position that doesn’t serve much in the government.), a GRC that is normally left uncontested by other political parties.

But thanks to gerrymandering, without moving out, I am now in a new GRC. I now have the opportunity to vote, a chance to express my views. I admit that the current ruling party has done a good job in building up Singapore. But the latest generation of politicians is not inspired to serve the people but their own selfish needs. The high ministerial salary is supposedly to deter corruption in the government. But the flipside is that those seeking out these positions are corrupted without a third party, raising the taxes and also their income. Whatever happened to public service because of the desire to serve the people?

We have seen a more than decent crop of candidates from other political parties this time around and the responses from the current ruling party are less than satisfactory. Their ruling party status has made them conceited masters of the people rather than humble servants. Their apology for some of their oversights has come only in response to the other political parties voicing out the people’s concerns. In my opinion, it is too little, too late.

I’m all for giving second chances. But second chances should be accompanied with stricter guidelines. This was what was offered to me before when I faltered. All I would like to see is the other political parties given a chance to prove themselves in parliament, with the ruling party still allowed to have the majority. After all, we are supposed to be a democracy, not a dictatorship.

Despite all I have mentioned, I urge voters to seize their responsibility in voting wisely. That means weighing your concerns with those of ALL parties and voting your conscience. Not because you are fearful of what might happen if you vote against the ruling party but what might happen if the party you vote for doesn’t represent you.

I’ve made my choice. And if you have yet to make the choice today is the day that you decide. Let tomorrow’s elections mark a change with the government serves the people’s needs. Regardless of who you vote, please vote and not void it.

God Bless Singapore.

Stupidity…

I deliberately sent to 2 members of a committee some questions that I need answered for a reporter by the morning…

Instead of getting some feedback, one of the persons I copied the email too decided to send it to the whole committee and ask them to answer a few questions each without determining which one answers whom…

This is a person whose disorganisation has wasted much of our time…
The person is constantly throwing extra stuff our way when it has got nothing to do with our original scope of work and has some rather bizarre ideas which even when told ‘no’ and why not to do still wants to do it anyway…

Now, tomorrow morning when I need the answers, chances are that the committee will still be arguing over who is going to answer which question, who can or can’t comment on certain issues…
Why? Because of the simple truth that a person is smart, but people are stupid…

Alone

I do not fit into people’s perception…
No one does…

And the more people try to push me in one way, the more I will refuse to budge…

People might say it’s stubbornness or pride…

But considering my history, I’m cautious to do things to suit others…
If it is a big decision I have to choose to do something for myself and not because someone told me to…

I have done that with my parents and it caused me to waste away years of my life…
If you want me to change, don’t push me…

National Identity

Recently, whilst on national duties, we were asked a question that a student asked a senior government official…

As a reservist soldier, what am I defending?

Hearing some of the opinions shared and, along with my own, I disagree with the student that most people have no idea what they are defending…

My home, my friends, my family…
These are the things that I am defending…

But let’s look at the bigger picture…
Are we really looking to defend our national identity? Our national pride?
If so, what is it?

So many have lost their jobs to foreigners who are younger and work cheaper…
I was working at a firm which hired more foreign talent than they should have…

It has almost become public policy to woo these foreign talents into coming into the country…
And the citizen army is expected to protect them; these foreigners who come here to work today and leave the next…
Is the government serving the people by placing greater importance on wooing foreign talents in rather than protecting their own?

I believe the question isn’t really “what are we defending?” so much as it is “what does my country represent that I would fight to uphold?”

Again, I say these not to cause dissent but to raise the question about what is the national pride that is being fought for?

Leaks

I don’t really follow the news much for some reason, but I do kept myself updated of what’s going on generally…

There’s much hullabaloo about this wikileaks site which is releasing highly confidential government documents to the public…

Now, I can understand it’s original intent for journalist anonymity whilst exposing a story, but in recent years, the site’s original purpose has seemingly gone missing…

Whilst originally a site where anyone can submit an exposing story, vetted by a group of conscientious fact finders, now it seems to be run by a team of troublemakers out to start world war 3…

The very same public that lauded the site for exposing unethical treatments in Africa are now criticizing them for spreading anarchy…

The person allegedly running this site has been arrested and I wonder how he would feel if things he told his lawyer; things told in confidence; things bound by laws concerning privileged information, are made public…

A lot of information that is out there, is placed out of context…
And most people would just take such information at face-value, without discernment…

Sometimes uncovering scandals and coverups are good…
It helps to keep the government accountable to the people they serve…

Knowledge is power…
But true wisdom comes from knowing when to exercise that power…