Born to be brave
May. 5th, 2011 08:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ausareSo what's all this excitement about the elections this year? For sure it will be a win of majority for that political party that never fell out of parliamentary power since ever. What's the point in voting if we even get the chance to? (Okay, I have to say, I can't explain the Singapore electorial procedure properly so whoever's reading, you have to go google it.)
The political climate this time is so so so different from the past. Why? Simple. We Singaporeans are fed up. We're known to be people who love to grumble so much it's joked that complaining about things is practically our past-time. Despite that, we are generally very tolerant people.
Stress on our infrastructure? Crowded and high-costing piblic transport (that the government keeps encouraging us to make use of)? We get awesome headphones and earphones to block the noise (crazy loud chatter from China nationals, obnoxious students, people who clearly are desperate to share their bad taste in music with the whole train cabin). We suck it up. Besides, this country is small. It's not as if we'll be all stuck on the train for hours on end before reaching our destination.
Public housing too expensive to buy? Guess we'll stay with our parents, then. It's easier for us to ask for help when raising a child in the future anyway since both parents will have to work full-time to support the family.
Too many "foreign talent" in an already very cramp and competitive island nation? Well, it's not like we are unable to accept them. We grew up with and around people of varying races, ethnicities and religions. Singaporeans, with all our jokes about other races (that we don't honestly mean. C'mon, everyone's a little racist. We take digs at one another. It's what FRIENDS do, because we're comfortable with each other, because we know they don't mean them as true insults), should understand best about being tolerant of differences without our leaders dragging up the past and using extreme examples when it suits their agendas. We make friends with them. We slog through GCE O'Levels together, we spend sleepless nights on school projects together, we work 9-5 next to one another. Hey, it's a ROJAK country anyway, we're totally okay with it.
So our retirement age has been raised to 68 (67?). We're practically working to our deaths, with no chance to enjoy the fruits of our long years of labour, to pay for rising costs of basic necessities and that roof over our heads. Oh well. That's fine. We work hard so our next generation won't have it as bad we do, right?
Of course, there are other grievances but these are the things that affect me short-and long-term, daily, and in the future respectively.
(Okay, just transferred trains and holy shit is it crowded or what I'm effing SURROUNDED by people. This is VERY uncomfortable for someone like me who has a VERY WIDE personal space.)
These... ISSUES, and many others that affect us Singaporeans at a relatively basic level didn't just appear suddenly together with the pre-election period. It's been happening for years. We've been annoyed for years. We didn't say much because, I guess most of us believed in the rhetoric that the incumbent political party knows best. They've been in power since independence and we're still prospering so why challenge the status quo? Also, it's common knowledge that there are ways that political has ways of "punishing" us for not agreeing with everything they say and do. The local media doesn't help much, with the ownership tracing back all the way back to that political party (look, I've studied and done my research on this countless times during uni. Don't make me explain everything again to justify something I've justified for numerous classes and in too many essays). And the media is the message. We can't help but let what we hear and see influence our thoughts and opinions.
(Right, just got off the train and got out of the station after waiting for the escalator after inconsiderate people who MUST GET ON THE ESCALATOR NOW NOW NOW OMG I WILL DIE IF I DON'T GET ON NOW DAMMIT. The following is continued from my MacBook at home.)
Where was I? Ah, yes. These "petty complains" have existed before March this year. There has always been voices of dissent , before last year, and more than a few years back. Only it has been repressed by our self-censorship to protect ourselves from any actions from the incumbent party. Alternate voices have been repressed by media laws and other legalities that I don't understand 100% to explain it clearly here. You see, everyone has a limit. A limit on our temper, on our self-control, our tolerance, our patience and understanding and faith that things will work because we are Singaporeans, dammit, and at the end of the day, our Government will place us and our concerns first. Apparently not. This is our limit. We have had it up to HERE with all that we've taken and been stuck with all these years with no other reason than overall GDP growth, international recognition and so-called progress.
Let me say this now, this is not about being anti-PAP. This is not about overthrowing the establishment. This is not being pro-opposition. Supporting the ideals of someone doesn't mean we hate the individuals from the other group, it just means we don't agree with their ideals. This election, EVERY election, is not about being anti-PAP. It's about being pro-Singapore, being pro-Singaporean.
Okay, let me sort out my thoughts as neatly as possible as I can into words.
Progress for a country is not dependent solely on its GDP. What does it mean for the people below the growth average when the rich pull up the numbers? Economical progress does not directly equate to social progress. How do you justify economical progress to the people who had no savings for old age because they're still paying for their public housing that's built by the government for the everyday Singaporean who isn't well-off enough to own condominiums? How do you justify the country's high productivity to Singapore citizens who lost jobs or has a less chance to secure a job to survive the rising costs because rather than saving opportunities for us, the government is encouraging the employment of foreigners? How do you boast of the glamourous CBD, bay area and Integrated Resort to the homeless and the jobless? How do you preach of how far our country has come, how amazing our country is, how awesome it is that Singaporeans have contributed to all this when we feel like strangers on familiar shores, when we feel like tourists in our own country, when we feel like we have no value beyond what we represent - GDP contributors.
Are we complaining too much? Are we demanding too much? We just want to feel like we have value again, that we have value as citizens who contribute to the identity of this country. The identity of how differences made us a greater whole, how we have had this common goal to make it, to prove that this small red dot can, that we might be tiny, but we are united in spite - and because of - our differences and we are proud of it. As our National Day song sings of, "We have a vision for tomorrow/ We have a goal for Singapore", what is this vision, this goal? I'm sure it's more than pure economical progress, beyond gaining A's on our report cards about first to host certain events. I used to tear up at National Day songs because I feel like it's reminding us that we belong here, we're working for the betterment of our country, for one another, that we all share the one vision for Singapore's future.
Honestly? I think we've lost our way, more so the incumbent party than us. If the leaders cannot lead, what good is it for us to share a vision our leaders no longer understand?
What is it about the opposition now that made (almost) every Singaporean so geared up for Polling Day? The impression is that they hear us. They understand what worries us. They understand that we're not asking for fantastic GDP figures. We just want to be able to call our country home again. We just want to not want to worry about the low-income strata while our ministers receive the highest salary in the world, coupled with a 8-month bonus while we're recovering from the hit on global economy, the effects still fresh in our minds. We want to be able to have affordable public housing, and public transport that shouldn't have 50% profit after we're getting fare hikes. We want to be able to find jobs without worrying that no one wants to employ us because foreigners are cheaper. We want to be able to have an education in Singapore without finding out that our own leaders are begging foreigners to study in our universities to make up for the intake numbers when so many of us are rejected while nowhere near the gate. We want to have a freedom of speech and expression that should have been rightfully ours from the start. We want to have good leaders.
What is a good leader? A good leader is humble, honest, genuine, compassionate. A good leader is able to have the grace to listen to views that might not match his. A good leader takes ownership of his mistakes without coming up with a hundred reasons and excuses to dodge the bullet. A good leader is careful of his words to not offend nor take advantage of any community. A good leader does not try to justify himself when he has been offensive. A good leader apologises quickly and accepts praise silently, instead of waiting for desperate times to do it for the sake of obtaining last minute support. A good leader does not need to resort to threats, emotional blackmail to get support. A good leader move with the times, and not have an iron rule to run things the way they were run half a century ago. A good leader is at once pragmatic and flexible and should always, always, put his people first. People as individuals, not the collective economical value we represent.
Are those too idealistic? They are, I agree. But what then, should be the starting point to be a leader, if it's not ideals and altruism?
What are we voting for this General Elections? Each GRC and SMC is choosing a leader for their community, yes, but that is only the superficial layer to this election. We are also voting for the future leaders of our country. Are we supposed to base our decision on who is able to give us housing upgrades, or who can represent us best in the parliament, who can put our concerns first, who can work with other members of the parliament to improve the lives of Singaporeans not just in their own community but in the whole country?
Look, I am not supporting the opposition for the sake of it (no, maybe I am, as a mass communication/journalism graduate, I am still very pissed with all the media censorship and having our right to free speech and expression taken away). But this is what I feel. I feel that the incumbent has become complacent, arrogant and ignorant.
Complacent to how Singaporeans have progressed on our own, socially and less-narrow-minded. Too complacent to think that old rules still apply. Too complacent to want to hold us to the old principles instead of adapting themselves to move forward with us, to lead us forward.
Arrogant, because they think they can do no wrong purely because they were the ones who had been pushing Singapore all these years to where we are now. Arrogant to think that we are totes okay with their million dollar salary and 8-month bonuses. Arrogant to not want to apologise in a timely manner to mistakes and oversight. Arrogant to still expose their indignity at us for not accepting their half-hearted apologies. Arrogant to think that last minute apologies will win our votes this election.
Ignorant to the woes of the citizens they are supposed to care for. Ignorant to cast our concerns away for the superficial goals and achievements. Ignorant to think that the problems faced by the individual communities and the less-fortunate is insignificant in the face of greater overall economic progress.
Yes, it's impractical to micro-manage a country. But Singapore is small. Smaller than so many states in America, smaller than cities in England. Our concerns are not so varied that it's impossible to even just pretend to listen to. What else are there other than the rising cost of living, public housing, increased competition from foreigners, that there are not enough concessions for the disabled (physically and mentally) in this small country?
Sure, problems cannot be resolved quickly, but if we have so much money to splurge on Youth Olympics, so much money to overpay our ministers, why can't some amount of those be used to help from bottom up, to service the community and enrich the society as a whole? Maybe then we'll have less complains when we see that you care for your own people.
Okay, enough of the big picture. Time for the small picture. Mine. It's the first election since I've come of age, and fortunately I am able to vote (google walkovers to know what I mean).
I think it's clear from my entry so far who I'm voting for (or against), eh? Truthfully, I'm not familiar with the other party but someone in the incumbent cemented my vote for the other. Let me refer you to this video and this interview.
Let's just say, (this sounds bad but, I'm cynical and this is the truth) to be a politician, you gotta know how to bullshit. And you gotta know how to bullshit convincingly. And being a politician means being in public relations. You have to know when to say what and how to say what you say. You have to choose the right situation to say something politically correct and the right situation to show something personal.
What I see here is EPIC FAIL and SARAH PALIN. If you cannot convince me to support even just your answers, you have failed so horribly I have no words. Do I want her in my government, getting paid SGD 15,000 every month, supposedly leading this country, my community? I should think the decision is clear.
What this election is, is also a time for change. A time to reclaim our right to make our own decisions, a right that was taken away with so many walkovers in the past years. Will our country change much? Will it go to the dogs if the incumbent doesn't win the majority seat? Personally, I don't think so. We're practically a well-oiled machine. We can function on our own. Offices will continue to open. Foodcourts will continue to be in business the next morning. Buses and trains will continue to run. We need a change in leadership, not to overthrow anyone, but to wake them up from their complacency, shake the arrogance out of them and stop them from being ignorant to our cries.
Sure, we may not know if the opposition is good. Hell, we don't know because they've never been given the chance to! Democracy? I don't think so. And for the two communities that have been opposition wards these decades, all the articles I've read of personal accounts and of visitors seem to point that they are doing well too. Not as shiny as the constituencies under incumbent rule because they have been getting limitations to things that are rightly theirs, but people are safe, people are happy (or as happy as they can be, considering the state of our country).
It's normal as humans to be afraid of change. But. Change is not always bad. If this election changes the status quo, it will be for the better. The incumbent won't be totally gone, anyway, so I don't know what they're getting their knickers in a twist about. And the thing about being in a democratic country is that if the change took us in a wrong turn, we can just vote them out the next election. I'm sure we can survive the next five years.
So, on Saturday, I will be voting. I won't be voting out of fear. If I do, I let them win. If I do, I'm giving them the chance to bully us again. If I do, I'm encouraging them into thinking that they can resort to scaring us to do their bidding.
On Saturday, I won't be using my vote as a reward system for the past. I won't let my vote be part of the grades that they don't rightfully deserve. I won't use my vote as a gesture of gratitude. Don't get me wrong. I am very grateful for the progress we've enjoyed so far. I'm very grateful that we're on par with some developed country. But that is all well and done with.
This Saturday, I will be voting for my future. My future in the country I was born in. The collective future of my fellow Singaporeans. I will be voting for the future of my country.
Two days from now, I will be exercising, and reclaiming my right as a citizen of this country to make my voice be heard. Whether we win or not is inconsequential. Seeing (almost) every Singaporean so united in these short weeks (when it's not even National Day!), that, is a win already; realising that our leaders serve us and should fear us and not vice-versa; realising that we do have a voice, a stake, an ownership in the country that belongs to us first, political parties second.
On 7 May 2011, I will vote remembering that this country is my home and I will damn well make this decision myself, no fear.
Also. Tomorrow is Cooling day, aka. No Free Speech At Least About The Elections Day, so we're prohibited from speaking about anything that's related to it. In the 24 hours of silence, there are some clickable links:
The Online Citizen
TODAYdigital on YouTube
For the lulz. No, seriously, watch it.
以上、Chii です。
