I think there's not much point analysing the PAP's strengths and weaknesses; the opposition's strengths and weaknesses. Those of you who intend to vote - or for those who cannot yet vote, judge - according to that logic, I'm sure you'd have come across many articles/Facebook notes like this: http://www.facebook.com/notes/moh-hon-meng/in-defence-of-the-pap/223151944364478 ; or this: http://guanyinmiao.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/election-rallies-what-has-been-said-what-can-be-said/ , from which you then draw your own conclusions. So no, I'm not going to talk about that.

Instead I'm going to talk about a few points that concerns me very much as a resident in Singapore whose life will be affected by voters' decisions island-wide.


1)  What exactly is "voting wisely"?

What exactly is the "spirit of democracy" that George Yeo accused the WP of deviating Aljunied voters from? I  had a discussion with a friend, whose opinions I respect deeply, about this:  is 'irrational' voting necessarily wrong? Can one say that voting based on emotions is wrong? We didn't reach an agreement, but I concluded that no, it is not wrong, it's simply unwise. 

So what's 'wise'? To me, this article: http://www.facebook.com/notes/fish-koh-jie-yu/what-an-informed-voter-should-really-know/10150180386021234 sums it all up very nicely.

You may have a different interpretation from that read from me, but I think I'm with George Yeo on this:  I (will) vote for the party that I deem capable of providing the best life for me. To me, this is what democracy is about - designed with the selfish nature of human beings in mind.

And to me, the things I value most in a supposedly 'best life' is stability, progress, safety. I believe that the PAP  can give me these things because they have done it in the past. How do I know that the opposition cannot give me these things, you ask?  I don't know. I haven't seen them prove themselves like the PAP  did and I simply cannot take a leap of blind faith based on rhetoric, idealism and emotions. You may say this is not being fair to the opposition; not giving them a chance. Ya, I guess you're right, I'm not being fair. But too bad, this is life and they have to suck it up - it's too unfortunate that their dads haven't led a political party that contributed to making Singapore what it is today.

What I'd also like to point out is that I recognise we cannot expect everyone to make such - if you allow me to arrogantly label it so - 'rational decisions' by looking up information and have a set of somewhat neutral information laid out in front of them. Which brings me to my next point:  


2)  How information are presented through campaigns

I don't like how the campaigns were done. 

What I don't like about opposition campaigns:  endless bashing of every single thing that the PAP had done, discrediting every single PAP  member, sometimes without even backing the claims with statistics and concrete proof. What do I mean?  Watch this: http://www.clicknetwork.tv/watch.aspx?c=6&p=30&v=535.

To be honest, my impression of Vincent Wijeysingha was pretty good before I chanced upon this video. What unimpressed me most?

 1)  Him saying that there is not one PAP member he considers a worthy opponent. I  cannot applaud it as confidence. This is pure arrogance. 

2)  He implied that MM  Lee Kuan Yew is not even able to, I quote, "construct a few proper sentences that make sense" anymore, given his old age. Yet he went on to introduce Mr Chiam See Tong as one of the politicians he admires most. Now, I personally have great respect for both LKY  and CST. My problem with Vincent Wijeysingha in saying that are: first, I'm uncomfortable about how he subtly insults LKY. Undeniably he made many mistakes, was unfair to many people. But I respect (not fear) him for the things he did for Singapore. Second, he declared admiration for CST, who is obviously more frail and incoherent than LKY. I'm sure his admiration for Mr CST is not affected by the latter's current physical state but rather based on his contributions to Singapore as a politician. Why should he then judge LKY on a different basis? 

There are more things he said that were unimpressive to me, but let's leave it at these 2. 

What I don't like about PAP  campaigns: endless bashing of every single opposition party, saying how they haven't done anything to prove themselves. DUH???  YOU  ARE  THE  ONLY  RULING  PARTY  FOR  THE  PAST  46 YEARS  HOW  YOU  WANT  THEM  TO  PROVE  THEMSELVES????  

I really, really wish that the PAP had been much more humble and much more receptive right from the start of their campaigns. PAP going on the defensive, then offensive, is a clear demonstration that they don't know why they lost the hearts of some voters. 

So what I'm saying here is:  please don't campaign like your listeners are idiots who cannot think for themselves. We recognise that the PAP has been good; we also recognise that the only things that the opposition can fall back on are their idealism and declaration of love for the people, staged or otherwise.

3) The GRC  system

I don't like the GRC  system. And, although I'm pro-PAP, I do think that they're abusing the GRC system slightly, getting undeserving individuals into the Parliament under the umbrellas of capable ministers with years of  experience. 
 

For example, I don't want Tin Pei Ling in my Parliament. 

Whatever she has been trying to prove in her campaigns: capability, intelligence, leadership...  failing. I don't want her in my Parliament, period. 

BUT, I want Goh Chok Tong in my Parliament (although yes he made insensitive remarks about how 'most Singaporeans' are okay with the high ministerial pay -_-).

THEN  HOW???  I  want GCT, but I don't want TPL. BUT  THEY  BUY  1 GET  1 FREE  LEH. 

How do you argue that such a system is fair?


4)  Ideology you subscribe to

I subscribe to meritocracy, which 'coincidentally' is what the PAP has been advocating too for the past, um, 46 years? I subscribe to it for one main reason: it works for me.

What does meritocracy mean to me?  It means equal OPPORTUNITY  for competition; after which the 'winner' is 'rewarded', the 'loser' is 'left behind'. Because I'm a selfish human being who arrogantly want to live a better life than those who aren't as good as me in these competitions, I want meritocracy. 

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying one should let the 'losers' remain in poverty and suffering and die. I do have compassion (despite my selfishness and arrogance) . It breaks my heart to see a homeless old man who don't have access to 3 proper meals a day. I believe in the more welfare approach that Nicole Seah advocates.

It's just that I  believe there's a trade-off to meritocracy. You want to have this in your country, you have to accept that there will always be people left behind (although by no means this should mean the government should leave these people behind - but this is another issue altogether). 

What's the alternative?  Socialism. On what ideal does it work? Equality. 
"Sounds good what," you say, "equality leh!" Let me tell you what it implies: this means, let's say, by your intelligence and competency, you earn $5000 a month. Your neighour Ah Gao, who is lazy and unmotivated, does odd jobs to make ends meet, and earn $500 a month. Equality means, you give your $5000 to a higher authority (presumably the Town Council), and Ah Gao gives his $500 to them too, and they split the sum equally and redistribute to you 2. So now you both have $2750 a month.
"Huh isn't that communism?"  you ask. Yes it is. That's what communism works on. And it has arguably been a failure, when you compare say, North Korea's SOL to South Korea's.

Then what does meritocracy work on?  Equity. 
Equity means getting rewarded for how much one contributes. So if you reap more, you sow more; vice versa. Sounds more fair? Let me tell you what this implies: by your intelligence and competency, you earn $5000 a month. Your neighour Ah Gao, who is naturally less intelligent and lost an arm, can only do small odd jobs to make ends meet, and earn $500 a month, barely able to feed himself. As a result Ah Gao suffers forever. Still sounds fair?

See, there's no fair system in this world, because it's just designed imperfectly. Question is, which do you pick, if you have to pick one? I pick meritocracy, because I survive well in it. Judge me all you want, but I pick meritocracy.

5)  Moral high-grounds taken by some voices

This is related to my previous point. As I posted on my own Facebook wall a few days back, let's use the same analogy:

If you are so worked up about inequality you won't wait around for the GOVERNMENT to do something about it: go, go ahead and divide everything you have equally with your neighbour who earn less than you! Don't want? Then you are a hypocrite and you should just stfu.

Obviously, the PAP government is not perfect. This article http://www.facebook.com/notes/desmond-mao/the-hard-truths-about-an-aljunied-voters-dilemma/10150232516661031 sums up people's disillusionments and dilemmas pretty well. But, from the same article, I quote, "Even the best of us makes mistakes. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." 

I don't think any further elaboration is needed.

6)  Respecting different opinions
 

To sum up my very long-winded and self-righteous essay, I want to say that, please stop all the name-calling and personal attacks on people who simply have different opinions from you. You want to say that, "Well but their decision is not as well-considered as mine and that means they're stupid", it's your choice. But in my opinion that's not exactly the most politically (or non-politically, for that matter) thing to do. 

Why do we have 'repressed' freedom of speech? Because the government fears we don't know how to constructively react to different opinions, hurting harmony, shaking Singapore's stability. Let's prove them wrong. Let's respect each other's difference in opinions.

Lastly, something light-hearted for you (credits to http://saynotongui.blogspot.com/ - hope he doesn't mind the limited 'publicity' ><), hopefully it puts a smile on your face like it did mine (:
 

 

 

 

Hi all, in case you're still following this pathetic little piece of cyberspace, and wondering why I stopped my gratitude journal series at entry #2, it's because... not really because of anything particular really. It's just a mood thing? But I have a good feeling I'll come back to it. The other day Vincent asked if I was okay cos "only unhappy people write gratitude journals". I gave that a little thought and, no, I don't agree. I think it's a precious, precious thing to feel happy about the smallest good things that happen to you everyday. Whimsical, yes, maybe, but it's a good thing nonetheless.

To be honest I've been quite discouraged by school work recently; especially so because I put in a lot more effort this semester compared to the last. And I was really hopeful that something good will come out of it - so devastating essay grades hadn't been particularly encouraging. But OH WELL, life goes on, isn't it. What Jieli said the other day makes a lot of sense, "So what even if your CAP isn't too good this sem? This is only your first year, for goodness sake. Our first years."
True, true. Plus there's another week to push this potential. I'll come out of this alright! (:

Can't WAIT for the holidays to be here already!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's gna be so enriching (((((((((:
I'm planning to work at the salad bar that Fong's working at right now - and from what she describes there are a couple of hair-pulling-inducing individuals lolol it brings out my inner bitchy self. Ahem. And then it'll be attachment with MOE. Teachingggggggg!!! :D

 

Sounds good huhhhh my summer! (:

Yes that just made me happy (:

 

GO XIAOXI, 2 more weeks to summer, you can do this!

 

1) Jieli and I took a sinful day off mugging and hit the beach :D


Ahbeng and ahlian at the beach xoxo

But it was really pleasurable guilt (:
We didn't actually do much, just... some tanning, some cycling, some sitting around talking nonsense... but it's so recharging! (: 

For one whole day studies didn't creep into my worried head... that's a good change.

Gosh sometimes I amaze myself with my change. If you were to tell me 3 months ago that I'd say, "For one whole day studies didn't creep into my worried head... that's a good change." I'll laugh and tell you they don't creep into my head 95% of my life.

 

 

 

 

 

Cos Jieli's friend's gna mass ship Fred Perry and thus taking orders so... it's justified: I'm doing a good deed by sharing shipping cost. REALLY TEMPTED TO GET A PAIR OF SHOESSSSSS but I thought of my TOMS (2, actually) and decided that's enough.

So I got a bag instead. *sheepish*

BUT IT'S SO NICE RIGHT :D !!!
 

 

 

 

But I doubt it looks like this in reality la huh (didn't look like this the last time I was there anyway) it is from Google image = highly photoshopped.

STILL. 5 days away from every-annoying-body with my favourite boy is too awesome actually I'm like damn excited now I WANT TO GO NAOOOOO!!!!!!!!

(Aye don't be over-sensitive you are not included in 'every-annoying-body' tsk.)

 

 

Hehehehehehehehehehehe omg too happy hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe

Super motivated to mug nao bye! :D :D :D