Thursday, April 21, 2011 @ 9:29 PM: Dissecting my thoughts
The GE is knocking at the doorstep, and Singaporeans, partly, are getting excited about it.
It is probably the most exciting election that is heading to Singapore in my lifetime, not that I am previously politically apathetic (for good reasons I was born in Hougang and attended quite a few of those rallies which I do not completely understand the policies and stuff that they were campaigning about), not that it is the first time I get to vote (well to say a bit cos I know my vote might be able to save the oppo their fair share of deposit if I vote for the oppo, or be that deciding vote that tips one side over the other), but I guess it is a time when more people are aware of the issues that really concern them and are getting heightened about them.
It has been highly publicised and known that countries in this globalised world today are facing problems on their own kind... inflation in the world, housing price bubbles in US, economy collapses in Ireland and Greece... and Singapore is at the crossroads of such challenges that every country is facing. As MG(Ret) Chan of PAP mentioned in his 'gusto' hokkien soldier style speech, big countries require good leadership, small countries require exceptional leadership. It is of imperative importance that we look at each of the candidates more carefully and make our decisions based on national interests, rather than the usual 'upgrading carrots' or 'national stability' that we have to talk about.
Back to the topic on challenges that Singapore is facing these days. I'm sure pretty many of our citizens are facing challenges in the following areas: Housing, living costs, costs to bring up children, retirement age, living space, job opportunities, etc. To allow and spur Singapore growth, Singapore has been known to spearhead the foreign 'talent' import scheme (from merely talents, which all singaporeans accept, to low-end and middle-class employees which affect a lot of livelihoods in singapore and suppress wages). It was a rushed decision without any consultation from the ground; discussions are at best talked down to public with little feedback being implemented in subsequent policies. As a result, living space is compromised, the Singaporean identity is diulted and housing prices are escalated to new heights with new measures coming in too late and too ineffectual to arrest the rise. Even though on the merits side, Singapore is able to keep wages low and keep big corporations in Singapore surviving with low human costs, this may not be the best solution in the long run as eventually we can't compete with large countries with lots of human labour willing to take in the jobs more cheaply and thus is simply not sustainable. Another scheme that Singapore brought in - casinos - allowed Singapore to grow, but at what costs? and is it going to sustain us in the future?
Not just addressing the economy issues, socially, it has been getting more and more unaffordable for young couples to own their own, not even say raise up kids and allow the fertility rate to be at a replacement level of 2.1. It is a tad ridiculous when the previous generation with 2/5 of the income of the typical singaporean couple needs 1/3 of the housing loan period to own a typical HDB flat (based on some examples I have seen in my friends and some pple). What about education costs? Food prices? Oil prices? They can only go up (to reflect rising oil prices which increase at a much lower pace)... and Singapore will eventually be a good and safe place for rich pple to live in, but a growing class of poor who may find themselves highly educated but struggling to meet the ends.
I guess these are the main issues and challenges that each political party should look at and address the populace, rather than critisizing and doubting each's ability to perform. Policies are needed to bring the country forward, and not dirty politiking. But if the PAP would say their last 5 years has been a stellar report card, that's where I really really could not fathom and get my blood pressure rising.
I am a very values person, someone who is principled on certain ideals. And I am super anti-hypocrisy for all those who know me. When some things are wrong, admit them, do a post-mortem with everyone, learn from the mistakes and move on. No point deceiving yourselves that you are doing a good job, award yourselves, and slam others for no track record. I guess no track record is better than lousy track record in some cases, esp if they reflect yourselves to be insensitive, hypocritic and complacent in the eyes of many. I guess that is the quality that many should look for, and prefer, in their candidates. Whether they are sincere in benefiting the nation, whether they have the vigour to serve the nation's (and not party's) interests and whether they are modest enough to know that they are the true servants of the public and view them with respect and not as dumb citizens.
The above pts I do mention also point highly as to how I lead my life. Be modest, listen to others' opinions, sincere and forthcoming!
thank you for bringing me memories...
