It's been a while since my last post. I travelled to China once and has since been "grounded". It does feel nice to sit at my cubicle and feel I belong somewhere.
There has been much coverage about the upcoming General Elections in Singapore. Many people have a lot to say about the PAP candidates, the opposition, etc. I don't keep up with the news and what I know is from what hubby tells me. Here's my two cents' worth about some things I heard.
Talk about having a stronger opposition presence...maybe a 2 party government....we have 1 ruling party which forms the majority of the parliament. We have a few opposition parties. I may be naive but I doubt the intentions of the opposition. They probably have their own parties due to differences in belief, policies, personalities, agenda, etc and whatever. Is their true intent the good of Singapore? I cannot answer that but I have my doubts. I guess I am over-simplifying things. I'm not a politician after all. If I were the opposition, I would garner strength by consolidating efforts. I'm sure we all know the story about the chopsticks - it's easy to break a single chopstick with your bare hands but almost impossible to break a bunch of them put together. Now, in case the ISD is reading this, I'm not encouraging the opposition to form a single party and revolt against the government. I'm just wondering if they can do better if they have the good of Singapore in their intentions - common goal. Birds of a feather flock together. If they have the same objective or goal, they should be able to meet together and strengthen their presence.
Another piece of news from the hubby....DPM Teo Chee Hean....some talk about how he has made some comments which drew a lot of flak from netizens. A story about how he demanded VIP treatment at a grassroot event and refused to make a contribution for a Hungry Ghost festival event. This is what I told hubby.....DPM Teo is not a stupid person, I seriously doubt that he would put his reputation at stake by demanding VIP treatment. I think that it might, repeat MIGHT (in case I draw flak from grassroots leaders), be a case of grassroot leaders trying to impress their MP. This often creates a misunderstanding. I've seen it happen in the private sector and I'm not surprised that it does happen in the public sector. The top gun may be a simple, humble guy but his subordinates try their best to put up a good show to impress him. Can he refuse to sit at the VIP table after being shown his seat? That would have been disrespectful of the host, utter disregard for the efforts put in by his people and being difficult. As for contributions, since it was a Hungry Ghost event, which is religious in a way, I put it down to personal reasons why he didn't make a contribution. Besides, it might be policy. Making a contribution to one specific group will definitely lead to the need to contribute to all groups, to avoid giving the wrong impression of favouritism. You want to do something, do it for everyone. Otherwise don't do it at all.
I think as responsible citizens, netizens, members of society or just members of humanity, we all have our responsibility. Social responsibility. We are part of a bigger thing here. Give each other a break. Look at the common good. Oops, am I beginning to show signs of Marxism? No, I'm still a socialist. Yes, there has to be differentiation where it comes to people - meritocracy. I make my share of donations to the needy. Whether that is deemed a fair share or not is subjective. But I don't pity people who don't help themselves. Society doesn't owe any of us anything. Before you demand something from society, ask yourself what you have given society. Instead of just complaining, put your effort to a more worthwhile cause. If you think something is not right, do something about it. If you think the government not effective, prove you can do a better job. Constructive criticism, suggestions are good and in fact needed. But destructive criticism without any viable suggestions is just what it is - waste of resources.
Do I aspire to be a politician, a public servant? No. It's a tough job that you don't really get appreciation for. People think that it is a given and sometimes they treat public servants like servants. Utter rudeness. Do people come up to you and say, hey great job on keeping the city safe. No. They come up to you and say, hey why did you let that crazy guy kill that lady randomly? Ok, my comments here may be extreme examples, but you get the picture. I will not vote for the opposition now. Why? Because I still have my doubts. Will I vote against the PAP just to give the opposition a voice. No. Why? It's too big a risk. Yes, I admit that I am a coward. I will not put the security that I am enjoying now at risk. Many may say that I have bitten the bait of the PAP, that I have been blinded by their threat of security. So what? This is my home, I have every right to want it to be safe and stable. If you think that your one vote will help to give the opposition a few seats, without toppling the government, think again. What may happen if everyone thinks the same way? I don't dare to think. I prefer stability.
We are years from where the USA is now. They have many many more years of political history. We are still a fledgling by comparison. But honestly, I don't want to be a USA citizen today. I am a realist as well.
Enough said. Everyone has the right to their opinion. I'm just a woman with a lovely family, good job and happy life. What do I know?
No comments:
Post a Comment