Elections.. what is it about?
What is an election?
An election is the process by which the people of a democratic country choose their constituency leaders. These leaders will manage the constituency (or the area you're living in), represent your needs when necessary as well as be a member of parliament.
Parliament is the law-making body in the country. What this means is that the policies and laws that govern Singapore and Singaporeans are passed and made by this body. The members of the parliament are all elected in (except NMPs).
The ruling party (the party to which the majority of the members belong to) in the parliament then becomes the government. A prime minister is appointed from this ruling party and he elects his cabinet of ministers (e.g. Defence Minister) from his party of elected ministers.
Through this process of democracy, all leaders would have had the mandate to lead the people.
What is a democracy?
1. Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives.
2. A political or social unit that has such a government.
3. The common people, considered as the primary source of political power.
4. Majority rule.
5. The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.
The right to choose whorules leads you is vested in the people. The people exercises this right to choose.
So is it democracy if the people are ignorant or are too afraid to exercise this right? I'm not too sure.
I used to think Singaporeans were ignorant. Some are.. but I have realized that most are not. Most were afraid. I honestly believed the PAP would know if you voted against them. I remember growing up wishing that nothing would happen to my parents if they had chose to vote opposition.
But then Minister Mentor Lee said on national television, the PAP does not know your vote. How can we tell? Come off it, you mean to say you're afraid?
So, boss.. means nothing to be afraid of ah? So can exercise vote is it? Can choose opposition? Can support opposition? Nothing will happen to me if I go opposition rally?
Okay!
The recent Worker's Party Rally at Hougang
I think the floodgates have been opened. Singaporeans recognize the benefits of having substantial opposition in the house of Parliament. I hope and predict that this would happen. Why?
a. The fear of retribution when one votes against the PAP has been pushed aside by the MM himself. If something does happen, Singaporeans have mandate to complain in force.
b. Opposition has stepped up. Look at Worker's Party manifesto compared to PAP's
c. PM Lee Hsien Loong isn't SM Goh Chok Tong. The SM was able to connect to the people more, I believe. Also, no matter what the MM says about the PM being an individual mind, the fact remains that the PM is the son of the MM. The PM has a lot to win over.
d. We really need the presence of opposition to check and balance the government. At this point in time, we don't want to wait for a scholar to come up and do it.. anyone decent will do.
e. Singaporeans are affected more by the lack of a political playing field than the fact that their lift hasn't been stopping at their floor for the last 5 years. The buying of votes through offering this is more of an insult than an incentive. It is about what's just now, the lower hierarchy needs have been met. If we were all starving and PAP offered food, there wouldn't be an issue.
So what does this mean? Bring down the PAP? Hardly. The crux of the matter is about democracy. The political power lies with the people but this will only be true if we choose to exercise it. If we do not feel that we have in ourselves this right to choose our leaders then at least we should stop kidding ourselves that we are in democratic country. For that would mean we would be lying to ourselves.
Are you going to be exercising your vote?
An election is the process by which the people of a democratic country choose their constituency leaders. These leaders will manage the constituency (or the area you're living in), represent your needs when necessary as well as be a member of parliament.
Parliament is the law-making body in the country. What this means is that the policies and laws that govern Singapore and Singaporeans are passed and made by this body. The members of the parliament are all elected in (except NMPs).
The ruling party (the party to which the majority of the members belong to) in the parliament then becomes the government. A prime minister is appointed from this ruling party and he elects his cabinet of ministers (e.g. Defence Minister) from his party of elected ministers.
Through this process of democracy, all leaders would have had the mandate to lead the people.
What is a democracy?
1. Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives.
2. A political or social unit that has such a government.
3. The common people, considered as the primary source of political power.
4. Majority rule.
5. The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.
The right to choose who
So is it democracy if the people are ignorant or are too afraid to exercise this right? I'm not too sure.
I used to think Singaporeans were ignorant. Some are.. but I have realized that most are not. Most were afraid. I honestly believed the PAP would know if you voted against them. I remember growing up wishing that nothing would happen to my parents if they had chose to vote opposition.
But then Minister Mentor Lee said on national television, the PAP does not know your vote. How can we tell? Come off it, you mean to say you're afraid?
So, boss.. means nothing to be afraid of ah? So can exercise vote is it? Can choose opposition? Can support opposition? Nothing will happen to me if I go opposition rally?
Okay!
The recent Worker's Party Rally at Hougang
I think the floodgates have been opened. Singaporeans recognize the benefits of having substantial opposition in the house of Parliament. I hope and predict that this would happen. Why?
a. The fear of retribution when one votes against the PAP has been pushed aside by the MM himself. If something does happen, Singaporeans have mandate to complain in force.
b. Opposition has stepped up. Look at Worker's Party manifesto compared to PAP's
c. PM Lee Hsien Loong isn't SM Goh Chok Tong. The SM was able to connect to the people more, I believe. Also, no matter what the MM says about the PM being an individual mind, the fact remains that the PM is the son of the MM. The PM has a lot to win over.
d. We really need the presence of opposition to check and balance the government. At this point in time, we don't want to wait for a scholar to come up and do it.. anyone decent will do.
e. Singaporeans are affected more by the lack of a political playing field than the fact that their lift hasn't been stopping at their floor for the last 5 years. The buying of votes through offering this is more of an insult than an incentive. It is about what's just now, the lower hierarchy needs have been met. If we were all starving and PAP offered food, there wouldn't be an issue.
So what does this mean? Bring down the PAP? Hardly. The crux of the matter is about democracy. The political power lies with the people but this will only be true if we choose to exercise it. If we do not feel that we have in ourselves this right to choose our leaders then at least we should stop kidding ourselves that we are in democratic country. For that would mean we would be lying to ourselves.
Are you going to be exercising your vote?
posted by undergradbyday @ 6:10 PM
2 Comments:
At 7:51 PM,
KiWeTO said…
The fear is real, the actual threat may no be. But the tides are changing....
aserialnumberonmyvote.blogspot.com
E.o.M.
At 11:15 PM,
Anonymous said…
You know, you talk about the government which has brought once-tiny-and-insignificant Singapore to what it is today as though it is only concerned about lift upgradings and keeping the floors clean. Have you heard nothing of such from the opposition? Of promises they make that seem like heaven but are really quite impossible? Or havent you heard the one so worried about shelters when praising the opposition life on tv?
The Singapore that we have today has an economic presence larger than its size on the map. Without our MM's faithful and intellingent hands on our nation, do you think we can become what we are today? How many nations of our size, our amount of resources and in the same short history, have come as far as us?
Democracy. Everybody wants to talk about democracy and having a say in the ways of the government. But does it work well for all countries? What is it your are so unhappy about the management of the current government other than their tactics in dealing with the opposition? Yes, think more than lifts and upgradings please but what are you complaining about here? Think about the bigger picture, Singapore's history, WHAT Singapore is, and what the government has done and... our future.
Your fellow schoolmate.
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