- The Singapore General Election 2011.

The reason for this blog post is purely and simply due to the fact that i don't want to spam my twitter with all my thoughts about the GE. Furthermore, as you all know, twitter has a word limit and more often than not, i have to break up my thoughts into pieces.

(added on 5/5/11) Disclaimer: I don't mean i know politics. These are just my thoughts and views after reading and watching everything. So don't slam me with comments like "you know nuts about politics", "you don't know anything about life" or whatsoever since i didn't claim that i know politics. I don't know how politics and politicians work but this is just my humble opinion as a Singaporean. (y)

You may agree OR disagree with what i say but at the end of the day, my post is not to influence you. It's solely MY point of view without any influence from anyone too. So those who don't agree, or think that i'm being lame/ridiculous/retarded/etc, you can DON'T read it. (y)

Since the start of GE 2011, i have been following up closely on the news and updates of it. I watched online videos on rallies, speeches, forums and even look at facebook and twitter. Below, are all my thoughts and comments on everything that i have heard or read or watched for the past few weeks.

- YOU WANT YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH/THOUGHT/VIEW, SO DO OTHERS.

Come on, we've got to stop scolding one and another for their choice of party. You have the rights think that the opposition party is good, better or even the best BUT you DON'T have the rights to insult PAP or the supporters of PAP. I'm not saying this because i support PAP but because from all that i've gathered, the most frequent insults come from supporters of the opposition party. (i wonder why)

Worse still, you insult the other party. You can support whoever you want for all you care, but please bear this in mind, not everyone has the same thoughts as you. Just keep your insults and scoldings to yourself. Who has the right to say that someone else's choice is wrong? - nobody. It's all our views and opinions. Live & let live.

add on: just watched another video and was HORRIFIED to learn that people actually vandalise PAP's posters, vans and some of the posters were even stolen?! Are you serious? I mean, hey, where are your moral values? Do you really think that this is the right action to prove that the party you support is good? Do you really think your actions will benefit the party you support? Think with your mind/brain, not your emotions. Don't allow your emotions to overrule your actions. Like i've said, you can don't like a particular party but you do not insult nor damage their posters. that's the last thing you should do.

- IS SINGAPORE REALLY THAT BAD UNDER THE GOVERN OF OUR GOVERNMENT?

First of all, I belong to the youth generation and IMO, i think our government has done a FANTASTIC job. I don't mean that they are perfect because i don't believe in a perfect government. I think that it is very unfair to blame them for everything and anything. Stop blaming them that there are poor people. There are definitely people who will fall into the cracks. And at least the government is trying to do something about it. So instead of complaining, blaming, scolding, think of ways to help? Think in their shoes IF you were in their shoes, can you do a better job?

Secondly, i've been hearing complains and complains and complains about all the mistakes that the government had made all these years. Some of the most common topics are, Cost of living, Influx of FT, Housing, Transport, Money Issues (GST, Taxation, CPF, etc)

No doubt, the cost of living in Singapore is rather high. No doubt the cost of living is causing a lot of stress on Singaporeans. No doubt what some people are earning is not enough to earn a living. I'm not from a rich family either and i know how stress my parents can get when it comes to the cost of living. However, I would urge all of you to look around you. I see HDBs, Skyscraper, IRs, Upgrading program, Increase of MRT network. As our standard of living increase, our cost of living had to increase it. our standard of living and our cost of living are directly proportionate. Instead of just sitting back and look at how Singaporeans struggle with the high cost of living, they come up with policies to help ease the burden (though not totally removing it). Just take this year as an example, the 'Grow & Share' package has definitely benefited most families. The amount might not be ALOT, but it's enough. This is the result of the effort put in by our government and the citizens. So if we continue to work hard and do our part as citizens, supporting our government, i believe more of such policies are coming our way. (y)

I'm not saying that the opposition party cannot deliver similar policies or what. i'm just saying, i totally appreciate the effort that the government had put in for the past decades and i recognize their hardwork and believe that given the chance to win the election this time, they will do their best for us, Singaporeans just like how they did for the past. I do agree that there should be opposition voices in the parliament but it should not be used to attack policies made by the government. There should not be segregation after GE in the parliament. Instead, they should work together, look at each other's view point and come up with policies that will best help Singapore.

Next, influx of FT/FW.

There has been a lot of complains that the FTs are snatching our jobs. To a certain/minimal extent, this sentence is true. It's a fact that FTs are doing jobs that could have been jobs of Singaporeans if they did not come to Singapore. However, let's think of it this way. The most eligible candidate wins. Just like how election, you choose the most eligible party that can work at your best interest, companies do so too. So the only way to get the job is to study hard, work hard. Meritocracy. heard of? I believe most people have heard of this term during your Social Studies in Secondary School. You deserve as per the amount you put in. Having said this, i do not agree that they are "snatching" our jobs. Look at it as a fair competition i guess. We do have Singaporeans going overseas to work too. Such competition will ensure that we work our very best at any time.

Let's move our attention to the FW. We often blame them for the traffic congestion and what not. We blame them for all sorts of things and i even read comments that blame them for snatching jobs of aunties and uncles. Look at the harsh truth will we? I see FWs working under scorching hot sun to build our HDBs, our IRs, our MRT tracks. Are you sure we have enough Singaporeans that are willing to do that job at a minimal pay? I personally do not think so. We need to help of them to build all our infrastructures. So let's bear with the traffic congestion for the time being.

Money Issues. This was certainly the HOTTEST topic of GE 2011. The most frequent sentence i hear in rallies is "Where is our money?". I'm not making this up, go and listen and watch the videos. Oh, regarding the rumor that the GST is going to increase to 10%, let me give you this piece of information that i've received after watching the videos. THERE WILL NOT BE AN INCREASE IN OUR GST FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT 5 YEARS. so stop scolding the government for the rumor. it's not true and it's assured by our PM. So okay, one issue done.

you say our GST is too high, but may i ask what about the GST in all the other developed countries? Don't tell me things like "let's not compare with other countries" because let me ask you, why are you complaining that it's too high? aren't you comparing it with something else too?

Next, CPF. Do you really think that someone would be so happy to keep your money longer? Imagine the horrible consequences if we are allowed to withdraw our CPF earlier. I've compared several websites and found out that the life expectancy of an average Singaporean is about 81-82. State an example, if we are allowed to withdraw our CPF at age 60, and he / she decides to spend it on something or gamble everything away, what is he / she going to use to survive for the next 10-20 years or so? Most of you will say "Ask government to support la. They are suppose to take care of us ma" or some of you will say "he/she spend away his/her money their problem la." This is where some of us will expect the government to take care of this issue. so instead of finding a solution when such thing happen, might as well prevent it? "Prevention is better than cure" heard of it? (:

What i'm trying to say is, there are always 2 sides to a coin. It really depends on how we look at the issue and whether we are willing to look beyond the issue and look at the effort that they have put in. Just to clarify, all these paragraphs are just my personal views, thoughts and feelings about what i've read recently. I do not represent the wishes and views of any party. So don't attack me by saying that i'm blindly following/supporting a particular party. I based my judgment purely on what i see, hear, read and understand. (:

Summary:

I'm not here to influence your votes nor to tell you which party is good, which party is bad. In my opinion, as long as a party works for Singapore's best interest, it is not a bad party. The purpose of this post is to let you realize that there are ALWAYS 2 sides to a coin. As voters, all you can do is to really go and read up / watch all their rallies (both parties) and choose the one that can truly TRULY represent your voice in the parliament. Choose the one that knows Singapore best and has the best policies offered for Singapore. Never NEVER choose a party based on how they degrade the other party / complain about the policies made and not come up with a policy that can REALLY solve the problem. I am not saying that the opposition party should not be involved in policy making. Instead, i do agree that there should be a voice from the opposition party in the parliament. this will ensure in the best policy made in our best interest.

Stop expecting the government to be perfect. No human is perfect. We make mistakes at times. The most important thing is to apologise after a mistake had been made and never make the same mistake again. It takes great courage to apologise to the public and admit your mistakes. So do not take our government for granted. We can "troubleshoot" or have our views or express our unhappiness about certain policies BUT always remember to first, appreciate what we have and what Singapore has achieved over the past decades before looking at the negative side. Life will be so much better this way. Weigh the pros and cons before making a comment or a decision.

Another view of mine, do not expect your MPs to go to your doorstep every other day when there's thousands and thousands of people in your constituency. Do not judge the amount of effort put in by your MP just by the amount of time he/she spends in visiting your doorstep. It's kinda "disturbing" when people complain about anything and everything. Your MP come and visit you, you complain saying that they disturb you. They don't visit you so frequently (but they do have the Meet-the-People session), and only visit you during election period, you say they are only doing the house-to-house visit because got election. A bit hard to please aye? This does not apply to the PAP only, this happens to the opposition parties too i believe. If you really want your MP to listen to your concerns, go to them and i believe they would be more than willing to help you. Meet-the-People session is one of the way to get your concerns heard. Then again, most people will say that Meet-the-People session is very troublesome. So yea, it's really hard to please you i guess. *sigh*

Most importantly, respect others' decisions as much as you respect yours. Do not get involved in immature acts like insulting the names of a particular politician/the name of the party or what so ever. Say facts about what you don't like about a particular party. Facts & ONLY facts. Not irrational thoughts and feelings. Do not let your angst affect your decision. Cool down, analyse. Not only listen to the arguments. Instead, look at the policies they offer (if any) and see if it will truly fit Singapore/Singaporeans, whether will it be an effective policy or whether it will result in more harm than benefits or vice versa.

DO NOT, i repeat, DO NOT, condemn each other for our choices. WE are Singaporeans. No matter what party you support, we're still coming together as a nation (:

I've said my piece on MY views for the upcoming election. I do not represent the voices of any party and this is not a post to degrade any party. This post is solely for me to express my views. You can agree, you can disagree. At the end of the day, the message i'm trying to get across is,

[ Get rid of all the angst in you and vote wisely. Choose the best voice you think can represent not only your Constituency but also Singapore in the Parliament. Think of what you truly want for the next 5 years and what Singapore really needs for the next 5 years. ]

4 words for all voters : Ask, Listen, Ponder, Understand.

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I appreciate everything that the government has done to make Singapore a better place. I'm thankful to live in Singapore despite some problems here and there but like i've said, no country is perfect. Appreciate what we have. Together, we can build a better future together (: I'm a proud Singaporean :D

On 4/5/11, PM Lee was on facebook to chat with Singaporeans about the hot topics for this election. Although not all questions were answered, I could see the effort put in to try to address the concerns. I believe that every single comment made by us was read by them and information were gathered to aid the government in coming up with better policies for us :D Anyone who want to know more about the facebook chat thingy, feel free to ask me or to visit http://www.facebook.com/pap.sg to read the issues raised and some of the responses PM Lee gave. :D

last of all, do not insult me based on what i've posted for i DID NOT insult any party in my post. (:

this is probably the longest post i've done. - 2428 words (y)