Tuesday, February 26, 2008
I must admit, i've never been one who's particularly interested in local politics. Indeed, i am not the only one guilty of such a charge, political apathy in singapore affects not only the young, but the general working and ageing population as well. Perhaps one may argue that as long as the basic needs of the people are met(meaning food, shelter), the status quo maintained(referring to the standard of living here e.g GDP per Capita), people generally do not have reasons to be dissatisfied with our government.

And i am inclined to agree. As the saying goes, "if it ain't broken, don't fix it". It is true that the PAP-led government has done a fantastic job - so far. Standard of living is the highest in the region, and amongst the top few in the world, economic growth is strong, with social stability in place. The conditions in which our government has led us to the state we're now in since independence only serves to highlight the remarkable job the PAP-government has accomplished. Any prospective batches of leaders have much to learn if we are to continue our success.

However, looking into the 21st century, we must question the validity of the status quo. While a strong paternalistic style of governance has worked well in the past, we cannot be sure that it will work well in the future; in an environment that brings about a whole new set of challenges that requires a paradigm shift in how we tackle such challenges. Let us not take away the credit of the government-led initiative to encourage more participation from the bottom up. But the fact remains that we ARE still led by paternalistic governance. Nothing has changed.

We can hold as many youth forums we want, but we are not going to achieve the desired result of a mature democratic mandate if we are not going to change the way we educate the young, the way we stifle any form of political opposition, the way the general populace is left to be content with political apathy. I am not a dreamy idealist urging superficial calls for democratic reform such as freedom of the press or freedom of speech. In such prevailing political apathy, freedom of speech hasn't flourished even though the avenues are already opened; nevermind the fact that you have to apply for a license and disclose your intended speech content to the police before you can stand upon a podium in the speaker's corner in front an audience of mynahs. Rather, i urge a critical re-evaluation of how socio-politics is being viewed, and ultimately ignored, by our leaders and ultimately, our generation.

And it is not difficult to see why people couldn't care less about local politics. High standard of living aside, we must understand that local politics has thus far been a joke. Just take a look at our democratic process. Just exactly what voting rights do we have, who exactly are we voting for? Members of parliament? Who can do what? Debate in parliament? Has anyone actually turned on the tv and listen to parliamentary debates? I did. And it was awful. Our elected MPs are talking about gender inequality, simply because if we calculate the overall payouts handed to women, as compared to men, in their life-time, women would be given a staggering S$60 lesser per month than their male counterparts! Shocking isn't it?! And it sure was entertaining watching the bemusement that was so evident on the faces of other MPs.

Our democratic process has been a joke, not because it has been a fallacy, no, But because we have voted Members of Parliament who can't even propose policies in clear concise english without reading off their script, because those who can goes on to debate about S$60 difference in CPF hand-outs, because the carrot dangling at the end of the stick on election day is the promise to install lifts on every HDB storey in Hougang, to promise S$100 000 to renovation works in potong pasir, because we only have the power to vote for representation over S$60, and not to decide who ultimately will lead our country, meaning the prime minister. No, that process would be left to the infinite wisdom of the Current prime-minister *sic* and his hand-picked cabinet of ministers. While we may consider ourselves lucky that we have had two remarkable men at the helm, we cannot assume and take for granted that there will continue to be capable men to lead the country.

History has shown us time and again, that it is not the wisdom of an elite few who will prevail, rather, it is the decision and consensus of the masses that will bring us forward. While it may not have been applicable when we first gained independence, it is time we believe in the notion that ultimately, 'the people knows best'.

It is time we seriously consider a bottom-up initiative instead of just talking about it; It is time we allow the room for political maturity instead of just calling for it, it is time we breed the conditions necessary for social maturity instead of propagating socio-political stagnation.

I do not propose dreams of grandeur, rallying calls of 'yes we can!', let's leave those antics to the Americans. Instead, let us be pragmatic, understand that while we're having it good now, we must be proactive so that we will continue to have it good in our future, in our children's future, and ultimately, their children's future. Change doesn't have to come at the price of conflict, if only we allow change to begin at the first place. Allow political opposition to run their campaign, even though their attempts may be better received on comedy-night, do not crush them with legal injunctions, do not threaten to 'fix the opposition'. Let the people learn to discern the good from the bad, right from wrong, let us learn to distinguish logic from reason, stability from pragmatism, continuity from caution.

Political awareness is still in its infancy in Singapore, and it will continue to do so unless something is done about it.

-Alvin
by ~me~ at 10:08 PM ©

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