I'm writing in reply to the article "What Has The Opposition Done?" and the comments that I read following the article in the comments' section.
I'll say this as a matter of fact. Politicians will continue to politick.
We saw this back when the Wear White issue was going on and the WP decided then to make their stance on the repeal of 377A issue, something that most other opposition parties and the PAP made certain on their stance on the issue.
In the same way, with the education issue and the free Pre-K child care centre policy to encourage "more children", many of the political opposition to the PAP only made a big deal because they're inclined on taking the "other side" of the issue.
Such is the case in most countries, politicians on both sides of the issues will do whatever they can to argue their side of the coin, no matter if it's right or not. The comparison to America is becoming more and more fallacious because of how the middle-ground of their political system is shifting further and further to the right of centre, and their "leftist" Democrats are now to the right of their own arguments more of the time today than just a few years ago. As such, we see a lot more hysteria-based politics literally oozing out from most of legislation that get passed if and when they do.
In stating this, we see less and less common-sense politics and political parties - or even individuals for that matter - anywhere in the world that can truly say they have the intention of working for the people.
So, what about in Singapore? What makes our Parliament and our democracy any different from most other countries? Honestly, not much different at all. Let's be honest about it and say that virtually all the political parties are in for a fight to secure a steady income for a few years until they have to campaign for it all over again. The door-to-door visits, the rallies in stadiums and open fields, television appearances, flyers and articles, media coverage and soundbites of all kinds; all with one purpose - to take over a job they might do according to whims and fancies as per their "manifesto", or to keep the job. Kind of like any other job in this country; with the only obvious difference that more people know your face, you can pass policies to help or hinder progress, and your salary comes from at least 2 different places.
It really doesn't matter what your political affiliations are, or who you support or most likely to support. You've played into the illusion that they care. Many campaign to get your votes. In spite of your impressions of them, they seek your vote out. And, like some of us out there who might claim to have an impressive resume when it might not be, they do too, and say that they want to continue to serve the people and stuff. Very often we fall for every one of those clauses, hook, line and sinker. They know that you want certain things done to make things better, and they'll tell you they'll look into it...
But we kid ourselves to say that they WILL do these things we ask of them. They don't care for you, they care about themselves. Their reputation doesn't deserve your vote, because in a country like this they know that they can continue to hold a base of voters so long as it gets them into office and keeps them there. They will not be concerned about your needs and necessities.
We see it more and more, with the majority party having gone on an offensive against the citizens of this country - that being us, the voters - and their discretion to control our information so we "know the right things" that favour them. Is that wrong? Yes. But they do it because they can.
Even the opposition aren't any better. Each of those other parties don't seek a need to cooperate with each other, either. There's a lot of badgering of policy stances that they do by putting out their version of a policy. It's the kind of thing we think as a norm, because we don't know any better. When one party claims to not see themselves as working with other parties in the caucus, it's obvious that there's already a ton of things they won't agree on.
It's curious that no one amongst the opposition supporters realise that the WP is leading the opposition, and they have made it clear that they don't want to lead the opposition that aren't of their party, while claiming to lead the "opposing view" of certain PAP policies. It such that the future progress is divided along party lines rather than individual knowledge and a sense of willingness for a more inclusive future for all. I'm an Indian, born and raised in Singapore, to Singaporean parents, and as person who keeps up with current affairs I see no future for myself as a Singaporean who is of a racial minority. How many people have that sense of inclusiveness? From all I've read, few do. How about being a gay Singaporean and my right to exist? The people who fight for it are just as non-inclusive; they claim to fight for a right to love whoever you want, but none want that for everyone, just some that they see as worthy to be in their social circle and neglecting all others.
On that note, how many can honestly say that you tried to understand that plight of receiving discrimination due to the distance from reality by the enablers of any kind of prejudice that many people in this country face? Virtually zero. Most every person on either side has a self-centred agenda without considering that there's a lot at stake in society and not for yourselves. Political agenda plays on that, and instead of fighting on doing what is right for every single individual and calling out those that are against it, we instead do the laziest thing possible and pick a side closest to what we support because we fear creating trouble for ourselves and so we go the easy, zero-effort route. So what if there's a ban on protesting? In countries where freedom to assembly exists, people do get arrested for peaceful protest marches.
I guess the real question is: to what lengths are we determined to allow political agenda to rue the day and continue to be stepped on, rather than use the one power in our hands and stand up for what's right? If many civilised societies have rights, so can we. We're not an Asian culture, because there was never one. Let's call a spade a spade; we are living in a form of communism in denial, under the guise of corporate capitalism, where political and social freedoms are there until we realise they're really not. We're the people, not the "sheeple". Political agendas aside, we should stand for a united, free and equal Singapore for all, and not some. If you truly disagree with policies, tell them you disagree. Every party is responsible for the consequences of their actions and stances, and it's up to us, the people, to make that ring true for every one of us.
Not "sheeple"
TRS Contributor