Note from 2020: I was fortunate to be living in Singapore during their historic general election in 2011 – the one when the ruling party PAP was most contested and which marked the first time an opposition party won a GRC (Group Representation Constituency) since Singapore’s independence.
Nicole Seah was the youngest candidate in GE2011 and went to be the Workers’ Party’s candidate to contest PAP in the East Coast GRC. Nicole was closely defeated by only 6,8% margin. Tin Pei Lin (PAP’s then youngest candidate) is still in office today, successfully defeated her seat in MacPherson GRC in GE 2020.
Sunday the eighth of May two thousand and eleven, Singapore wakes up as a different nation.
Of course, you cannot see it right on the streets where stores after stores conduct business as usual. But inside, everyone knows that something has changed fundamentally and Singapore will never be the same. To an outsider like me, I also see Singapore differently, not as glamorous as before but with an identity and compassion . Change is definite but for better or worse, no one knows for sure. However, if the need for change is detected and you are stuck weighing among consequences, you are stuck there forever. So, whether you want to be a not-wrong-and-never-know-what-is-right or a dare-to-be-wrong-to-know-what-is-right, your choice.
I’ve never been interested in politics on this island but watching last night election result announcement then spending the rest of the night reading about stuff leading to it, I can’t help noting down some impressions of mine on some players in this game. They have literally set me on fire.
First, of course let’s start with the famous new comer Nicole Seah. To be honest, I did not like her in the first place by looking at her photo. There is something wrong about the shape of her eyes, signaling me something opportunistic, something hard to interpret there. However, after reading more about her and listening to her speeches and interviews, I must say I have to pay respect to this 24-year-old lady, with her conviction and charisma. I ask myself, in two years’ time, can I appear to be that matured and dare to stand up for what I believe and care for?
On the other front, there is the infamous Tin Pei Ling. Like everyone, I cannot stand the way she behaves in front of the media and her shallow answers but the social media is a bit too dangerous and abused in my opinion. There have been too many attacks without grounds on her personality and motivations. To me, a person is still innocent before she is proven guilty. Who knows if she is another case with too much enthusiasm without capabilities… The same issue with the popularity of Nicole Sea. The number of “likes” on her facebook page is a phenomenon and the fact that Mr. Y.A.M popularity grew just as fast overnight is something I cannot ignore. And one more thing, she cannot put herself in the position she’s holding right now alone.
Another character worth mentioned is Mr. George Yeo. I have never read about him until I saw him on the TV delivering his loser speech, which totally captured my heart. I felt the man almost cried and the cruelty of the game. Later on, the more I know about his work and how much people love him, the more I admire Mr. Low Thia Khiang and his team’s decision on where to contest in. The man, with his dream team, has chosen to attack PAP not where PAP is weakest or strongest but just right where the people have to choose between the so-so and the better-or-worse. It was a hard fight for his team and a hard choice for the people of Aljunied as well. Not many people dare to challenge the status-quo, which is not desperately bad, or dare to abandon the status-quo in the belief of a better future. Hat off to that courage!
And last but not least, I wish to borrow Mr. Chen Show Mao’s words to end this lengthy and pointless note:
”Certainly, my friends in the PAP are in a better position to formulate policy and implement policy in the short term, and therefore, have a greater impact on people’s life, people’s livelihood over the short term. But I think what I am doing is just as important. Perhaps more important over the long term and that is to help build up a credible opposition that in time is capable to form an alternative government”
Malujah Singapura!