The whiff of spring in the air …. and the bears are awakening and a-grumbling
In my previous posts, I drew the analogy of how our opposition were much the same as the great grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park. During the long cold winters, the great grizzly bears would hibernate going into a period of suspending animation. With the dawn of spring, the bears would awaken once again and carry on as before oblivious to the months of hibernation.
Much the same as our opposition here. After the elections, they pack up and go off to a cave to hibernate. With word of elections in the air, they start to awaken and resume where they have left off. Unfortunately, this means pretty much the same old rehash of arguments.
Witness the recent posting by Yaw Shin Leong, the Organising Secretary of the Worker’s Party (or Wayang Party as you may see it). The same old rehash of needing “checks and balances” and why more Worker’s Party members are required in Parliament. Reading through his postings brings back a sense of déjà vu. Lots of criticisms but no alternatives at all. Even McCain had alternatives and he campaigned on them. I do hope that Worker’s Party can come up with something concrete and current to events now. I sincerely hope that they are not going to pull out leftover stock of their last manifesto and start distributing. One cannot put old wine into new wineskins!
It is interesting to note the growing divergence amongst the opposition. Instead of learning from the Malaysia’s Pakatan Rakyat where the opposition came together as one, we have opposition canvassing for support to the exclusion of other opposition parties. The Worker’s Party, for example, likes to pretend that Chiam See Tong and his SDA does not even exist. Worse still, their activists publicly declare that they would rather vote for PAP than other opposition parties. This is not surprising but still I would have expected some solidarity amongst the opposition.
Chia Ti Lik also seems to be getting into the fray with similar arguments of “checks and balances” although he seems more strident in his posturing. I sense his frustration at not being able to get anywhere. The opposition should learn that consistency is the key and not playing musical chairs. Chia’s hopscotch from the YP to the Worker’s Party to SDP is going to leave voters very confused. It is much like a prospective employer looking through a long and colourful CV of a prospective employee. The longer the list of past employers, the less likely the chance of employment.
But I digress- voters would be able to see through the opposition’s tired old gambits of hibernation and rehash. “Checks and balance” arguments have been used since as long as I can remember. People want ideas, plans and something to implement. They do not need criticisms. Everyone can criticize- just go to any coffee shop. The criticisms there are as good as what you can get from the opposition.
To get votes, however, consistency and fresh new ideas are key. I, for one, am waiting for 22 January 2008 or even before when the PAP will announce concrete and tangible measures to tackle the crisis we are in. As the PAP have done for every crisis before that.
The people know they will not be disappointed and so do I.
The Ever Redundant Opposition
Whenever possible, the opposition will harp on the need for opposition voices to represent Singaporeans.
Their argument is that Singaporeans cannot voice out matters to the PAP and they need an opposition to do the voicing for them.
The opposition claims that Singaporeans are secretly unhappy with the PAP and that Singaporeans have repressed their unhappiness out of purported fear of the PAP. Whenever the opposition lose in the Elections, this is too is their excuse- that Singaporeans are afraid of PAP and so voted against the opposition.
Recently, events have shown the untruths and propaganda of the opposition.
When Singaporeans are unhappy with the Government, they waste no time in making their unhappiness known. They do not need the opposition.
When Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a bonanza of tax benefits, leaves, a bigger "baby bonus" and other goodies to encourage more babies to take effect on 1 January 2009, there were protests and unhappiness expressed by mothers whose delivery was before such date.
The mothers to be and their families protested. They voiced their unhappiness.
There were emails sent and complaints on the blogs. There was an online petition ready to take effect. The mothers to be planned on going to their MP’s Meet the People sessions to express their unhappiness and demand the benefits.
The Government took note of the unhappiness and swiftly responded by backdating the benefits to 17 August 2008, the date when the Prime Minister first announced the benefits.
When the people are unhappy, they make their unhappiness known. There was certainly no fear here.
Likewise, when people were unhappy by the decision by the Singapore Table Tennis Association to sack table-tennis team manager Antony Lee, they made their unhappiness known too and the Government is listening.
The opposition seems to have no part in this interaction between the people and their Government. And there is no need too.
Singapore is fast becoming a modern Athean democracy where the citizens are partaking in the democratic process by engaging the Government and pointing out the deficiencies so that the Government may address them. They are doing this in a very rational in calm manner- by emails, discussions, forums, feedback sessions, blogs, letters and face to face interaction.
The Government too is responding swiftly to the people and acting upon it. In fact, the Government has to do so and this is the best "check" on the Government – the people themselves who will not wait till election time to address issues that concern them.
If the opposition cannot even get involved in the issues of the day that concern the people, are they not redundant?
the truth hurt?