Election
It's Polling Day tomorrow but I'm not getting to vote AGAIN.
Even though I’m not very interested in politics, I seriously think that this GRC business is terribly unhealthy in the long run. Can you blame young people for their apathy towards politics when half the time people don't get to vote because there is a walkover in their 5- or 6-membered GRC helmed by a heavyweight minister?
Can we have all SMCs next election? (wishful thinking?) In a GRC, it seems that people are mostly voting for one or two particular ministers with proven capabilities, while the rest of the members just ride on it and get elected together. Rather than just tell people that these candidates are capable, why not put them through the test by making all of them fight a contest, and when they win, everyone will be convinced of their abilities.
The theory behind GRCs is supposedly to ensure representation of the minority races. But aren’t we a society built on meritocracy? Surely minority candidates of calibre shouldn’t have problems winning the votes if they are really capable and care for their people. Anyway, there are still NMPs in the event that the minority races are under-represented. Or at the very least, GRCs should contain fewer members, perhaps three each.
I don’t know if it’s because they are not being challenged, but in the last 5 years, I have never seen any of my five MPs, except once when one of them came for a very short house visit. And I had to be very ill when he visited so I never got to meet him! But even this one MP has now moved to another constituency! I wonder if I will ever see any of my MPs on a walk-about the next 5 years.
Let me also say that I think it’s unfair to link upgrading of housing estates to voting. People pay taxes irregardless of which ward they live in, so if there should be any priority at all, it should be given to the oldest flats. It’s the people’s money, not the party’s money, for goodness sake.
Even though I’m not very interested in politics, I seriously think that this GRC business is terribly unhealthy in the long run. Can you blame young people for their apathy towards politics when half the time people don't get to vote because there is a walkover in their 5- or 6-membered GRC helmed by a heavyweight minister?
Can we have all SMCs next election? (wishful thinking?) In a GRC, it seems that people are mostly voting for one or two particular ministers with proven capabilities, while the rest of the members just ride on it and get elected together. Rather than just tell people that these candidates are capable, why not put them through the test by making all of them fight a contest, and when they win, everyone will be convinced of their abilities.
The theory behind GRCs is supposedly to ensure representation of the minority races. But aren’t we a society built on meritocracy? Surely minority candidates of calibre shouldn’t have problems winning the votes if they are really capable and care for their people. Anyway, there are still NMPs in the event that the minority races are under-represented. Or at the very least, GRCs should contain fewer members, perhaps three each.
I don’t know if it’s because they are not being challenged, but in the last 5 years, I have never seen any of my five MPs, except once when one of them came for a very short house visit. And I had to be very ill when he visited so I never got to meet him! But even this one MP has now moved to another constituency! I wonder if I will ever see any of my MPs on a walk-about the next 5 years.
Let me also say that I think it’s unfair to link upgrading of housing estates to voting. People pay taxes irregardless of which ward they live in, so if there should be any priority at all, it should be given to the oldest flats. It’s the people’s money, not the party’s money, for goodness sake.
posted by yung | 1:06 pm
4 Comments:
I so agree with you. I hate that upgrading peg and am so disappointed with fellow singaporeans who have all their focus on it.
it's such a petty, infantile election.
-mungy
i dunlike the way PAP focuses on the gomez issue.
i dunlike the way the PAP threatens to "fix" the opposition. (according to Lee's speech)
i dunlike the idea that Singapore will be the only "democratic" country with a one-party state should the PAP wins all 84 seats tmr.
i dunlike the way PAP bring in their rookie PAP members by riding on the GRCs run by SM Goh, MM Lee. (its a walkover anyway so these rookies will get in without even contesting for it!)
haiz.
wenzi
btw read this! super interesting
http://www.paptalk.blogspot.com/
wenzi here btw. lazy to log in
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