I am Voting for PAP.
Posted on May 6, 2011 | 8 Comments
http://thehappinessobsession.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/i-am-voting-for-pap/
Yes, after doing much research – watching rallies, reading up on manifestos, reading up on news, countless online posts – I have come to this conclusion. And I say it with conviction.
I am voting for PAP on May 7th.
To me, the general elections have been depressing. Why am I upset? I am upset due to the negativity and the blatant lack of thinking behind various comments that I have read online. And it is not just restricted to online. I hear people making careless comments like, “I am going to vote the opposition just because they are the opposition” and “After all the incumbent party is going to win, so I am going to vote for the opposition” All these comments scare me.
And I am disappointed as most of them are in the same generation as me. I worry for Singapore’s political stability in the future. My future also lies in their hands voting slips.
There is indeed a climate of fear that keeps some of us voting for PAP. No, it is not because we are scared that the PAP would track us down if we vote for the opposition. Instead, we are scared that PAP would fall out of favor and be replaced by the opposition with their populist harebrained schemes. (Please go and read the opposition manifestos before disagreeing with this point. I am willing to go into details if you drop me a comment.) One example would be Workers’ Party’s policy of wanting to reduce the voting age to 18. Seriously, I see no reason for such a policy. The only reason why WP would want such a move is because they believe that the youths would vote for them. There are many many other nonsensical harebrained schemes from all the opposition party. With such nonsensical ideals, our economic stability would be compromised.
I understand that PAP is not perfect. There were a few mistakes they made. However, they executed a lot of brilliant ideas too. There is no perfect system in the world. Just take this simple analogy. Imagine you are a teacher – you have 40 students in class. You have a few brilliant students, you have a few poor students and you have a few mischievous students that are bent on disrupting the class. But majority of them? They are just the average students.
Yes, you may start out being all idealistic and believing that you can take good care of all 40 students. But can you delay the class all the time to deal with the mischievous and poor students? No, you can’t. You have to go at a pace suitable for the majority of the students, you have to complete teaching the syllabus. You can’t care for the minority at the expense of the few.
What can you do? Yes, you can spend extra time to conduct remedial lessons for the poorer students. But the remedial lessons would only help if they are genuinely willing to learn. Yes, you can spend extra time after school trying to discipline the mischievous students. But disciplining them would only work if they realize their folly. If they don’t, they would only dislike you more. They are also greatly influenced by their unsavory friends outside school. Then, on the other hand, you have a group of brilliant students who are well-behaved and interested in learning. You are proud of them. They get good grades. Majority of the students also benefit from your lessons as their grades are improving. You believe that you have a great lesson plan but you can’t seem to engage some of the mischievous and poorer students. Why?
Yes, some people fall through the cracks. In a system, you can’t help everyone. The above teacher-class analogy may not be the best analogy to describe the government-people relationship but I hope you get my gist.
Yes, I understand that there are people that need the government help, but you can’t expect the government to help everyone of them. They need to help themselves too. If the government was to help all of them, it would be done at the expense of the rest of us, the average majority. This is also why PAP is so focused on economic growth. (It scares me that Nicole Seah even said that economic growth should not be a priority in her rally.) By improving economic growth, there would be more jobs created and there will be less unemployment. Hopefully, the poor would be able to find some form of employment and pick themselves up. With economic growth, more taxes can be collected and channeled into helping the poor. Of course, some revenue should also be saved and placed in the reserves for rainy days.
What PAP has been doing all these years have been on the right track. And yes, we need foreigners in Singapore. Countries all around the world are now actively wooing foreign talents. We had a head start. It would be silly to give up the head start now. Singapore is also at the mercy of the MNCs – they are the ones who want the foreign talents to work in Singapore. If we do not accede to their requests, they wouldn’t bother setting up a company in Singapore. After all, why should they set up their company in Singapore when there are cheaper alternatives in the region?
I wouldn’t elaborate on the countless steps that PAP did right. If I did, it would be a never-ending essay that nobody would want to read.
Lets move on to the opposition. Even my favorite opposition, Workers Party has started to disappoint me. On the HUDC residents issue with Low Thia Khiang, it is evident that Hougang Town Council had failed to address the issue well. If it only takes a couple of days for other town councils to hand over the details of the accounts,why is it taking Hougang such a long time? It is evident that the accounts are indeed ‘messy’. By saying it is messy, it is simply saying that the accounts are not in order – Low Thia Khiang himself said that he is still using the same system that he inherited from PAP in 1991. 1991? That was 20 years ago! He did not even bother to improve the accounting system? No wonder he is taking such a long time to hand over the details HUDC residents need. He should have improved it. Yes, my dear opposition supporters, your opposition leader is not perfect either. Everybody makes mistakes. Low Thia Khiang did not have to be so defensive in his speech – nobody is accusing him of fraud.
Also, there is an interesting letter to Straits Time, talking about Chen Show Mao’s commitment to Singapore which can be read here.
Seriously, some of the comments Worker Party had made makes me wonder whether the huge support they have garner have gone all over into their heads. Helping George Yeo retire? Saying that George Yeo needs a lesson in Mandarin? And they even started a website to ask George Yeo to run for president. ARGH!
George Yeo has been a great MP. I teared when I watched this video. Her fears about losing George Yeo as a MP and a Minister is real. I fear the worst too.
So yes, I am against the idea of voting in the opposition just for the sake of having an opposition in the Parliament. I am against voting for the opposition party because you think that the incumbent party will definitely win (How do you know for sure? Do you have a time machine?)
What if due to your recklessness, PAP do not get enough votes to form a government?
All the opposition parties, and I mean ALL of the opposition parties expect and want PAP to be still the incumbent party. Even they know that PAP is the best party out there.
I would never waste my vote on a second-rate party.
Why? Because I love Singapore and I want Singapore to be ruled by the best party.
Posted on May 6, 2011 | 8 Comments
http://thehappinessobsession.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/i-am-voting-for-pap/
Yes, after doing much research – watching rallies, reading up on manifestos, reading up on news, countless online posts – I have come to this conclusion. And I say it with conviction.
I am voting for PAP on May 7th.
To me, the general elections have been depressing. Why am I upset? I am upset due to the negativity and the blatant lack of thinking behind various comments that I have read online. And it is not just restricted to online. I hear people making careless comments like, “I am going to vote the opposition just because they are the opposition” and “After all the incumbent party is going to win, so I am going to vote for the opposition” All these comments scare me.
And I am disappointed as most of them are in the same generation as me. I worry for Singapore’s political stability in the future. My future also lies in their hands voting slips.
There is indeed a climate of fear that keeps some of us voting for PAP. No, it is not because we are scared that the PAP would track us down if we vote for the opposition. Instead, we are scared that PAP would fall out of favor and be replaced by the opposition with their populist harebrained schemes. (Please go and read the opposition manifestos before disagreeing with this point. I am willing to go into details if you drop me a comment.) One example would be Workers’ Party’s policy of wanting to reduce the voting age to 18. Seriously, I see no reason for such a policy. The only reason why WP would want such a move is because they believe that the youths would vote for them. There are many many other nonsensical harebrained schemes from all the opposition party. With such nonsensical ideals, our economic stability would be compromised.
I understand that PAP is not perfect. There were a few mistakes they made. However, they executed a lot of brilliant ideas too. There is no perfect system in the world. Just take this simple analogy. Imagine you are a teacher – you have 40 students in class. You have a few brilliant students, you have a few poor students and you have a few mischievous students that are bent on disrupting the class. But majority of them? They are just the average students.
Yes, you may start out being all idealistic and believing that you can take good care of all 40 students. But can you delay the class all the time to deal with the mischievous and poor students? No, you can’t. You have to go at a pace suitable for the majority of the students, you have to complete teaching the syllabus. You can’t care for the minority at the expense of the few.
What can you do? Yes, you can spend extra time to conduct remedial lessons for the poorer students. But the remedial lessons would only help if they are genuinely willing to learn. Yes, you can spend extra time after school trying to discipline the mischievous students. But disciplining them would only work if they realize their folly. If they don’t, they would only dislike you more. They are also greatly influenced by their unsavory friends outside school. Then, on the other hand, you have a group of brilliant students who are well-behaved and interested in learning. You are proud of them. They get good grades. Majority of the students also benefit from your lessons as their grades are improving. You believe that you have a great lesson plan but you can’t seem to engage some of the mischievous and poorer students. Why?
Yes, some people fall through the cracks. In a system, you can’t help everyone. The above teacher-class analogy may not be the best analogy to describe the government-people relationship but I hope you get my gist.
Yes, I understand that there are people that need the government help, but you can’t expect the government to help everyone of them. They need to help themselves too. If the government was to help all of them, it would be done at the expense of the rest of us, the average majority. This is also why PAP is so focused on economic growth. (It scares me that Nicole Seah even said that economic growth should not be a priority in her rally.) By improving economic growth, there would be more jobs created and there will be less unemployment. Hopefully, the poor would be able to find some form of employment and pick themselves up. With economic growth, more taxes can be collected and channeled into helping the poor. Of course, some revenue should also be saved and placed in the reserves for rainy days.
What PAP has been doing all these years have been on the right track. And yes, we need foreigners in Singapore. Countries all around the world are now actively wooing foreign talents. We had a head start. It would be silly to give up the head start now. Singapore is also at the mercy of the MNCs – they are the ones who want the foreign talents to work in Singapore. If we do not accede to their requests, they wouldn’t bother setting up a company in Singapore. After all, why should they set up their company in Singapore when there are cheaper alternatives in the region?
I wouldn’t elaborate on the countless steps that PAP did right. If I did, it would be a never-ending essay that nobody would want to read.
Lets move on to the opposition. Even my favorite opposition, Workers Party has started to disappoint me. On the HUDC residents issue with Low Thia Khiang, it is evident that Hougang Town Council had failed to address the issue well. If it only takes a couple of days for other town councils to hand over the details of the accounts,why is it taking Hougang such a long time? It is evident that the accounts are indeed ‘messy’. By saying it is messy, it is simply saying that the accounts are not in order – Low Thia Khiang himself said that he is still using the same system that he inherited from PAP in 1991. 1991? That was 20 years ago! He did not even bother to improve the accounting system? No wonder he is taking such a long time to hand over the details HUDC residents need. He should have improved it. Yes, my dear opposition supporters, your opposition leader is not perfect either. Everybody makes mistakes. Low Thia Khiang did not have to be so defensive in his speech – nobody is accusing him of fraud.
Also, there is an interesting letter to Straits Time, talking about Chen Show Mao’s commitment to Singapore which can be read here.
Seriously, some of the comments Worker Party had made makes me wonder whether the huge support they have garner have gone all over into their heads. Helping George Yeo retire? Saying that George Yeo needs a lesson in Mandarin? And they even started a website to ask George Yeo to run for president. ARGH!
George Yeo has been a great MP. I teared when I watched this video. Her fears about losing George Yeo as a MP and a Minister is real. I fear the worst too.
So yes, I am against the idea of voting in the opposition just for the sake of having an opposition in the Parliament. I am against voting for the opposition party because you think that the incumbent party will definitely win (How do you know for sure? Do you have a time machine?)
What if due to your recklessness, PAP do not get enough votes to form a government?
All the opposition parties, and I mean ALL of the opposition parties expect and want PAP to be still the incumbent party. Even they know that PAP is the best party out there.
I would never waste my vote on a second-rate party.
Why? Because I love Singapore and I want Singapore to be ruled by the best party.
