moving on?

In the midst of attempting to move to Wordpress as it offers more privacy and greater html control. New site here. Please pardon the first (auto) post. Will fix it in due time.

Cheers!

Edit: Realised it rather cumbersome to move over entirely. So for now, shall post the more private stuff on that site and keep it locked there. Moving around frequently can be rather tiring at times.

Singapore Votes 2011: History made and a tale of 3 men

After weeks and months of drama, the People's Action Party (PAP) still have the majority government, winning 81 out of the 87 seats in parliament, 6 seats were awarded to the Workers Party (WP) - the first time so many seats were awarded to the opposition, and the first time an opposition has won a Group Representation Constituency (GRC), both since independence.

Many things have been said, and will be continued to be said over the next few days and weeks, I'd like to get somethings off my mind (so I can get back to my exams - die lah that one).

1. History has been made

I am delighted that the Workers Party led by Mr. Low Thia Khiang made it into Parliament with one GRC and one SMC seats. I don't hate the PAP blindly and think that they have done a pretty decent job, but I firmly believe that change is necessary for progress.

We will have to see what will happen next. When all is said and done, the new parliament will have to take Singapore forward for the next 5 years.

2. PAP's sliding winning margins and increased spoilt votes

In most constituencies, with the exception of Yuhua SMC, Hong Kah North GRC, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Ang Mo Kio GRC, amongst others, the PAP has seen it's winning margins slide from the previous elections. The Bukit Panjang SMC, for instance, has seen it's winning margin slide by almost by 11%. The numbers tell the same story.

Initial estimates showed the the PAP has only garnered 60.1% of the valid votes - its lowest EVER, down from 66.6% (2006) and 75% (2001). One can only hope the ruling party will stand up and reflect at the growing anger from the ground, as George Yeo pointed out.

But the final margins may still change as the numbers will only be finalised after the overseas votes have been accounted for.

Another thing that stuck me are the increased % of spoilt votes, and I've identified three general groups of weird voters:

i. Blur cocks who marked a 'tick' for the party of your choice.

ii. Another group of blur cocks who marked an 'x' for the party they disapprove of.

iii. Voters who did not want to vote for the opposition in their constituencies, but want to send a message to the ruling party.

EDIT: Interesting read on how the votes are treated here - first-hand account by a party counting agent. Cool stuff.

Which brings me to my next point.

3. Time to 'repent'

In particular, voters in Joo Chiat SMC and Potong Pasir SMC should truly repent. As the opposition parties lost by a mere 2.02% and 0.72% respectively - thats just 382 votes and 114 votes. Comparatively, the number of spoilt votes in those constituencies are 314 and 242 votes.

Had these jokers voted correctly or carefully, it would might have at least send Lina Chiam (wife of Chiam See Tong - more on him later), into government.

I never understood why voters spoil their votes, or worse, did not bother to vote without a valid reason. Your vote is your voice, and you didn't vote. Does that mean you don't have a voice?

But there could still be a late twist in Potong Pasir, as it lost only by a 0.2% margin. The overseas votes have not been counted yet and it will take a few days before the votes are flown back to be counted in Singapore. Though the number of overseas voters from Potong Pasir and Joo Chiat are unavailable, there could still be hope for Lina Chiam.

4. Mr. George Yeo & Mr. Chiam See Tong - casualties of the GRC system

As much as Singaporeans supported Mr. Low and the WP into government, many were sadden that we lost Mr. Yeo in the process. He is a truly sincere and excellent minister. I think that is a statement few will disagree.

Singaporeans online are calling for Mr. George Yeo to be swapped with the ever 'popular' Ms. Tin Pei Ling (no further mention or assessment of her will be done). I wonder if this is possible. The only way I can see this happening is if the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong calls for a by-election, not sure what the constituency says on that. But I don't see it happening because PM Lee has stated that the government will respect the choice of the voters.

We can only wait what his next move will be. I am certain that he will continue to serve Singapore in whatever capacity he can.

The same can be said for Mr. Chiam See Tong, who lost his seat in parliament, after 27 years (as old as me leh) in politics. Working from his makeshift office, Mr. Chiam has touched the hearts of many generations of Singaporeans. Every time I see the man, my heart aches. He suffered two strokes and still, his determination to serve remains strong. Though I hope from the bottom of my heart that he and his wife, Lina Chiam will get some well deserved rest, I believe he will continue to serve and help Singaporeans in whatever capacity he can.

Both Mr. Yeo and Mr. Chiam are clearly victims of the GRC system. But this is what happens in a GRC system. I think it is a double-edge sword and there are many arguments for and against the system. I shan't launch into a long winded essay into the merits and cons of the system (though I am very tempted to). But in general, I think until we can find a better solution to get around the issue of race and minority representation, this GRC, First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system is here to stay. Alternative systems such as the Alternative Vote system will be hard and confusing, as we have seen in the UK referendum where UK voted 'no' to the AV.

5. Lighter side amidst all the craziness

a. Mr. Yam Ah Mee

Who? Well he is without a shadow of a doubt, top of the list of elections entertainment today:

Mr. Yam Ah Mee is the Returning Officer who was tasked to announce the election results this GE. Mr. Yam shot to fame overnight, in the space of a few hours, he has garnered over 23,000 fans (at time of post) on his personal Facebook fan page, at a rate way faster than Ms. Nicole Seah. Move over, Nicole! Mr. Yam is the new overnight sensation now! He even has his own brand of medicated oil!

Mr. Yam mesmerized and captured the imaginations of Singaporeans, young and old, with his impression of Lady Gaga's 'Poker face', leading to calls for him to stand for the Singapore Presidential elections in 2012!

Thanks to Mr. Yam, the words, "Pursuant to Section 49, Subsection 7E, Paragraph A of the Parliamentary Elections Act," will continue to inspire Singaporeans for some time to come.

b. Channel News Asia and Mediacorp's coverage of the GE2011 results sucked balls

The online sphere was abuzz soon after the polls closed at 8PM local time. With TODAY online and The Straits Times leading the charge in updating the progress of the counting of the votes as the nation held its breath collectively.

Meanwhile, in the CNA and Mediacorp studios, the news anchors and analysts were rambling on and on about the buildup to the elections, world news and it even had time to do a segment on developments happening in the online social media scene.

Well, obversely the team doing the segment is clearly sleeping too as they missed out on tons and tons of tweets and FB messages reminding them that they sucked balls and that we have internet too, don't you to tell us something we can find out for ourselves.

Singapore Votes 2011: Polling Day

Decided to cast my vote first thing in the morning when I woke up.

Headed down around 8.45AM armed with the polling card and my NRIC and proceeded to my assigned polling station a stone's throw away.

The entire process was very smooth and efficiently organised.

There was hardly a queue when I went. Upon handing over my polling card and my NRIC, the elections official checked my identity against the records.

The elections official looked suspiciously at me upon looking at my NRIC photo. Namely because the photo on the NRIC was taken 15 years ago when I was in P6. I wanted to asked if she would prefer to see my driver's license instead though I know the driver's license will not be accepted. I decided to keep my mouth shut and let them do their jobs. Thankfully, I wasn't required to sign a separate identity declaration form.

The ballot paper was handed to me folded. I proceeded to the booth and made my choice. It was a clear and simple one. Headed to drop my vote into the ballot box and left.

All done in less than 5 minutes.

It's amazing how fast and simple such a monumental task can be. Kudos to the Elections Department and the friendly elections officials.

And now we wait.

Your vote is secret

I love how this video is done!

The PAP and opposition parties have repeatedly assured that 'your vote is secret'.

If you need more proof and analysis, you may read this post on Jeff's Blog.

Vote wisely on 7th May, and please don't spoil your vote! As the video pointed out, 'Your vote is your voice', so if you spoil it, then = to no voice or you don't want to be heard? XD

Singapore Votes 2011: Looking beyond the co-drivers and rojak

3 more days to polling day, but my mind has already been made.

Over the course of the last few days, many issues has been brought into the political sphere with all the rallies that occurs. I would just like to jot down 3 issues that struck me before going to the polls.

The below are my views, if you're unhappy, don't read it.

1. Why so angry, Singaporeans?

I hope this only applies to a small group of people. But from what I read online and on the papers, it seems like this group is growing. Not only are they ungrateful, some are even downright childish.

I can understand the frustration and growing negative sentiments over the shortcomings and over the last 5 years. The main criticisms lie in the following: YOG going over-budget, increasing cost of HDB, Mas Selamat's escape and public transportation. The Prime Minister has even come out to publicly apologise for the government's handling of these issues.

Yet, Singaporeans (both online and offline) are still unmoved and saying things like, "if one only apologises now, it wouldn't be sincere, would it?"

Hello? What more do Singaporeans want? The PM to come to your door to kah tao to you arh? The government had acknowledged that mistakes were made back then. What more do you expect our ministers to do? Everyday do guard duty? That guy was caught again, wasn't he?

On their watch, Singapore has yet to experience a terrorist attack on our shores. And that is not due to luck. It's vigilance and a world-class security system. Isn't that good enough?

On supporting the opposition, again, I have no qualms on that and wanting to have alternative voices in parliament. But we should always do this in a rational and civilized manner. Not by vandalising and defacing PAP banners and yelling vulgarities at ministers doing their jobs. Why so childish people?

Instead of showing open discontent and complaining about shortcomings of the PAP over the last 5 years, why not do something about it? Simply put, if you think you can do a better job, why not step up and be involved instead of whining?

Don't so angry people! Play some Angry Birds on cooling off day:

And on the issue of MM Lee, a lot has been said, so I won't repeat. I would just like to say that many Singaporeans had forgotten (or conveniently dismissed) what MM has done for us. Yes, he is very straight-forward and confrontational, but that's just who he is. I may not like him very much, but I respect him.

I'm happy that I have friends who are doing so, getting involved in the grassroots level and whatever way they can to make a difference.

I am happy with what the government has provided for me over the years and I don't blame them for my shortcomings. I am not alone in the above sentiments, which leads me to my second point.

2. Education

Look at people like Kelvin:

Did he blame the government? No! And why should everyone else?

Reform's Party (RP) candidate Lim Zi Rui, 24, pointed out in his rally address 3 days ago that the Hall situation in NTU was brought about by the government's policies in accepting too many foreigners. This is utter nonsense. His views are not representative of NTU students like myself.

The situation is caused by the University's policies on the Hall Admission Scheme. The government did not mandate the university to accept a certain quota of foreign students, much less the into the Hall of Residences. Besides, using this as an example to highlight the influx of foreign workers is far too myopic and it shows a severe lack of understanding of the macro-economic implications of this policy.

Singapore is a tiny island with no natural resources, what we have is human capital. Who are the ones that build the houses and estates we live in, the schools we go to, the MRT lines? But I digress.

Back on the issue of education. Many Singaporeans are complaining time and again that the university placements in Singapore are far too competitive and that it is hard for Singaporeans to gain admission. What the fuck, seriously? Being competitive not good arh? That's how schools like the NUS Medical School can be ranked top in Asia and how Nanyang Business School (NBS) of NTU can be ranked among the top colleges in the world.

A lot of these sentiments are, in my opinion, brought about by the symptom known as 'sour grapes'. When I did not do well in my 'A' Levels in 2002 for a university admission, did I blame the government? NO! Because I know I was not good enough. I had to work my way around by going to Ngee Ann Polytechnic and gain admission to NBS thru NP. Hard work, not complaining. There are many others like me who had to work their way up.

So stop blaming the government if your child is not good enough for a place among the local universities. There are many choices around.

3. National Service

The National Solidarity Party (NSP) led the calls for a reduced National Service (NS) to 15 months in their party manifesto. However, their manifesto is vastly shortsighted and neglected the other arms of NS - Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). So SAF reduced to 15 months, then the rest still 24 months? How is that viable?

One of the NSP candidates said that, and I quote, "The National Day Parade (NDP) should not be done by NSFs (Full-time national servicemen) and should be outsourced."

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) went one better in their manifesto, calling for NS to be shortened to 12 months. You think what? Holiday camp arh? Or like Malaysia's National Service friendship camp? From a 2-year programme, to 1-year, to six months to the present 3 months.

I think these parties, with no disrespect, are missing an important point of National Service - nation building. Not to mention that they seemed to have overlooked NS in SPF and SCDF.

Race, Religion and Language are the factors we build our nation upon. NS is an integral part of helping to achieve tolerance and understanding among the difference races, because no matter what background you are from, as long as you are Singaporean (or PR), by the time you are 18, you serve.

I'm not sure on the structure of the SPF and SCDF, but currently, there are training programmes for commanders in the Army. My time (7 years ago - shit quite long arh), it was 3 months of Basic Military Training. Officers-to-be undergo a further 9 months, while Specailists undergo a further 6-8 months of training depending on the appointment you hold (Section Commander, Platoon Sergeant, etc). Those work out to almost a year in training for commanders.

Granted, majority of the force is comprised by the foot soldiers and non-combatants. But we can't have a system that caters to both groups, i.e NS for non-commanders 15 months, and commanders 24 months. If that is the case, no one would want to be commanders. Not the perfect system, but perfectly understandable why things are done this way.

Back to NSP's proposal of outsourcing the National Day Parade (NDP). Outsource to who? A contingent of foreign workers, like so?

The NDP, apart for celebrating the nation's independence, also serves as a show of force. To show citizens on what is done to protect the country, and to tell the terrorists and enemies (I hope we don't have too many of those) not to fuck around with us. Some might call it 'wayang' (fake) but I believe it is necessary.

Like North Korea:

Who dares fuck with N. Korea?!

Okay, I was just kidding, but you get the idea.

~

I think from my thoughts above, one can guess where my vote lies. I'd just like to add that I do not disrespect the opposition in any way (folks like Low Thia Khiang, Slyvia Lim and Chiam See Tong deserves our respect). I believe at the end of the day, most (if not all) of the politicians - ruling or opposition, are Singaporeans at heart and want what's best, in their opinion, for the nation.

Come 7th May 2011, we will have to decide which views and approaches we believe in. Come 7th May, vote wisely.

I'd better get back to revision for exams.