With the upcoming General Elections scheduled on 7 May 11, momentum and pace of election news and buzz are starting to pick up in fervour. This elections will determine the ruling party for the next 4 years for Singapore, and possibly affect the lives of thousands of Singaporeans, youth or not. However, there has been a general impression that youths in Singapore have adopted a very indifferent attitude towards politics as a whole, probably due to the fact that Singapore has been relatively successful. However, it is highly important that youths take a more interested stance in politics and this elections and here are some reasons why.
The Future Belongs to the Youth
As a youth now, you will be inheriting the future, good or bad, successful or failure, of our country. Thus whatever happens to our government WILL directly impact you, and in the very near future.
Singapore Cannot Afford to Fail
As a small, tiny dot in the world arena, there is really no room for Singapore to fail. Unlike bigger countries, with natural resources, if Singapore slips, the way back up will be much much harder. Singapore may never even get up from any fall. Needless to say, the ruling party and the government play a pivotal role in determining the success or failure of our country.
Youths will be in a position to shape change
You may not be in the position to make any significant changes or impact on our country at the moment. But within a few years, the power will be within your grasp if you desire. The youngest nominee in this election is a mere 24 years (Nicole Seah) from NSP and the next youngest will be Tin Pei Ling, at 28 years old from PAP. Be apart from joining politics, you will be reaching an age when your voice can actually be heard and your hands can actually shape our country. If you do not start now to be aware of what's going on in politics, when you come of age, you will be unprepared for the possibilities.
There is no excuse with the age of internet and social media
In the past, many have the excuse that they do not have access to the necessary information to be involved or to care. But with Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, forums and tons of other media available on the internet, the amount of information available to you is staggering. You no longer need to make time to attend rally speeches to be kept constantly updated. Thus there is no excuse!
It is Your Responsibility
Even if you don't care, you have a responsibility for the next generation that comes after you. As mentioned before, Singapore cannot afford any major slips. If our government falls into corruption, we may never get up again. Is this the risk that you want to put your children in? The price you pay for doing due diligence is insignficant compared with the potential price you may have to pay in the future.
Hope these reasons will force you to reconsider your position about politics especially if you are still schooling. Take the time to read up on what the various politial parties stand for. Especially, take the time to study the ruling party and what they promise and are doing, and make sure that they are indeed doing what's best for our country. If they continue to walk on the straight and narrow path, we are ok. But if they start straying, we will need people like yourself to put them right. So, do you even know who are the nominees running in your own constituency and who you might vote for if given the chance?
9 Responses to “Why Singaporean Youths Should Be Concerned with Elections 2011”
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Youth voters should ponder over these points by Stephanie Chok(TOC):
As a mother-to-be and eligible voter, I am, for the first time, considering a) who to cast my vote for, and b) ‘my child’s future’.
This is the PAP’s ongoing mantra – vote for us, think of your children’s future and your grandchildren’s future, not to mention your assets and property values and job opportunities.
Well, I have been thinking hard about my child’s future, and the sort of Singapore I would like him to experience and fully participate in as he grows up. I have also been thinking about the norms that he will be exposed to, that will have the ability to shape his formation as a young adult. I have also been considering what sort of lessons our current socio-political landscape will be teaching him (and it discomforts me greatly).
I would like my son – yes, it’s a boy, says the doctor – to respect leaders for their integrity, dedication to service and commitment to justice that is not bereft of compassion.
I would like him to be steered by courageous leadership, one that does not succumb to easy appeals to greed and fear in order to secure votes, but inspires him to rise above self-centredness to support decisions that may, potentially, cause him some temporary discomfort, but may ultimately result in a more humane alternative to the current ‘catch up or die’ development model.
I would very much like my child to be able to speak his mind respectfully yet fearlessly if he disagrees with the status quo, without having to hover in the background to remind him: ‘Be careful, son!’ (And then give a long and somber lecture about the existence of the Internal Security Act and how it has been abused in the past to silence and intimidate persons who disagreed and tried to challenge the system.)
I want him to grow up learning that loyalty should be earned, not bought. That if he was ever to become a politician, or even a team leader in his school or manager of a company, that his key strategy should not be to induce obedience through a coercive combination of threats and bribes. If my son wins – a competition, a promotion, an election – I would like to be proud of how he won it through a ‘clean fight’. That he won the respect of others who have selected him because of his capabilities, his potential, his sincere desire to serve others.
I would like my son to appreciate humility and its power to move others. Genuine humility, that comes from admitting to human frailties and mistakes and taking responsibility for them. Humility that is demonstrated by listening with sincerity to others with differing – even opposing – views, without being dismissive, patronizing or bullying them into silence.
I would like my child to grow up in a country where the ‘good life’ is not merely characterized by GDP growth, but by the measure in which fellow citizens protect and care for each other, particularly the most vulnerable amongst us. I look forward to him being part of a country where he could, without being a Presidents Scholar, or even a degree holder, be recognized and valued for whatever skills and talents he possesses. I want him to work in a country where he could excel in a trade if he so chooses – e.g. carpentry, bricklaying, horticulture – and be paid a decent, living wage for an honest day’s work, a wage where he could afford to get married, buy a comfortable (not necessarily luxurious) home and raise a family.
I want my child to be convinced that in this society, there is no shame or crime in being different, that it is important to think critically, imaginatively, and boldly – that the road to success is not through memorizing model answers or mindlessly filling in the blanks with droll answers provided by judicious instructors. I hope that he can flourish within an education system that genuinely fosters creativity, spontaneity and sparks of harmless mischief, and doesn’t kill enthusiasm for subjects/curricula not perceived as ‘profitable’ – e.g. philosophy and literature, as opposed to engineering or accounting.
I want my child to grow up with a healthier understanding and experience of democracy than I have. I want him to experience a Singapore where it is not accepted as ‘normal’ for Members of Parliament to hold on to their positions for years – even decades – without having ever been voted in; where ‘live’ debates between politicians of different parties over pertinent policy issues are a regular feature; where civil liberties such as freedom of assembly and expression and the right to information are not treated as ‘luxuries’ but recognized as the fundamental rights of mature citizens.
I want him to be able to experience the dynamism of an egalitarian society at its best – one where persons fight fearlessly to protect the principles of truth and justice, yet never forget the beauty of mercy and gentleness.
But most of all, I do not want my child, when he is 21 and no longer a child, but an adult about to vote himself, to ask me, perhaps with some measure of disappointment, maybe resentment, or possibly despair: ‘Mom, why didn’t any of you do anything?’
I am 38 years old this year, and I can finally vote.
And because I’m thinking of my child’s future, I know exactly what I want to say come 7 May 2011 at my local polling station.
Wow, tks for the very lengthy sharing and the time spent in expressing your thoughts. Think most would share the same hope and vision of a future Singapore. However, I can’t help but wonder if these hopes are realistic? Do you know of any country or civilization who have achieved most of what you’ve mentioned? More likely than not, there are essential trade-offs that need to be made and achieving that utopian society seems a tad unrealistic.
An example would be your reference to the measure of a nation’s success mainly from a GDP point-of-view. Sure, we all want to see a society growing in social grace as well, but just based on Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs, without the most basic necessities, it is futile to talk about wishing for politeness and graciousness. Perhaps you may say that we’ve ‘reached’ a stage where we are beyond basic needs, that might be true, but it has just been a mere 40yrs since Singapore was founded and if you want to talk about the change you hope to see, it would not be unreasonable to give the PAP more time to bring that about after bringing a majority of Singaporeans past the stage of basic needs.
Don’t be mistaken, I’m not speaking for or against PAP, but I just feel that while your dreams are great and noteworthy, it doesn’t really give enough evidence on why you should or should not vote for the ruling party. Are you convinced that one party can bring about the change you wish? Are you sure that the current ruling party cannot do that?
Wah, seem like at least one person, this Mr Roger Lim, thinks that the government supposed to do what the PARENTS are supposed to do *facepalm*
Seriously how are people supposed to say that singapore is not a nanny state when there are people who abdicate their responsibility on teaching their own children to speak up, learn humility and a bunch of other stuff.
人无远虑， 必有近忧。
That thing is even on the MRT posters (or maybe its only poor people like me who take the MRT)
Hello everyone,
I think this sharing is something that all the youths should be reading up on. It clearly states the responsibility of every individual whom create our future Singapore. I believe that everyone should vote after giving much thought, instead of voting just for the sake. The Future Singapore is in our hands. Lets all play our part.
And just to share, I came across this website ( http://www.alldealsasia.com/election) which gives a summary about each of the candidate taking part in our elections 2011. This might be a help for many to decide and know more about the candidates.
Cheers!
Sorry the link was broken, this is the correct address. http://www.sgvoting.com
I just want to share my personal thoughts on the election.
Do we vote for a party because of how the candidate sound and look? Or do we vote for what he stands for?
I have already made up my own mind before I went out to see which party will serve me (us) well.
I think Singaporeans have lost the security which the previous PAP members have carefully built and preserved. These are:
1. Job security – we were put through schools which prepares us for the demands of each industries, so that when we graduate, we could get jobs.
2. Home ownership security – we have subsidized flats and loans from HDB, so that in the event we have a recession and lose our jobs, we wouldn’t lose our roofs. This has been undermined because our job security is also gone because of policy which allowed all sort of workers into Singapore freely.
3. School placing security – Singaporean children were given choices to enter good schools when they perform well and come to the worse, they still have positions in the 2nd or third choice schools. Now, foreign students are queuing up waviing stacks of cash in hand to sponsor school buildings and projects so that they unqualified children can enter local schools. What will happen to your children when another 60,000 more students arrive?
4. Retirement security – by failing to help Singaporeans during the economic recession, many have lost their income and home and their ability to return to the workforce (how to now?). These people, who helped in nation building were not taken care of by the govt and now they have to fend for themselves as they grow old doing menial jobs. Don’t we feat the same might happen to us, younger ones?
5. Affordability of staple goods security – prices continuously to rocket but we have been told that this is because of global demand. This is a separate issue which will hit us for sure. But the presence of 1ml people should by a large degree pushed up prices of goods and services. Another 1ml more people are coming. Goods and services are going to be even more scarce. Prices are going to continue to escalate. Now, when the the real global shortages hit us, what is going to happen to us when we have no jobs in the face of such horrific price increases?
I know what I am voting for: more job security, home ownership security, school placing security, retirement security, affordability security and many others. These are the most important ones for me. And I do not for a single moment hesitate to say that I will not get these from the current ruling party.
They have had their share. No it’s our turn.
I’m really frustrated by the PAP who haven’t delivered on their promises to make SG a better place. Most of my savings have been eaten up by the rising costs. Transport is now 10 times worse than before and the crowds are even more packed. Food is so expensive everywhere these days. $3 won’t even get you a decent meal in most places anymore and the minimum is $4 to $8. My salary has been getting lower and lower too, from $1.6k to $1.3k and even lower. I make do by buying discount food from Shop n Save and buy everything from thrift stores.
There is no such thing as a permanent contract these days and I find myself stuck on a temporary contract. Despite the amount of experience my colleagues had, they were all let go because they were too old or because the management favoured foreign talent. I was laid off too and found a job as a saleswoman. Of course I saw my MP but he only promised to contact me. He never did.
I wonder if it is time for me to die. It doesn’t matter if the elections are going to be held soon as nothing will change. Most people will still vote for the PAP, right?
Jane: You are stupid and that is why you failed at your job. Don’t blame the PAP for any of your problems, k? Who told you not to save enough money? You must be one of those dumbos who spend all their money on Ipods, Ipads and other luxuries in life.
Who told you to be so stupid? The government brings in all the foreign talent to make your life and job easier, k? It’s not the government’s fault you are fat, lazy and ungrateful. If you think eating out is expensive, then eat bread and biscuits! Don’t whine about poor qualifications and bitch about how life is so hard for you.
If you cannot make it in life, then get out of my face.
Did you ever witness the low income groups people of Singapore?
Ever wonder how they survive through the inflation and rise of cost of living??
Mostly are low educated people who only study up to Pri 4 or less, whose income are less than $1.5K and are supporting the whole family.
They are not fat, lazy or ungrateful.
Is the external environment causing them unable to save up and to give the next generation a proper or better education.
What the government can help or ever helped them??