There's always a first time for everything. PAP started off as an opposition party in the past and also, without credentials on its sleeves, it also had to depend more on rhetorical substance and less on concrete proposals. Also, National Solidarity Party, (NSP) is considered a resurgent entrant into Singapore's politics, after lying largely dormant for years. It now had in its pool a number of qualified candidates who can match the new ones MIWs rolled out.
Surely there's not yet a level playing field in terms of qualified candidates, but we need to first ask ourselves: do we wish for candidates who're highly qualified but unwilling to serve passionately or if they serve, it's not so much for the people as for the monetary benefits and prestige such a role brings; or do we wish for candidates who might not be as highly qualified, but willing to serve the people wholeheartedly and to serve as the voice in parliament. For a person to become a people's representative to speak up in parliament surely does not require a Yale scholar or a CEO of a company. This person also does not need to be a skilful orator. The most important quality perhaps is this person has to be able to connect with the ground, empathise in the people in the constituency, listen and consolidate the points to raise in parliament, and not to mention also being on the ground ready to respond to the residents' needs.
What NSP is doing now is to highlight the problems facing Singaporeans, and proposing itself as a party willing to come in to remedy the situation. Also, without much access to accurate official data required for formulation of policies, how can any individual or party outside PAP secure any means to devise so-called 'concrete policies'. I'm not in a ward contested by NSP, but I'm very concerned because if people are still stuck with the same mentality that one's choice has to be governed by 'quality candidates' which is narrowly defined by academic qualifications and types of occupation but not the desire to serve the public; and by 'concrete proposals' which do not come easy in the way due to the restrictions imposed on public access to government data; then, we might well return to the same old muck with MIWs running roughshod over our head.
We don't need to also remind ourselves the sort of threats dished out by MM Lee especially. It goes to show that we really need no more status quo in parliament, we should welcome more oppositions to enter to balance the MIWs in order to attain an equilibrium between ruling party's interests and national interests for the people. A one-party system will only mean that in the long-term, our interests will be likely compromised and our voices unheard. Why not give the oppositions a chance to serve? If one did not see how others actually perform, how can one pass any concrete judgement. In the same vein, one can come across as a quality candidate with concrete proposals, but implementing those proposals and actually serving the people or not is quite another matter altogether.
Please, to residents of wards contested by NSP, please consider giving this party a chance to serve and prove itself. If you don't, you won't know how and whether it can deliver its promises. Our forefathers once gave PAP this chance, so why not NSP and other oppositions?
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