More than 100 days have passed since 23 March, and business seems to be back to normal in Singapore. There is no more outpouring of gratitude whatsoever and in typical pragmatic style people have begun to realise that the next general elections could be as near as 100 days away. Given the trend of downwards support for PAP, things certainly look interesting.
For one, the PAP has always preached that the opposition should not be given a blank cheque less they make things hard by blocking policies in parliament. As the past 5 years have shown, this is complete and utter bullshit; the WP has shown that they have acted responsibly by voting to strengthen regulatory oversight of town councils despite placing a higher burden on them.
In fact, quite the contrast can be said. The PAP has made use of their parliamentary majority to pass laws such as the population white paper and the implementation of new media laws, which may not have been favourably received by the majority at large. Hence, more opposition power in parliament may be seen as a positive thing as democracy becomes the new norm.
Are we willing to accept that alternative political parties in parliament have added more value? While Aljunied town council may have been portrayed as a failure, the fact that WP’s presence in parliament has proven its worth as they serve as a platform to raise difficult questions and elicit answers from the PAP to allow us an insight into their thinking.
The questions range from the millions spent on scholarships to foreign students to government intentions on the use of ‘unaccredited’ degrees. In both instances, this left some sour feeling on the expected returns from these foreign scholars as well as the PAP government’s lack of empathy. As this catches on, slowly but surely people have begun to realise the merits of having more voices.
So let’s think about it: do we want another 5 years with PAP?
Source: http://mythoughtsinafewparagraphs.net
