A Walk to Remember
The shoes were muddy and i soaked them in the pail, adding some powder detergent to get the soil out of the fabric. I estimated a few thousand people doing the same as i did last night. The ground was wet from the recent downpours and the party didn't have much finance to get a better place. The main intention was to speak to the masses and that was exactly what they did.
After dinner, I diligently followed my parents to my first ever rally. The car park was packed, traffic was heavy, buses were loaded and the pedestrian walkway overflowing with enthusiastic people rushing to hear the WP talk "bad" about the government. We were "fortunate" to find a carpark lot about two precincts down from the rally site while many others continue their search around the neighbourhood.
When we finally made our way to the muddy field, the rally has already begun. The second speaker was deep into his speech as i found a relatively drier spot to stand on. My new NewBalance was browned and drenched. Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to hear out what the most promising opposition this election has to say. The speakers took their turn to hit out at the PAP and many of the audiences applause and cheer them on each time. A look around the arena 15 minutes into the rally and the whole field was packed. Only the spots with visible pools of water were left unoccupied. The overhead bridge nearby was squeezed and suffocated any human flow. Though the numbers were strong, the situation was surprisingly well contained, a typical singaporean behaviour.
Hit after hit, speech after speech, the WP attacked the "dirty tricks" used by the dominant party. I had enough of the perennial topics such as HDB upgrading, issuing of progess package to "buy" votes and many others. Took off my shirt (had my running gear underneath) and went jogging home, leaving my parents to savour the speeches in traditional dialects.
Pardon my inpatience with the WP but i thought i was in for something juicier from the "most promising" opposition. They rant about PAP not being able to be the "first world government" and continued on talking about the lack of foresight when they were building the HDB flats 40 years ago. Give me a break. I suppose they are contented to believe people are choosing MPs to take care of themselves rather than the nation this GE. Issues of great importance such as terrorism and more crucial issues of economic survival were left untouched. Future growth plans for the nation and other investments were conveniently left out of the speeches. Some may argue that the audience that they were speaking to had differing priorities from me, yet one must conceed that the generation of today has slowly evolved from that of post independence. We are more educated, more exposed to the world through the proliferation of the Internet and cable TV. Political, economic and social columns are easily available and all these attribute to a population with higher awareness. While delievery methods widely used now may have appealed to the people in the past, they may not work as well in today's context. Speaking to the ground people in their homely dialects and addressing their immediate needs are victorious ways of the past.
Today's younger generation are in need of a more politically, economically and socially sensitive opposition. Trudging in mud yesterday, i saw many destroying their shiny leather shoes and sweating it out in their long sleeves. Do you think they rush down from work in their best to listen to promises of HDB upgrades? How many of today's generation could understand the string of dialect spoken by the WP? Even i could barely decipher the mumblings when the speaker take the podium into gear five.
I remember the speaker sniggered when he spoke of PAP as the "first world government". During the run home, I recalled that MM Lee challenged and desired a "first world opposition". What a joke.
After dinner, I diligently followed my parents to my first ever rally. The car park was packed, traffic was heavy, buses were loaded and the pedestrian walkway overflowing with enthusiastic people rushing to hear the WP talk "bad" about the government. We were "fortunate" to find a carpark lot about two precincts down from the rally site while many others continue their search around the neighbourhood.
When we finally made our way to the muddy field, the rally has already begun. The second speaker was deep into his speech as i found a relatively drier spot to stand on. My new NewBalance was browned and drenched. Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to hear out what the most promising opposition this election has to say. The speakers took their turn to hit out at the PAP and many of the audiences applause and cheer them on each time. A look around the arena 15 minutes into the rally and the whole field was packed. Only the spots with visible pools of water were left unoccupied. The overhead bridge nearby was squeezed and suffocated any human flow. Though the numbers were strong, the situation was surprisingly well contained, a typical singaporean behaviour.
Hit after hit, speech after speech, the WP attacked the "dirty tricks" used by the dominant party. I had enough of the perennial topics such as HDB upgrading, issuing of progess package to "buy" votes and many others. Took off my shirt (had my running gear underneath) and went jogging home, leaving my parents to savour the speeches in traditional dialects.
Pardon my inpatience with the WP but i thought i was in for something juicier from the "most promising" opposition. They rant about PAP not being able to be the "first world government" and continued on talking about the lack of foresight when they were building the HDB flats 40 years ago. Give me a break. I suppose they are contented to believe people are choosing MPs to take care of themselves rather than the nation this GE. Issues of great importance such as terrorism and more crucial issues of economic survival were left untouched. Future growth plans for the nation and other investments were conveniently left out of the speeches. Some may argue that the audience that they were speaking to had differing priorities from me, yet one must conceed that the generation of today has slowly evolved from that of post independence. We are more educated, more exposed to the world through the proliferation of the Internet and cable TV. Political, economic and social columns are easily available and all these attribute to a population with higher awareness. While delievery methods widely used now may have appealed to the people in the past, they may not work as well in today's context. Speaking to the ground people in their homely dialects and addressing their immediate needs are victorious ways of the past.
Today's younger generation are in need of a more politically, economically and socially sensitive opposition. Trudging in mud yesterday, i saw many destroying their shiny leather shoes and sweating it out in their long sleeves. Do you think they rush down from work in their best to listen to promises of HDB upgrades? How many of today's generation could understand the string of dialect spoken by the WP? Even i could barely decipher the mumblings when the speaker take the podium into gear five.
I remember the speaker sniggered when he spoke of PAP as the "first world government". During the run home, I recalled that MM Lee challenged and desired a "first world opposition". What a joke.
2 Comments:
why u start blogging again never tell me!
I have exactly same sentiments. There is a need for oppositions but our oppositions aren't up to standard. Whatever it is, we will still need a few good men from PAP who actually took Economics and know what is structural unemployment, the pros and cons of FTA, and what inflation affects us on a global perspective rather than just more expensive groceries in time to come. It's funny how politics became all about lift upgrades. How degrading. Enjoyed your entry :]
Post a Comment
<< Home