Thursday, 6 November 2008, 8:50 am | 1,248 views
Dhevarajan Devadas /
Guest Writer
On
November 4, we all witnessed history being made. The
US elected its first ever black president. A
nation that once regarded its black citizens as slaves has elected
an African American to the nation’s highest office. I salute Mr
Obama for his inclusive and positive campaign that has invigorated
the normally apathetic youth voters to come out in droves to
exercise their democratic right to vote.
His
victory speech in Grant Park, Chicago, struck a chord in me with its message of
inclusiveness and bipartisanship. I find this severely lacking
in Singapore.
PAP leaders don’t really bother with
campaigning really hard and fighting for votes.
They appeal to Singaporeans to support them during campaigning
and then spend
the next five years talking down to us, making important decisions
without meaningful consultation (remember the casino issue?) and
chiding us for expecting the government to help when we are in a
crisis (minibonds and high notes issue).
While Obama vows that “to
those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have
won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will
be your President too”, former PM Goh Chok Tong openly threatened
constituencies that voted for the opposition that their HDB estates
would “become slums”. His exact words were, “Your [housing
development] through your own choice will be left behind. They
become slums. That’s my message”.
He said this on Nomination Day
in 1996. He had the audacity to threaten Singaporeans because he
was confident that Singaporeans would not complain too aggressively
against such blatant discrimination and would vote for the PAP
anyway.
Obama also graciously thanked
his opponent John McCain for his congratulations and promised to
work together with him in the future. I can only dream that PM Lee
can thank his opponents for a worthy and challenging campaign. He
is highly unlikely to stand in a rally and say, “I thank my worthy
opponents from [insert political party] and promise to work closely
with the opposition to ensure the progress and prosperity of this
nation which we all call home”. PAP leaders are never really
gracious anyway.
The PAP titled its 2006
election manifesto “Staying Together, Moving Ahead”. But it has
failed to live up to this promise.
1. It has denied our gay
community the right to equality.
2. It has failed to ensure
that the rights of all Singaporeans to freedom of speech, assembly
and association are protected.
3. It has failed to keep the
population informed by not disclosing information such as GIC and
Temasek Holdings’ full financial records, the breakdown of HDB flat
costs and even the financial statements of town councils that
invest our money.
4. It has denied the rights of
Potong Pasir and Hougang residents to public housing upgrades
available to PAP constituencies, violating their right to
equality.
5. It has prevented non-PAP
politicians from playing a decisive role in Singapore politics by trying to create and maintain
political hegemony. This denies Singaporeans our right to take part
in public affairs and isolates us from the political space and
process.
PAP leaders, especially MM
Lee, love to claim that the Western model of democracy is bad
for Singapore
as it is too individualistic and
that Singapore’s model safeguards the welfare of society as
a whole ahead of the individual. Barack Obama has shattered this
lie. He has shown that when the situation demands it, Americans can
and will elect a president who promotes the welfare of society as a
whole while at the same time protects their fundamental
liberties.
Obama is promising to do
in America
what the PAP has consistently
failed or refused to do in Singapore. As a Singaporean youth who will be eligible
to vote in 4 years time, a message of hope, inclusiveness and
change appeals to me more than the message of political
restrictions, blatant discrimination and threats.
I await Singapore’s Obama and our moment of change.
http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/11/awaiting
how do you expect this moment of change to come about?
The US spent billions of dollars on both sides, how
much we should pay here?
The US got Obama, we are waiting for Rajindra.
every minute passed by has become history, wait long
long......
