just noticed this thread...
and just cant help feeling sad regarding the state of political
apathy of many of our people... its like opposing the pap or the
mere association with opp parties = lawsuit against you, or
that your livelihood will be threaten....
in recent times i noticed the strong anti-pap statements in this
forum and in sites like temasek review and toc.. and i thought that
perhaps a sort of political awakening is dawning on sg.. and that
we are beginning to make our voices heard above the elitism that
defines our policies...
but sadly when i saw this thread, i realize that
perhaps the political awakening is only at its very initial
stage and that many are too deep in slumber to awake.. i mean, how
many supporters are there really in all these websites?
hundreds? but how many people are there in the general
population that are like the hawkers that lau bakkwa encountered,
who are politically apathetic and even afraid, and who do not hear
or see the messages in temasek review and toc? thousands
perhaps??
opp parties..... what is your election strategy to reach these
people? for these hawkers in lau bakkwa's case, it is the "elderly
respected hawkers" in these hawker centres that you must find
to act as your "informal champions"... these are the guys whom
theother hawkers may look up to, and who are influential....
they are the ones who you must find, and who can help you
preach your message.... do you have these champions? how many do
you have? are all the "hawker centres" and "food courts" covered,
or how many have been covered?
....when it comes to contesting any ward... the nos. of
people who frequent and who are active in the toc and
temasek review are the minority... the majority are those who do
not go online to these sites.. and who are so far... not convinced
about your political agenda and your credentials... are you
reaching out to these people? how are you doing it?
your message cannot be the rhetoric about having an opposition
voice in the parliament.. it must be about specific and
practical issues that strike a cord with the people.. the
rising costs of living, of transport, of housing, of medical
care....the lack of welfare, the alienation that they are
feeling... bring out specific examples... real life examples...
have real life champions, who have dropped out of the system and
who have been left out by the elistist policies, to supplement your
points...
just recently... egypt witnessed an unprecedented grassroots
movement for a fair government and political system.. they were
fighting for political freedom and for social freedom...
various opposition movements and parties united without any claer
leader, but for a common purpose... they are all seeking for the
same freedoms and opportunities that have been denied them for
years...
what about sg? how do you intend to reach out to the people?
what will be the rallying factor? i hope the opp parties can
comment...
have a look at the Straits Times, how the reporting is mostly
based on the hawkers which seems to fully support the PAP.
I see TS had spoken the truth, these hawkers always complain but
still support PAP.
Just like the song by Eurythmics:
Some of them like to abuse
Some like to be abused
