My views on politics had always been apathetic, as I didn't see how politics could affect my life. But now comes the time to vote and here's my 2 cents worth on GE.
I've lived in 3 different countries with completely different political systems and environments, and after listening and reading all the issues being voiced out, all I can say is that no party is perfect.
No doubt that those in white have served us well for the past, I do give much credit and admiration to the old MM for bringing SGP to what it is today, but times have changed, people are being more exposed to the outside world and voices are getting heard of now.
I'm not a politician, and I don't aspire to be one, so here's just my own thoughts and experiences...
First, on cost of living. Who doesn't like to be earning abalones and spending peanuts on daily necessities? Honestly, to me, the cost of living has been generally acceptable for an average household. My family don't live a luxurious life, our income is not in surplus to house us in bungalows or exorbitant landed properties, but we're contented with having a comfortable home to live in, good and nutritious food to cook and eat, good education, a family vacation almost every year. Of course I dream of a holiday to Europe and different parts of the world, a mansion with swimming pool and many cars to suit different occasions, many L and P handbags etc. but compared to most of my family who are going the extent of bribery just to hold on to a job that pays them merely 3 digits in their own country's currency, barely enough to feed them, I'm contented. What's the point of living in a place when everything is cheap, and labour is even cheaper? Unless you're those minority high-earning expats, what you earn is still not enough to cover your daily needs. I believe the issue here is not just about how expensive things are here in sg, but the difference in the increase of the rate of cost of living as compared to the pathetic increase in income for normal civilians. Of course the men-in-white don't see it as a pressing issue, what is a few dollars to them? less than 0.1%? But talking about cutting GST and cost of living etc. I think it's easier said than done.
Now on the hot topic of housing, our 'fav' mbt claims public housing is very affordable, at most you take 30 years loan and that they are making so much loss in the sales of flats, and to raise the income cap etc etc.. Come on, it's public housing, not private housing, stop taking advantage of the overwhelming need to increase the price. and increasing the income cap? am i expecting the price of btos to shoot up further and the over-application rate to be more than 10 times? and talk about upgrading and about how the not-so-white won't do it, you mean upgrade the price of resale even higher? You can't expect people to sell off their bto flat which they bought at say close to 400k at anywhere near half a mil after renovation and their so-called upgrading. And talking about upgrading, you mean example like lift-upgrading at my block which had cause so much of noise pollution last year during my last-minute mugging days, and only now they are fencing up the areas at each floor to prepare to dig a hole for the lift to open? Or do you mean doing some gardening and re-painting once every 5 years that just so happen to be last month? Not everyone needs premium finishing, nor community facilities, but everyone needs a roof above their head.
And on transport, I am so much more of a bus than a mrt person, well, of course I would very much prefer being driven around, because firstly there's no mrt station withing walking distance of my house yet, and the probability of getting a seat on the bus is so much higher than that on the mrt, and the no of ppl squeezing in the mrt, and the smell, my goodness! But having to wait for 10 mins or more for the morning bus, watching the packed bus zoom by the busstop, and the peak hour traffic jams is nothing uncommon. To solve the problem of expressway jams, there was erp, to counter the increase in cost, public transport became more expensive, and to make travelling time more predictable, there was approx arrival time of buses at some busstops. Well, it did ease the issues, and sg's roads are honestly, not too bad. But I do miss the cycling days in bj and the on-the-dot punctually of trains in gm, well, some effort has been put in to encourage cycling, but look at the expressways or pedestrain footpaths and the number of traffic lights, how to cycle safely? hmmm, how about express trains that travel from east-west, north-south etc without stopping at all stops and carriages to store bicycles so that one can ride and bike?
On healthcare, if you caught a minor bug, either you have money, pay more for faster treatment, better medicine, hence heal faster, or you have time, queue long hours to see doctor, get normal medicines and rest a few days at home, not sure if the medicines cured you or time and rest healed you. Of course, the medisave and medishield etc did benefit some, but are there more people who are critically ill, or just minorly ill? I'm thankful that my family is generally healthy, and don't need to spend money on daily medication, so the healthcare system in sg has not benefited or frustrated me in any way. But let me just share some experiences. When interning in bj, I think the system there works in such a way that those covered under their insurance get free or pay minimal for their medical expenses, especially those who used to serve in military, they get even better healthcare perks. Thus, there are those who perpetually live in the hospital for months, taking up beds that may be available for someone more needy. Though the facilities there are not comparable with that in sg, I really admire the knowledge of the doctors, and the speed at which one can get the required tests done and the results almost immediately, whereas in sg one has to wait at least a week or two. Then when I was much younger and living in gm, where everyone pays a certain amount for healthcare that covers everything under the sun, my most frequented place was the dentist. I had always had sweet tooth since young, and in fact all of my milk teeth had cavities, some of my molar even had a hole big enough that the tooth fell out in 2 pieces. Well, that's thanks to the dentists there, because since it's my milk teeth, and since I can go back and get it fixed anytime at no additional cost, they always clean it up, dig out the decay and a bit of the surrounding, then fill it up with temporary filling that drops out in a few weeks, then the process repeats itself. So what's the best healthcare policy? I don't know, each has its flaws.
Ok, so much said, tomorrow's going to be exciting. The men-in-white says they've served us well and proven it, and what makes us so sure that the not-so-white are up to it. The not-so-white are full of ambition and determined to make changes for the better of the citizens, and that the men-in-white are all out for money and not for love for the country. But wait, aren't we in a democratic society when decision making would require majority votes before proceeding with any proposal?