By Biddy Low
Like a flash flood after a long drought, elections and the excitement that it brings have descended upon this nation over and over by the heavy hand of fate. By this second by-election for Punggol East, there is almost an embarrassment in getting swept up by the hype, for fear of being viewed as naive or worse, a vapid follower of a madding crowd. So I disengaged at the beginning. I am not a political pundit, neither do I have lofty ambitions to make a name for myself by jumping in the fray at any chance. My reasons for being involved and informed have remained the same as 3 years ago, to be a "kah kia" ( helper) anyway I can in what I consider a fledgling awakening for democracy in this little island I call home. A democratization process that I believe goes beyond what the politicians are doing, and right into the consciousness of every single person here.
In GE 2011, WP was still largely considered one of the underdogs and part of an "opposition collective" many seem to root for. Post GE 2011 however, the Worker's Party, given bigger shoes to fill, has in their purported lack of resonance in parliament, outright dismissal of an opposition collaboration and with rumoured arrogance toward online sentiments, taken on what I consider to be the place of the new popular kid in the playground, so much so that they have been unceremoniously deemed a potential "PAP in the making". There is a glimmer of truth in these accusations. For the liberal minded Singaporean, who have transcended the bounds of racism, homophobia and classism, decisions are easy to make on what is right and what is wrong. Why is progress taking so long? Why has 377A not yet been repealed? Why were foreign workers who went on strike dealt with so harshly when their grievances were in fact sound? Why have the government not apologized for the wrongful ISA arrests in the past?
And why? Why is the currently largest group of opposition MPs in parliament not speaking up passionately on any of these issues?
But in case we forget, though their Aljunid win was perceived as a monumental victory in the opposition camp, in parliament, WP remains grossly outnumbered. And while it is always awesome to see an opposition MP take the incumbent down a notch in parliament, it is also a sure bet that in a system which requires a vote, there is no speech, no personality that can yield results from sentiments alone. We have enough instances of fiery debates in parliament, it was entertaining, but it did nothing but disempower the majority at the lack of results and worse of all witness some of the most brutal incidences of bullying in parliament.
So unless we trust that the PAP majority now are neutral in parliament, to believe that 6 people can voice out and exact radical changes to our social fabric is asking for the moon to me. WP remains very much to me, as one of the underdogs, one that is slightly more ahead than the others, one that is not obligated to yield to any other gameplan by their own in this precarious venture as an opposition party in Singapore. It is a strategy that has not let them down.
It had me asking, amidst appeals for our politicians to connect with the ground, how many of us are connected to how the ground thinks and the psychology behind their bias and prejudice? How many of us are completely absolved from some form of conflict of fundamental beliefs between us and our families and friends and in turn some form of hypocrisy from trying to keep the peace. No one will fault me if I keep quiet to an elderly relative's racism, or an ex classmate's outright homophobia at a class gathering to avoid a dispute that will yield neither a convert nor an ally, yet we ask of such impartiality from an outnumbered group in parliament, where a wrong move will cause them more than just a bad time.
Perhaps some will find my correlation a little too extreme, but who we are ultimately shapes the future of our parliament. We vote in the representatives most suited to our set of beliefs, much as we hope that the politicians, our representatives in the house will think more like us, we too should have to think more like the politician and connect to the realities of society.
And the reality is that civil society with all its concerns is as outnumbered in real life as WP is in parliament. And picking a fight brazenly yields only in conflict, empty calories in the race toward a more involved society. The ideal, for me anyway, is a parliament representing all factions of society, MPs from various parties who differ in their concerns, but given an equal and unequivocal right to speak and be considered.
That won't happen with 6 MPs, or with the Worker's Party alone. It will require much more effort, persuasion and time by everyone who dreams of a better tomorrow.