My thoughts on the election...

I have always been that crowd of politically apathetic citizens. My GRC has experienced walkovers for the past few elections so I have not felt the need to care about the election matters at all. Until this year.

This year, 82 out of the 87 seats are contested, and this includes the five seats in my GRC area. Initially I was excited at the chance of finally being able to vote. After I saw the list of the opposition members contesting in my GRC, I was disappointed. They don’t seem to be very good alternatives and it feels like I am just choosing between two baskets of rotten apples. So my next logical decision was to void my vote during Polling Day.

Thankfully, the use of social media has changed my view. For the past week, I have been following the rallies through the online space. Reading other people’s opinions and views on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, forums and I feel enriched by all these knowledge. It changed my view on Singapore and Singaporeans. I can feel the need for change, somehow desperately as I do not know what surprises I can expect in the next five years if we still let our ruling party does what it wants.

“You can only move forward if you learn to let go”. Ironically, I came up with this quote months ago on those crowded MRT journeys in the morning and it was not even due to politics at that time. I will think of our dear MM Lee when I read this quote now. While I am grateful to how he has helped to bring Singapore to its independence, I have not forgotten that he was the so-called opposition party in the past. His opposition moves helped Singapore to advance and I am hopeful that our current opposition parties will also help Singapore to move forward bit by bit. I hope that this election will let the ruling party feels our anger, our concerns. I hope it will spur improvements within the ruling party.

Of course I cannot help you to determine who to vote. Just cherish your vote and make the right choice, the one that you won’t regret with for the next five years. I know I won't.