NUS
forum
On election 2006
Blogger's account of the students' interest - and tribute
to Chiam See Tong. By Mezzo
Mar 30, 2006
http://meltedpotsg.blogspot.com/2006/03/forum-on-2006-singapore-general.html
When
I turned 21, I became qualified for a number of things,
most of which I did not want. Firstly, I could be tried
as an adult. Secondly, I was no longer entitled to child
support. Thirdly, the government took possession of my kidneys,
unless I opted out. The only thing I wanted to do was vote
- and yes, you guessed it - nobody wants my constituency.
Ever. So they generously let the PAP keep it.
This
year, as a result of circumstances, I was actually paying
a sort of half-ear to elections. It was in that spirit that
I went down to the forum on the 2006 Singapore General Election,
held at the National University of Singapore. Jointly organised
by the NUS Political Science Dept (aka the Snake Pit - that
would be my lecturer's name for it, intra-faculty rivalry
can be rather drama) and the members of the Political Science
Association of Singapore, it featured various political
figures.
For
the first time in my academic career, I was free at the
same time as a forum I wished to attend, so I headed down.
Also, Political Science does great spreads, and I would
personally recommend the roast beef next time you're down.
Speakers
Ms Indranee "That's Ms, not Mrs,
don't marry me off" Rajah, MP
for Tanjong Pagar and director for Drew and Napier.
Mr
Chia "The Drone-inator" Ti
Lik, Assistant Organising Secretary in the Worker's
Party, vp of the WP Youth Wing. Apparently a litigation
lawyer.
Mr
Chiam "Studmuffin" See
Tong, opposition MP for Potong Pasir, head of the
Singapore People's Party and a leader in the Singapore Democratic
Alliance.
Ms
Cherie "Marblemouth"
Lim, director of EKA training
group, who believes she can "save the world, one person
at a time."
It was
the first time I've actually stayed awake at these things,
so I'm fairly sure that a revolution may have taken place
while I was admiring Ms Rajah's boo - fitted red shirt.
I seem to recall someone shouting Majulah Singapore - which
as it turns out, actually did happen, so you know, the government
really should keep an eye on those engineers rather than
the arts grads. It's always the quiet ones that snap. Us
arts grads with our pinko-Communist-neo-Marxist-green-party
talk? Please - it's for the girls, although it didn't work
for me.
At any
rate, this is my (amatuer) account of what happened.
Firstly,
it was crowded with undergrads, postgrads, and a sprinkling
of Faculty - I spied a certain Prof Chua, Bukit Ho Swee
native. There was a healthy dose of exchange students as
well, including James Martin of the Southeast Asian dept,
who stepped up - in fact, managed to show his complete cultural
assimilation by being No. 1 to rush up to ask a question
later. There was also a history major who's been rather
prominent in the faculty recently - this was the first time
I'd seen him - quite pretty, in a poet sort of way, but
I'm too old for these boys now - but in need of a haircut
and an order to stay away from Youthinc.
Steve
Chia was supposed to be the WP talker, but he was replaced
by Chia Ti Lik. The joke circulating the theatre was that
he'd just gotten a new maid to photograph.
I don't
know when Indranee and Ti Lik showed up - who cares when
Cherie popped in - but everyone knew when Chiam showed up.
He entered in a pretty low-key kind of way - this is Singapore,
opposition MPs get minimal security. But someone spotted
him - and that was it - the entire theatre broke out in
cheering and applause.
No cue,
no nothing. It was absolutely delightful. As in turns out,
that was the trend for the evening - Indranee did a nice
slick job, and if she would say yes, I'd marry her - but
Chiam was clearly Da Man, who stuck it to The Man. Plus,
he's cute in an elderly statesman sort of way. Yes. Don't
throw up on the keyboard all at once.
Faizal,
the MC began the evening by first stating that if you weren't
NUS, invited Press, or the speakers, you were to leave,
plus the requisite disclaimer that the questions students
asked were not representative of the student body as a whole,
blahblah. No shit. I sure as hell didn't want to be associated
with some of the questions raised.
Gist
of the talk - nothing new, really. Ms Rajah (who was turned
into Mrs Rajah by various clueless male students in Q&A
- chauvinists!) spoke of the post-'65ers, the needs of the
new generation, and the importance of voting. She made a
comment about how she and Ms Lim had turned out in the exact
same shade of red (unplanned), in contrast to the "gentlemen
sitting between us."
For
me, the interesting part about Ms Rajah was the body language
and the subtext. Didn't bother to listen to what she said,
much - we pretty much know the drill. I'd heard that in
more robust dynamic political systems, candidates tended
not to refer to each other by name - something about not
wanting to give their opponents screen time. Throughout
the forum, I don't think I heard Ms Rajah refer to either
Chiam or Chia by name more than absolutely necessary.
And
then there was her performance during the Q&A. Don't
get me wrong, I personally thought that she was smooth,
professional - but I've come to expect no less from a party
that can have entire departments scripting their answers
for them. However, she may have missed her calling. When
someone asked why they should vote for the PAP, she decided
to rebut the whole opposition point about how the Opposition
Party hears the voices of the people that get drowned out.
She explained about how much the PAP cared about the People
of Singapore, all of them, and truly wanted to listen to
their voices, and their hopes, and their dreams, even the
littlest ones - all the while clutching her hands to her
heart.
Really.
Neber bruff. Wah, PAP can really wayang-wayang, yah? Can
see her motherly instincts coming through - when she talked
about the woes of the unheard unwashed masses, her voice
dropped, and softened, and she clutched her hands to her
maternal bosum as if to indicate her desire to bring the
weary, the unwanted into the sheltering cleavage of the
PAP bosum.
I can't
make this shit up, people - she clutched her heart.
Chia
Ti Lik spoke next, and I just have to say this - why does
every Chinese opposition member under 40 sound as if they're
2 lawsuits away from pulling a complete Chee Soon Juan crazy?
He drones. And he contrasted with the polished perfection
of Indranee - loose black sports jacket, and crumpled up
sheets that he read from. I got some reading done while
he talked about the need for diversity in parliament. He
talked about how a lack of diverse voices and actual voter
participation resulted in a reduced nationalism, since citizens
did not get a sense of contribution and representation in
the national decision-making process. He handled his questions
ok, but he sounded as scripted as candidates from a certain
other political party, and he ducked questions .. not very
well.
Chiam,
however - well, this was the first time I've ever seen him
talk. And when you listen to him - you start to understand
why he's just so bloody popular in Potong Pasir. He was
polite, he was polished, and he spoke with the clear voice
of a man who had spent a considerable portion of his adult
life in speechmaking.
And
it made me sad in a way. Chiam (someone correct me if I'm
wrong, I'm not a history major nor a pol sci-er) seemed
a remnant of another era - where politicians were statesmen,
and made speeches that rang in the rafters of Parliament
House. He had a lovely neat English-ed accent that I've
only heard from people of a certain generation, a voice
that was equally at home in the courtroom and in the kopitiams.
He had poise, he had grace born of years of experience of
being an opposition MP, an air made more evident by the
contrast with the unkempt Chia Li Teck.
And
he felt so real.
Where
have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, a nation turns its lonely eyes
to you..
He spoke
about the need for an opposition, any opposition in a government.
I'd read these points before, so there was nothing new there.
He spoke about how a vote for the Opposition was a vote
that announced the people's desire for freedom - freedom
of assembly, of mass media, of processions. He spoke about
the very real problems that have plagued Pontong Pasir residents,
residents that have stuck by him despite being penalised
over and over again for daring to be an opposition ward.
He talked about the utter ridiculousness of a situation
where his opponent controlled all the grassroots organisations,
the CCs, heck, even the police, dryly commenting that he
didn't have quite so many people at his back. He talked
about funds for municiple improvements that were never released,
and a certain bus stop that was proving dangerous for school
children, because his opponent refused to use the bus stop
that Chiam had managed to build.
And
of course, he talked about the pseudo opposition, and the
utter ridiculousness of creating, in effect, a two class
party, a sentiment that got cheers and applause from the
admittedly liberal university audience. He suggested that
even the current government saw the need for an opposition
MP, as SM Goh had not made much of a media ripple in his
low key visit to Potong Pasir. He talked about media bias,
just when the LT alarm (used to indicate the end of a lecture
period) sounded. Ever the consumate stageman, he cracked
the audience up by commenting that opposition party events
always got disturbed.
Cherie
Lim seemed to be there mainly to play a role: "Hi!
I'm young! I'm a voter! I'm not apathetic! You can be unapathetic
too! Rouse ye, apathetic masses, from ye slumbrous slumber,
and ROCK THAT VOTE!" I couldn't get away from the sensation
that she was talking down to us, despite the fact that she
was about - oh, a year or two my senior. Well, time will
tell - she had prospective MP written all over her, which
just might happen. If, you know, she lost that babyvoice,
the talking-as-if-on-speed, and that marble in her mouth.
That being said, she made some comments about the forced
apathy of the youth day, since their wards were never challenged,
and about the spoiled votes party being a vote that stated
that the voter resented a choice that was no choice at all.
The
questions put to the speakers by the floor varied in quality.
One of the few that I remember involved a student who was
disgruntled by the current restrictions on media loans in
the NUS library. The restriction is basically this - if
you're not taking the course, you can't borrow the video,
as I found out when I wanted to borrow MTV's Girls Gone
Wild: Miami Springbreak Special. Ms Rajah very kindly offered
to personally write in and ask about it, Mr Chia being surprisingly
impish when he pointed out that that's what opposition parties
can do - force the ruling party to take care of something
before the opposition gets on their case.
Someone
asked Ms Rajah directly if she had ever had to vote against
her conscience because of the party whip blahblah. I've
never been able to decide how I feel about those questions;
no, you textbook rebel, she voted against her conscience
once and she's abso-bloody-lutely in tears about it and
she'll cry on your shoulder any moment now. Ms Rajah replied
with a textbook comment about how the benefits of PAP rule
is that it's all decided blahblah. Mr Chiam spoke up at
this point, mentioning an abortion bill that came up some
time ago, where a PAP MP who had been a pastor found himself
unable to agree with it, and instead mysteriously absented
himself the day the vote was taken. Chiam pointed out that
even dissent within the party was suppressed.
Another
student brought up the suggestion of an opinion vote for
unchallenged wards, so that the people could make their
stand clear, giving the party a chance to see whether they
actually had the people's mandate to rule. Ms Rajah felt
that it was unworkable, mainly because it was inaccurate.
Some
freshman law student posted a question to Ms Rajah: didn't
the current approach to upgrading which favoured PAP wards
actually contravene Section 12 of the constitution, which
stated that no citizen shall be discriminated against?
*facepalm
moment* Let me get this straight - you, freshman law student,
are challenging a director from DREW AND NAPIER about the
finer points of constitutional law? Why? Really? As it turns
out, it was to score a cheap point. Ms Rajah pointed out
that Section 12 actually said no citizen shall be discriminated
against based on race or religion; the student immedietly
rebutted by saying, "So it's ok to discriminate them
based on political preferences?" to loud cheers.
Yes,
hotshot proto-lawyer. That's exactly it. When you vote,
you make choices. You decide that one political party, and
what it can bring you, is what you want, and is worth your
vote. The residents of Potong Pasir know that. They've decided
that keeping Chiam is worth all the ugly red tile rain shelters
in the world. Is it fair? No. But neither is it fair that
Angelina Jolie only adopts Cambodian babies rather than
male adult FAS NUS students. The PAP can deliver goodies,
and all according to the law.
Nothing
much else occured. I remember Ms Rajah explaining that the
Proggressive Package was not scheduled for the elections,
after all, the government gave out freebies every year.
Chiam made the point about checks and balances, the NKF
and a peanut reference, which never ever ever ever will
get old and unfunny. Ms Rajah replied that it was in fact
a PAP MP who brought the issue up in Parliament.
Poor
Susan Long. History's being re-written as we speak.
That
was about it, wrapping up a 2-hour session. The last question
was by a guy who wanted to recount his experiences with
Opposition parties in the UK, to show how wonderful it is
when you get an opposition. He ended off by announcing,
"Majulah Singapura", which was awesome in an indefinite
way, since it was quite obvious how he thought Singapura
should progress.
Well,
that was the first time I've ever been to such a forum.
It was interesting, although not much was said was new.
But it was worth it to see Chiam in action - watching him
personify that older generation of Singaporeans, the legendary
generation that scrimped and worked to build a nation. When
it came to the token of appreciation time, the entire theatre
broke out in cheers once more when Chiam came forward.
And
he turned around to the audience, and smiled. A smile of
thanks, that radiated appreciation for the clear support
he had received, a little hint of a man who never failed
to acknowledge that he had the support of the people, for
what he was rather than what he could give.
We don't
see smiles like that much anymore.
Comments:
Anonymous said...
wah,, I want to move to potong pasir, but redhill is just
so much nearer to orchard
Joseph said...
Beautiful description of the forum, and of Mr Chiam.
Not being a resident in his constituency, and despite being
inundated with numerous political commentaries, I have never
realised how great the support was for him, how he managed
to stay on as a MP for years, until I've came across your
post via Tomorrow. Your post alone seems to personify that
support.
Keep on bloggin'!
http://meltedpotsg.blogspot.com/2006/03/forum-on-2006-singapore-general.html
