MM Lee is right
I was trying to explain to my American friends yesterday how winning 6 seats out of 87 in the parliament was the biggest victory for the opposition since the independence of Singapore. Before the results for Aljunied was announced by overnight celebrity Yam Ah Mee, Alex comment on the live telecast on CNA, "I like how the newscaster pretend as though she doesn't already know the outcome." I realised, then, that I did not know how to explain the significance of the battle for Aljunied to him.
When the numbers were revealed, I was honestly taken aback for a moment; not because I didn't think WP had a chance to win but that I wasn't sure if I was ready for this moment. MM Lee said in one of his interviews that if people of Aljunied voted for the opposition, they will spend 5 years repenting. I am very certain that this cannot be further from the truth. After all, MM Lee is still in Parliament and the ruling party still took 81 out of 87 seats. By parliamentary procedures, they are, in every way, still in control.
So why the overwhelming cheer when Hougang and Aljunied secured 6 seats for the opposition? Why, especially, the thunderous applause from the very voters who know that they had voted out a good foreign minister in exchange for delayed upgrades, renovations and welfare? The electorate of Aljunied didn't stand up for change; they didn't vote to oppose the ruling party. They casted their votes to safeguard something far more fundamental and important: democracy.
Who are we to say that they made the right choice or not? Hell, is there even right or wrong in democracy in the first place? It is "rule of the people" not "rule of the parliament". It is true that parliament can legislate whatever they want, but it is the people who empower them to do so. There can be a day when we, as a country, decide that it is in the best interest of the people to vote for freedom of press above social stability, or maybe to vote for a ban on inhumane punishments but settle for slower economic development. Are we supposed to be our own decision makers or do we need our founding fathers to teach us what is good or bad for us? With democracy, it will, no, it always has to be the former. Today the people living in Aljunied voted in 6 oppositions members into parliament. What can 6 votes do to 81? Probably nothing. But tomorrow our next generation will be reminded that they have a voice and that they ought to be heard. That is truly something to be proud of. From today onwards, if any foreigners mock our democracy process for being a self-consoling delusion, I'll at least know deep down that Singaporeans know better than anyone else when to put a bigger cause before their own needs.It is an act that asks for wisdom and courage and yet, quoting a former MP who stood against the ruling party for 20 odd years, "I'm not actually a brave man..."
MM Lee is right, we will live to repent. But let's not forget that it is not the agony of repent that we fear, it is the right to democracy that we are so afraid to lose. That 6 seats in parliament is not just the biggest victory for the opposition, but also for the people of Singapore.
When the numbers were revealed, I was honestly taken aback for a moment; not because I didn't think WP had a chance to win but that I wasn't sure if I was ready for this moment. MM Lee said in one of his interviews that if people of Aljunied voted for the opposition, they will spend 5 years repenting. I am very certain that this cannot be further from the truth. After all, MM Lee is still in Parliament and the ruling party still took 81 out of 87 seats. By parliamentary procedures, they are, in every way, still in control.
So why the overwhelming cheer when Hougang and Aljunied secured 6 seats for the opposition? Why, especially, the thunderous applause from the very voters who know that they had voted out a good foreign minister in exchange for delayed upgrades, renovations and welfare? The electorate of Aljunied didn't stand up for change; they didn't vote to oppose the ruling party. They casted their votes to safeguard something far more fundamental and important: democracy.
Who are we to say that they made the right choice or not? Hell, is there even right or wrong in democracy in the first place? It is "rule of the people" not "rule of the parliament". It is true that parliament can legislate whatever they want, but it is the people who empower them to do so. There can be a day when we, as a country, decide that it is in the best interest of the people to vote for freedom of press above social stability, or maybe to vote for a ban on inhumane punishments but settle for slower economic development. Are we supposed to be our own decision makers or do we need our founding fathers to teach us what is good or bad for us? With democracy, it will, no, it always has to be the former. Today the people living in Aljunied voted in 6 oppositions members into parliament. What can 6 votes do to 81? Probably nothing. But tomorrow our next generation will be reminded that they have a voice and that they ought to be heard. That is truly something to be proud of. From today onwards, if any foreigners mock our democracy process for being a self-consoling delusion, I'll at least know deep down that Singaporeans know better than anyone else when to put a bigger cause before their own needs.It is an act that asks for wisdom and courage and yet, quoting a former MP who stood against the ruling party for 20 odd years, "I'm not actually a brave man..."
MM Lee is right, we will live to repent. But let's not forget that it is not the agony of repent that we fear, it is the right to democracy that we are so afraid to lose. That 6 seats in parliament is not just the biggest victory for the opposition, but also for the people of Singapore.