Thursday, June 08, 2006
Political Awareness or Myopia???I actually thought of running this entry prior to Polling Day; some may recall the supposed part 2 that never came out then. Credit to Peter Khoo, former Sports Editor of ST (Straits Times, duh?) and Vice Editor of ST, Head (ST Projects Division), who sparked this entry back to life. Pete's one of the few bosses that I hold very much in high regard, along the likes of BG Loh and LTC Francis Yee. In fact, Mr SPH got reinstated back thanks to Pete, who called him up personally. For that, our superhero holds him in high regard too. ;)
Right, moving on. As many may already know, the PAP got an average of 66% of the votes as a whole, and doing your math, that works out to 34% to the Opposition. Justified? I doubt so. Comparing the average talent pool and credibility that the Opposition gave this Elections, 34% was a rather high figure. Think about it, would you trust your organisation (ie SPH, Ministry, NTU, NUS, SMU) to be controlled by someone like Low Thia Kiang or Chiam See Tong, OR a Vivian Balakrishnan or Tharman? No offence to the above-mentioned Opposition members, but we all ultimately want, success right? Looking credibility-wise, Vivian was once CEO of SGH, similarly for Tharman who was CEO of MAS.
So why then, do the Opposition not rope in people of such calibre? Even if there are, they are few and hard to come by. Therein, lies my justification as to why 34% seems an overrated figure, based on this argument. Then again, we often argue that "Its good to bring in the Opposition." or "We want our freedom" or even better, "Give (them) a chance, you may never know". Sadly, as much as the euphoria during such rallies can reach fever pitch, these are all just, crap.
Think about it, we have been riding on past glories. 41 years of peace have roped in countless industries into our country. We have created such a rapid rise in terms of economic scales over the last two decades, only probably matched, by China's globalisation that seems to be a rather scary phenomenon. More on that, later. Its a simple chain,
Peace gives you
Prosperity, which overtime, turns into,
PROGRESS.
Based on the talent pool that the Opposition showed us during the GE, and if they had created the mother of all upsets by ousting PM Lee out (Ang Mo Kio becomes WP Land), that would disrupt some momentum within the economy, in the long run. Why? We do not have a "Vivian" type of politician within the ranks of the opposition, that can guarantee you results when thrown into a certain sector. And when that fails, you have companies pulling out, which spirals downwards from then on.
Take Seagate as an example. An estimate of 15,000 people are employed there. All it takes, is one kway teow, to disrupt the system, or fail to produce improvements. Bam, you have that company pulling out, which leaves 15,000 jobless and in turn, 15,000 families to feed. Then you have to take into consideration, the suppliers of computer chips to that company. Business there is gone, and a certain degree of unemployment occurs. Then the cycle continues.
The next elections, though a good 5 years away, may be a promising one; the candidates the Opposition introduces, the economic climate and stability of our government and people's attitudes are etc. I am Pro-Opposition, no question about it, though I believe that if candidates of a similar degree to this elections contest, then we might be in, for trouble.
Afterall, its a well-known fact that most of our youths are, Pro-Opposition too. We tend to want change, without having the vast scope on implications that may arise from such changes. As Pete puts it, we are at a stage where our youth have become very vocal with their opinions (blogs, forums) on many a topic - a Western Culture - but the irony is, whilst adopting such a culture into this situation, if we end up being myopic to possible consequences, this could drive Western industries and companies back home.
Food for thought. =)
2:35 AM
supernova lit up.
