Nostalgia finds you in the most unsuspecting of times. I was looking through some local films when I came across our national day songs, and promptly dipped into nostalgia-mode. Now, such accidental acquaintance with Singapore-nostalgia isn't the first time and it was totally magnified when I was at Washington. Aw man, just picture me at the kitchen table with my Macbook and some earl grey tea and suddenly chancing upon Kit Chan's Home (1998) D: It was a terrible lurching feeling - by then I had been in America long enough to feel a tinge of home-sickness coupled with incessant kway chap craving - so boy was that feeling massive. Even then, the feeling I felt listening to Home was not home-sickness - it's a simple deeply moving pride for where I came from. I wasn't moved to tears only because I am not a person who cries (I can count the number of times I cry a year with my 10 fingers) - but trust me, any typical person will be bawling away with that same surge of feelings; it was strong. I am also not afraid to concur with the many songs, for indeed this is home to me. I can never see myself establishing my roots anywhere else, lured not even by a lucrative career and lavish lifestyle. This is more than home and more than just where I belong - a certainty that my time in USA made true and cemented.
The national day songs are, of course, great reminders for people like myself - who agree very wholeheartedly with this sense of belonging. We've seen brilliant works from Sing Singapore emerge - Home (1998), Where I Belong (2001), We Will Get There (2002) & One United People (2003) - the few shall always remain my firm favourites.
I think the magic in these pieces, relative to the post-2003 works which very much pale, is their singability. Of course there isn't such a word as singability, but it is in my definition, songs that are always sung wholeheartedly, the sort that as you sit with your classmates in the parade square singing in chorus - and that will really hit home. They are the most poignant. There is a power in singing along with friends. I always believed the act of singing is one of openness - sharing a chorus is that powerful. I loved singing these songs with my classmates, even the chinese ones and the awkwardly enunciated Mandarin - there's magic in that. Others find the recent songs deficient in catchy-ness - a fair comparison. The recent songs pale not because they aren't works of art in their own right - they very well are, but they are not compositions that demand an openness that is key to the overwhelming pride that fills singers. Case in point - What Do You See (2009) & Shine for Singapore (2008) (fast forward to each chorus to get a feel of what I mean). Song for Singapore (2010) is slightly better - and I don't even recall the rest of the songs. Maybe they are getting much too modern for us old-schoolers (HAHA furreal~). I know so many who shrugged indifferently to the 2011 edition of Home, diehards of the 1998 original. Well, here's another true blue 90s kid ;)
It is election fever and I have, of course, been very roused indeed. I have been spending hours on end reading, watching, listening. Today I finally attended a rally with Sam.
Rally videos are always up promptly. Just an hour after the rally concludes you will see them online, faces clear, particularly if they are in English - so why then would thousands take the trouble to be present, squeeze amidst the crowd and tolerate barely being able to even see the candidate speaking?
Quite simply, the atmosphere. It is an atmosphere brimming with a raw relationship with Singapore. It is infectious, it is inspiring, it is empowering. During the rally, I spent more time watching the crowd than listening to the candidates since I knew I could find videos online and hear them again if I should be so interested. This is the first rally I have attended. Somehow from past reports and friend's experiences, I had the impression that the rallies are filled with mostly young adults. How wrong I was. I saw a true demographic representation of Singaporeans there (for once without our foreigners, that I cannot deny had diluted the Singaporean identity) - the uncles, aunties, the girls in mini skirts and high heels even though it is a stadium, the children running around, the university students, whole families, toddlers on their fathers' shoulders. Seeing Singapore invoked a feeling that I realised I strangely haven't had in a long, long time. The pride and spirit was why I was present at the rally, although presence certainly does not constitute support.
Of course, only turning 21 this July, I cannot vote this election. That doesn't stop me from feeling this huge stir though.
During the rally, an unease was mounting up inside me as I listened, envisioning a coalition government.
The Workers Party has spent much airtime speaking of a "First World Parliament", coupled with the now-famous co-driver analogy. WP's Mr Low has clarified the analogy's intended meaning to speak of a "co-driver [who] does not fight for the wheel. He supports and advices the driver from time to time and to make sure that he is alert and well enough to complete the journey." Indeed that is the definition I agree with. Nonetheless, it has been victim of much interpretation. I must say though, amongst the misinterpreters were unfortunately the party candidates themselves, whose speeches did not echo the same definition of co-driver their secretary-general put forth.
In today's rally (and in many of the opposition's as well), I heard so often that when they get voted into the parliament they will be the voice of the people and tell PAP what is going wrong with their policies. There is a lot true about such statements - we certainly need alternative voices - but there is also a lot wrong about them. Should the opposition party be given the people's mandate to represent them in the parliament alongside PAP, they are PART of the parliament. It is not just PAP's parliament, PAP's policies - it is their collective parliament, their collective policies. The opposition shall have to realise that their role in parliament is beyond contributing sources of dissent. Should there be a coalition government, they need to work together, COOPERATE and in that transition, they cannot compromise any Singaporean, regardless of GRC, regardless of party.
Nevertheless, I acknowledge: It takes two hands to clap. I feel this discomfort build up inside me because it is so hard for me to envision that happening with the present state of affairs. I want alternative voices, and I do not doubt the competence of our incumbent and our opposition - but I worry. I worry for I do not have a certainty that they'd work together as they should. I worry for the possibility that their differences shall be at the expense of the people. But at 20, I fear, for these hands seem to be fists - and I daren't place my trust in them.
Come 8th May, regardless the opposition representation, both the incumbent and the opposition need to realise they are one - and work as one. For the next 5 years, they cannot be working to put each other down to declare incompetence that shall come useful to bring up for rally speeches in the next election. Although the incumbent may not want (or feel they need for) a co-driver, should the people's mandate grant this representation, they need to embrace this co-driver and work together amicably. Likewise, the opposition need to live up to their assurances to no unnecessary "hair-pulling and kicking". Finally, in parliament, the representatives should be independent voices regardless of party allegiance. I scoff when people think PAP is made up of only yes-men - there are indeed some but truth is, most of them are independent individuals, independent voices. The opposition candidates should be likewise. Ultimately, the parliament shall work together as one to take Singapore to greater heights and make sure no Singaporean is left behind - to listen, to protect, to empower each Singaporean - that is servant leadership, and that is a "First World Parliament", beyond merely opposition representation.
I hope, at least, that with the next 5 nights of rallies to come, we will hear more of how they plan to work together. Although part and parcel of politics, the silly bashing of each other during the rallies shall be rewarded only with cheers from crowds, and shall not be necessarily constructive and productive in parliament. Reality is that the opposition is very unlikely to gain dominance over PAP this elections. Our first step is to recognise this, and make this cooperation work. With that, the people whom the opposition already have the support of needs to know HOW you will work together in parliament to make it work. This is more important to me than the proposals the opposition parties have because lack of cooperation shall only preclude all of these policies. And so I look forward for another 5 nights of effective rallies that will let Singaporeans hear more than what we have already been repetitively blasted with for a long time.
Indeed I do realise how idealistic this is, given that I acknowledge that brutality and ugliness is part and parcel of politics. But even inches towards civility and true public service is progress.
To conclude, if there is the first and only speech that set me at ease from the past rallies, it is SDA's Harminder Pal Singh's speech today. Allow me to first establish that I disagree with some things he raised, but in essence, he is the first and only speaker that addressed my sincere hopes that the new parliament will embrace working together, regardless of party allegiance - and for that he has my respect. A worthy video indeed.
Secondly, if there is one thing our local media has done that earned my respect for today, was the last question they asked candidates Tin Pei Ling and Nicole Seah in this interview: What do you appreciate the most about the opposition / PAP today (respectively)? Finally. Some appreciation amidst all the jabbing.
I have so much more to say and clarify my stand for but it is late, and whatever is in this post is already what is pressing and bursting out of me, and that's enough for today. Before I go though, I need to say: This election, I am sure, shall be particularly memorable for so many Singaporeans. It has also reminded me how so, so very proud I am to be Singaporean, and I want only the best for our country come 8th May.
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