An open mind was what I possessed when Elections was first announced. I did not favour one party over the other because I truly appreciate what the PAP has done for us. But I also see the serious mistakes that were too hard to ignore. I have been to two rallies and in my line of work, I keep track of the news very closely. As elections fever heat up, I find myself being lured away from the incumbent party.
1. PAP has been making really arrogant remarks
2. It's easy to win my heart simply by showing they have been listening and they truly understand my needs because they are not filthy rich. Because all I need is for opposition to ensure there is a check on the PAP, not overthrow them.
3. One of the hottest topic this Elections and PAP's biggest mistakes is housing, which I had to endure for two years. MBT screwed up big time by not anticipating demand.
My friends know housing is a topic close to my heart. I waited two years to finally have a chance to select a flat and it is not a fantastic ballot number by the way. We were truly desperate so we went to a Minster's "Meet the People Session" and also had to write in three letters to HDB. I don't know which resort worked but I can confidently say we could have missed yet another chance to secure a flat if we did not appeal for help as badly as we did. The flat we applied for was oversubscribed by at least seven times.
We spent three hours waiting to meet Minister L. We camped outside his office after rushing down from work, gobbled down dinner and all... Only to walk into a room and not be greeted with a "Hi" or eye contact. This, a "respected" Minister in Prime Minister's Office. We were probably granted ten seconds face time and his body language signalled for us to leave. Of course we didn't and sat down to say our piece and made a plea. A letter was also sent in to HDB with the first reply that "regretfully" told us that no further priority could be given to us despite this being our fifth or sixth (I've lost track) to select a flat. All previous attempts failed because of oversubscriptions. The first minute of my experience with the MP was more like meeting a Principal rather than someone I have elected and should be of service to me because I contribute to his team's salary. I waited three hours so thankfully, the long wait made me snap out of it and remember that this is my entitlement as a Singaporean to be on equal ground with him at the "Meet the People" session. People = We. i.e. We should be at the heart of the meeting agenda.
Do we really need to make a plea to buy a HDB flat? Several answers I received from HDB and the Minister shocked me.
HDB: I would suggest you try balloting for less mature estates instead, like Punggol or Seng Kang. (Seriously? I think you have the records and the flat to rdemand ratio is not any lower than that in Queenstown or Tiong Bahru)
Me: So are you saying that it all boils down to luck?
HDB: It is a computerised system and it's up to the system to allocate the number.
Me: So Mr L, if we still do not get a flat this time, what do we do? There are no upcoming flats in the west in the next two months and we really want to live near our parents, in tandem with pro-family policies advocated by the govt.
Minister: *sheepish smile* You just have to try for the next one and hope you get it.
Dumbfounded. If this is the kind of reply I get from a Minster from PMO, imagine what Tin Pei Ling would say to me.
I read many stories in the papers that couples' claim of not getting a flat is unfounded because they had Q nos. but rejected each application. We never got a chance to select prior to this. We had to remind the govt that we are pro-family (like the PAP) settle down early and live near our parents. We hear so many cases of first-timers who are fresh grads, younger and in no urgency to get married as they have not been dating for a decade long like us. Even the request for greater transparency as to whom HDB grants priority to has also been ignored.
I quoted statistics and figures from media articles but all my questions went unanswered. The reply finally arrived on the same day as our ballot no. How timely.
I felt really distant from the Minister that night, which is contrary to why "Meet the people" sessions are held. My expectation was to feel heartened that the Minister would understand or at least try to understand us. I knew our lifestyle is very much different from his. He definitely lives in greater comfort and does not need to ballot for a flat like me. But there was not a moment in that room, which made me feel comforted. In fact, I walked out to (yet another) sleepless night filled with so much angst.
I wished I didn't have to talk about housing before marriage. I told myself I would not succumb to the system but sadly, I did afterall. I will be five years behind the life I had imagined it would be by the time my house is ready. This is the way of life in Singapore and more than anything else, I had to go with the flow and forget all romantic notions of proposals and engagement coming before plans for a home together.
The opposition may not have concrete proposals or tactics this elections but maybe these are not what we need. We already have capable, analytical, skilled, intelligent leaders in the civil service or PAP to conduct the research and develop policies that would lead to GDP growth. But I don't wish for it to be at the expense of my citizenship rights. I wish for more members of the Parliament to speak up for me and ensure alternative points of view have been taken into consideration before decisions are made. A handful of people that can represent the reality on the ground and tell the wealthy, really wealthy PAP Ministers that the rich are getting richer (like them), while the quality of life for the poor is spiralling rapidly downwards.
