A Singaporean In Australia

That chap emigrated to New Zealand as an NZ PR a few years before I left Singapore myself but he flew back to Singapore to vote in GE2011. His friend lauded and saluted his effort. After all, it was an 11 hour flight he had to take just to vote. The air ticket itself would be a four figure sum, since it would not be possible to predict the GE date in advance and book tickets earlier on a discount. Still, he did it.

I was in still in Singapore then. I headed to a voting booth in a sunny morning, close my eyes for a second and whispered, "That's my last hope then." Like the Singaporean chap who flew 11 hours to drop a vote, we knew the hard truth - that was the last chance for Singaporeans.

Now, many would scorn at that idea. It seems that every time the PAP wins big, someone from the minority will cry doomsday and declare that Singaporeans have fluffed their last chance. GE2011 was different from the rest. What made it so crucial was that Singapore was at a unprecedented juncture where we had to decide how the country should move forward. In other words, our new vision for the next 50 years. The PAP's strategy, economic growth by population growth, did not resonate well with me at all but I would leave my reservations on that out for this post today because that wasn't what I wanted to talk about. What bothered me was not just the effects of an unfavourable (or unpopular, as they like to call it) master plan to a citizen like me but it also spell the end of democracy in Singapore.

The results of GE2015 have shocked many Singaporeans but not for the likes of the me and the Kiwi chap, who renounced his Singaporean citizenship after the results of GE2011 left him despondent. (while I'm still holding on to mine) While many Singaporeans celebrated a GRC falling into opposition hands for the first time in history, there were people like me who knew that it wasn't enough and that we fluffed the last chance. From there, the government would be able to convert legions to New Citizens, who will undoubtedly vote in their favour out of gratitude (I'll explain why in my next post). 

There was a lot of talk about the government planning to convert 15,000 to 25,000 New Citizens a year the few days following the GE2015's results. The funny thing is, this was already discussed before GE2011 and even published in the newspaper that Singaporean trusted [link] in 2013. Why then, did this come as a surprise revelation after GE2015? Perhaps some Singaporeans finally understand the impact of this. By 2020, the New Citizens we take in since 2011, at the way things are going at the moment at least, would be around 150,000 to 250,000.

Say we take 200,000 as a mean value. That figure represents:

8% of the electorate in 2015

100% of overseas Singaporeans (200,000 in 2012) 

700% of the biggest turnout of Worker's Party's rally ever

That will put things in perspectives for some who have not realise this by now. With the PAP already holding on to an incredible array of tools, such as the GRC, MSM, PA and the indoctrination of the young etc. to win any GE, the New Citizens will ensure PAP's invincibility for the next 30 years, what is left is a mere illusion of democracy devoid of justice.