GE 2011 - Sentiments from Punggol East Rally by Workers' Party

We had just returned from the Workers' Party rally at the Punggol East site. No we are not from the Punggol East SMC. Attending rallies is but a small way of staying in touch with local politics, and that is what many Singaporeans should do.

Perhaps because we were late, we couldn't squeeze ourselves into the main field. However, enjoying the rally from a distance (i.e. the void deck of nearby HDB flats) gave a different experience; it allowed me to be dis-engaged from the mood of the moment and truly feel what this election meant to the people.

Somehow, the ruling party no longer appeals to the masses as much as they used to. Somehow, there is this existence of a huge dissatisfaction with the many government policies. There are many online posts and comments about these policies (just read the comments on Yahoo!) and I shan't elaborate.

What is striking to me is that I feel the ruling party had not listened to these ground sentiments over the past term. If they had listened, then they must have taken a calculated stance to ignore these sentiments. The budget goodies might not be able to sooth people's dissatisfaction. They must have believed that despite ignoring the many voices of the people, they will continue to be returned to power at this election.

It is precisely this over-confidence attitude that led many Singaporeans to be dissatisfied. Honestly speaking, no particular mistake made by any of the Ministers is sufficient to create such unhappiness; it is the lack of humility and recognition that they served the people that resulted in such an environment today.

This reminded me of PM Lee's speech to his party, that elected MPs are to serve the people - "Never forget we are the servants of the people, not their masters." Perhaps he truly understand the root cause of such huge dissatisfaction. If he is my MP (but he is not) I will vote for him. I just wonder if any of his party members (as well as the elites of the government service) digested and ingested his important message.

Going by the crowd that I saw today, and the reaction from the people at the Workers' Party rally, I think PM Lee's message might have come too late for his party. Guess I will know by 7th May 2011.

Note: The pictures are blurry because I had to use digital zoom - we were really quite far away from the main action tonight.

See also:
- GE 2011 - Poll Card has arrived
- GE 2011 - PAP & SDA Rallies