Lessons we can learn from across the straits.

The recent Malaysian elections have brought change to what some Singaporeans consider our ‘backward cousins’; whose primary purpose in life is the supplying of water, pirated DVDs, and decent food at a fraction of the price. You can see the backlash against the established government; constituencies lost, and irony of ironies, Kuala Lumpur sitting in opposition hands.

Gives you pause. Now that Malaysia is on the cusp of change for the first time in many a year, what does this bode for Singapore? What will happen to our sunny overcrowded island in the fallout? Or more to consider, can the same thing happen to us?

As a nation, Singapore has been dominated by a single party (or person) for far too long. Given that they are arguably the most efficient and corruption-free government in the world (especially since corruption is in the system; three million dollar salaries are SO hard to come by these days), why should there be any cause for alarm or a need for change?

I’ve found that the average Singaporean lives in a state of flux. We complain about the system, but we still submit to it. We live in a low-level of constant fear of governmental reprisal. Singapore is a panopticon, with people watching people watching people. We’ve gotten so used to ‘Big Brother’ that we assume that he’s a benevolent grandfatherly figure. He isn't.

When a life is determined by the ‘I should do this because I’ll get in trouble if I don’t’ instead of ‘I want to do this because it’s the good and right thing to do’, one wonders.

We have become used to not having rights, and conditioned into believing that we do not have a voice. The average young Singaporean has no interest in politics or freedom; he’s never had a ‘free’ day in his life. He has no idea what political and personal freedoms are. He doesn’t know what it’s like to live without the idea of national obligations (a punishable felony if you do not submit).

In a sense, the system has bred a successor generation who are as a whole, completely uninterested in political power; partly because they feel that there is no point in challenging the status quo, and partly because they are more interested in the only viable avenue of advancement left them by the system: economically.

Admittedly our opposition parties are a varied and ill-organised bunch when compared to the PAP, and that rarely generates a vote of confidence in their collective abilities as political entities. Maybe they should take a page out of Malaysia’s book. Campaign as a cohesive opposition entity in an organised and systematic manner, as opposed to different opposition parties with wildly different rhetoric and goals.

Looking at the opposition and the legislation designed to block them from power (because the system is only SO good at clogging up everything with red tape), it’s no wonder they resort to mud-slinging and literal soapboxes. When you cannot work within the law, sometimes you have to work outside it. In a sense, the competition is barely even fair.

When a political campaign can include ‘upgrading HDB flats’ as a platform versus talking about long-term national financial security; or when the government conveniently tosses hand-outs close to election year, you have to wonder. And Singaporeans happily pocket the money! It’s not that we don’t realise that they’re bribing us, we do! I’ve heard people reflect that exact sentiment, but take the money anyway because ‘free money, who don’t want?’

Time for a change. Time to reclaim the personal freedoms we have exchanged in the name of peace and national security. We as a people have to stop being apathetic, because if we trade a little freedom for a little peace of mind. One day we'll find that we have nothing left.

Look to our neighbours, the fellows we’ve been quietly laughing at all these years. There may be valuable lessons left to learn there.