Tuesday 8 September 2015

Conversations with a Friend (II) - Musings about the GE

"So are you scared already?"

"Scared about what?"

"Scared of the PAP, lah!"

"Why?"

"WP say, if PAP wins, they will increase taxes, increase GST, increase foreigners in Singapore until Singaporeans will be a minority in their own country."

"So if WP wins, there will be no increase in GST, no increase in taxes, Trains will not break down, and Foreigners will stop coming here?"

"If WP wins?"

"Ya."

"For sure fewer foreigners will be coming."



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"You hear about the 76 year old man who was lost for 2 days in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve?"

"I really admire him man. 76 year old still hiking in nature reserve! Tok kong!"

"The other time I was lost for two days... in Suntec City carpark. Dem jialat, man!"

"And you not 76 year old, lah!"

"But I think I know why the old man went into the forest."

"Why?"

"He was trying to escape from the stoopid loudspeaker lorries going around, 'Vote for PAP!' 'Vote for WP!' Vote for my lanche--"

"OI!"

"What? I was going to say, 'vote for my luncheon meat, better'."

"What was he doing in the nature reserve?"

"Maybe he was looking for a rally site?"

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"So you think Chee Soon Juan got chance or not, ah?"

"Dat fellow, quite clever. After 15 years, he has mastered some new political kung fu."

You listen to his speech? Wah, when he tell the story of buying ice cream for his children, there was a sudden increase in haze and everyone around me, their eyes start to water."

"Cry, say cry, lah! What 'haze' lah. What 'eyes water' lah. But ya, that story showed that he knows the problems of the common people. Almost allows me to trust him."

"Only 'almost', ah?"

"I still remember how the whole thing started - with his silly feud with Matthias Yao over his taxi fare claims, sending his wife's thesis by courier and charging to NUS, then his so-called hunger strike, and his general pettiness and ego. "

"So you don't think he has changed?"

"Who can truly know? Maybe he has changed. He certainly sings the right songs, and he knows the right words, and the people sing along and believe it. And politics is 99% perception. If you can sell it, they will buy it. But scepticism aside, All those years of "deprivation", getting used to living on an uncertain or a significantly smaller income, would have an effect on him. Having children would have an effect on him. Being older, his priorities will change."

"But... I also listened to his charges against the PAP government, and they are the usual, they are the popular charges and they are the raw, uninformed, unprocessed arguments that tap into the people's emotion, that draws upon their fear, and it is not pretty. And that makes me question his intent and the true nature of his heart."

"So you think he got chance or not? You never answer!"

"He is contesting in Holland-Bt Timah (Hey! that's where the 76-yr-old man was lost!) which is anchored by Vivian Balakrishnan."

"I hear he's not very popular."

"He is a bit atas."

"Not a bit. A lot!"

"Which is a wealthier area, so logically, the better-off should not vote for Chee who is pushing for policies for the lower income."

"But all this jiak kentang ones also more likely to vote anti-PAP so they may vote for him."

"And the HDB heartlanders are traditionally PAP supporters, but if Chee's new image could convince them that he knows their issues and problems, he could sway the heartlanders. "

"So got chance, lah?"

"You very happy got chance, ah?"

---------------

"Train breakdown again!"

"Twice!"

"That means PAP will lose two GRCs!"

"East Coast and Holland-Bt Timah?"

"Ya."





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