I promised that the next post I published would consider how the PAP markets their cause more successfully to the masses than does the opposition.
Last week, a heavily-cartooned A3 size paper came with my copy of the Straits Times. It was entitled “Benefits For All Singaporeans in 2008”. The front and back of the (admittedly) cute flyer contained a detailed summary of the benefits which the government had given out, and welfare schemes which were being implemented.
Yesterday, I attended an event organized by the Worker’s Party Youth Wing discussing the topic of whether the voting age of Singaporeans should be lowered from 21 to 18.
Why do I juxtapose these two? Well, I think that these two illustrations make the perfect summary of what I am trying to say.
Let me just contrast the general approach of the 2 parties by considering their party philosophy with regard to manifestoes:
PAP: “The party’s preference has been for our ideas to manifest themselves through our policies, rather than be cast in a theoretical philosophy of manifestos.”
WP: A 34-page manifesto when I copied it from their website to the default formatting of Microsoft Word, spanning a wide range of topics.
The PAP takes a pragmatic approach which focuses on the practical outworking of policy, while the WP spends more effort to come up with a reasoned statement of their beliefs.
Personally, I prefer the WP approach. I think it is extremely important that a political party should know what its principles are, and what its direction is. However this is not a matter of academics, or of legal checks and balances (which are certainly important). This is about politics, about the hearts and minds of the individuals.
The fact is that I don’t think the common man off the street is very concerned with whether an 18 year old can vote, or even the arguably much more significant question of whether Minister Wong Kan Seng should be made to quit over the escape of Mas Selamat. I think that the common man is more concerned about how hard his pocket is going to be hit with the increasing price of rice and oil.
These are the issues for which we need and want an alternative voice.
I don’t think the people want an alternative voice about issues of rights and liberties, or to debate motions about the Rule of Law – and I do think these are important issues! Those who know me know my academic tendencies very well. I do not mean to slight these issues.
I think the opposition needs to tell us what they will do when they are the government. Will there be GST cuts? Yearly hand-outs? What is their policy with regards to transport hikes? And please don’t tell me to read the manifesto, I’m referring to the common man off the street who doesn’t care if the WP has a manifesto or not.
Don’t tell the people they need a voice to check the government, tell the people how you will check the government, and what policies you will push through.
Maybe you should also give out A3-sized, cartooned flyers telling us what you’ll do.
