Jamus Lim's FB Post:
We just wrapped up day six of the campaign (hurray, made it past hump day).
I was catching up on various developments beyond our own trail, which is mainly a rinse-and-repeat of house visits, coffeeshop walks, and commuter meet-and-greets across
#SengkangGRC by the
#SengkangFour.
Yesterday evening, however, there was the Singapore Votes roundtable.
I did not participate (ORD loh!), but the
#workersparty was ably represented by
@michael.thng.
I felt that he did an excellent job, especially given the constraints of the format. Compared to how things were 5 years—where the moderator actually allowed participants to talk to each other—this constrained version basically offered up an opportunity to deliver pre-prepared statements, with one quick response to a question. As an academic,
I find this a loss; after all, the whole point of a political debate is to offer some insight into how candidates will perform in parliament. So if we neuter the back-and-forth dynamic, we are left with less a debate, and more a Q&A.
One other major difference this round are the rallies.
We only had online “rallies” the last round, which basically amounted to talk shows. Our Hammer Show continues this time with 4 installments, but many have shared about how the electric atmosphere at rallies gets them excited about voting. And that’s great!
Most of the time, politics is only interesting to wonks like myself. But it is a healthy mark of a democracy when, every election cycle, citizens appraise themselves of the issues at stake, and make informed decisions on the candidates they would like to have representing their voice for the next half-decade.
I would be amiss if I did not also acknowledge the hundreds of volunteers that have taken time from their otherwise busy schedules to
#StepUp, and help us with our outreach efforts at this critical time.
Small parties like us can only succeed through the effort, dedication, and passion of the entire family that are willing to don the blue, take up the hammer, and work for a better Singapore.
#workingforsingapore
