Its been good to see non-PAP supporters like Yee Jenn Jong and Ravi Philemon publicly state their disagreement with how the protestors chose to conduct themselves or defend their disruption of the YMCA performance. That does take personal courage because not all segments of their supporters would understand or appreciate their betrayal of the opposition. Respect. For us to mature as a balanced democracy, we need to cultivate a stronger, more credible opposition that refuses to resort to publicity stunts, easy populism or cheap stabs at the establishment. Thats the only way the opposition will grow in influence and attract candidates of great caliber and maturity. WP won their seats in parliament partly through painting their vision of what their ideal parliament would look like: A First World parliamentary system acknowledges the diversity of interests in society. It offers a non-violent avenue for political parties and citizens to accommodate differences through civil negotiations. They said they wanted A Singapore which is caring; where every Singaporean matters; and where every stranger is treated with consideration. You may argue that its all just words. But these days, our choice of words says alot about our intentions of who we hope to be, where we want to go and how we want to get there. Your choice of words gains trust and makes yourself into a real leader that all kinds of people - not just the echo chamber you are playing to - will follow. The aspirational words of the WP won over some hearts and minds at GE2011 and and their level-headed approach to political debate while they are in Parliament secured them more influence and the ability to actually be in a position to start effecting the changes they wish to see in Singapore. There is much the two young activists Roy Ngerng and Han Hui Hui can learn from the way the WP, Chiam See Tong & Lina Chiam and other activists in the social sector have gone about their work of shifting the Singapore landscape. If they genuinely care to create political impact, the first thing that they must see is that you dont get heard when you publicly harangue people you disagree with. You listen, you show respect, you give the other side the dignity of right of response and you put out your point of view with great care. You choose to win over the person, and not the argument. More importantly, you focus your fight on what you are FOR, not simply what you are AGAINST. Every changemaker worth their salt knows if you want real sustained change, you prepare to play the longer, costlier game of building your trustworthiness amongst many and not the shorter, cheaper game of undermining the trustworthiness of others to make yourself look good.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 03:21:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015