Politicians of all colours – Empty your cup

Slowly we are seeing a new breed of politicians appearing, the serious and with a purpose and with a view, not to contest an election just to be in Parliament and thought they had arrived as a politician. On a personal level, yes, to be trusted and voted into Parliament by the people placing their hopes on them, to serve them and to work for their well being, not for the money that they are going to get.

Though the presence of younger and brighter politicians are starting to change the landscape of opposition politics, the bad news is that they are still trapped by the baggage of the past, of an inward looking opposition crippled by years of division, mistrust, personal agenda and vested interests. The new blood would not be able to achieve anything but more of the same if they did not break free from the clutches of history, to chart a new course to challenge the ailing ruling party.

It was unbelieveable that the ruling party could gain more grounds in the last GE and nearly whitewashed the opposition despite a slate of very good and promising candidates against a series of bad policies that made life for the Singaporeans very difficult and worse in the years ahead. Some last minute stop gap measures and handouts helped to win some votes for the time being. But the inherent flaws of economic and social policies cannot be hidden and kept from affecting the people negatively. Big failures and problems will raise their ugly heads when the pressure and conditions changed for the worst. Today’s Singapore Business Federation’s recommendations to the govt are a polite reminder of the flaws and problems faced by the businesses in particular and the people in general.

Would the new opposition blood be able to make any difference in the next GE? If they continue with the same set up, with all the parties continuing in their bickering, with the leaders all wanting to be Indian chiefs as their main priority, continues to be divided and weak, the game is over before it even started.

The good men and women in politics, both in the ruling party and the opposition, must make a clean break from the kind of politics that we have seen in the past decades and find a new paradigm for a new Singapore. The politics and leadership of the ruling party have become irrelevant and unsustainable. The politics of the opposition is ineffective and a waste of time and resources.

The good men and women in politics, with their hearts in the right place, must know that they need to do something to change the course of politics in this city, to take the people forward with a better social economic formula for a better life. Going forward with the same formula is only waiting for the fuse of a time bomb waiting to ignite and bring an end to an unsustainable social, economic and political model.

Empty the cup, get a fresh start, put down the difference, break ranks from the current parties, put aside the personal dream of becoming a PM, pick up a good team of good men and women, regardless of political parties, form a new party for the next GE. Clobber the new party together by the end of the year and there will still be ample time of 3 years to get noticed, recognized and for the people to believe that there is a real alternative of good men and women to take over from the ruling party, to lead the country in the next lap of growth and prosperity.