The new cyberspace contest

The coming General Election will pit the TOM with Cyberspace head on and the impact is going to be startling. GEs of the past were mostly a one sided affair with the ruling party monopolising all the means of communication with the electorate. It was only in the last GE that cyberspace appeared and shifted the ground slightly. This time round it is not only going to shift the ground, it is going to be a major player to compete for the attention of the voters. And knowing how hungry voters are for alternative news and views, many will be searching in cyberspace to hear what they want to hear. What will still be available to the ruling party? The old media, newspapers, radio and TV, and a few blogs which are the off shoots of TOM. These will be the providers of the official views. You can count them in two hands. On the other side of the fence there will be at least 50 to 100 blogs and forums contesting against the official views. Some will be neutral but many will just take the views that are least reported in TOM. And many of these blogs and their visitors will find such views more interesting and refreshing. Then there are the opposition party blogs and websites that will air whatever they want, policies, agenda, plans and rebuttals. The latter is going to be very important as this is generally denied from them. Without the ability to rebut, often, or as in the past, they will look inept or incoherent. Now they are able to explain away the stuff their attackers threw at them. TOM, radio and TVs will still have the bulk of the readership and will still have the upper hand. But the sprouting up of many alternative blogs and forums will put a big dent into their armoury. And if these alternative blogs could put up well argued positions, rational and logical views, credible views, to win over the voters, the results of the next GE is not going to be so predictable. It is going to be a contest of ideas in cyberspace and the opposition parties are going to have the upper hand in numbers with each blog/forum reaching out to smaller groups of visitors. The aggregate can be quite substantial. And so far there is no answer from the other side. It is like a huge conventional army staying its ground to fight a big battle while the enemies were all over engaging in small skirmishes and guerilla warfare. It is an asymmetric electoral warfare.

Living dangerously

PowerSeraya, the third and last power station is sold to YTL, a Malaysian conglomerate. Irrespective of whichever country buying it, should a strategic asset like the power stations be sold and be managed by any country other than the state? Should we sell our water treatment plants as well? Next, shall we sell out ports, Changi and PSA? Or shall we sell SIA and NOL? Where will the selling of strategic assets ends and when will the people stand up and ask, is this the right thing to do? Or are the people so complacent that nothing will worry them? I just don’t feel comfortable going down this road. Do we need the money so badly? Are these money put to better use than to hold on to these assets? Or are we trading our strategic assets for non strategic assets? Why are Singaporeans so indifferent to what is happening to the country and their future wellbeing? I have seen privatized security services hiring foreigners, including carrying of arms, to guard key installations and controlling movement of people. Does anyone think it is a good idea that foreigners should be allowed to carry arms in our own backyard? Having a contingent of Gurkhas is already an aberration. How far down shall we go down this road? We still have the police force and the armed forces in our control. When will they be filled by foreigners? Oh, I heard that the obviously foreign looking personnel in uniforms are PRs or new citizens. So, issuing them PRs and pink ICs immediately qualified these foreigners as one of us? We are living in a very dangerous world. Having people with unknown background guarding our buildings and installations is not a joking matter. Or maybe I am wrong.

Mukhriz Mahathir

My earlier reading of Mukhriz found him to be fairly neutral and rational, unlike his father. Since his intent to seek a political career, his latest proposal to abolish Chinese and Tamil Schools and the reasons given by him exposed what he really is, another Mahathir. The reasons for the Chinese and Tamil to want their own vernacular schools is not simply a case of retaining their ethnic identity but more a case of over coming the discrimination by Malay National Schools and govt policies that obstructed non Malay children from pursuing their education despite their ability to do so. The past practices of unfair quota and allocation of school places and university places have forced the two minorities to find alternative means to educate their children. That is why there is a Tengku Abdul Rahman University. If the govt could implement education policies fairly and provide equal opportunities for non Malay students to pursue their education, vernacular schools need not come about. With hindsight, the abolishing of vernacular schools is a big step backward for UMNO and it can expect the opposition to be strong no matter how they try to dress it up. The Chinese and Indian communities know that only they themselves can look after their own welfare and interests. Even when they are prepared to pay for their own schools, this was also denied by the past UMNO govt. Mukhriz is opening up an old wound.

FTs versus the Prodigal sons

Our govt is very gracious in granting citizenship and PRs to foreign talents. We are bringing them in by the tens of thousands annually. I am wondering why are there still Singaporeans who want to return but unable to because they skipped their NS at a time when they were young and innocent? Could we treat them a little better than pure foreigners and work out some arrangements that are acceptable to all parties concerned? I believe a born ex citizen who chooses to return is more valuable than a completely new one. It is like the return of the prodigal son. We have our rules and laws, but with so many supertalents working on it, a middle way can be found to bring back our prodigal sons insteand of hugging unknown foreigners.

TOC evolving itself

I am glad to see TOC evolving and transforming itself into a platform to air issues that are close to the hearts of Singaporeans. Other than just the cyberspace, the use of Hong Lim to speak on issues should allow TOC to reach out to more people. The latest agenda includes several new speakers and issues and there is an immediate audience in the form of the unhappy minibond victims. They should form the base for a crowd and other interested and concerned parties can also join in. Hopefully this will draw in more people to Hong Lim and the painful and unpleasant issues facing the people can be revived instead of being buried. There are many issues that TOC can keep talking to raise the consciousness and awarenss of the public. Do not let these issues be forgotten.