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What We Can Freakin’ Learn From Png & Choo

So Singapore will have its by-election soon, after the Workers’ Party (WP) removed Yaw Shin Leong, Hougang’s MP, from his post. (The reason was Yaw refused to admit to extramarital affairs) WP has put forth squat-looking grey-haired Png Eng Huat in replacement. Meanwhile, the People’s Action Party (PAP) has selected fresh-faced Desmond Choo to contend the seat.

Now, obviously during campaign season things will get heated up. Some muck-racking will be involved. The general public will be more expressed in their opinions too. So I’m not surprised to see my News Feed jam-packed with remarks about Choo’s public tearing, Choo’s dismal rally turnout, Png’s inability to connect with youngsters, or either candidate’s uninspiring rally messages.

But here comes the problem. Singaporeans are writing things that ought to be kept at home and groused to their wives in private.

Many Singaporean comments are just stupid, baseless and hyperbolic.

Many posters think they are so damn smart.

Such as in the case of the re-emergence of this video.

WTF is this video being brought out in election time? Why are people bringing up past events to diss, as if it has anything to do with the current election?

Or the comments that string after videos of WP/ PAP’s rallies.

There is so much shit about how the candidates are irrelevant, talking cock, cannot connect, blah blah blah. 

Bloody armchair critics. Think you can speak or do the job better? Take up the pulpit la! 

These Singaporeans (which are a minority) are more concerned with looking clever online and getting people’s thumbs up, than serious debate on national/ Hougang matters. They rather hide in the shadows of an online domain than speak out against the candidates at their rallies, because all they stand for are words alone.

And they derive a sick glee from dissing others. Even if the candidates are perfectly fine, these minority will still want to have something about someone to stir shit about, like STOMP users.

So much for a more mature society.

And don’t tell me that they’re reacting out of political siding. I can be an avid supporter of Png, but that doesn’t mean I have to mud-sling Choo.

The danger of such a political mood is that Singaporeans devolve into bigotry, where they easily sway into the herd’s mentality without giving real consideration for what makes sense.

This is where we can learn, ironically, from the candidates ourselves. Recently Png got into some shit where there has been suspicions he was “lying” about his choice to not sit in as NCMP. Png has been courageously fighting off the claims. And Choo - what did Choo do? Choo chose to focus on his own campaign, not use Png’s trouble as a pivot to smear WP’s name. Png too, chose not to drag in the larger PAP to question their success since GE2011. He was bent on circumscribing what matters. Png and Choo testify they respect one another, and are determined to criticise the issues, not the persons. 

That is maturity.

And until the Facebook wildfire learns how to tame itself, Singapore is just not freakin ready for full democracy. Liberalisation will just cause lots of political noise, but no one to hear one another out.