scared of the government.
written: 4:50 p.m. on Sunday, May. 07, 2006

It is pathetic, but one tiny victory for the opposition is the fact that the PAP's total percentage of votes islandwide went down this term to 60-something percent from last term's 70-something percent. What I found positive, too, was that Low Thia Khiang won back his Hougang seat despite the PAP dangling their $100 million upgrading package in front of the voters' faces. This, at the very least, can shut me up about how stupid Singaporeans are for a while.

(See? I do concede where concession is due.)

Another positive thing: AMK and how the PAP got only 60-something percent of the votes. You'd expect a higher percentage since the Pr!me M!n!s+er himself is running. Can you imagine how funny it'd be if they'd actually lost AMK? Um, just me? Okay then.

Anyway, watching the election results made me realise how much it must suck to be non-Chinese with a shaky grasp of English here. Channel 5 was shared by English and Malay broadcasters (sp?) while Channel 8 was shared by Chinese and Indian ones. I was mainly watching Channel 8, and the Indian guy hardly got to explain the election results in Tamil before another results came up and cut him off. And whenever the result was announced in one GRC, it'd immediately cut to the Chinese broadcaster.

So, Mediacorp kind of sucks. I don't get the behind-the-scenes of news studios, but can't they at least let the Malays and Indians have their own coverage on their own channels instead of sharing with the English and Chinese ones? I was wondering why the Malay guy was on Channel 5 until I flipped to Suria and saw that the English duo was on Suria too. Um, okay. I obviously don't mind since I know English and Chinese, but I thought it was kind of unfair. If anyone can explain the rationale behind this, leave a comment. I'd be very grateful.

My dad joked about me joining the Workers' Party after graduating from law school and going into politics. I told him that, my non-existent leadership abilities and decision-making skills notwithstanding, I could never run for elections. They'd dig up all the entries in this diary where I spoke ill of the government and I'd speak ill of the government in public and they'd force me to apologise or be slapped with a defamation suit. And I, unlike some people (*cough* SDP sans Chee Soon Juan and his sister *cough*), would rather be sued and declared bankrupt than to apologise, especially when I've done nothing wrong. I'd stick to my principles until I die or until I die financially. Hence, to avoid bankruptcy, it's better for me to retreat into my own tiny cocoon and survive on writing novels that no one want to read which I can't finish than to go into politics.

Call me stupid and naive, but I admire people like JBJ and Chee Soon Juan who stand their grounds in the face of impending bankruptcy and refuse to yield, even if the admiration is merely for them sticking to their guns. I mean, as bad a reputation as Chee has, you still have to admit that it's a huge sacrifice to make, one that most of us do not have the courage to make. In our modern materialistic age, that's akin to death.

So yes. That's me and my misguided politics.

Anyway, another thing that irked me off when watching the results was that the PAP supporters gathered in a nice stadium while the Opposition supporters gathered in coffee shops. One PAP MP looked like he was drowning in orchid garlands, which made ignoring my annoyance possible because it was the most farcical and hilarious politicla image ever. Those who watched, I'm sure you know who I'm talking about, though I don't know his name as I was too busy laughing to pay attention. It was also obvious who won even before the result was formally announced; all you have to do is to see which camp had its face on TV. And my dad bitched about how the broadcasters called the PAP's win over the Opposition parties "a wide margin" (or its Chinese equivalent), but when it comes to the Opposition's percentage increase in votes from the last elections, the phrase used was something along the lines of "a slight increase" - even when the percentage was well over 10. What the hell? I think we should start giving credit where credit's due.

Also, that analyst at the end of everything on Channel 8...then again, whatever.

This site is still really funny.

Off to indulge in my 7th viewing of Veronica Mars 1 now. Bwahaha.

(PS. Regarding the title of this entry: I'm not really. It's a Bush lyric which I thought was approrpiate, i.e. which I used because I can't think of a better title.)

before sunrise // before sunset

Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010