Movement for change My participation in the general election
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Dear friends,

Many friends have asked me about my plans to contest the next general election and the party that I would join.

It is my personal desire to participate in the general election with any of the opposition parties that has similar goals to mine.

However, up to now, I have not received the support of my wife to undertake this adventure. She strongly opposed my participation. She is worried about the negative impact on the future of our children.

I share with you an incident which occurred about two years ago. She accompanied my daughter to place a fixed deposit with a bank. There was an unusual delay in completing the transaction. She went to inquire about the delay.

She overhead the bank staff consulting a colleague on the action to take as the depositor was connected to a “political figure”.

She was shaken by the blacklisting of my daughter in this manner. She is now naturally afraid that my involvement in the general election would increase the scrutiny and obstacle for our children in their careers and business activities.

I do not agree with her fear, but I am not able to change her mind and opposition, as of now.

I deplore the measures that were taken, possibly on the instruction of the bank regulator, to carry out this kind of scrutiny on family members of people that are marked for their political views. I also consider it to exceptionally troubling for the scrutiny to be carried out by junior front line officers of a bank.

Such is the sad state of affairs in Singapore.

I will continue to express my views about the need to change the government in Singapore.

I strongly oppose the current government policies that create the high cost of living, uncertainty of adequate paying jobs for locals and a high level of stress, fear and uncertainty for the people.

I consider the low birth rate in Singapore, which is among the lowest in the world, to be a testimony of the failure of these policies. It is exceptionally worrisome that the rate has been declining over the past three decades.

There is no future in a country that cannot reproduce its own population and has to rely on immigrants and new citizens who, being exempted from national service obligations, ironically have an advantage over local citizens.

I also deplore the laws that makes it difficult for citizens to express their sincere views freely and without fear and the arbitrary application of these laws against some vulnerable people.

I share the pain of my fellow citizens who have to sacrifice a large part of their savings towards the purchase of HDB leases, only to see lease depreciate in value after passing 40 years and with the certainty of total loss on the expiry of the lease.

I emphasize with their desire to access their Central Provident Fund savings on reaching the age of 55, after working hard for more than 30 years.

I wish to see our HDB and CPF schemes and many other government policies changed to give a more meaningful and happy life for our people.

Even if I do not personally participate in the general election, I will give full support to other people who have come forward towards the goal of a change of government in Singapore.

A change in government does not necessarily mean that the PAP government has to fall. But it does mean that the PAP should lose sufficient seats in Parliament to allow a meaningful opposition to make the government more accountable and transparent and to listen to and heed the voice of the people.

I urge all thinking Singaporeans to have the courage to vote for an alternative party to the PAP at the next general election.

As for myself, I wait for my wife will change her mind in the near future.

Tan Kin Lian
28 October 2019
 

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