facetious as it may sound, i have concluded that, with regards to Singapore, i am more interested in the political and less interested in the politics.

by the political i mean the political theory, the political science, the ideology, the systems and the functions. that is infinitely more thought provoking than being caught up in the politicking.

i wonder if it really ought to be that any potential political candidate be forced to read an introduction to political theory and philosophy, and then participate in a public forum where they have to answer questions based on those philosophies. perhaps then the politicking in singapore would not seem so juvenile and pointless.

and it might be me being a snob, but i find that many of the ministers, they don’t seem intellectual. the intellectuals, those that write academic articles, those that contibute to international journals, those that parry arguments so successfully that you are floored by their brainpower - they are either in the opposition, or in academia. it’s as if being part of the majority party gives them the go-ahead to stop thinking or expressing themselves intelligently, and become yet another cog in the machine.

it’s a shame, really. the independence period seemed to be so conducive to new thoughts and new ideology, new governance and freedom, a situation born of the dissolution of the empire. now it seems as though we’ve exchanged the chains of imperialism and colonialism with political insouciance. where is the excitement of the 60s and 70s? where is the genuine joy and feeling of triumph when the election results are announced? where is that ideological one-upmanship? where are the smooth, polished, but tremendously moving and powerful speeches that caused the tightening of chests and the clenching of fists? where is the self-made man?

maybe that’s why there are claims that the youth are politically passive, and apathetic. we aren’t, really. we’re just bored of the petty squabbles and obvious threats - why resort to these things if you can always deliver what you’ve promised? and why, despite international criticism, does the bad behaviour continue?

and why are we bored? because there is no real choice, and because there is no real challenge to our intellect and because there doesn’t seem to be a real effort made in engaging our minds (and hearts, and votes).

i think what’s needed to remedy the situation are politicians. not pencil-pushers, paper-feeders, and walk-about-ers. Politicians. individuals that can rouse the people through ideas, visions and discourse. individuals that have souls, that have thoughts, that have dreams.

individuals that have experienced living in 2 or 3 bedroom flats in a HDB estate (or who are not averse to trying it out for a year or so), who know what taking the MRT and the bus feels like, who can tell me that despite not having gone to the top schools, or being sent to fancy universities on scholarships, he or she managed to succeed through intelligence and determination.

real people.

like how we all prefer slightly bruised but so much more delicious organic fruit that have personality and quirks. not bland, tasteless, perfect-and-identical-looking cultivars.