HIGHLIGHT
I witness a breath taking performance by a group of dancers. Watching them move gracefully to the beat of the music, their beaming faces, I was somewhat moved by their performance, and most importantly, the pride they had in their heritage...
Read the complete article here!
Vote? No Thanks.
Posted Sunday, 31 July, 2011 at 10:31 AM.
Here comes the millionth dollar question: How much do young Singaporeans really care about elections? If voting were not compulsory, would they even bother to vote?
In my opinion, not at all. Let us be realistic here, the youths of Singapore today are too busy with their own lives to deal with anything else. They are too busy trying to achieve their dreams, buy a car, get a high paying job, and get a home to call their own. Youths these days are busy people and many consider voting more of chore than a want. It’s like when you were ten again, and your mother asked you to clean your room, it was for your own good, but you did not know that. The same mindset applies for most young Singaporeans. Voting is an important issue, it determines the future of Singapore, yet many take this for granted thinking the People Action Party (PAP) will always win, they do not understand that one vote actually make a huge difference. A survey done by the New Paper showed that 600,000 of the 2.35 million eligible voters during the elections were aged between 21-35 years old.
A potential poll of people to throw off the competition, yet many does not feel that way. "I think PAP will probably still win, so my one vote won't make much of a difference,” first time voter, Engineer Toh Qingyao said.
The sad truth is, many young Singaporeans feel like they are not a part of the country’s decision making, they do not feel a sense of belonging to Singapore, they feel like their opinions do not matter and that the government is not listening to their opinions as the survey done by New Paper proved, about one in four of young voters polled feel that they want to, but have little say in government policies and decision-making. It is this sense of “my opinion does not really matter” that makes young Singaporeans feel like it is a chore to vote. The cure? Show them their opinions matter, let them be heard, answer their questions, assure them of their future, consider their thoughts.
So, are young Singaporeans politically apathetic? I do not think so. Deep down, many young Singaporeans do feel a certain responsibility when voting; they just feel unheard and hence, shrug of that responsibility. However, I firmly believe that if they feel a sense of belonging, if they feel needed, young Singaporeans will vote even if voting is not compulsory.
Labels: Editorial
Back to the TOP or leave a comment: 0
