Thursday, May 5, 2011

I should have run for elections

Seeing how youth is the big thing in this election, I realise I should have run for elections.

No, I'm not saying I can win.

I'm saying I should have gone and represented the lowest of Singaporeans whom I'm so familiar with.


I would have spoken up for the oppressed, the downtrodden, the marginalized.

The Singaporeans who have been left behind in Singapore's progress.


The villagers who live in Punggol.


I would have talked about how they are left behind. I will bring up examples of the tremors and blackouts that hit Singapore and affected Punggol, but this was not reported in the papers. I will talk about when there were issues with the train line between Punggol and SengKang that lead to only one line servicing our station, but the world did not hear a squeak of it.


I will speak about how we have no community centre. Indeed the Punggol CC is in Hougang. And not just that- Punggol Park is also in Hougang. Punggol Nasi Lemak is in Kovan, and Punggol seafood is in East Coast.


What is there in Punggol? There is no McDonalds, no Burger King, and no Long John Silvers. Punggol plaza opened without any fast food outlets. It had a Watsons and a Hang Ten, but Hang Ten pulled out shortly after. We have no Giodarno or anything like that. KFC only opened in 2009. We have a 7-11, but it is 2km away from the residential areas.


There were 2 cool things about Punggol. Soft drinks that came in glass bottles, and fields to fly kites. But residential area after residential area has come up, and there is little space to fly kites without hitting the LRT line, and with the arrival of NTUC, we lost the glass bottles too. The charm of Punggol was in how rustic it was. But even that was taken away from us.


Yes you may say, "But there is a Popeye's in Punggol!" But tell me, when was it opened? Just before the elections. And it's in a terribly small premises with long queues so much so that I have been there 4 times with my family, but only managed to eat there twice. The whole of Punggol is there getting their fast food fix.


And finally, I will complain about how this is the most exciting election I've seen in my life, but even though Punggol is being contested for, we hear nothing from either PAP or the opposition, and I'm not even sure which group is contesting here. No banners, a few pin up boards of Lee Hsien Long (who is not contesting here), some flags near Punggol Plaza, and the occasional PAP lorry with recorded messages passing through.

But that's it.


Punggol is so marginalised even the opposition does not want us.

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PS: This post was supposed to be a funny one, but I think I lost the plot and came out sounding angsty. I love living in Punggol, especially because no one bothers us. It's quiet. Other than the PAP propaganda van driving around.

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