Left Out In The Not-So-Cold

Today I saw a signboard with all the PAP candidates for my ward, thanking the residents for their support, being plastered at two places where I live.

My eyes rolled for a couple of reasons.

My ward, which is part of West Coast GRC, is not being contested. The last time it was not a walkover was in 1997, when WP contested and lost. How they know they got our support when there is nary a contest this time round, is beyond me.

And considering how there seems to be a concerted strategy in that the 47 contested seats seem to be spread across the north-eastern board of the island this time round, I cannot help but feel utterly left out of the action.

I never knew it would be possible to feel like I am being on the other side of the world in such a small place like Singapore.

All I get of the election fever is from what the newspapers and Channel News Asia report - which ain't much and too accurate to begin with.

I find it particularly embarrasing that a central election issue this time round involves an honest mistake James Gomez made at the elections department - when he forgot to submit his minority candidate form, which was among the many other forms he had to submit to be eligible to stand in the election.

Mediacorp devoted the first 5-minutes worth of soundbites to this (non) issue on every single Chinese and English bulletin last night. It occupied the entire cover page of today's Sunday Times.

My question here - is PAP stretching it by a fair bit to link Gomez' honest mistake (which he has already apologized for) with wider issues of accountability and credibility?

I find this all too familiar a strategy, but since this website does not contain "persistent political content" this shall stop here.