My view is this. Some 15yrs ago I thought there should be a way to steer the country from its current path of high inequality, pro elites, high stress and pressure to a society that is more compassionate and just. No doubt those in position of wealth and power did everything to prevent change and kept steering the country in what I saw was a way ward direction
Life in Singapore has deteriorated for the commoners.
Owning a home is harder. Getting a good job is harder. Saving for retirement is harder. Access to medical care is more expensive and harder - just end of last yr it was reported hospitals have insufficient beds leading to long wait times. For those who need a car it is harder to own and maintain one.
In a thread 3 months ago I asked people which aspect of life has improved from 15yrs ago in a big way due to the govt. The only area people said has improved was public transport. While this is true, it improved only because we hit rock bottom 10yrs ago with frequent mrt delays and breakdowns.
Anyway, only a small minority will think the economy has improved as the affordability of things have gone down across the board.
You may think this type lf decline will bring about a resurgence of the opposition.
I actually don't think so ...and the reason is this.
People have come to realised that what the PAP has done is irreversible. The damage is already done.
Take the unaffordable price of.housing. if the opposition comes in and bring down the price of.housing, home owners will cry foul when they see their asset prices falling. The.chance to solve this by moderating the foreign influx and preventing the population increase that led rapid rise of hosimg costs is already lost. We can only live with the consequences.
The opposition cannot do much to fix the situation.
It is hard now for the opposition to stand on stage to promise to fix the many problems we face because these problems are now entrenched.after so many years.
It is therefore hard for opposition to win more seats as voters will brush them off knowing they ",can't do much".
While I will still render my support to them, sadly I have lost motivation to do more as I can see the limit of where all this is going.
The ruling party will also use various take action against opposition leaders to cripple these parties..The court case is coming up and will throw a major opposition party into disarray - I believe they will jail a few of them before the election.
In the end I also wonder if it is worth saving. The country over time will be occupied by new economic migrants forming majority of the populace often just using Singapore as a transient stop to other advanced countries. Singaporeans will be busy just trying to stay afloat in these difficult circumstances with no time to worry about the future of their own society. This just gives the elites a free hand to turn the city state into a playground for the rich and stressful rat race for the rest.
I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.