Daily Lessons from Life 30 April 2011 - Last Day of April 2011

What do you know? It is the last day of April 2011. In fact, as I typed, I am actually in the 1st day of May 2011!

Time passed very quickly indeed, whether you know it or not. Whether you spent it quietly or with a lot of gusto or simply wasted it.

I went to my 1st GE rally tonight with 3 learned friends. All highly educated, professional qualified and patriotic Singaporeans. One of them a new citizen from the traditional source - Malaysia.

What impressed me a lot was the large crowd at the rally. An opposition party - Workers Party (WP) - rally. It was at the Bedok Stadium. It was packed. The grandstand fully occupied by mainly elderly folks. The middle of the football field and the surrounding running track packed with middle aged and young people. I see the multi-racial mix of Singapore being represented here too.

It is obvious that some of them resonant with the issues and challenges raised by the candidates. The standard of speeches and the quality of the sound system and the attentiveness of the crowd were all higher and better than the last GE rally I attended in 2006.

The WP talked about having a 1st World Parliament to be a check-and-balance and alternative voices to the dominant PAP government. PAP talked about a 1st Wordl Nation. For me, a 1st World Nation needs to have a 1st World Parliament but more important a 1st World Citizentry! And a 1st World Citizentry CANNOT be measured solely on economic achievement. That is where a lot of work need to be focused and done, regardless of who comes into power after the GE.

It is a fundamental change or re-refocus. Singapore MUST be that 1st World Nation with 1st World Parliament and 1st World Citizentry.

1st World Citizentry must be one where the citizens are not only highly educated but highly intelligent and able to make independent sound decision based on input it gathered, not fed! It is one where the citizens will put the nation's interest above self-interest and not allowed politicians to play pork and barrel politics. It is one where the citizens expect the government to account to the people any poor performance fully. It is one where the government respects the people and the people also hold the government in mutual respect.

Yes. It is an utopia. Yes. It is impossible to achieve. Yes. We MUST aim that high so that we will not achieve lowly!

If it is worth striving for, it is worth working extra hard and smart to achieve!