Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Civil servants and voting

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Civil servants and voting

Dear Sir,
I totally agree with the views in your blog entry, Damaged caused by the GRC system.

In my many years of staying in a GRC ward, the MP has done nothing much except for building some shelters here and there, appearing in tree planting events or social events to look good. I've never seen him made any house visits.

This coming election, I'd like to either vote for the opposition or cast an invalid vote. But the problem is I'm a civil servant. Not that I support the govt or PAP, but I think of civil service as a "stable" job and a way to "get back" money and benefits from the govt.

Will there be any implications for a civil servant to vote against the PAP? I've heard stories that they will be able to find out and then either put you in cold storage or assign rubbish jobs to you? Are they true?

REPLY
It is the right of any citizen to vote for any suitable person. There is no requirement to vote for the current ruling party. Anyway, your vote is secret.

11 comments:

Unknown said...: Vote with your conscience. If you feel that the incumbent is not doing his job, vote him out. A civil servant has to carry out his duties withot fear or favour, or is that in the past?; January 06, 2011 12:05 AM
Rookie Planner said...: Your vote is secret.

http://geraldgiam.sg/2010/09/your-vote-is-secret/; January 06, 2011 12:43 AM
StocksKeeper said...: that's the problem with civil servant and i understand how they feel too as i was once in cs too. however dun be worried. they wont be bothered to take the risk of opening up the boxes to find out who vote for who although technically it is possible. everyone needs to understand how these votes are handled from the start to the end where they are burned. i didn't vote for the ruling party before i joined cs, so if they really checked, i shouldn't get the job right?

anyway the size of the voters working in cs and stats board is huge! so the ruling party already has a huge pool of people voting for them based on this fear factor.; January 06, 2011 8:56 AM
michael13 said...: Those who cast their votes wisely and without fear will be glorified - A Real Singapore Spirit!!

It's always good for us to remember that when politics is not RIGHT, many things can go WRONG. Whatever "get back" money and benefits from the government can become very temporary, short-lived and non-guarantee(similiar to clauses which are stated in some of the insurance policies).

To me, I do not need that cooling day(eve of General Election) to decide who/which party should I vote for. One simple question that I will ask myself before I cast my vote is: "Is my nation 'Singapore' is heading in the right direction?" Todate, I doubt...!!!; January 06, 2011 8:57 AM
Unknown said...: Please do not spoil your vote. Invalid votes may help the PAP to win.

http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/01/03/how-to-mark-your-ballot-slip/; January 06, 2011 9:39 AM
yujuan said...: Vote out anyone who is only a vase on display, which the majority of the MPs are nowadays. Why should we pay for one who serves as decorative object on the shelf.; January 06, 2011 12:43 PM
Vincent Sear said...: Civil service and the military are supposed to be political neutral. In an election, they can vote for whomever they prefer. Whomsoever comes into power, they have to serve equally and fairly, whether is it the one they voted for.

Look at the civil service and military in US and UK. They're alternating governments regularly and it doesn't make a difference.

However in Singapore, the decades of PAP hegemony cultivated a sense of (mis)identification that PAP is their boss and a psychological obligation to vote for PAP.

Just from commonsense experience if one bothers to look and think. In wards where opposition scored above 40% or actually won, it's not possible without some or even many civil servants and GLC employees voting against PAP.; January 06, 2011 2:04 PM
captaincaveman said...: I think our education system has failed miserably in term of teaching our people to think and analyse logically. Perhaps that is the type of people the pap government really wanted in the first place.

To say the least, majority of the Singaporeans (those highly educated included) are shackled by the invisible chain of fear by the pap government over the years via the local msm, the education systems and all government agencies.

Have you ever wonder why an animal the size of an elephant can be controlled by a trainer very much smaller in size? It is through the method of conditioning. When an elephant was young, the trainer will chained its legs to a huge tree trunk. Everytime the elephant tried to run away, its legs will be pulled back and the legs hurt. After trying for sometime, the elephant is conditioned to think that it is useless to try running away and getting itself hurt.

The majority of the Singaporeans have become like the elephant. We have lost our will to fight and we have been conditioned by the pap according to their wish. We also failed to realise that when the people are united the power generated is beyond our imagination.; January 06, 2011 5:50 PM
Lye Khuen Way said...: Fear not my Civil Service friend. Sometime, you may get confused when others call you a "Government Servant", right ? Well, just remember thatthere are "On Government Service" on official letters .

Just be honest with yourself. Consider your family and if you are generous, your fellow Singaporeans-those born & bred in Singapore.
I bet, you will have many sleepless nights prior to Polling Day if, you do have a chance to vote !; January 06, 2011 7:18 PM
Unknown said...: I have the same dilemma as you initially. I heard that if I were to vote against the PAP. The chances of me getting the new HDB flat will be very low. I am getting married soon. However, I will still vote against them if there are opposition in my constituency. I think we should be responsible because as a citizen we need to do what is right. As a citizen, we need to vote to the party who care for the people and not treat them as an employee. Asking us to work long hours to pay off the HDB loan.; January 07, 2011 8:57 AM
Vincent Sear said...: Captaincaveman, I agree that our education system has failed miserably in fundamental politic education. Or has it been designed so and intended to be such?

Almost every child turns into teenage and adulthood being clueless about the national political system until they receive their first calling card telling them to go and vote.

What's an MP, what's Parliament, what's a minister, what's Cabinet, what's Judiciary, what's Civil Service, what's the Presidency, how are they different and yet form the essential organs of the state? Very few people understands exactly how it works and lump everything in a word Government.

In US and UK and elsewhere democratic first world, they already understand all the offices, differences, functions, powers and responsibilities by teenage before they get to vote.; January 07, 2011 3:37 PM