People vote based on a range of factors. They include hard and soft factors i.e. hard refers to tangible stuff like policies/manifesto, track record, credentials of candidates, etc. Soft refers to intangible factors like how much I like the candidate(s), how similar or relatable they are to me, the way the candidate looks or speaks, etc.
Below lists some of the values and principles I base my vote on:
1. I believe competition is important in politics (and business)
Because citizens and consumers are most often price-takers i.e. we’re the beneficiaries of the government policies and laws passed by the government of the day. Similarly, as consumers, the price we pay for a product or service is often the result of competition (or lackof) of the businesses providing these products/services.
Competition forces the businesses to provide more superior products than their competitors and / or make the same products at lower costs - with the consumers benefitting. Competition provides necessity for businesses to keep working hard to understand consumers better and provide better products or solutions for them. Now replace “businesses” with “government” and “products” with “policies”. You get the drift.
With competition comes check and balances - the government of the day will be expected to explain, debate and justify proposals to questions from “competitors” in the parliament. (Using consumers analogy again, will you want to receive a product that has not gone through health and safety inspections and rigorous stress-test?)
I also acknowledge too extreme and polarising competition in politics can also be harmful and divisive e.g. in US. Note the context here is Singapore has had the same ruling party since 60 years of independence and currently holds approx. 90% of the seats in Parliament (2020-2025).
2. Need for fairness and level playing field in the system
True competition can only exist with level playing field and same rules which apply to all players. I play soccer - and using soccer / sports analogy - a soccer match would be quite pointless if rules of the game apply only selectively to one team and not the other, referee comes from either one of the teams and / or the size of the goalposts is different for each team.
It’s inevitable that balance of power will always be tilted towards to the political incumbents. But there must be systemic measures in place to ensure fairness and level playing field as much as possible. Players play by the rules and the referee enforces the rules - they play separate independent roles. Likewise, functions which involve making and enforcing rules for political parties; functions which utilise public resources e.g. taxpayers’ dollars must be independent from the ruling government of the day. Otherwise no one believes in the system, which is what nobody wants at the end of the day.
3. Accountability and transparency
In life, business and in politics, shit happens. It’s only normal. I have started to judge businesses not so much about what they have achieved in good times but also how they act and react when things don’t go well. Do the companies or CEOs own up to mistakes, provide sincere apologies and how they’d make good the situation or do they try to lay low and hope no one notices, push the blame and offer half-hearted apologies as last resort? I hold the same lens to politicians and political parties.
4. The past does not necessarily equate to future
Hindsight is always 20-20. What brought us here may not get us there. Past success does not guarantee future success. Bringing Singapore from now to the next stage requires arguably nuanced skill sets, ideas and execution from growing Singapore from developing to developed nation.
5. Style of leadership
I’m for leadership or leaders who are kind, benevolent and unite people through positivity and hope. Leaders who articulate and inspire a vision of Singapore where we can all rally towards. Leadership who is transparent and makes decisions through consultative approach, and not having a top-down elitist we-know-it-best approach. For sure politics can be brutal but that does not mean one needs to bully opponents, adopt a win-at-all-cost mindset where the main objective should be to serve the people.
6. Am I doing right by my children?
Lastly, it has to pass this simple test - will I be able to justify my voting decision to my children if and when they ask me in future. My vote is not just about me - it’s equally or even more important for my children. What kind of country, system and society am I voting for - for my children?
