Does My Vote Count? - Not At All

Ok. Too late to ask this question now. And although this was the topic of discussion between the 10 young turks and Old Man Lee, the 10 young turks in their enthusiasm to champion justice and democracy, actually totally forgot about the motion. If they had been in competitive debate, no doubt they would go out of point.

One question they should have asked is that in a Parliament where the ruling party holds 82 out of the 84 seats, why do you need a Party Whip? (Even the word itself sounds oppressive) Having a Party Whip prevents the MPs in the ruling party from voting with their conscience and forced them to concur with the decision of a select few who decide what the Party should vote for. In other words, it concentrates power in the hand of a core group and gives a false sense that everybody is in agreement. The issue of the casino was a case in point. I remember reading in the papers that a number of MPs admitted that if not for the Party Whip they would have voted against the casino.

The implication to a voter is that suppose the people vote a PAP candidate into the Parliament because of his wisdom, capability and certain things that he stands for, this MP would become a lame duck because he is forced by the Party Whip to support what the elite few wants rather than what he truly believes. He can shoot all the questions he wants during the parliamentary debate but after that he still has to be a good boy and toe the party line. Thus whatever debate that is generated in the Parliament lacks bite and is inconsequential since the decisions have already been made by that select few.

It is amazing that this point has never been openly discussed during the election. The ruling party has argued that there is a lot of internal debate within the party and therefore an opposition is not needed. Well, that is true but what is not pointed out is that the debate in the Parliament is well after things have been decided and does not affect whether that bill is passed. If there is any real debate that has an impact on decisions, it is within closed walls and just among that special handpicked group. An open and inclusive society indeed.