A few days ago, I sent a link of one of Dr Chee Soon Juan's rally speeches to a friend. He refused to even take a few seconds glance at the video, as if he was afraid to see something that might force him to change his perception of the man. That would be that same image in many Singaporeans' mind. The frenzied psychopath released from the gates of hell to bring harm to Singapore.
There are a lot of issues Singaporeans couldn't forgive Dr Chee Soon Juan for. The media painted him as a traitor who "talked bad" about Singapore overseas and tried to get foreign entities to hurt Singapore. If any bothered to listen to his speeches or read the content of his pleas to foreign human right groups, one would have see that Dr Chee presented the facts about Singapore and not fabricated lies. If Singaporeans are uncomfortable with the unsavory facts about Singapore, we should be looking to address those issues instead of hiding it from the rest of the world and pretend they don't exist. Even so, many would argue, that dirty linen should not be washed beyond our shores. That is a fair point. However, imagine a situation where an abusive father tells his children not to involve the police and settle their issues within the family, not to wash dirty linen in public, would heeding his instruction be the right thing to do? It's subjective. Given the constraints that bounded Dr Chee in his circumstances, his otheroption would be: doing nothing.
We all know by now, he didn't take the secondoption and continued to fight.
Whatever is your opinion of Dr Chee, you cannot deny the fact that he chose the hard ways in life.
He could have a taken up a cushy career, raking in big bucks enough for retirement by now but he didn't.
He could have joined the PAP right from the start but he didn't.
He could have been a docile, "PAP approved" opposition but he wasn't.
He could have gave up after being spanked in every election he took part but he didn't.
He could have escaped Singapore to start a new life afresh in another country during hisbankruptcy but he stayed.
These are hard facts no one can refute. If Dr Chee is a crazy man, that would be because he chose to pick up a thankless fight for Singaporeans.
During one of his rally speeches, Dr Chee claimed that he fought on because he believes in Singaporeans. Many were convinced, many remained skeptical. For me, Dr Chee's track record made it difficult not to give him the benefit of doubt. He had too many chances to take an easy route but he didn't. How many of us have to muster this level of fortitude against our life challenges to doubt someone who has been doing it for more than two decades?
The character of the man aside, Singaporeans who listened to his several rallies would agree that intellectually, Dr Chee has a lot to offer in Parliament. For the neutral eye, it was so obvious that Dr Chee created such an impact that forced the PAP to turn their Titanic around and head towards the SDP to unsettle the waters before it turns into a threatening ice berg, leaving the entire WP team to their strong finish. Dr Chee must not get into Parliament at all cost. New doses of character assassination were then prescribed by the PAP to sedate the Singaporean people.
My prediction is the SDP will lose their challenge to the PAP team in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC. Whatever the outcome, Dr Chee is a winner. His humility has won over a sizable swarm of Singaporeans. It must be exhilarating to be revered for a change. The biggest loser is, in fact, the Singaporean people for not electing a candidate of such calibre into the parliament. Without a doubt, he will be back for the next GE to bid a stronger challenge. If Dr Chee doesn't let go of these fundamentals, he will eventually achieve his dreams.
以力服人者,非心服也,力不赡也;以德服人者,中心悦而诚服也。
Best of luck.
[ If Dr Chee and his Team are not voted in. The biggest loser will be Singaporeans themselves.]