First and foremost, I have made it clear many times since I left WP that it is my dream that all seats are being contested during the next elections. That is why the idea of providing some form of training for opposition candidates.
Singaporeans want to vote and it is opposition parties' role to provide that opportunity for them. But in order to contest as many seats as possible, we will need more good Malay and Indian candidates. Resources like manpower and money are main concerns but Malay and Indian candidates are "critical assets".
Ramseth is worried that by declaring openly that NSP is ready to give priority to our Malay candidate to walk into parliament, we risk losing more Chinese votes. I say, it is time for us, younger Singaporeans, to throw away that racist basis. I believe young Singaporeans are more open minded these days.
There are a few reasons why I decided to do that. First of all, I want to hit back exactly where PAP has been hitting us hard. Good Malay candidates are hard to come by due to many reasons. I shall not reveal the stories behind but such divide and rule system must be challenged rigorously.
Chinese voters always view opposition Malay candidates as the weakest link and PAP has deliberately dominated the racial political sphere. Any other opposition parties which talk about issues relating to particular race will always be labeled as "racist" or "racial chauvinist". But if you have noitced, PAP leaders are the ones who have talked about racial politics most.
I want to send a Malay opposition member into parliament just to make a simple point, our Malay candidates are trustworthy and racially responsible. They could perform as well as, if not better, than our Chinese counterparts. I want to diffuse the myths that Malay opposition candidates are the weakest link. They are not. And it is the kind of trust we have in our fellow Malay brothers and sisters that they could also put fore issues which are not racially based as well.
On the other hand, we need to show Singaporeans, especially to the Malay community that success could be achieved in participating in opposition parties. In doing so, hopefully more talented Malay professionals will come forward to serve.
Most importantly, I hope that if we cannot win any seats this time round, the performance of our Malay members in parliament would convince BOTH Chinese and Malay voters (well, Indian voters as well) that they are trust worthy and worth voting for in the future elections. We are all Singaporeans and we should demonstrate that we stand together as one.
It is a new dawn for NSP and the history is for us to make. In SOLIDARITY, WE CAN.
Goh Meng Seng
