Opposition Parties: Reaching Out To New Citizens?

Decided to just post up my comment / reply to a friend's FB where commentors were anti-new citizen for the upcoming elections.

"Distasteful as it may be, the truth is the floodgates have been opened and they are here. Whether they are here to stay long term or not, they are here NOW for the immediate future and I'd expect, curious if not eager to exercise their new voting rights.

Reaching out to them is a must. The opposition should not, must not overlook this silent bloc of voters.

Right now they may be feeling the heat from born Singaporeans; it's easy to direct anger and place the blame for the country's woes at the many feet of these new citizens and PRs. But we should not forget the original culprits (i.e. PAP) in favour for an easier target.

If PAP is the only political party offering them succor, then you can be sure they will vote PAP. The ultimate coup de grace would be to get these new citizens to vote PAP out along with every born and bred Singaporean."

That said, what would a new citizen like to hear from an opposition party that would convince him or her to switch sides? I believe everyone agrees that the average new citizen would more or less have a strong preference, if not loyalty towards the incumbent PAP. The propaganda has been carefully laid from the very first moment a prospective citizen hears about Singapore. About how Singapore has only had one political party ruling it since Independence and how it has brought Singapore to where it is today.

The many attributes that foreigners love about Singapore are also tied back to PAP; an efficient government bureacracy, political stability, safe streets and an undisrupted economy, immigration-friendly policies. The many fallacies of the PAP rule are unnoticed by prospective citizens precisely because they are new. Aside from the obvious difference being a shorter amount of time spent in Singapore, many of them are not subjected to localised policies like National Service or subjected to "mix & try" educational experiments. Having spent over a year living overseas (in Phnom Penh no less), I can definitely appreciate how attractive Singapore is as a new home destination and how it all links back to the PAP rule.

So what can an opposition party offer to tempt votes over? After all it is only human to abhor change. And we cannot assume that these new citizens who are sharing the same social spaces as born & bred Singaporeans are ignorant or deaf to the rising resentment towards their presence on this tiny island. If anything, I'd bet they view any opposition party as a threat to their long term survivability in this country, not to mention long term plans to bring over more of their family and friends.

So I would definitely advocate against any xenophobic speeches or proposed policies during the upcoming General Elections. Playing to the audience is expected but not to the extent of driving this bloc of new voters further into the trenches of the PAP side. I'm no policy maker so i can't think what would entice or attract new voters but I can definitely say what wouldn't work and anti-foreigners, anti-immigration and anti-new blood policies is not the route to take in the road ahead.