In any article that features the opposition in today's (or rather yesterday's since it's after midnight) news, I usually see this word "gerrymandering"! While it may or may not be true, I am a little annoyed by its excessive use. Just for once, I would really like to see the opposition not focus on what the ruling party is doing wrong, but what they can do to make a country better.

As someone who is generally interested in politics (as a watcher, not as a participant), I can say I am a Democratic Party supporter as compared to the Republicans in U.S. Politics. But when it comes to my own backyard, I feel very ambivalent! I'm neither a PAP or an opposition supporter. On one hand, I have to say PAP has been good for Singapore in areas such as economic growth, and some areas under the socio-cultural spectrum which includes education, crime rates, etc... On the other hand, there are some little things about the PAP (that for some reason I just can't put my finger on right now) that keeps me bothered.

With regards to having political opposition, I understand the need of a credible opposition to keep the government in check (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes), but what I really don't want to see is the tennis match I'm watching in U.S. politics. One party passes a set of bills and laws, the other party tries to undo all those legislature when they are elected and passes another set of bills and laws, and then the first party comes back into power and the cycle goes on and on! nothing really valuable is added for the benefit of the people!

What I really want to see this election is people campaigning on what they can do for the people; what specific areas can they contribute to and benefit when elected, and not that the other side is not good and why.

I always feel positivity is the best way to run a political campaign because negativity just leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

I have lived in Pasir Ris for most of my life (17/24 years). My seconday school, JC, and even my church is in Pasir Ris, so you might say I'm a pasir-risan (for lack of a better term) through and through. Everytime people unfamilar with the geography of Singapore (namely my foreign uni classmates) ask me where I live, I just tell them I live at the easternmost MRT station on the green line.

Living in Pasir Ris is fun! I remember hanging out with friends at white sands after school simply because it was the biggest shopping centre with a direct bus from school, skipping remedial classes to go play at the Downtown East arcade (I racked up so much points on my tapz card that I became a VIP member), taking MCs from the polyclinic, going to Elias Mall or West Plaza when we had 6 hour breaks between classes (my JC timetable was pretty messed up), and even cycling at Pasir Ris park in the middle of the night (just because it's just there).

Me and my fellow pasir-risans are the ones friends call when they have chalets at downtown east or costa sands, and they do not know how to get there from the MRT station, or when they are lost in Pasir Ris park trying to find their friends' BBQ pit.

I have a friend that lives in Ponggol. The first time that he set foot in Pasir Ris was when he had to report for BMT. When I go to his place, I have to take a 15min bus ride. It takes me 15 mins to walk from Elias Mall to Downtown East. It takes me 15 mins to cycle from one end of pasir ris to the other. It takes me half and hour or more to cycle from the westernmost part of Pasir Ris to Ponggol (via old Tampines road as we are unable to cycle on the TPE).

So this is the question I really want to ask; why are we in the same GRC? There is no common identity, and are separated by geography (by comparison I take 30 mins to walk to Tampines MRT from White Sands, so Ponggol to me is really far away). My Ponggol friends and my Pasir Ris friends have never felt like the lived in the same area.

Forgive my ignorance for I'm just a simple student that don't really follow Singapore politics, or understand how the electoral boundaries review committee work, but won't it be better to create a Sengkang-Ponggol GRC and a Pasir Ris GRC, instead of this Pasir Ris-Ponggol GRC, Ponggol East SMC & Sengkang West SMC? People from ponggol; east, west, north, south or central are more likely to have a common identity and share the same public facilities & ammenities than any Ponggolites (again for lack of a better word) than pasir-risans. I would find it weird if I lived at Ponggol east, and suddenly my neighbours across the street from me are no longer in my constituency, but belonged to a constituency with people several km away.

Even if Pasir Ris was too big to be a SMC and too small to be a four-membered GRC, or if Ponggol and Sengkang was too large to be a six-membered GRC, I still feel it would be better (and would make more sense) to have a four-membered Ponggol GRC, a four-membered Sengkang GRC, a Pasir Ris East SMC & a Pasir Ris West SMC. Don't this configuration seem more logical?

A professor was dissatisfied the lack of effort his students were putting into his assignments, so his friend suggested to him that perhaps he might be able to hypnotize his students into working harder. 

"And just how would I go about doing that? " he asked. "It is very simple. First you turn off the air conditioner so that the lecture theatre is warmer than usual. Then you lecture in a monotone voice. Meanwhile, you dangle a watch on a chain and swing it in a slow arc above the podium and suggest they study harder & work harder for this module. 

"So the very next lecture, the professor did as suggested, and lo and behold, all the students submitted thoroughly researched and well written essays for the subsquent assignment. 

Now, the professor could not wait to try this again to ensure his students excel in the upcoming finals, so he tried it out on the next lecture. Just as the last of his students was becoming mesmerized, the chain on the watch broke and the watch hit the podium with a loud thud and springs and parts flew everywhere. "Crap! " exclaimed the professor. 

It took them a week to clean up the lecture theatre."

I think it's very sad that I find my hall room so much more comfortable than my room at home despite the lack of aircom, a fully functioning kitchen, abundance of home-cooked meals and/or tv with cable (a super super comfortable bed in EH, an old uncomfortable bed at home, unstable and slow Internet at home and relatively fast Internet here).

I find it very sad (and feel very bad) that I feel more relaxed, more "at home" in hall than at home...