sylvia lim is almost certainly going to be offered a NCMP, isn't she? she's very popular and the aljunied fight was very close. has it been announced yet? i should check the papers.


* * * *

i called home earlier at about 8 and they said they'd voted very early in the morning and nothing has happened yet polling has just closed call back later. two hours later i called home again and as soon as my dad said "hello?" i bellowed HE WON! and they all laughed - they being my aunt (my mother's youngest sister, her husband, and another of her sisters (3rd eldest sister) - they understood of course that it was chiam see tong in potong pasir i was screaming about. honestly, this election i wasn't even remotely interested in my own mp, even though i live in hougang, that hotbed of dissent, etc. he, i was quite sure, would win anyway. also, this year i was slightly uncertain whether i would vote for him or cast a spoilt vote. in the past i would have unquestionably have voted for him, but i am feeling rather less keen on the workers' party nowadays - and my strong feeling is that i'd prefer if we could have an independent candidate in hougang, but i can't bring myself to vote for the other fellow. if the PAP meant business for goodness sake take the eric person away and give us a heavyweight. risk someone important that i could want to vote for!) but i would have been devastated if chiam see tong had lost! i had a ominous feeling he would lose, as i'm sure did many other people, but not only had he won he'd increased his majority by about 1000 votes! hooray!


* * * *

su-lin on voting opposition on principle, to help them get in and get experience:

me: oh but doesn't that depend on who runs though? so say, if you're voting opposition on principle, but it was chee soon juan running, and it's an smc, would you still vote opposition?
su-lin: chee soon juan is a different principle.

*****

a little later, on personal issues trumping party lines.

me: what if it were someone anti-feminist or an outspoken homophobe or whatever? i have decided i will never vote for: homophobes, MCPs, racists and people who make comments about the uselessness of literature!
su-lin: i'm going to quote you!

(that last bit means if most of my relatives ever stand for election i will be actively campaigning against them.)

*****

laughing with poach about a rather trashy article in the chinese papers commenting on the appearance of some of the new candidates.

me: so, was there anyone hot in this election?
poach: [names a certain candidate] is not bad.
me: [looking at his picture.] not for me. he's too cheena lah. like a chungcheng boy.
poach: i thought you like cheena men.
me: rubbish! everyone knows i only like my ri boys!
poach: yes but then you complain they don't speak chinese properly!