MICA (P) 129/02/2011 Issue No. 2/2011 - MINDS

More documents

Recommendations

Info

MAKING MY VOTE COUNT An exclusive feature on Persons with Intellectual Disability and their voting experience at General Elections 2011 Text by: Fiona Tng, Training Officer Photos by: IEDC The Singapore General Election (GE) was held on 7th May 2011. To the 2.21 million electorate, it was a decision that required marked consideration and thought process as Singaporeans decided on the candidates that would ultimately impact their lives. As long as one was a Singapore citizen past the age of 21, regardless of race, language or ability, one was given the right to vote. This voting privilege was exercised by some clients in IDEA Employment Development Centre (IEDC). And although this occurrence is not representative across the board, it was nonetheless, trailblazing! The process that led up to these clients’ decision proved that they have a considerable level of competency in determining what they felt was best for them and their nation. This is truly commendable. During an interview for this article, these clients shared a variety of motivations behind their decision-making and party of choice. Aspirations on earning better salaries were sound out. Estate maintenance and upgrading was also addressed. Particularly if estates and lifts would are cleaned and the desire to have new lifts installed at their HDB blocks. Other views included the desire to have increased frequency of bus and MRT services throughout Singapore. This emerged from clients’ experiences in travelling to their centres independently, via the public transportation system. In the run up to Polling Day (7 May 2011), an IEDC client, Nuriman and his family attended 4 rallies both by the People’s Action Party (PAP) and the opposition parties. Mr Kamal, Nuriman’s father felt it was important for his son to have a balanced perspective. They were keen for him to be kept abreast of the latest developments in current affairs in order for Nuriman to make an informed decision. When polling closed, the family went and waited at Bedok stadium (the assembly centre for their GRC) to obtain first hand information of the election results. Mr Kamal said that Nuriman and the family stayed till 5.30am. Another IEDC client, Loh Jiun Long, shared his experience in voting at GE 2011. In fact, this was Jiun Long’s second time to vote. In his own words, he said that it was a more challenging ► Nuriman on the right with his pro-active and supportive family 10 mindspeak: the heartvoice of special people
experience because he heard so much “rumours” (“yao yan”) particularly from people at neighbouring coffee shops and even while he’s commuting (Jiun Long takes public transport independently). Although he did not attend the rallies, he relied on the Mandarin newspapers and watched the television to obtain more information. Jiun Long’s father commented that his son was knowledgeable and eager for information on the election. He was able to point out the different constituencies, its candidates and pertinent information on the poll card. For such a sophiscated voter like Jiun Long, he indicated the decision making posed such a headache (“ 伤脑筋 shang nao jin”) for him. He factored in a number of issues including the past track records of the candidate. This helped him arrive at a decision to see if the party was “suitable” (“ 适合 shi he”) in helping him and his neighbourhood. On the day of polling, he felt proud to be able to go through the process of queuing up and selecting the party of his choice despite being temporarily separated from his parents as they were in different queues. He said, “I followed the person in front of me to understand the process and put a cross on the party who I think can help me. I think it is a secret that is why I needed to fold the ballot slip before putting into the box.” He said he was happy and felt it was important to vote because not all his friends had the opportunity. He asked the interviewer (“ 我们这种人不应该投票吗 ?Wo men zhe zhong ren bu ying gai tou piao ma?”) When asked to elaborate why he harboured such thoughts even though he previously related the importance of voting during our interview, he ► Proud voter: Loh Jiun Long added that his friend, another client, did not feel competent to do so. Jiun Long’s father said that he stayed up till the wee hours of Sunday (8 May 2011) to watch the results of the poll. Jiun Long’s father is proud of his son’s ability to arrive at the decision of his choice and become a contributing citizen of Singapore. Jiun Long looks forward to voting in five years’ time. ~ No part of this article shall be reproduced/published in or any other print media and/or any electronic form. The article is only intended for MINDSpeak ~ mindspeak: the heartvoice of special people 11
Page 1 and 2: MICA (P) 129/02/2011 Issue No. 2/20
Page 3 and 4: MESSAGE FROM THE CEO Many corporate
Page 5 and 6: ALL ONBOARD ‘USS’ - THE PREQUEL
Page 7 and 8: We all wore special glasses for the
Page 9 and 10: ► Caregiver consulted with volunt
Page 11: FGS RECYCLING OUTREACH PROGRAM Text
Page 15 and 16: ► Gosh! That was fun! I’m going
Page 17 and 18: I am truly delighted to learn that
Page 19 and 20: ON OUR COVERPAGE AND REAR PAGE Abou

MICA (P) 129/02/2011 Issue No. 2/2011 - MINDS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?