If the SALlie launches her blog, I'd be sure to tell everybody about it here.
Stay tuned.
I was just speaking to my dad on the telephone (I’ve wanted to do so the last couple of weeks but never got round, and Melanie’s blog inspired me to get in touch with my dad), and we were talking about things happening in Singapore. Amongst other things, the gahmen giving me a significant amount of money as part of their PROGRESS Package (http://www.progress.gov.sg) and the upcoming elections.
My dad said rather excitedly "Eh, you can vote in London, can’t you?" (Of course, he then followed that up with a "Aiyah, want to vote also cannot, since we live in one of the few (or many?) constituencies that has never been contested before!"
I said, "Actually dad, I can’t vote over here because I am not a gahmen employee (embassy, govt-linked organisation), I don’t work for an international organisation (UN, WHO, IMF etc) and I haven’t been home for 2 out of 5 years *"
* This basically means that those of us who work for banks, law firms, accounting firms, educational institutions, any other type of profit or non-profit organisation in any part of the world that isn’t Singapore, will not be eligible to vote, unless you’ve been home 2 out of the last 5 years.
He was silent for a while and then said rather incredulously "How can that be? You are a Singapore citizen what?"
I think he thought in a fit of insanity, I decided to give up my citizenship to take up the British one, and have picked this rather inopportune moment to announce it to him – NOT!).
He said, "This is not something I’ve heard of."
Of course, the local press isn’t going to tell the locals that their overseas counterparts have been offered an opportunity to vote but with their hands tied, so to speak.
I said "Yeah, but they (the gahmen) sent us an email a few months back telling us that in the upcoming election, we should register with the High Commission in London only if we met those conditions. Dad, don’t you know, some citizens are more equal than others?!!"
I then said "Dad, you know, when our MP comes round to ‘meet the people’, perhaps you should put this question to him, and then ask him whether his (the MP's daughter is voting in London?"
If she is, then we’ll know that indeed, some citizens ARE more equal than others – a tinge of Animal Farm here, I suspect!
We then went on and talked about more important things…like my new purchase, the Honda Civic. Hahahahaaaaaaaaa….
- SALlie
- Voxeros
- Voxeros
1. Jaschocolate left...
Thursday, 13 April 2006 8:45 am
My area probably also walkover.. no one here to fight for it.. sighz... 2. Sallie left...
Thursday, 13 April 2006 5:11 pm
the irony is that we get to vote in the UK because we are part of the 'commonwealth'. ironic, or ironic??? 3. JayWalk left...
Jaschocolate: Too many walkovers everywhere liao, including my own constituency but I will address that in my next entry.
SALlie: This is new to me but I supposed the actually number of votes under this category is probably insignificant and so include you guys to wayang wayang a bit.
Either that or it is one of those strange outdated colonial laws passed down to the present day and nobody is arsed to to any updating to it.
Jaschocolate: Too many walkovers everywhere liao, including my own constituency but I will address that in my next entry.
SALlie: This is new to me but I supposed the actually number of votes under this category is probably insignificant and so include you guys to wayang wayang a bit.
Either that or it is one of those strange outdated colonial laws passed down to the present day and nobody is arsed to to any updating to it.
4. Sallie left...
Thursday, 13 April 2006 11:16 pm
there's no need for them to wayang for us... besides, there are plenty of commonwealth countries (nz, australia, nigeria etcetc).. so it isn't really 'insignificant'. it's purely because we are from the c'wealth. 5. JayWalk left...
SALlie: Would you happen to know what percentage of total votes come from non-UK commonwealth countries citizens?
SALlie: Would you happen to know what percentage of total votes come from non-UK commonwealth countries citizens?
6. Sallie left...
Friday, 14 April 2006 12:30 am
nope, but i know that since i've been here (even as a student), i've been sent balloting papers... and i voted! i don't think there'll be such data, because frankly it'll be deemed 'discriminating'. 7. JayWalk left...
SALlie: Mana discrimination? It should be public information, if I am not mistaken.
SALlie: Mana discrimination? It should be public information, if I am not mistaken.
8. Sallie left...
Saturday, 15 April 2006 9:05 pm
of course it's discrimination, if you use that information for other purposes. why should there be information as to how the commonwealth citizens vote? besides, their technology not good enough - they won't be able to track!! hehe... 
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