At Rallies II

A picture of one of the famous rallies by wp which I found on the web. This one was at Ang Mo Kio, which PM Lee said his son attended too. The crowd was simply unbelieveable.

I attended that rally. Having heard so much about the sound and fury of election rallies by the opposition parties, and being so jaded with marking and work, I thought it would be good 'entertainment' of sorts to go for a rally. It was quite easy to find the place - just follow the crowd walking from AMK MRT, and we found ourselves at some blocks of flats (the blocks in the far end of the picture). There was a great sense of awe and occasion as I silently looked down upon the vast expanse of land below, filled with dots and dots of people stretching into the distance. My jaws literally dropped.

I had simply thought, intially, that it would be a great night of excitement and gawking. But it had turned out to be a most profound experience. And it was not just the crowd, but witnessing the passion of fellow Singaporeans, hearing how WP kept stressing on their being pro-Singapore and wanting to help shape the future of Singapore, and pondering about each individual citizen's role in moulding our future Singapore.

I decided to attend the next night's rally at Serangoon Stadium, for a stint of the 'last night rally' effect (never experienced that before), and I was not disappointed. When at the end of the Serangoon rally, the WP led the entire stadium (all filled- stands and field and beyond) in a recitation of the National Pledge, just like National Day itself, a lump came to my throat. This was especially poignant, I felt, as the words were penned by our founding father S. Rajaratname who had just passed away earlier this year, and it represented all the hopes and ideals that all of us Singaporeans strive towards. This must be what the entire election process is about - our common interest in our Nation's collective future. At the end of the day, we are all Singaporean citizens with a common past, common future and common destiny.

Postlude: The famous Hougang WP rally photo that first sparked everyone's curiosity (including mine).