Let me begin by telling you an interesting encounter that I had when I was selling our Party's newspaper, The New Democrat, with my colleagues at Bedok MRT. While I was chanting some anti-PAP slogans, something like, "You have the right to stand up to the PAP bully!", a boy who is still in his nursery years, came up in front of me and gave me a puzzled look. He then posed amusing questions to his mum who was a few steps behind. He asked, "Mummy, why is this uncle scolding my kindergarten? When has my kindergarten become a bully?" His mum, who was obviously embarrassed by his son's innocent question and caught at a loss of words, gave me a quiet smile and quickly disappeared into the crowd with her confused son.

We can all laugh and joke about this incident. However, the underlying implications are far more serious than you think. Like an enormous octopus, the PAP has extended its tentacles into every corner of this island and every aspect of our lives. Even education is not spared. The PAP, which seems to feel that your daily dosage of PAP propaganda through the media isn't enough, decides to prescribe another form of medicine for the young ones - National Education. Fortunately, a majority of the young ones find this medicine a bitter pill to swallow and one suspicious but intelligent student even made the following comment in the defunct Project Eyeball, "To me, it's like a political game they are playing to try and win people over." Another one said," It shouldn't be forced down our throats, it turns people off." The most interesting thing about this National Education saga is that PM Goh, who initiated the movement, doesn't even know the reason why our students are skeptical about this idea. He was even wondering if it is because politics is involved.

Let's take a look at our education system again. After nursery school, anxious parents will make a mad scramble to enroll their sons and daughters in high-ranked primary schools. At the age of 10, these children are separated into the "smart ones" and the "not-so-brilliant ones" based on a single streaming examination. At the age of 12, these poor children are pressurized to achieve top academic performance in order to make it to the top-ranked secondary schools. Highlight what I have just said, copy and paste this theory to the part on junior colleges. Throw in tertiary education and you will find 15-18 years of your life under tremendous stress. It is no wonder that in Israel, when a child returns home, his mother would ask, "How many questions did you ask today?" whereas in Singapore, the mother would ask, "How many marks did you get today?" Thus, it is no wonder that many who can't cope with the system have decided to seek greener pastures overseas.

Wait. What about those of you who have managed to make it and decided to stay? Here's what you have to undergo. Alarmed by the fact that our sons and daughters aren't returning home, the PAP decides to adopt this so-called foreign talent policy to stem the brain drain. Now listen very carefully. The key word here is "foreign TALENT", not foreign WORKERS". There's nothing wrong if foreign workers are used to supplement certain sectors of our economy where we lacked the human resources. However, it is very WRONG when the PAP abuses this policy and utilizes it as a lame excuse to suppress your wages in order to keep our economy competitive.

While I was selling our Party newspaper, The New Democrat, on the streets one day, a fresh graduate once came up to me and gave me a real life account of this foreign talent situation. After graduating from NTU with a civil engineering degree, he went to apply for a job. Among the dozens of graduates who attended the job interview, there was this lone graduate from China who obtained similar qualifications as the rest of the pack. To the horror of our local graduates, the Chinese graduate got the job offer. Do you know how much he is willing to be paid? $1600! That's $600 below the market rate for a fresh civil engineer! And here we are talking about graduates from one of the best universities in Asia who can't even compete on a level playing field with a foreigner!

Unlike you, the Chinese graduate doesn't need to pay for a HDB flat at exorbitant prices, get married, bring up your children and put up with the high cost of living here. Unlike you, the Chinese graduate merely leads a simple life, makes his pile of money within a few years and then waves goodbye to this country. There isn't any guarantee that he will take up citizenship and call Singapore his home where many of you live from hand to mouth. There isn't any guarantee that he will spend his hard-earned savings in this economy where many of you don't even have enough CPF savings for your retirement. Unlike you, he doesn't need to worry about the high health care costs - whether it's taking care of yourselves, your parents or your children. Unlike you, he doesn't need to carry arms, run his SOC and perform his guard duty as part of our compulsory national service. So what have you become? Second-class Singaporean citizens!

If you are still not convinced till this point, let me ask you a few questions and tell me if you know the answer:

(i) Do you know that between 1990 and 1998, the number of school children seeking psychiatric help has increased from 5,600 to 20,000?

(ii) Do you know that in comparison to Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, you are the worst paid workers among the Asian NIEs?

(iii) Do you know that while you are paid 3rd world wages, you have to live with that kind of pay in the 9th most expensive city in the world?

If you answer "no" to all the questions, then all the more you should take the following 4 actions:

(i) get a copy of our party newspaper, The New Democrat, to support the SDP and find out more shocking information that you won't find in the local media;

(ii) get a copy of our manifesto, which is adapted from Dr. Chee's book, Your Future, My Faith, Our Freedom which basically covers the issues that I have raised and lays out the SDP's alternative policies for the coming General Elections;

(iii) visit our website at www.singaporedemocrats.org which will be our main battleground for the coming General Elections;

(iv) don't just complain - join the SDP or the Young Democrats! Approach any of our colleagues who are spotting a red vest to sign up.

For your information, the Young Democrats is the first and only Opposition youth wing. We believe that the future of Singapore is worth fighting for and we are determined not to allow the autocratic PAP to hammer us into submission. Compared to the Young PAP (YP) we are not big and rich. But what we lack in size, we more than make up for in tenacity - tenacity to stand up to the PAP bully. To justify our beliefs in standing up and speaking out for you, the Young Democrats hereby challenge the Young PAP to an open public debate on the issues I have raised earlier.

Finally, my colleagues and I, will like to call upon you, the youth of Singapore to shake off your fear and apathy and join us in our march towards democracy. Have courage, young Singaporeans. Take it from us, there is much more to be excited about than to be fearful of. We are the ones who will inherit the future, not the PAP. If you, too, believe in an alternative vision and a democratic future, all the more you should stand up for your beliefs by joining us.

Thank you.

Bryan Lim
Vice-President
Young Democrats
Singapore Democratic Party