Rally @ Ubi

I m having probs uploading my picts taken at the rally @ Ubi but i shall continue wif my posting all the same.

Getting there

i went to the rally @ Ubi wif karen & alex on fri nite.
though we haf the address which says open field by ubi rd 1, ave 2 & ave 3 & ZY kindly checked the st directory for mi, we still didn't noe where it was.

we got there ard 8 when the rally was well underway.

the ubi area was packed wif ppl crossing the roads & many many cars. there were oso plenty of police ard at every junction. we thot we would b able to catch the broadcast of the rally over loudspeakers but there was nothing to b heard.

we drove ard till we found parking & juz got out & followed the crowd blindly as the ppl looked like they were going somewhere purposefully.

one car stopped besides us & the young couple inside asked where the rally was. we replied tat we were juz following the crowd too.

an elderly couple walking together wif us started chit chatting along the way. the uncle told mi in english tat they are grandparents & nbr miss the rallies.
he told mi how mbt lost potong pasir when he spoke abt educational levels at the rally.
he oso told how the rallies of AP will b many many times larger den tat of PAP.

we lost them after a while as karen & moi decided to walk faster. we crossed some roads & got to tis huge open field filled wif ppl. it was a real eye-opener as i nbr imagined the turnout to b so big!



note the signage :

State Land

Enter at your own risk

the field was soggy & muddy after the rain earlier in the evening but we ventured on bravely into the crowd & moved closer to the stage, all the while looking for a drier spot to stand on.
needless to say, our shoes & feet were soon covered in mud & water.

The rally

the crowd went wild when LTK & sylvia lim arrived.

LTK greeted the crowd by expressing his gratitude at everyone hoo has turned up despite the odd location and no buses to fetch us.

there were several speakers before LTK ie. Dr Tan and all the candidates for Aljunied GRC.

they all spoke well & raised many points tat were in my mind too :

• the need for governance - i haf always wondered abt the lack of 'corporate' governance within the govt. governance or the ppl's watchdog has to be independent of the govt.
  
  
• greater transparency - how much reserves are there and how much returns investment made are generating. tat is the least u would expect from someone entrusted wif your $$
  
  
• greater accountability - yes, we r grateful tat PAP has brought singapore to where it is tdy. but tat doesn't mean everything belonging to singapore belongs to them too.
  they're juz the trustees of the ppl and we need more information on how our $$ is being spent, how much investments are making & the amount of losses incurred
  
  
• the high cost of living, medical costs and unemployment jobs
  
  
• the best part is the comparison bet the manifestos. to b honest i onli got to page 8 of the WP's manifesto and there is so such information for mi to take in.
  

the next climax came when sylvia lim took the stage.
there was a couple of female supporters of her hoo started to chant 'WP, WP' when she came onstage.

Verdict

i m so glad i attended tis rally.

• first & foremost, the huge turnout convinced mi tat singaporeans r not juz $$ faced but cares abt the country too.
  
  
• the lousy conditions of the rally location do not deter ppl from coming to render their support for AP.
  
• i used to go to rallies held in bedok when i was a little ger. how things have changed!
  LTK was able to speak calmly abt PAP. it was beli gracious of him.
  from the shouting uncle candidates to tdy's group of professionals & passionate ppl hoo share the same version ahead.

Post rally

as we walked back to the car thru the industrial estates, we passed by a rubbish collection centre where someone has got a hose out.

a queue has formed for ppl to wash their muddy shoes & feet.

see! singaporeans are so adaptable & able to improvise...not to mention beli united too coz everyone juz queued up in an orderly manner and took turns wif the hose.