MS Speaks: Attending an election rally made this Gen Z care more about Singapore’s future
I’m a journalist, of course I keep up with current affairs.
I’m a journalist, of course I attended an election rally.
I am also, however, still a first-time General Election (GE) voter and a Gen Z.
“Politically apathetic” was the label often used to describe my fellow Gen Zs this past election season.
I have to admit that while I was not “apathetic” per se, I had many unanswered questions about politics in general.
Becoming a journalist helped me step out into the ‘real’, adult world, and before I knew it, I was assigned to cover my first rally — and it was everything I expected, and more.
My experience at the final WP rally as a first-time attendee & Gen Z
My evening on Labour Day (1 May) was spent on the field of Anderson Serangoon Junior College, at the foot of the stage where the Workers’ Party (WP) candidates delivered their speeches.
An hour before the rally was scheduled to begin, the perimeters of the campus were already swarming with supporters who donned light blue fits, many clutching inflated yellow hammers.
Residents lined the corridors of the HDB flats surrounding the rally location, with some lucky ones chilling in their balconies that directly faced the field.
“Workers’ Party! Workers’ Party!” chanted supporters in the streets. The energy was unmatched.
For the first time in a decade, physical rallies had resumed. The atmosphere was electrifying as supporters cheered at the top of their lungs, erupted in thunderous applause, and blew their air horns.
Kenneth Foo, who contested in the Single Member Constituency (SMC) of Tampines Changkat, opened the rally with great enthusiasm.
With every candidate he introduced, resounding roars filled the air.
Some candidates were clear crowd favourites, receiving not just cheers, but chants of their names as they took the stage. These included Dennis Tan, He Ting Ru, Faisal Manap, Jamus Lim, and Pritam Singh.
When WP Chairperson Sylvia Lim stood before the audience, the crowd began chanting the name of her 73-year-old husband, a former Singapore national team footballer, who she had married earlier this year.
“Quah Kim Song! Quah Kim Song!” shouted the crowd.
Singaporeans were certainly keeping up with the personal lives of their favourite political figures.
‘People who disagree with us are not our enemies’
Of all the speeches during the rally, He Ting Ru’s stood out the most.
Amidst the verbal barbs fired between the political parties, Ms He remained grounded and reminded Singaporeans of something deeply resonant.
“People who disagree with us are not our enemies,” she said.
[They are] our neighbours, our friends, our family members. But most importantly, they’re also our fellow Singaporeans. They too, want Singapore to succeed.
She recalled the trust that was bestowed upon them by voters when WP won Sengkang GRC for the first time in the 2020 GE.
Whether it was a raging pandemic or global economic uncertainty, Ms He emphasised that the party’s record “speaks for itself”.
“When the world changes, we must not fear,” she declared.
As a first-time GE voter and young adult living in an increasingly unpredictable world, I found her message both timely and comforting.
I’ve always viewed politics as something divisive and overly complex.
While the political landscape in Singapore the past month has, admittedly, reflected those very traits, it was refreshing to hear a member of an opposition party remind us about our shared identity as Singaporeans.
Ms He’s words carried humanity and grace — a stark contrast to the often polarising and misleading discourse online.
This rally offered clarity and an alternative perspective towards political engagement here in Singapore.
Politics, I realised, should not be about blindly picking sides.
It is about caring, being resolute, and participating in shaping the world you would like to flourish in.
The ‘political apathy’ of Gen Zs is not intentional
Most Gen Zs were raised during a time when Singapore was already thriving. We grew up in an environment of predictability, and where things just worked.
Instead of witnessing the developing stages of a new nation, we were blessed to have inherited a highly functional and seamless system — from infrastructure, transport, housing and healthcare.
So, why do we need to question the status quo?
Being politically “apathetic” is not intentional, but perhaps a lifestyle we have unconsciously grown used to.
It is not that we don’t care, but rather the fact that we were not exactly taught how or why we should.
However, times are changing yet again. We enter a world that is increasingly erratic, and we find ourselves fighting crisis after crisis.
One cannot deny that it is becoming harder to stay disengaged or indifferent.
This GE made me realise that politics is not just about election cycles or electoral boundaries.
It is about the community we live in, the policies we wish to see, and ultimately the decisions we make that determine Singapore’s future.
Attending the rally made me realise that political engagement is not just for the older or more seasoned people.
I also saw people like me: young and developing, but willing to learn.
Maybe, just maybe, political apathy is beginning to fade in Singapore’s younger generation — not overnight, but gradually.
Also read: MS Commentaries: PAP triumphant despite a reactive, disjointed election campaign
MS Commentaries: PAP triumphant despite a reactive, disjointed election campaign
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Photography by Brad Lee for MS News.
