I applaud the Government's decision to implement overseas voting for the coming General Election for the simple reason that I personally will be able to vote while studying in the United States.
However, waiving the requirement to have spent at least two out of the last preceding five years in Singapore specifically for overseas government scholars strikes me as contradictory.
Even though the Government has expressed that the overseas voting criteria is not set up to alienate the privately-funded overseas student, the overseas voting criteria gives me the impression that I am viewed as less deserving to vote while studying overseas, simply because I am not a government scholar.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Goh has been wooing overseas Singaporeans, especially the overseas students of the so-called "Generation M", to return home and contribute to the nation's progress.
This contradiction in Government policy genuinely perplexes me.
I am persuaded to come back to Singapore, but yet am viewed as less deserving to have a voice in the nation I will be returning to.
This begs the question: why should I be persuaded to return if I am perceived as less deserving to vote?
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