They had questions to ask, issues to be addressed. And the teenagers couldn't wait to be heard in front of politicians and political commentators.
But theirs wasn't the ranting of hot-headed youth. Despite their age, the teenagers' views were carefully thought-through and clearly articulated.
Arhshath Kaleni, 17, and his friends had strong views on the recent General Election and had no qualms voicing them at a dialogue session hosted by the NUS Society (NUSS) last night.
Entitled The Singapore General Elections 2006 - Post Mortem, the session was moderated by NUSS president and former Nominated MP Chandra Mohan K Nair.
The five panelists were Dr Chee Soon Juan of Singapore Democratic Party, Ms Denise Phua of the PAP, Mr Perry Tong of the Workers' Party, and political commentators Dr Catherine Lim and Assoc Prof Ho Khai Leong.
Before an audience of 250, their lively exchange touched on the change in attitudes among voters who paid more attention to what the parties offered, the need for more press freedom and changes to the electoral system.
Arhshath, a JC1 student at Raffles Junior College, picked up on the issue of having a 'balanced view' while airing one's views online.
Ms Phua had earlier noted that most online sentiments during the GE were negative to the ruling party.
Arhshath saw this as not a balanced view but 'a double standard', citing as his example what he saw as the pro-PAP coverage in the mainstream media.
'What this seems like is that you just want the views that paint the PAP in a good light and you'll be criticising it when it paints the PAP in a bad light,' he said.
'...I think that a lot of people will agree with me in that what you're saying with this call for balance that the PAP is purporting is just a wayang, it's just a show.'
Ms Phua disagreed that the media did not give the opposition coverage.
Arhshath then asked Ms Phua, who had earlier talked of how her Kampong Glam residents only recognised the PAP logo, if she agreed that the only way Singaporeans could get a balanced view was through the liberalisation of the media.
He asked: 'Our society cannot allow the people, such as your Kampong Glam residents who only recognise the PAP logo, to actually go on like this.
'I say this is the failure of democracy where you have people who only recognise one party.'
His questions drew thunderous applause.
It wasn't the first time Arhshath has taken part in a dialogue session.
Over the last year, he has attended at least five such dialogues and participated avidly because he 'cared deeply for political issues'.
Arhshath, who was a debater in secondary school, told The New Paper: 'When I started going for these political dialogues, I had my points but didn't know how to bring them across.
'But as time went by, I learnt to organise them well, became more confident and it just got easier to convey my thoughts.'
Although he left feeling a little frustrated because he didn't get answers to all his questions, Arhshath said he'd still participate in such forums in future.
Sabrina Szeto, his schoolmate, raised the importance of having an external auditor to keep an organisation effective, citing the National Kidney Foundation as example.
She said: 'Ms Phua, you said that for an organisation to be effective, you do not necessarily need a good, external auditor.
'But the best way to ensure an effective organisation is to have a good and clear leadership selection and training process to groom these leaders.'
Ms Phua, however, felt the leader and those who work the ground would know the organisation best, instead of having someone come in to run checks.
It was Sabrina's first political dialogue but she had gone for four rallies during the GE - three held by the Workers' Party and one by the PAP.
Referring to the teenagers' questions, Hwa Chong Institution student Ong Sin Hwee said: 'By questioning the PAP, we are not against it. Neither does it mean that we are supportive of the opposition. It just shows that we want certain choices and balances.'
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,107166,00.html
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