This article originally appeared on Vulcan Post.
Missed opportunities lead to the coolest ideas, so it seems. That’s the case for Dillah Zakbah when she experienced a ‘fail meet-the-residence (sic) session’ with her MP. And just a day later, #ifiwereminister was born.
“This campaign sparked when me and my family failed to get the chance to meet our town’s MP, to share our list of thoughts and ideas during a supposedly scheduled ‘meet the residents’ (sic) session. As I shared on how upset I was to not be able to voice out my suggestions to someone with the power to change in Singapore, I realise that most of my friends felt the same. I decided to start this initiative as a crowdsource campaign (not backed by any company or electoral party) to invite people to not just criticise our government but to come up with suggestions on the things they would fight for if they ran for elections,” Dillah explains on the site.
Through popular social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, anyone can contribute their opinions by using the hashtag #ifiwereminister. Described as a ‘collective thought library’, Dillah hopes that ministers and ministers-to-be will somehow come across the site and get inspired by the thoughts of the regular Singaporean on the street, as well as the causes they want to fight for.
The website is simple and sleek — a lot better looking than some campaign materials out there — and the crowdsourced opinions seem to be coming in steadily. There’re some serious ones citing statutes and social policies that need changing, simple suggestions that could actually be useful, and the jokey jokesters who want to make an actual Hogwarts happen in Singapore. It’s heartwarming to read through the selection and see that there are people who want the same changes as you do.
So if you’re up for it, put in a little contribution. Who knows, some big-shot minister might read it and take heart.
