How does this Opinion piece in Strait Times use language and visual devices to convey what the kampung spirit means to Singaporeans, and what its loss would lead to?
“Voiding the kampung spirit?” is an opinion piece written by Yeo Sam Jo, produced by The Straits Times. It speaks about recent incidents surrounding government regulations and rules that have been put up in HDB void decks, and how people are reacting towards it. This opinion piece is written from the perspective of someone who has interacted with and have used the void decks for a long time. Many factual statements, as well as personal anecdotes have been included in the opinionated piece to add a sense of personal connection with the readers. This piece encourages readers to think about the importance of the void decks, and how we may be under-appreciating them.
This text is mainly aimed towards individuals who have a personal connection with HDB void decks. By the writer adding experiences that readers may have lived, such as playing football or chess in the void deck area, this adds a sense of emotional connection to the article, making it easier to captivate the readers. Because the article is written from someone with a similar perspective of an average user of the void deck, this further enhances the connection between the writer and the reader.
The piece of text tries to convey the privilege that many may have had growing up with a void deck that they can hangout in, as regulations and rules continue to tighten around the use of void decks. Many activities such as playing sports with friends in void decks are being jeopardized by new regulations, not allowing children of new generations to experience the same activities that adults of this generation were able to do without restrictions. This can be seen through the writer writing about how the void deck has changed over the years. From libraries to playgrounds being removed from void decks.
Another main idea that was stated in the article was government control, and to what extent we are going to allow governments to regulate void decks. With many people not enjoying the idea of stricter rules in void decks, people have voiced their opinions about the stricter regulations. Because void decks are areas people have an emotional connection to and not wanting to let go, this shows a fight between government power and control towards what people deem as an important communal space, which is vital to the harmony of the community.
By Yeo Sam Jo writing about this important issue from a view that is in support of the people and their movement towards trying to keep the void deck a communal area, this helps readers sympathize with the article and continue reading the article. The addition of personal experiences and anecdotes only further helps to connect the article with the readers. However, at the same time, because The Straits Times is a government owned new company, the writer is not able to comment too much on specific actions of the government or put them in a bad light. Instead he talks about the fight and the grit that people are exhibiting in this fight of control over their void decks.