I think the opposition did the right thing. Mr Tan Kin Lian was very quick off the block and for the opposition to jump in after him would be seen as an attempt to take credit away from him.

It might be the same reason why the PAP govt was slow to react because it might be seen to be giving too much credit to Mr Tan Kin Lian and thereby sending out the wrong signal that petitioning the govt can get you what you ask for.

If you guys want to think people won’t vote for people who represent their perspectives, go ahead. lol. No wonder we got a political disconnect here.

Can’t you see that there are already a lot of people doing it on their behalf without their asking – imagine the support they are getting.

No one is pointing any ‘accusing’ finger at them. You should know where all the noise / fingers are directed by now. Just go to MSM, nowadays you can find quite a number of fire-fighting articles. With the economic situation, naturally you are going to see more people getting affected and more noise. 1st world country ?

I would just like to highlight one point when we talk about the relationship between opposition and MSM.

I think most of the opposition parties have taken the cue from The Worker’s Party that the opposition should depend more on its own outreach programs to bring news to the people rather than to depend on the MSM to do so.

For this very simple reason, the MSM do not matter to the opposition and this is where the people must begin to understand this very important aspect of politics in SIngapore.

The people must make an effort to listen out to the opposition at platforms or channels other than the MSM.

This is a very difficult thing to do but apparently, it is the only way by far.

This is where my main grouse lies also. I have been hpoing to see lots of activity in cyber space coming from the opposition but apart from SDP, the rest seem to be too quiet for anyone to read their purpose for existence.

This is why TOC is doing a better job to reach out to the citizens than the opposition.

The opposition has to take the cue from TOC. We really do not know how long TOC can continue to enjoy the freedom it now enjoys considering what Myanmar has just done to one of it most popular blogger, jailing him for 20 years!

1. Ground discontentment – one can feel an unprecendented swelling of public discontentment first through the inflationary high cost of lving just 6 months ago and now the recessional blues. Though most will argue that people will choose the same govt base on the fear factor, I am more pro to a US -styled repeat of people wanting a change here. i will be very surprised if the ruling party calls for an election within the next 6 mths as the ground is bitter and rough now. They may lose more than the two SMCs in 2006 GE.

2. Overseas voting – overseas stayers now can vote from their embassies and this could prove to be the swing votes that will influence victory for the opposition candidates. It is no secret that those who choose to live abroad have some issue against the govt.

3. Young voters – we may see an upswing of at least 5% more increase in young voters. This may be voters who just turn 21 and voting for the first time in their life. Young voters have nothing to lose when they vote otherwise. Many are internet savvy and blog away alot frustrated at various govt policies. I believe at least 60% of young first-time voters will vote for the opposition.

4. Continuation of WP party politics – I was impressed with how WP has managed to gather several solid candidates during the 2006 GE. It was a pity that only LKT was elected into Parliament. People like Gomez and Sylvia will make good opposition MPs in PArliament. I foresee that WP will continue to be the strongest opposition party and remain the best party to wage battle against the ruling party on the election ground.

5. Rise of the internet – we can see how the internet was used with good effect by opposition parties in the recent UMNO and US elections. If the opposition parties could use the internet to their advantage, they could turn the tide around this time. TOC has somewhat became a gathering ground for people who is interested in politics to read and write their comments. I am sure this site will explode in volume when we smell an impending GE soon. My only fear is that it will be closed down which is not surprising. Politics is dirty.

So we may begin to see the rise of opposition politics in this coming GE and I wait with unabated breath for the announcement.

I feel this is a well-written article (coming from a partisan, hehe). Here are my comments/questions:

1) How has minority representation in Parliament *improved* since the introduction of GRCs? Was it really a problem before GRCs? It irks me to have to search through wikipedia for information on the makeup of our various parliaments since the advent of GRCs.

2) What are opposition parties *allowed* to do as far as contact with the MSM is concerned? Here’s my perception: Other than poor Dr. Chee, opposition activity hardly features in MSM outside the election cycle. Are you not allowed to organize press conferences to discuss your ideas? Or does MSM simply ignore you if you tried? I would like to see greater public revelation of activity on the part of the opposition, not just during election cycles. I would like to know (and see) how my potential MP (PAP or opposition) candidates think and reason about policy, national or local. 9 days just isn’t enough to get a reasonable feel for a person.

another way perhaps is to have each individual who is willing to see more contest to donate $10 to potential candidates till it accumulates to the deposit. if the candidate wins or at least recover the deposit, the money could go to charity or politics watch funds or something.

cancel all the grcs.

i will vote for the best mp. one person only. but i really do not know how to vote if there are so many mps in a group.

if it is grcs i will surely vote for opposition.

if it is one to one i will choose the best vote no matter which party the mp is from.

Honestly, I think the opposition parties like your goodself should stop whining about the GRC system. Get the opposition act together and help the people believe that you are for the people. Where is the opposition in helping the people on the mini-bonds issue, on electricity prices hikes? Asking a couple of cordial questions in Parliament and making press releases just dun cut it. If the opposition is well organised enough to get its act together and sincerely help the people and not just “suddenly” come out just before GE, I think you guys could swing more votes to your favour. You wanna get voted into parliament, then for god’s sake do something about it!

I enjoy your article very much! Thanks for your contribution.

I like to know,

Is there ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NO WAY TO PREVENT WALKOVERS?
Is there really no way anyone can do to enable every eligible voter to participate in the voting by having no walkovers? Is more votes casted = more representative of the electorate’s decision ?

Maybe we are asking for too much?

How many still would not step forward?

Will there forever be no GRC won by an Alternative party?

2. In the 1963 GE, LIE KY cheated again. The Barisan was leading by a landslide in the counting, in >30 constituencies out of the ~50. Then, PM LIE KY caused an electricity ‘blackout’ around the City Hall counting centre, ordered everyone out, and changed the votes. After 6 hours, when electricity was ‘restored’, LIE ‘won’ by a landslide. Go to the National Library and check the microfilms of all the Chinese and English newspapers then.

3. Proof LIE KY cheated yet again in the 1997 Cheng San GRC elections is on my blog. Please read my blog by clicking on the link in this comment. My proofs include the name, address, telephone number of my eyewitness, Mr David DUCLOS, a Singaporean eurasian catholic former police inspector; and his lawyer friend, who has his own law firm in Singapore. That is why, after 1997, Cheng San was redrawn out of the electoral map, disappeared, absorbed into PAP strongholds.

4. It is also said that LIE KY also cheated to make ONG Teng Cheong President when he actually lost. During the Referendum to join Malaysia, LIE KY also cheated somewhat when he gave 3 Options — ALL FOR JOINING MALAYSIA, NONE AGAINST. Only the terms of joining were different.

5. Some may think cheating elections or stealing elections dont matter as long as Singapore is a ‘success’. Is it? All that SG is, is a Huge Bubble that will burst one day, probably in this Recession. Property bubbles are deadly, as proven throughout the world in many countries. Japan lost a dozen years. The US is now collapsing. Our own property bubble, since the so-called Asset Enhancement Policy, saw prices of HDB flats being inflated to unbelievable and unsustainable levels. HDB pays its contractors ~$30,000 to construct a 4-room HDB flat, as proven in newspaper tender notices, but charges nowadays some >S$640,000 for a 4-room. Can this énhancement policy’ continue indefinitely? The Americans will tell you not. So this decades-long bubble will burst. Maybe this Recession. And it will wipe out billions from the over-inflated property market. There will be no ásset enhancement’. No such thing as a free lunch.

6. All this unbelievable inflation of HDB prices is done simply by using the HDB-CPF nexus. A cunning arrangement in which firstly, the HDB monopolises the property market [in which 85% of us live] so can charge anything it wants. Then, the CPF withholds ~35% of every paycheque and since we cannot use it for anything, we then sign it away for our HDB flat. Clever, no? This means we get a flat but no money for retirement. As long as the ásset enhancment’ continues to raise prices, we can feel smug that our theoretical and paper HDB flat worth is rising. But at >$640,000 for a 4-room now, the end is nigh. When the prices cannot be increased further, the music stops and everybody stops dancing. And LIE KY will be proven the vicious, election-rigging, corrupt, nepotic, INCOMPETENT, EVEN STUPID, despot he really is.

actually, come to think of it, what is your ‘views’ that you want represented, and what ‘policies in your favor’ are you looking at?

Because you seem to be making the case that so far the opposition is not the kind you want. Or perhaps you MAY have based your assumptions on what the MSM have printed.

You may like to check out ‘A Nation Cheated’ by CSJ, and also ‘Singapore: The Air-Conditioned Nation; Essays on the Politics of Comfort and Control 1999-2000′- by Cherian George.

I’m not saying any of these books is going to change your mind about anything but it’s always good to expose oneself to views that challenges your beliefs. (which is for the same reason I’m reading LKY’s memoirs lol)

“The problem with the opposition is an inability to state what they stand for. ” I think that’s quite a sweeping statement and contradicts your own words about ‘empty vessels’ that don’t represent you.

Agree or disagree, CSJ is pretty clear about what he stands for. And so does the WP if you bother to read their manifesto. It’s PAP which I dunno stands for what, which is kinda ironic because they keep taking up newspaper space everyday. Last week Tharman was still saying we are a socialistic country. Which is really strange because we seem to have whole-heartedly embraced trickle-down economics and only grudgingly hand out some pocket money to the the poorest of the poor.

And may I know who currently best represents what you have described. Perhaps you have some super person in mind who can vicariously feel for you without needing to make too much assumption.

In the context of this country, people like you will always be able to find a lot of “empty vessels”. Lack of talents. Sounds familiar ?

Do you think I am making too much assumption ?

“The problem with the opposition is an inability to state what they stand for.”

Hey are you also making assumption here ? What they stand for ? For a start and if enough are voted in, they act as a parliamentary check and balance. For a small start, my friend.

Do not keep on questioning people about their ability to run a marathon when you keep ‘blocking’ their very effort in making a first step.

Go to their web-sites. Surely, you don’t expect the MSM to provide them with the ammunitions (positive coverage even if they have scored any).

What make you so sure of that ? Remember the rules are not set by the public, it is set by the party, the very same party that will destroy any opp party that threaten its existence. Remember our last election where our gahmen are so overwhelmly confident of themselves that they will win back through using carrots and upgrading gimmicks (gimmicks that might not even happen since GCT don’t even have the ideas where his bulk of funding comes from for upgrading promise). They are so confident of winning that they think that no change is necessary to the rules, but now given the unprecedented popularity, do you think the rule will remain the same ? Isn’t the gahmen scoting 1000++ for election candidate and assistance ? Didn’t we know that all these candidates are just for show with ministar behind it for walkover ? If that is their strategy, is enlarging the GRC’ size of members a viable strategy ?

The above, I did not say.

I’d vote for a person that represents my views, shares my opinions and perspectives, and is willing to represent that in parliament.

I don’t like empty vessels that make a lot of noise which doesn’t help me and worse, make assumptions of what I like or don’t like, say or do not say, and end up getting wrong in parliament.

I’d vote people who are willing to make policies in my favour. If that involves some noise making or visibility, of course I’d support.

The problem with the opposition is an inability to state what they stand for. When up for a speech, we get people complaining about how scared they are and how unfair the system is. What’s new….

Do you think they care how you feel? As long as the means achieve its end, that’s all that matters. Half our problems would have been solved if this govt can ‘feel’.

Clever hoh. When you got in initially with the “1-1 choices” hence forming a sufficiently large numbers, then you changed it to a ‘team sport’ hoh. Who does not know that.

You prefer a non-too-noisy & not-too-visible approach of “earn the people’s vote”, other people may prefer the more visible (à la noisy American or Taiwan style ?) type of “earn the people’s vote”.

Ah lim, you forgot hoh. We are not the candidates ourselves. We are only one small group of people in TOC. There are a lot of other groups in coffee shops, hawker centres, other blogs, etc, etc. What calibre ? Calibre of changing rules ?