The following article is by Seah Chiang Nee, first published on The Star Online.
The Government appears to be telling young Singaporeans that if they want debate, the government will give it to them and if the youngsters want parliamentary democracy, they can have it too – but not necessarily through elections or a two-party system.
POLITICS is one of the things that have changed least in Singapore. Over a quarter of a century, the economy has been restructured, the demography has changed; new people have come and old trends have gone – pretty much of everything else, except perhaps politics.
It seems to have remained relatively as it had been. For many elderly conservatives, that may not be a bad thing, since it also means stability and continuity.
But faced with an uncertain world and a demanding new generation, the People’s Action Party (PAP) could be heading for a tougher time winning elections in future.
As its founding leader, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew once painted it: The next two elections should be no problem, but after that, anything goes.
Now with the economic crisis affecting more families, the PAP has obviously been pondering how best to fight in order to stay in power.
It’s a tough act as it strives to achieve a balance between rising – and contrasting – demands from various segments of society, from educated youths and disgruntled workers to poorer Singaporeans.
For 50 years, the PAP has been winning elections to stand as one of the world’s few undefeated political parties, but with the help that power and incumbency has bestowed upon it.
So what is its strategy to stay relevant? Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong apparently wants to change the Constitution to have a Parliament with two components.
The first is the normal 84 elected legislators who debate and pass laws and the second, a less significant, non-elected segment with watered-down rights to improve debate. This second force of 18 will comprise nine nominated MPs, chosen from a cross-section of non-partisan Singaporeans and up to nine non-constituency MPs (NCMPs) from the opposition camp. As an example, if the next election were to throw up only two opposition winners, then the best seven losers will qualify as NCMPs.
In recent weeks, the pro-government press has been playing up the role of nominated MPs as well as the desirability of appointed Cabinet ministers.
All these have one thing in common. They downplay the importance of opposition parties in Parliament or in Singapore’s political system.
PAP party member Xu Kaixian wrote in Petir, the PAP organ, that democracy does not necessarily need the presence of opposition.
“Currently, any deviation from Western-style democracy is denounced as authoritarian. But should that be the case?” the writer asked.
“Wouldn’t it be better if each country practised a democracy which best suits its situation? Is there really a need for democracy in Singapore to mirror the West’s?”
Adding to this is a suggestion by PAP backbencher Hri Kumar Nair that Singapore consider appointing Cabinet ministers who are not MPs or may not even be members of the ruling party.
The Government appears to be telling young Singaporeans: You want debate, we’ll give it to you; you want Parliamentary democracy, you can have it too – but not necessarily through elections or a two-party system.
It apparently thinks it can satisfy their aspirations for greater debate and opposition in Parliament – without the PAP losing any seats.
Lee Kuan Yew has always been wary about the potential dangers of one-man-one-vote system. Last year he warned that “a freak election” could wipe out Singapore’s success. This could happen if voters became bored and decided to give the vociferous opposition a chance out of ‘light-heartedness, fickleness or sheer madness’.
“In five years, you can ruin this place and it’s very difficult to pick up the pieces,” he said.
Last November, his PM son said that a “two-party model cannot work” in Singapore, and it is “much better off with one dominant party”.
Since then he has stepped back a little by saying that “Singaporeans want national issues to be fully debated.. (so we should) improve our political system to encourage a wider range of views in Parliament, including opposition and non-government views”.
Lee’s measures have generally been well received as a positive development.
Critics, however, call it a sham reform that tries to manufacture a fake opposition, instead of freeing the environment to allow it to grow.
“It is an attempt to tell Singaporeans that they could safely vote for the government without being deprived of an opposition voice,” an opposition member said.
“The nature of Parliament should not be changed. It is after all a legislative body of representatives that should be freely elected by the people, not appointed, nor nominated,” he added.
PM Lee is facing an increasing call from young Singaporeans for freer politics and lesser government controls. This was reflected in a speech by newly nominated MP Viswa Sadasivan, appealing for the government to “let us take a chance on our people, on ourselves.”
He said: “In my view, it is the duty of a responsible government to help evolve a political climate that encourages greater interest and participation from the people.
“If not, people are likely to feel increasingly alienated and disenfranchised resulting in apathy and, worse, cynicism. I fear this is already happening.”
Balanced against this is the other point of view expressed by Lee Kuan Yew in 2006: “Please don’t assume that you can change governments. Young people don’t understand this.”
On another occasion, Lee said: “Without the elected President and if there is a freak (election) result, within two or three years, the army would have to come in and stop it.” So far none of the younger political leaders has repeated this warning.
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Hitler almost conquered Europe, if not for the pesky Americans, English, Russians and Jews. No one is perfect.
Hi ekompute #149,
I think you miss the point. This is not a question about LKY’s legacy. This is a question whether LKY is still relevant to Singapore and Singaporeans again. If he isn’t, then PAP and Singapore must discard him.
If I am not mistaken, “No one is perfect” is PAP’s new slogan.
When criminals get arrested, they can cite “No one is perfect” as a defense.
“Truth be said, LKY led Singapore out of Malaysia, out of Ketuanan Melayu, and out of megaringgit corruption…. Without LKY, Singapore today will definitely be under an UMNO-led Barisan Nasional. Which would you prefer? Now, I am not saying that LKY is perfect. No one is perfect.”
So what are you to trying to imply here ? Give a thought of what you trying to convey.
Does that means you and your family own him your life and everything ?
The dear leader may have led singapura out of malaysia. so what? the chinese will simply leave and go find their fortune in oz, canada, china, asia.. we must think like a frog in a well. the world is big you can go anywhere!
“149) ekompute on August 27th, 2009 3.16 am
Truth be said, LKY led Singapore out of Malaysia, out of Ketuanan Melayu, and out of megaringgit corruption…. ”
So you mean past action allows for present…..?
So you mean a person never can change?
PAP will still win that is for sure as he knows well how to make it happen,
he has all the brain he need and the people to make it happen.
lastly he knows how to make singaporeans vote him
for sure without surprise all singaporeans will even vote him more this time.
once of the reason: pity the old man has support and bring up singapore all this while since our grandfather and now we singaporeans want to dumb him away???????
no!!!!!!!!!!! father!!!!!!!!!!! don’t worry lky we singaporeans believed in you and will always be by your side and it’s ok if we suffer we want you and your familee to live happily with luxury. it’s ok for we singaporeans to lick your feet
To 125) yomiyomi on August 26th, 2009 1.57 pm
“the views aired here very real, sometimes send a shiver down my spine.
but seriously, if i am not suffering due to the govt, then how?
how to get pp who are perfectly fine in this status quo to swing their votes over?”
>> If you think the policy don’t affect you now, maybe you may start to think whether you will be affected in the future. If you think further, will your children be affected? If not, the answer is very clear, you vote the party that gives you security, prosperity, justice and equality, etc…. It’s not that difficult, isn’t it?
“…am not saying must suppt pap. what i am driving is: many pp happily status quo. many also suffering i agree and many also on govt help. with all these in place, do i still want to sway and put my children’s future in the hands of the inexperience oppositn blokes to run this country i call home??”
>> Do you think opposition will take over the government in this coming election with the current unequal level of competition. You think too far… that won’t happen. Anyway, in contrast, the “experienced” ones are really that “good” at taxing the middle income group – maybe you have not been tracking your bills. I suggest you pay closely to your expenditure – it’s increasing year by year. You think you can survive with the increasing higher cost of living?
To 149) ekompute:
“Truth be said, LKY led Singapore out of Malaysia, out of Ketuanan Melayu, and out of megaringgit corruption…. Without LKY, Singapore today will definitely be under an UMNO-led Barisan Nasional. Which would you prefer? Now, I am not saying that LKY is perfect. No one is perfect.”
Firstly, Singapore didn’t left Malaysia, Singapore got “kick” out of Malaysia… That’s how we gain our independence.
Secondly, Singapore is a separate country, a nation by itself; your question is hypothetical and there is no point discussing as whatever the outcome, cos if Singapore is still part of Malaysia, it will be a different PAP and a different LKY.
146) Botak John on August 26th, 2009 9.34 pm
“1. PAP WILL still win, like it or not. Reasons are many.
>> In my opinion, the wind of calling for change is growing day by day in Singapore. This is evident as you see more and more diverse views even within the PAP camp.
Observations including
1. Mr Tan Kin Lian participating in local politics after leaving PAP, as individual.
2. NMP Viswa Sadasivan voicing Singaporeans concerns.
Intellectuals have sensed that if we continue down the current path, singaporeans will suffer as the only way is down. There will be more and more like-minded people; and in a few more years, singapore political-landscape will be different – if you get my hint.
“2. Singaporeans have never publicly rejected any policies, as far as i know. Else, show me an example. This indirectly means ACCEPTANCE.”
>> It’s illegal to protest if I got your question correct; not that anyone don’t want to if it’s a right cause; but it’s against the law. That’s different from acceptance. One good example is the NKF saga; anyone protest in front of NKF? No? Does that means that Singaporeans accept? I don’t think so.
157) we, singaporeans on August 27th, 2009 9.48 am
once of the reason: pity the old man has support and bring up singapore all this while since our grandfather and now we singaporeans want to dumb him away???????
no!!!!!!!!!!! father!!!!!!!!!!! don’t worry lky we singaporeans believed in you and will always be by your side and it’s ok if we suffer we want you and your familee to live happily with luxury. it’s ok for we singaporeans to lick your feet
no kidding. lets not underestimate this factor and the opposition better prepare to counter this last gasp trick. ex. lky about to up lorry or pinky cancer relapse during next election.
wouldn’t put it past the pap to use such slimy tricks.
taiwan’s chen shui bian also got re-elected because of public sympathy.
lky 136 said:
Viswa sadasivan seems to be the new generation and the rebirth of our late father rajaratnam….. Joke of the century!!!!
There was ONLY one Ratnam who stood up like a King Lion against the tyranny of the ‘foxy’ pappies & that was the late Mr JB JeyaRatnam (Jeya means winner), not boot -licking ones.
Wwhy would we want another PAP fox to be reborn into this country? What a wish? ( shakes head)
I have nothing against Mr Rajaratnam, but to even compare Mr Viswa with him? Ridiculous!!!
Mr Viswa can be another JBJ, if he has more than enough courage to stand in the coming elections as an opposition candidate.
My vote is for him ( if in my constituency) but will he?
There is no ‘promise’ or ‘hope’ for Singaporeans from a ‘vocal’ NMP.
Speaking of COURAGE:
How many of of us:
1) would have ‘ guts’ to join the opposition parties as members ?
2) would we dare to come in to forums with our ‘real names’ instead of ‘pseudonyms”?
3)would we dare go to ‘Speakers Corner’ to support & listen to the speech of our oppositions parties?
4) would we attend activities conducted by our opposition party members?.
Would we?
WE ARE SOOO SCARED, aren’t we?
There you go…this is what we are… Singaporeans!
See, how brave we are despite serving 2.5 yrs in NS? tsk…tsk…tsk….
Just look at our foreign bros/sis around the world, do we have half their courage? I RESPECT them for that.
I know we have mata-mata (poodles) ISD, ISA, IMH ..etc…etc..but they have them too!
Why is it that they can gather in thousands while we dare not even in 50′s?
What can we expect to gained without putting in any effort on our part.
It seem like we are ‘forever’ waiting’…..waiting for some ‘Celestial Being’ to come and kick PAP out . Well we can wait all our life……
Dorothy Thompson:
“Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live”.
You mean who is the next MP sacrifice to be set on fire. But then again that backfired (excuse the pun) when the majority has more sympathy for the perpetrator of the crime rather than the victim.
No need for violence people. Just vote them out. Let them eat northwest wind.
short play not bad, needs to be lengthened and cleaned up to be more realistic.
162) we, singaporeans on August 27th, 2009 4.29 pm The discussion between lky and pap
PAP: boss, singaporeans going to vote us out soon,what to do?
LKY: don’t worry,i will bring china national and give them PR an they will voted for you.
haha, good one. wejoke but luckily more and more people realise this is exactly what is happening. singaporeans, lets make a change in next election before its too late!
It’s not what he is underneath, it’s what he does that defines him.
i don’t understand MM Lee, he is so old and near his expiry date. Yet die die must be MM, why cannot let go gracefully. Somemore must bring in his retarded looking son and give our national bank credit card to the ah soh.
why why tell me why?
Does the Opposition dare to use HLP to talk to the people?
Except NSP, I could not recall any of the rest attempting to do so.
What opposition?
So, why they never win any GRC?
Have they performed like an opposition party?
feel free to comment and give answers.
166) doctorwho
I also believe that his expiry would be very helpful to check PAP’s influence.
I can’t wait for such an event beneficial to our country’s future.
It is just so hard struggling these days… and it is not just me… family and friends unemployed…sighs…
Adults can rough it out and wait it out, but those with kids are really getting desperate. If only the opposition actually did their jobs……
Aiyo people, what kind of title is this?
I will bet my last penny that PAP will win, landslide, the next GE.
Don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t.
Say whatever you want here, only those votes in the ballot boxes count.
Ah Siao #170,
Don’t be distracted by hearsay or your sense of helplessness.
What is important is who you will vote for at the next GE.
Remember, when you vote, it is about who you are choosing to be your MP.
Don’t be distracted by the party the candidates represent. If you can’t trust the candidate, don’t vote him.
[i]borderless on August 27th, 2009 9.20 am The dear leader may have led singapura out of malaysia. so what? the chinese will simply leave and go find their fortune in oz, canada, china, asia.. we must think like a frog in a well. the world is big you can go anywhere![/i]
actually no truth @ all
leekuanyew just went to malaysia recently tryin to garner supports as though he is some sort of datuk/tun
but he got snubbed by the malaysian ministers all the way up to his ole arch rival mathatail himself
so the main question is..
why is leekuanyew tryin to do in malaysia? hopin for a new lease of ^merging^ again?
I disagree. A party member takes on the perspective of its party. We should not be bothered with who the candidate is. Instead, we should vote for the party which we believe in, to get as many of its member in as possible. This facilitates the voting of policies and its execution.
So, it takes everyone’s effort to vote PAP out. Do not care if it is LHL or LKY. Just vote on their opponents. We need to get as few PAP guys in as possible. SingKaPore needs a change. It will be good for some and bad for some. Good for the unhappy lots and bad for happy lots. This issue is who the majority are.
I support the PAP all the way. Many of my frends, family members and so many youths out there also suppt this govt.
some opposition noise is good, but opposition to run the country CMI lah!
PAP PONDERING how best to fight to PONDER each other WIFE with power bang. maybe they will do a GANGBANG session upon winning. so they are desperately want to win . so the night after can enjoy the gangbang fun while we bang each other balls.
lol
to What is there to oppose :
Of course you support the pap who pays you a huge sum to comment this page.
Just like the pimps in Geylang would support prostituitions.
If he didn’t support, why be a pimp. Go be a cab driver.
As if letting an 85 year old man run the country and run hundred billion dollars fund is sensible?
Especially when he cok up many times.
I am sorry for your parents.
I wonder what the parents of pimps in Geylang feel for their children?
Ref: 169) Long Live PAP on August 28th, 2009 1.51 am that “opposition ball-less”
hmmmm…. if pap got balls, why hide in GRC ?
Long Live pap or long live absurd salary and power abuse ?
Were you from North Korea ?
73) What is there to oppose on August 28th, 2009 8.29 am
I support the PAP all the way. Many of my frends, family members and so many youths out there also suppt this govt.
some opposition noise is good, but opposition to run the country CMI lah!
I hope that your children and grandchildren are as smart as you academically to get into the PAP lackey’s club. Otherwise, even if you do not suffer in your life time under such a dictatorship, your offsprings will. While it is your job to openly please your masters, I hope that you do secretly help in voting them out when times come. Thanks.
Why pigs in a farm has a better life than Singaporeans?
- pigs are slaughtered for their meat and singaporeans slog for singapore.
- but pigs are protected by their owners because their livelihood depends on them. That’s why after so many epidermic, you still see pigs around.
- evidently, they are encouraged to give birth.
- Singaporeans are preferred died than alive cause then the govt gets to keep their cpf savings.
- Singaporeans are not encouraged to give birth because they made to lead a stressful life.
- the govt has no incentive of seeing the stock of singaporeans grow. Govt made monies from the taxes they get from earning singaporeans not from babies. That’s why they don’t care about greying population for so many years.
- they have other alternatives like giving foreigns the red passport. Cheaper for them as there would be fewer incentives to give and more immediate taxes to get.
- the only people having children by large number are the rich ones including the ministers.
- they can afford to pay the taxes.
- and they can protect their children.
whatever the govt is doing the stock of singaporeans are decreasing… even pigs have more fun than us.
Mark my words. When LKY is gone, it won’t take a decade before megacorruption rears its ugly head in Singapore. In case you think that I put LKY on a pedestal, I must admit that I have mixed feelings about him. I simply hate his human rights records. Could be an overwhelming psychological fear or phobia that he developed during his struggling days before he came to power. But he did develop a very sound foundation for Singapore to prosper. This, no one can deny. Singapore, after all, is a nation without natural resources.
ekompute on August 28th, 2009 10.10 am
I disagree with your points. If opening up and loosening means mega corruption, then all where else in the world will be facing huge problems. That’s crazy.
If you study carefully, places with the most corruption problems are those with an extremely tight politcal control and/or with a very structured and rigid kind of system of which no one can supposedly challenge. This include China, Bangladesh, North Korea, and Singapore. Such corruptions cannot and will not be reported in local news because it has been politcally controlled.
Corruption of a democratic country are mitigated through open criticism, transparent audit, and good journalism.
Can anyone tell me please, how much money the FAMILEE has? 500 millions? Or 5 billions? Do a calculation and you figure.
For a family, which is basically involving only in civil administration how can this be achieved through fairness and corruption-free means?
Use you Singapore-educated brain to figure out.
Hi, your comments are noted. Would you agree that India is a very democratic country where every issue is debated and debated until there is no conclusion? Well, India ranked No. 85 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index while Singapore ranks 4th in 2008. My point is that opening up does not necessarily means better, if the helmsman is already good enough. However, if you have a helmsman like Marcos, then I totally agree with you.
But allow me to put on record my gut feel. That within 10 years of LKY’s passing, Singapore will be experiencing substantial corruption. I may be wrong but I believe that any anti-corruption system that is put in place can be easily sabotaged.
In Malaysia, the Constitution guaranteees absolutely nothing and is not worth the paper it is written on. Provisions in the Constitution get twisted such that white is interpreted as black and black as white. It’s a real nightmare over here. Wonder if you ever visited http://blog.limkitsiang.com/ This blog is owned by Lim Kit Siang, the opposition DAP’s most prominent leader.
Just last year, the Internal Security Act was used to detain a news reporter for reporting racialistic remarks made by an UMNO member while the UMNO member was let off with a 3 year party suspension. According to the government, that guy is an UMNO member and has already been punished by the party so he cannot be punished under the law of the country, ostensibly because of double jeopardy. Can you imagine what a banana country Malaysia has turned out to be?
There is a famous forum known for some sleaze also (other forums within the website). Very famous one. All would know.
I just want to say that I think that site is and have been infested with people who appear to dissent but do so with such vulgarities that i suspect they have achieved great effect in destroying the reputation of opposition and give people who provide dissenting views a bad name.
Whether this is done with pure ignorance or otherwise is yet to be known.
real and fake is grey area.
Firstly, Indians are known for being vocal. That does not being that they are living in a democratic society. Many people got paid for their votes. They are living in a false type of democratic society similar to ours. You are told that you can vote for your MPs but there is no one to vote for. Anyway, my point is opening up a society will not lead to corruption. It leads to the exposure of corruptions which exists originally, but failed to be reported.
Having no news on something does not mean that it never happen …
“In Malaysia, the Constitution guaranteees absolutely nothing and is not worth the paper it is written on. Provisions in the Constitution get twisted such that white is interpreted as black and black as white. It’s a real nightmare over here. Wonder if you ever visited http://blog.limkitsiang.com/ This blog is owned by Lim Kit Siang, the opposition DAP’s most prominent leader. ”
Same same, sama sama. One person on a street protesting on a street can get arrested in Singapore, while mass protests in the thousands are allowed to happen in Malaysia. Under UMNO no less.
Notwithstanding the fact that most Singaporeans dont give a fig about Malaysian politics, much less a Malaysian politician telling them they should be grateful to LKY for everything, it would be interesting to note that the Malaysian opposition has to accommodate an Islamic conservative party’s mandate because of the votes they bring to the opposition.
Tell you what ecompute, when PAP goes into opposition, feel free to employ LKY, LHL and Ho Ching as consultants to the economic development of the state of Penang.
I dont not even want to elaborate the amount of mudslinging, slander, multi-million defamation lawsuits, lies and hypocrisy that exists in Malaysian politics. How anything gets done in Malaysia is beyond me.
looking at things from another perspective, maybe these MIWs are afraid of their own medicine- constant retraining to stay relevent to changing economic reality?
:)
[#181 UselessReasoning]
You can bet to your last dollar that the FAMILEE is already in the multi-billionaire class. What proportion of their wealth comes directly from govt coffers [the FAMILEE also runs private businesses] is something we may never be able to caluclate with any great degree of accuracy.
When you are in control of the govt you have a lot of leverage in your hands.
We just had one case of an opposition political secretary, Teoh Beng Hock, who died mysteriously in the premises of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) while being investigated for an RM112 corruption case (SGD46.67), while multibillion ringgit scandals are left uninvestigated, despite pressure from the public.
If there’s any partys that convince me that they are better than PAP, of cos I will vote for them. But I dont think there is any.
Ref (190) arcticmlove
Go ask the people stay in opposition wards, go watch hiw many sleeping pap mp in parliament
go see other countries’ living and freedom. go to Japan, Taiwan ( they afre lively and not that messy after all ), and go see Australia
u will know what is democracy and can we continue to be contented under the “good” pap
Arcticmlove,
is the MIW really worth their sky high salary in a country so small?
167) Baluku tua liap on August 27th, 2009 11.00 pm
Does the Opposition dare to use HLP to talk to the people?
Except NSP, I could not recall any of the rest attempting to do so.
Yes, NSP delivered their response to the Budget 2009 at HLP. Reform Party recently delivered their National Day Message at HLP too. If you are wondering about SDP, every time Chee Soon Juan turns up, you will also see policemen popping out of no-where. However, activists associated to SDP such as Seelan Palay are among the active users of HLP.
182) ekompute on August 28th, 2009 11.16 am
Just last year, the Internal Security Act was used to detain a news reporter for reporting racialistic remarks made by an UMNO member while the UMNO member was let off with a 3 year party suspension. According to the government, that guy is an UMNO member and has already been punished by the party so he cannot be punished under the law of the country, ostensibly because of double jeopardy.
LOL. Former Straits Times Journalist Val Chua lost her job for reporting factually that Mrs Lee Kuan Yew enjoyed special privilege when stroke hit her in London. The National Healthcare Service (NHS) of UK is not supposed to grant special privilege to anyone because it is a public institution.
Oxford Dude, I do agree with you that human rights is a very very sore point in Singapore politics. Other than that, things are almost perfect.
Eugene Yup, according to Transparency Internation, Japan’s Corruption Perception Index for 2008 is No. 18, Taiwan is No. 39 and Australia is No. 9, while Singapore is No. 4. What does these figures tell? That in terms of corruption, Singapore still tops all the nations you mentioned. Sometimes it is good to take a sabbatical in other countries and then return. It could be refreshing. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence until you get there.
I have three Youtube videos that may give some of you comfort and hopefully, happiness that Singapore has left Malaysia. You can access my website through my id but in case some of you miss, it is at http://malaysian-politics.dummipedia.org
Video 1: Dispersing the Bersih mass demonstration in November 2007. See how the Axed Minister of Propaganda made a fool of himself. See what kind of Ministers we have.
Video 2: Internal Security Act used to “protect” a news reporter from so-called death threats (the possibility of them coming from UMNO itself cannot be ruled out). See how the Home Minister explains why UMNO members are above the law, ostensibly based on the principle of double jeopardy.
Video 3: See how the Minister in charge of Law and Parliamentary Affairs behaves himself in Parliament. Worse than pasar malam!
Do remember that Singapore would still have been part of Malaysia if LKY had behaved like any of our Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) leaders. He has done a lot for Singapore and if he wants some privileges, give it to him laaa, LOL.
Wait, wait, don’t throw rotten eggs at me. What I am trying to do here is make all of you feel less dissatisfied with life and be happy, that’s all. I am no relation to LKY and he doesn’t even know who I am. Even if he see me, he will not even give me a second look, maybe even ask his bodyguards to chase me away, LOL.
194) ekompute on August 29th, 2009 7.20 am
Do remember that Singapore would still have been part of Malaysia if LKY had behaved like any of our Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) leaders. He has done a lot for Singapore and if he wants some privileges, give it to him laaa, LOL.
Lee Kuan Yew was demanding healthcare privileges in UK, not Singapore. However, in Singapore, he has a legitimate basis for demanding “privileges”. It does not come from high office in government but the fact that he has to pay for the “privileges”. I hope you are not saying it is acceptable for the likes of Lee Kuan Yew to partake in corruption by assuming these “privileges” come with high office.
194) ekompute on August 29th,
…on corruption index.
This is a good one. that is to say, the $3.8M for PM, MM, SM x2, presidents, the $2M for each cabinet ministers, 5 mayors, is the only way to keep them clean,otherwise, they have the corruption tendency… pap says, “high salary keeps / grow integrity”, that is shameless… i guess u agree with their flawed value
Let’s see how craetive these high salary folks can do to bring us out of the external cyclic economic downturn, if you watch carefully, Singapore suffers when the world econ is down, we suffer when the neighbouring countries are booming, we lost Seagate investment to Thailand, Intel did not come to Sg instead they go Penang and China, Maersk Line whent to Johour port , these countries in your mind are corrupted, but the invetsors flock threre … why so ?
194) ekompute on August 29th, 2009 7.20 am
Why should we compare to Malaysia to get comfort ?
Can’t you compare to Australia, UK, Germany, USA, etc.
If you choose to see a rotten tree and forget about a the green forest and says, hey, look, we have a nice green small scrub ( which requires $Billion of fertiliser per year ), we should be happy that our ‘garden’
194) ekompute on August 29th, 2009 7.20 am Oxford Dude, I do agree with you that human rights is a very very sore point in Singapore politics. Other than that, things are almost perfect.
I am surprise that you use the word perfect to describe Singapore.
Honestly, are you a Malaysian or a Singaporean?
Are you living in Singapore right now?
How long was it since you were back?
Do you come from a well-to-do family?
Are you a student living off your parents or are you working?
I ask because it seems that we are living in a different Singapore altogether.
My background:
I am a Singaporean.
I served National Service.
I do come from a very humble family.
I have one cousin in his late 30′s who has been jobless for 3 years and living on his retired parents as he only has N-level and his position was replaced by a foreigner. He tried many means to get a job but without success. Before FW came in, he had no problem with jobs because he is a skilled electrician.
Years ago, my father suffered from kidney problem and required dialysis. We asked NKF for help and was rejected because he has some heart condition. Eventually, we sold the only 3-bedroom house we had for his dialysis payment at a private center. It was much more costly. Before that, we used to donate small amount of money to NKF yearly. After that, we stopped. I was pissed to know that its director TT Durai was only paid “peanuts” of 600000SGD to do the job while all the money we had was only less than 100000SGD. Yet, he still corrupts. And we were using up our money. My father died when we ran out of money because the doctor from NUH said that it would be useless to keep on the treatment. I think he was saying, “Look. You have no more money to pay up. Stop wasting your time.”
My brother, who just graduated, is jobless and cannot find a job. He is living off my mother, sister, and I. Mother is 62 and she still has to do a 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. job at this age.
I have several other cousins in their mid-forties (professionals) who lost their jobs since last year. One went to Indonesia. One reduce to being a driver. Another still jobless and found himself suffering from cancer. His mom came to borrow 3000 SGD from my mom for his family living expenses. It seems that the perfect Singapore Government that you are talking about is not helping us in any of this situation. They are earning millions. We are earning 1000+. 3000 times. They are not helping us out. Yet, they are introducing more burdens to us with FT, FW, GST, longer CPF, not coping with inflations. More taxes… higher transportation prices.
I do not see the same Singapore as you. I am not even asking for free speech and demoracy. I am only asking for a decent living condition. This country is perfect for you. It is not so for many others like me.
If we don’t wish to undermind the future of ourselves and family ( the common and real fear of standing aganist pappies ), then cast your vote to register your voice
if pap continue to get abover 60% of votes casted, they would do whatever they want, make GRC, make non MP minister ( pave way for Dr Lee Wei Ling ? ), etc
If their votes scored below 55%, they would be pushed to listen to the people no matter how little they will change from their hearts.
What can these pap ministers or some loud speaker mp do in private sectors ? they can only hide and retire in ntuc and GIC
But, realistically, I dont think opposition has more than 15 good people to go parliament for many able men and women are afraid to stand under opposition banner. this will only changed if they see more opposition MP, adding voice and value to the nation building, debating the aloof policies from govt,
and they must learn how to mobilize limited resources and smarter campaigning, in which pap excels !
have some town hall meeting to answer questions, face the crowd, go into bus stops to chat with them, avoid Starits Times cameramen, they scare away the voters if seen with opposition candidate.
Do the first step in next GE, cast your vote and makes it count for our future.
Singapore ministers look like overgrown schoolboys, while Malaysian ministers looking like crooks. You don’t need to be an expert physiognomist to identify them even if there is a crowd. The one who put on airs and look like a crook must be a Malaysian minister, LOL.