Andrew Loh & Ravi Philemon
“Come election time, they talk a lot of things, which is rubbish… This is a government which chooses its MPs very carefully; test them out before they become ministers. That’s why it is working. The present ministers can last ten years…”
That quote is by Minister Mentor (MM) Lee Kuan Yew, as reported by Channelnewsasia here. He was referring to the opposition parties and defending his own People’s Action Party (PAP).
On first impression, one is inclined to disagree with the MM. After all, the local media is hardly fair in reporting the issues which the opposition parties bring up during the elections. Indeed, the media here gives overwhelming and comprehensive space to all things PAP during the hustings. And also, despite MM’s boast about the credentials of his PAP MPs and ministers, it is a wonder why none of them is considered good enough to be the next Prime Minister. And as one recalls, it was MM Lee himself who termed the 25 new PAP candidates in the last General Elections “second tier” candidates.
As for the system working, which is presumably what MM Lee was referring to, this is arguable, at best. Singapore has the second biggest income gap in the world, the huge influx of foreigners is an issue we’re still grappling with, housing prices are placing public housing out of reach for many, our birth rate conundrum remains, and we have a problem looking for the next Prime Minister. These are just some of the more serious problems we’re facing.
One would therefore take MM Lee’s words with a pinch of salt. In any case, it is expected that the man who helmed the party for several decades would praise his own party and colleagues. It is politics, after all, and the next elections are not far away.
But on closer inspection, the MM might not be all wrong. If you have attended opposition parties’ election rallies, you would have heard some truly outrageous ideas and suggestions in the speeches by some opposition candidates. One example would be a speech by the chairman of Singapore People’s Party (SPP), Mr Sin Kek Tong. At a rally in Potong Pasir in 2001, he (in)famously called for “free 24-hour parking all over Singapore”, if one remembers his words exactly. He also asked for all trees along the expressways to be “chopped down” because drivers could not see the blocks’ numbers.
It was hardly an impressive speech, especially from a party chairman. You could almost feel the crowd cringe as the words came out of his mouth.
And then there was Mr Wong Hong Toy, a candidate from the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) in the last elections. At a speech at Woodlands Stadium, he spoke in the local dialect, Hokkien. It was an unbearable speech to listen to with all his ranting and nothing else, it seems.
Having said that, it is not only the opposition candidates who “talk a lot of things, which is rubbish”, but the Peoples’ Action Party’s (PAP) candidates too are guilty of being facetious. Blogger Gayle Goh wrote on her blog, i-speak, after listening to PAP candidate, Ms Penny Low, in a Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC) rally: “She is one scary woman! She kept yelling at the crowd anti-SDA things, trying to rouse them into some sort of fervor. ‘SDA people in their trucks go round and round and round! No direction! Round and round…What can they do for you?!’, etc… I am very scared of her now…I kept imagining her chasing after her kids with her rattan cane.” (Source: Institute of Policy Studies.)
Another blog, Singapore Election Watch, wrote of a PAP candidate who spoke at a rally describing the opposition parties as terrorists; they come and strike every five years and disappear. “In fact they hung their posters in the middle of the night”, the candidate supposedly said.
Of course, these were not reported in the local mainstream media.
Ironically, it was MM Lee himself who “rubbished” the elections in 2006 the most by his unstinting focus on the so-called James Gomez saga. MM Lee led the charge that Mr Gomez had lied about having submitted a particular election form to the Elections Department. Words such as “cheat”, “liar”, and “dishonest” were used by the MM to describe Mr Gomez. It culminated in charges being leveled by MM Lee at the leaders of the Workers’ Party as well, namely Mr Low Thia Khiang and Ms Sylvia Lim.
It wasn’t until the later part of the 9-days’ hustings that the Peoples’ Action Party realized that Singaporeans were tired of the daily diatribe against Mr Gomez by MM Lee and his PAP colleagues. Only then, did the PAP decide to focus on the issues of concern to Singaporeans – but it all came too late and Singaporeans were, quite rightly, upset at the way the elections turned out.
It has been said that the MM’s antics cost the PAP – and the Prime Minister in particular – some votes. In the end, MM Lee’s behavior did not do much damage to the Workers’ Party’s fortunes, apparently. Mr Low Thia Khiang won his Hougang seat with an increased majority, giving him his highest share of the votes since he won Hougang in 1991. The Workers’ party turned out to be the best-performing party among all the opposition parties. But perhaps most satisfying to the party was the Aljunied GRC result. Mr Gomez was part of the WP’s Aljunied team – and it garnered a respectable, some would say impressive, 44 per cent of the votes. Ms Lim eventually became a Non-Constituency MP.
The more important point perhaps is it really doesn’t matter what MM Lee says about the opposition. The 2006 General Elections showed, as it did with the WP, that if a party focuses on the real issues and holds firmly to its integrity, it can achieve respectable results.
Ms Chee Siok Chin, a member of the SDP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), when asked by The Online Citizen to comment on MM Lee’s latest remarks, said MM Lee resorts to name-calling “so that real issues then take the back-seat”. “SDP”, says Ms Chee, “has been advocating minimum wage, retrenchment benefits and CPF related issues since the 2001 elections.” SDP’s manifesto shows that it has also championed various other issues, including the adoption of a Singaporean first policy, smaller classroom sizes, as well as the doing-away of streaming at the primary 4 level.
Mr Lim Bak Chuan Desmond, the Assistant Secretary-General o f SPP says, “There are three main issues that my team had brought up (in the last elections) – family values, maximizing opportunities for all Singaporeans and the building of a compassionate society.”
Most notable perhaps was the Workers’ Party, which had the most comprehensive election manifesto of all the parties in General Elections 2006. The little booklet titled “You Have A Choice”, which was sold at all the party’s rallies, contained quite a list of ideas and suggestions. The speeches by the candidate too were focused on important issues such as means testing for hospitalisation, the growing income gap, the GRC system and an ageing population.
Certainly, these were no “rubbish” issues, as MM Lee would like us to think.
At the end of the day, the MM can say what he likes. But if he hijacks an entire election for an agenda which to most Singaporeans is of no consequence, Singaporeans will see through it. What should be of concern to Singaporeans is that while the opposition candidates who made those atrocious remarks and speeches during the elections did not win Singaporeans’ support, the PAP candidates who did are, however, now Members of Parliament.
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Mr TooLang: I’m going to put a bet with U. GE is not around the corner.Nowsday with internet tools. A lot of exposure has service.PAP is in a Panic. Now they’re just disguise to test the ground. Registar Office is not ready & boundaries has not been finalise. Don’t give to much sensitive comment where YPAP can study for ideas.
44) Toolang
Agree with you. As Otto Von Bismarck said “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others”.
TO: 50) FriedKwayTiaoWithHum
I like to conduct motivational elderly programme at the void deck of their blocks because most of them have weak legs to walk far away from their block.
The programme were conducted with the great help of the volunteers and donors. I am just doing a little things only. Am happy to see them to stay cheerfully even they are alone.
Let’s cheer for them and cheer for ourselves.
Click on the left down :”older entries” on that web(http://happyangelclub.wordpress.com/), you will be able to view more event reports and photos.
Click on the Blog Roll -Happy angel-Video, you will be able to view 7 pages of the videos.
(http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A3F2618277EC5651&page=7)
No doubt over the past forty over years as the government, the PAP has made Singapore from a third world country to that of a first world country. But there is no need for MM to brand all oppositions as “rubbish”. Agree, there are indeed some ..rubbish oppositions.. but there are some excellent opposition politicians too. MP LowTK and MP ChiamST are good examples. Hence, by branding all the oppositions parties as ..rubbish..indicates how arrogant and snobbish the PAP can be.
Just to correct an errata.
Singapore doesn’t have the second highest income gap in the world. It only has the second highest GINI amongst a group of “advanced economies” identified by the magazine Business Week with data obtained from the UN.
The same set of data extended to more countries indicates, for instance, that our neighbour Malaysia has slightly higher GINI. There are many other countries with higher GINI than Singapore.
The conceits of our leaders came from the many many years of pampering from the citizenry and we have to admit that they(leaders) are spoilt by us.
Do admit that we, the people, have behaved foolishly and allowed ourselves to be led by the nose all these years and only realize that we are trapped now.
Though it is too late, we are still able to let the leaders know we have realized that we have been nose-led to nowhere; we are lost, so to say. We have no nation though the aspiration for it remains, we have first world status but, everyday we have charities begging for money. Our old folks believed in the Leadership and today they have to wash toilets, clean the tables or rummage RUBBISH bins for survivals.
patriot
Come election time, and we will see if the best candaidates as MM lee had mention will still be in the line up….Lee Bee Wah, Wee Siew Min, Cynthia Phua, and a host of gaffers..all aclaimed as the best??
Woohoo! Sounds exciting!
Let’s vote in at least 10 Opposition MPs this time round!
If we can do that, I am 100% certain PAP will become very very conscious of all the decisions it made with respect to the quality of life of the citizens.
10 Opposition MPs will jolt the PAP up..
10 opposition is just about right to consider a win. That means at least one or two GRC. Well, if Aljunied has been redrawn again, then we know PAP is playing dirty tricks again.
@30) tiredsingaporean on November 10th, 2009 8.45 pm
Aye, that will be the legacy of Singapore….
59) btan .The people have to be cooperative to vote in the oppositions, otherwise no matter what we said or complain in cyber space is of no use. It is the people that have the power to overthrow the govt. If the people are daring, then MM lee will follow the footstep of Howard, the Australia PM who was voted out after 16 years in helm.
57) Merobok
we must not forget mp Charles “Angel”.. immortal world…
Yep! Certainly a lot of rubbish in the zero integrity shitty times recently.
Mr. Peanuts has been mentioning about how much he love the QUITTERS from other countries.
Wonder how many of the elites’ offspring have joined the ranks of QUITTERS from Sinkapore.
NS for ALL—-no free loaders!
Just to add-on to Priority 4:
Priority 1: Candidate must respect the electorate and sincerely want to work for the welfare of Singaporeans.
Priority 2: Candidate must have a good understanding of politics, especially the concept of democracy.
Priority 3: Candidate must place duty and service above his own personal enrichment and his own party’s interests.
Priority 4: Candidate must have some feasible new ideas…to make the leap onto another progress curve – the attempted leap onto a knowledge-based economy as we can see with Lim Suay Suay’s CBF statement and the high dependency on cheap(er) foreign labor to remain cost-competitve – is a failure.
Priority 5: Candidate must NOT have a record of dictatorial tendency, unfair behavior and dishonesty towards our citizens.
Priority 6: Candidate must have the willingness to take ownership and responsibility for his/her own mistakes and blunders and not put the blame onto the citizens.
Priority 7: Candidate must NOT be beholden in anyway to certain existing political figures so much so that he/she is unable to make his own judgment and decision for the good of the citizens. (Example: he/she has some dirty linen being known and held in the hands of that somebody and could be used to influence, coerce, or threaten him/her into submission to tow the line.)
Priority 8: Candidate must declare their personal and family (spouse) assets or at least reveal the total assessable income as submitted in his/her last income tax returns. (Just like in the US where the Presidential Candidate has to declare his/her and his/her spouse’s income of the previous year.)
As time goes by more and more new citizens.
Who knows, scarly one day more new than native?
That is not a scifi scenario right?
There is only 1 way out.
Time is running out.
Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
Lee Kuan Yew, Legislative Assembly 27 April 1955:
“But we either believe in democracy or we do not. If we do, then, we must say categorically, without qualification, that no restraint on any of the democratic process, other than by the ordinary law of the land, should be allowed… If you believe in democracy, you must believe in it unconditionally. If you believe that men should be free, then they should have the right of free association, of free speech, of free publication. Then, no law should permit those democratic processes to be set at nought, and no excuse, whether of security should allow a government to be deterred from doing what it knows to be right, and what it must know to be right…”
Lee Kuan Yew, December 1976:
“I can’t understand them (the crackpots)… they come at election time and they say, ‘Vote for me.’ What for? They say, ‘for democracy’. What is democracy? ‘So that I can shout in Parliament.’ What are they going to shout?”
Which of the above should we believe? I’m confused.
To Qoute some….
” let us up turn the down turn ”
” we must work cheaper, faster, better ”
” you want have 3 meals a day at the coffee shop, food court or restuarant ”
” he is a person with no integrity ”
” lower bus fares may mean GST to be 10%….do you want..??? “
he is said its all rubbish of the opposition talk during election.
let’s see who is more RUBBISH as what are happening below:
1. u create your onw committee team and bounary line and make it almost impossible for opposition to participate.
2. u r the only one who can and will easily sue them when alleged defamation made against u in order to put them for good if declared bankrupt.
3. u help yourself and yr lackeys high pay (highest in the world) and produced ‘RUBBISH RESULT’ on the expense of the public.
4. u hang on the power and a lousy loser and remain till the day u r dead though u claimed that you must be raised when u smell problems or rubbishs created by your so called own idiots.
5. who else….anyone care to add in??
so now, who is talking?
Exactly, look who is talking rubbish.
As Lucky Tan pointed out, most if not all of his prediction has been rubbish. Starting from “We are in the Golden Period”, “Asia will aviod recession”, and now the 3% growth. Nothing but pure highly paid for rubbish
just to name a few rubbish MIWs like WKS, MBT.
they really ought to get kicked out for their grave mistakes..
let’s give our MM a huge present for this coming election..
Confuscius always said: The Countryman who is old already and reluctant to step down is a thief to this Country
Confuscius always said: A countryman who is old already and reluctant to step down is a Thief to this Country.
I remain convinced that sg will CHANGE after LKY.
Its interesting that i see mm more in the news than pm.
who is more super star than him?
pay him $3 million to talk rubbish ?? Singaporeans are so generous.
no choice, he have to keep talking and talking cos he is now face bwteen the devil and the deep blue sea whether to save his beloved son and daughter-in-law or to save his legacy he spend all these years to finally realised what he gets in return now.
@61) Moe Gan Thai on November 11th, 2009 8.56 pm
[[59) btan .The people have to be cooperative to vote in the oppositions, otherwise no matter what we said or complain in cyber space is of no use. It is the people that have the power to overthrow the govt. If the people are daring, then MM lee will follow the footstep of Howard, the Australia PM who was voted out after 16 years in helm. ]]
Cyberspace is not this mystical place where no one from the real world ever goes there and return.
Cyberspace is a place where people from the real world goes in and comes out all the time.
So the idea of voting for opposition comes from cyberspace, let’s say. Those who agrees with it, will then influence their family and friends who do not frequent cyberspace. Everyone do their part, do a viral marketing.
Explain to those offliners why we need to vote for opposition. And then watch the magic results.
If we just grouse among ourselves here, then yes, nothing will change.
Change has to start from us first. Do something.
opposition is very afraid, understandably so.
it’s still better off talking rubbish than to get in trouble.
defamation suit works one way.
Alright! Stop talking so much.
Just do the right thing,
use your Rights to
vote yourself out of oppression.
Seek your own freedom and happiness.
You don’t get freedom when You worship
someone who have been lording over
You all these years. You have to bring
yourselves, your families, your associates
to your senses. You cannot afford to be
numbed skulls anymore.
It’s now or never to have your say.
patriot
78yrs old elderly was hurt on Bus 145
http://happyangelclub.wordpress.com/
Opposition have no money. Want to vote also cannot.
Have votes also cant vote, cos ur ward is uncontested again.
Sg is doomed liao wor.
Recently Temasek, HDB, DBS all selling bonds to raise billions. And SPH overpay for a HDB shopping mall. They are laudering their money now, to raise funds.
For years a nation like sg been doing some heavily laudering, and now our money is so big and unsustainable even though we have no natural resources. The only way to raise big money is sell flats, properties and land and then speculate in it, and then sell it again.
Know why USA is in crisis now? Their property market burst, even though their houses are not as expensive as ours. Once our market bursts, it will expose all the laudering and that we have no real cash.
I only worry that speculators will attack Sg just like 1997. That is why, our gov been raising alot of funds now and keep selling shares.
But, our reputation aboard is now so sully. When other banks and companies overseas heard of Temeask and GIC, or know that a company is affliated to it, they will immediately, what, buy and sell again?
Yes, sg is not holding to shares for the long term now but is now like a speculator too, sell fast.
No wonder, the trust level is so low.
Once Opposition get voted into power, things they need to do in order of importance:
1. Reduce Ministers’ salaries by half and set a cap for the max salary drawable.
2. Divert 20% of the nations’ reserve equally into all Singaporeans who has been Singaporeans for at least 10 years.
3. Expose the total amount of deficit incurred during the finanical crisis. Fire those accountable.
4. Provide affordable housing.
so basically this article is saying that the WP never spoke any rubbish and is the best opposition party?