Bravo! Clap Clap Clap! Down with PAP!

A beacon of hope indeed. Here’s wishing you another 25 more good years!

I have a question for Chiam & his party. Chiam’s speech is slurred due to his stroke.

I doubt his voice would get better. So when the next GE is announced & he decides to contest either in Potong Pasir or a GRC, how would residents rally round him when you cannot hear him clearly during election rallies? Particularly for the electorate in a GRC who are eager to listen to him may be disappointed that they cannot decipher what he is saying.

He might want to consider a trustworthy & eloquent person to go up to the podium to speak at election rallies becos there is no way he will fire up the crowd in a new GRC if he were to contest it. Chiam could perhaps limit his presence on stage to hand waving & sitting thru the election speech.

I wish him all the best!
however i am so worried about his health.

im not sure another campaign would be good him..
I can already imagine the PAPs attacks against his health and ability to serve for one more term.

If he does decide that he is up for it, i will certainly support him with all my heart.

Everyone grows old.
Me and You will be old one day.
Despite his Age and health, our Alternative Leadership has not given up helping his residents. He is one of our rare heroes.

Imagine without him stepping forward 25 years ago, how many seats would there be in parliament occupied by Opposition to raise Alternative views for the people? 1:80-something? you do the maths.

He is rare because its rare for singaporeans to challenge the PAP, regardless if they have ivy league cert or IQ of 1 million.

Who can hold a candle to him despite all criticisms about him?

Besides Mr Chiam, I want to salute all the residents of Potong Pasir. They show us that threats and goodies from the PAP cannot sway them from their principles.

Keep it up!

I can see why PAP is in a panic about apathy as mentioned on ST.

While the opposition base is energized to do battle, PAP Youth is looking at each other, keeping quiet and taking the election for granted.

I think the next GE will be delayed as long as possible, until the economy picks up.

Feels like moving into Potong Pasir, u can feel the kampong spirits even when u r watching the clips. It makes me feel alive, proud of being a Singaporean

Anyone wanna join me?

Well Done, Mr Chiam.

PAP though you will be there temporary when you were elected in 1983 but you have proved otherwise.

You were Elected & Re-elected again by your Residents. Not even PM Lee, Nathan, GRC can claim such statement.

Though you have a stroke but you recovered. How about MM Lee’s wife, where is she now after getting a stroke?

PAP said you were too old to be in the Parliament but who is the oldest in the Parliament?

Potong Pasir residents do continue to support & vote for Mr Chiam in this coming Election.

If not, many of your flats will start to go En-Blocks cos Mah Bow Tan is eyeing your areas to built more condominiums & small flats at sky high prices.

Beside that, it will be wise to have more Oppositions in the Parliament to keep PAP on their toes. Many S’poreans are fed up of PAP lies.

This man has given his life to democracy and politics, without the lure of millions. Who can be compared to him? Not even our SM is worthed mentioning.

As a neutral observer, i find it very amazing that all the wins by Opposition parties were achieved 100% based on votes as they never won by walkover.

Potong Pasir reminds me of Singapore in the 60s and 70s. It is such a pristine constituency, clean and neat with great old trees, much more pleasant than many PAP constituencies which have undergone extensive upgradings. The private housing there have a character of its own. Very pretty. Mr Chiam has done a great job for his constituents and for Singaporeans. He has held the torch for the opposition for a quarter of a century. Great job Mr Chiam! It was wonderful to see your constituents enjoying the celebrations last night both at the tables and outside the tent.

“As a neutral observer, i find it very amazing that all the wins by Opposition parties were achieved 100% based on votes as they never won by walkover. ”

Sarcastic, much?

Congratulations to Mr Chiam. Best wishes to him and hope he can still be around in the next 10 years to see opposition grows into strength and his wishes fulfilled.

Great job TOC at the coverage.

Seemed like a political farewell party to me.

Perhaps, Mr. Chiam has finally come to realise that he will be on a mission of impossible in the next General Election. Thus the formal occasion now to bid farewell and thank his supporters.

While the general impression of the public is that he and a number of other members of parliament failed to make significant positive contributions to Singapore as well as their constituencies, most people agreed that Mr. Chiam has been a hard working and an honest MP. I believe he has a satisfying 25 years of his life.

It is disappointing that he decides to abandon his Potong Pasir residents (the people who put him in parliament for 25 years) to contest in a GRC which he is certain to be rejected by voters there. He could have opted for a gracious exit from politics instead of being humiliated in an unfamiliar battle-field at such a senior age.

It is hope that he can receive wise advice over the next few months and choose to retire from politics in the coming General Election – for the good sake of his family, party, residents and himself.

Whether this is the last term for Chiam or not; he has done a great service for a long time for the residents of Potong Pasir. He deserves full credit as a MP irregardless of his party.

If he stands in a GRC, I think this GRC has a very good chance of winning.

on behalf of the 33% singapooriums…
i bowed to each and everyone citizens of potong pasir and houghang includin the residents of mental health inc…
well done folks..keep it up……….

[i]becos there is no way he will fire up the crowd in a new GRC if he were to contest it. Chiam could perhaps limit his presence on stage to hand waving & sitting thru the election speech[/i]

you meant liked tellin laulee to do the same thinggie?
yes no
opps forgotton that laulee’s tanjong pagar is GRC..suredwined 1 what..no needs to climb to the stage @ all and defitenitely don’t need lim boon heng’s hands to hold laulee as well…

[i]He could have opted for a gracious exit from politics instead of being humiliated in an unfamiliar battle-field at such a senior age.

It is hope that he can receive wise advice over the next few months and choose to retire from politics in the coming General Election – for the good sake of his family, party, residents and himself.
[/i]

harlor…why don’t you go to tanjong pagar and COMMAND laulee LIKEWISED….

Dear Mr. Chiam,

Thank you for doing what you do. You are a person who represent hope and it is people like you and the late beloved Mr. Jeyaratnam who paved the way for more courageous people to come forward to truly serve the people. I am glad that we now have the likes of Low Thia Kiang. Sylvia Lim, Kenneath Jeyaratnam and Chee Soon Juan.

Whether you choose to fight on or retire in the coming GE, I will respect and support your decision. I believe you know best. Contrary to what some are saying here, it does not matter if you are able to speak clearly. It is the heart and not the mouth that move people. PAP talks a lot but nothing from the heart. Over time, people can feel it.

Great job Mr. Chiam and God Bless.

we need more dude like mr chiam

There is great camaraderie among the opposition on stage when they sang the song. It is a rare showing.
This is the work of CST and what is he trying to do. He wants to bring the opposition together irregardless of their differences.
Cheers….. YAM SENG……………….

Crudos to Mr. Chiam and all opposition members..

@15) My Views on December 14th, 2009 3.32 am

>> It is disappointing that he decides to abandon his Potong Pasir residents (the people who put him in parliament for 25 years) to contest in a GRC which he is certain to be rejected by voters there.

I think it is a wise move for Mr. Chiam to contest in a GRC, since people in PP will likely continue to vote his successor into parliament.

Now, at least we can get a veteran opposition member to contest in a GRC, and I wish that his team will win.. The GRC consitutients will be very lucky, imagine having all those part-time pap mps-wanna-be and pap ex-mps working very hard for you, hoping to win your votes next time round..
2 for the price of 1, (or 10 for the price of 5)..

Apologies,

I mean Kudos to Mr. Chiam..

I remember one night in 2006, when we were rushing out our theses; and Mr Chiam came to NUS for a forum (a couple of PAP MPs were there as well); and the entire LT11 was filled to the brim, with barely any standing room. All just to see the man who has held on so tenaciously and faithfully for 25 years. Of all the panelists, he alone received a standing ovation, and at the post-event tea, he was surrounded 15-pax deep all around by people just waiting to catch his every word…. and everyone was just awed at what a humble, honest person he was in real life… I was truly lucky to have been there.

Cheers to Mr Chiam, one of the heroes of the opposition… May you have greater success in the coming elections! Will be praying for your good health and blessings on you and your family!

Great job! Mr Chiam and residents of Potong Pasir! You had demonstrated the courage and commitment of what true democracy mean! You have set an example for all Singaporeans to follow in standing up agst the threats and inducement of PAP!

Why Singapore needs strong opposition parties are needed in Parliament?

1. Large influx of foreigners
> lower salary for Singaporeans due to increased competition in job market.
> increase in prices of HDB flats and prices of goods and services
> High cost of living for Singaporeans
> less purchasing power for Singaporeans
> lower living standards for Singaporeans.

2. Too high defence spending

Defence spending increase from $9.259 billion in 2005 to $11 billion in 2009. PAP unable to control the greed of SAF regulars for higher pay, despite the fact that the bulk of manpower of SAF (over 90%) comprises of NSFs and NSmen and SAF survive becos of commitment of Singapore citizens to defend Singapore. PAP’s increase of retirement age of SAF regulars to 50 years old a few mths ago meant that more of GST and income tax will go into pockets of SAF regulars, since they will now enjoy a longer employment with huge retirement pension. In 1998, the retirement age of SAF was reduce to 42 to keep SAF young and the SAF regular officers were promised a huge sum of money upon retirement becos of short military career. By increasing the retirement age to 50, it means that more money will go into defence spending in future. Will GST increase again in future??? Is PAP trying to build support among SAF regulars and send in the troops in the event of “freak” election, especially now that they are many BGs and Rear Admirals in PAP holding ministerial portfolio?

3. NSF & NSmen – National Slavery For men

> Foreigners who do not have to serve NS compete with jobs and HDB flats with Singapore males who had serve 2 yrs of NS and 10 ICT cycle to defend their so-called “homes”.
> SAF regulars given a high pay and promised large amount of money upon retirement.
> NSF and NSmen only given a meager allowance for subsistence.

Result: NSmen service become National Slaves to defend jobs and houses of foreigners and SAF regulars.

Potong Pasir and Hougang are names well known for many generations to come. That is something alternative parties in Chiam & Low Thia Kiang’s teams should be proud of. I hope to see more of such alternative party towns coming out in this coming election. Look at how PP residents cheer at Chiam See Tong, this are true kampong spirit that shows people are truly staying-together and forging ahead. You can’t find this ispirit n PAP town because they have already dragged many people to court for not paying HDB and Town council bills promptly.

The opposition parties must break out of Hougang and Potong Pasir and not be contained within just 2 constituencies. The PAP is adopting a strategy of attrition to contain the opposition parties to just these 2 constituencies, becos they know that they cannot win with a known-out blow! Hence, as they had the resources and time, they are able to wait for the retirement of Chiam and Low.

For Singapore to be a true democracy, there must be more opposition parties in parliament. It is nonsense to say that becos Singapore is small, we cannot have multi-party system and a 1-party dominant system will help the government to expedite policy-making in times of national crisis. If PAP has 51% of the seats in parliament, and the other 49% goes to the opposition, or vice versa, in times of crisis, they still has the majority to pass the bills.

If Singapore is not a true democracy with multi-party system, then the political system of Singapore will lose credibility in the eyes of the people. In times of national crisis, such as external threat, Singaporeans will not rally behind the government agst external threat. In fact, if the dominant party lose credibility in the eyes of Singaporeans, the people may see external invasion as a form of liberation, just like the Iraqis see the Americans as liberators from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein.

Hence, in order that Singaporeans be committed to NS and the defence of Singapore, Singapore must have a multi-party political system.

I don’t mean to be cruel. Is he the only MP in parliament who has problems getting people to understand what he was saying? It must have been a torture for the other MPs trying to figure out what he was mumbling. Can’t the law disqualify people with certain deficits from being a member of parliament? It is quite embarrassing when foreigners asked why some Singapore’s members of parliament could not speak clearly.

//My Views

You are the only pig commenter whom we have difficulty to sympathise with.

I guess you will never appreciate the genius of the likes like stephen hawking.

//It is quite embarrassing when foreigners asked why some Singapore’s members of parliament could not speak clearly.

FTs are used to it already. Just listen to Lee Be Wa.

Listen to LKY.

Both only talk shit.

//My Views

I didn’t even want to mention the inanity of LHL.

Refer to Comment (31) by [mon].

I have never been able to appreciate why, despite the PAP’s strong track record, there were people willing to insult their judgement by giving their votes to the Opposition.

I have never been able to appreciate why, despite the low housing values for 25 years, the fools in Potong Pasir stubbornly regard their MP as a hero.

#33, you should learn how to respect others decision.

In fact, you should feel proud of Opposition does exist in our Parliament. If not, other countries might thought Singapore is a communist country… one party ruling only, which will scare away all the foreign investment here, and all your investment and stock will be down by 50% which you are most worry. To help our country, PAP image in the global world and not forgetting your investment/stock, you should vote for opposition like the citizen of Potong Pasir. :)

//My Views

//I have never been able to appreciate why, despite the PAP’s strong track record, there were people willing to insult their judgement by giving their votes to the Opposition.

Where is the strong track record?

We rank among the lowest in the charter for retirement monies despite having a record saving rates.

You mean tall buildings and the MRT as achievements?

Taiwanese and HKers didn’t need PAP, they have better looking ones than us.

As to why vote for the opposition:

1. The pigs are fat and lazy: what have they produce for the past 2 decades and for every work you think they did, I can give you 2 cock-ups from them.

2. voting them out, would get the remaining pigs to work harder.

It is as simple as that.

For every dollar of pay saved from these people, we get 2 times the value.

As to why Chiam CT is so popular in spite of the low housing price?

The simple answer consists of the following reasons:

1. the residents have fully paid up their flats and have spent the last 2 decades saving up for retirement instead of being a slave to the HDB.

2. the living environment is well maintained there.

3. Chiam has a lot of character and has inspired his residents. Most people (at least around the world) likes their leader to be inspiring. The people who blindly voted for PAP and doesn’t appreciate leadership is the minority in this world.

4. the Pig that was sent to Chiam CT’s precinct is a lousy candidate and the residents know that.

5. Chiam CT didn’t mis-invest the town council monies.

6. Chiam CT has performed well above their expectation as an MP

These are some of the reasons why in spite of the threats launched by Goh Cock Talking and MBT, Chiam CT is still widely supported.

Fortunately, residents of Hougang and Potong Pasir are just statistical outliers. Singapore would be in grave trouble if the majority behaved the way those illogical residents did.

//My Views

No… the walkovers in the GRC are the statistical outliers.

The flooding incidents and the escape of a limping terrorists are examples of your statistical outliers and the list is growing.

//My Views

Ask your LHL to have abolish the GRC and we will see how many constituencies conform to this outlying pattern for the past 20 years.
HA

#36, residents of Hougang and Potong Pasir has made the whole world believing in democratic proud. Those who believe on one party ruling should move to China or North Korea.

//My views

if Hougang and Potong Pasir are outliers, then ask your LHL to start the elections now.

Why bother with the outliers?

Apparently the residents there are happy without the pigs.

Announce your election boundaries now.

If your new candidates are so good, let the public scrutinize them first.

The old pig is dying. The earlier you have the elections, the longer you can still use him as a poster bog.

The sad thing with the pigs is that they are still using the old pig as a poster boy.
as if he is Tom Cruise,

Even the real Tom cruise is going down hill.

No ideas party,

//My Views

//It is disappointing that he decides to abandon his Potong Pasir residents (the people who put him in parliament for 25 years) …

Tell that to LKY.

He abandon his wife of 50 years++ in coma while he wine and dine overseas.

Not a surprise, considering him betraying his allies all the time throughout his political career.

//My views

I remember LKY praising the Japanese a few years back – talked about organised crime helping the public during an earth quake.

that Jap culture is superior etc.

Now, he is telling Japanese to learn from us.

This is LKY.

He can turn around what he said later.

The Japanese are united and work harding. Their mistake is that they failed to open their economy to foreign talents, thus resulting the Japanese economy in such a poor shape. Yes, this, it has to learn from Singapore.

The other lesson which the Japanese will soon learn is that they should never have allowed a party without experience in managing a country to be the government. This, they will soon learn from wise Singaporeans again.

//My Views

For a country that has not produced companies as great as sony and the likes, and whose FT policies have not produce any tangible results, the comments you make are very boastful.

It is of the type where you can cut and paste parts that work and hope that every time will work.

Naive.

//My Views

US has the most open economy and their economies are also in a lot of shit now…

open or not… it doesn’t protect your economy from severe recessions.

//My Views

Japanese workers are one of the most productive and creative in the world, I wonder why the Japanese need to introduce Foreign workers less productive than them?

The Japanese have already outsourced most of the non productive industrial activities overseas, employing FT where they live.

Why do they need these fts back home?

I think the Japanese are smart. They know they by introducing FT into their own countries, they will introduce uncertainty like the types that will drive the ST index to 1000 points.

They are rich so they think : why bother with the risk?

We are importing FTs because our GLCs are not profitable employing FT in their home ground.

//Sick views

//Yes, this, it has to learn from Singapore.

For a policy that has not produced positive results, that is typical of the pigs to boast.

Refer to (45) by [cat].

“For a country that has not produced companies as great as sony and the likes, and whose FT policies have not produce any tangible results, the comments you make are very boastful.”

Which corner of the world you are living? Obviously you seemed to have not heard about good brand names like SIA, DBS, Capitaland, Sembawang Corp and Keppel Corporation.

For your information, Keppel and Sembawang together controls 80% of the world’s production of oil rigs! SIA is one of the most profitable airlines in the world! If these blue-chip companies did not open themselves to foreign talents and adopt meritocracy, they would not have achieved today’s admirable results!

//My views

yeah right. SIA, DBS, Capitaland, Sembawang Corp and Keppel Corporation is comparable to Sony?!

What a joke!

All these companies are just big because of the sales figure prop up by exchange rate. Profitability overseas?

you must be kidding yourself.

DBS’s expansion overseas is a laughing stock. The number of cockups in HK, we could list out easily to you.

Keppel and Sembawang together controls 80% of the world’s production of oil rigs…

I don’t know where you got this piece of information.

If it was true, then they should be contributing a lot of monies to Singapore. But we don’t see that.

//My views

If these blue-chip companies did not open themselves to foreign talents and adopt meritocracy, they would not have achieved today’s admirable results!

Tell me that 10 years down the road after this FT policies in place and the companies are a lot profitable than they are now, I may believe you.

The profitability now is the effort of past labour when Singaporeans calls the shots in the companies before the FT policies.

Start dreaming.

//my views

In case you didn’t remember DBS is everywhere because they took over POSBank without any contest.

Did they do anything great with it?

I am amused by your false confidence.

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