I joined the WP because I believe Singapore needs an alternative leadership that is capable of taking over the reins and steering our country to its next level of development, should the PAP stumble. This will ensure that Singapore will continue to prosper and thrive even without the PAP in power. I believe the WP has the potential to be that alternative government in the future, and I want to play my part to contribute to its growth and development. I hope to be able to help my party sharpen its policy proposals and broaden its outreach to Singaporeans who are not usually interested in politics.
I am under no illusions that the road ahead as an opposition activist will be long and fraught with obstacles, not to mention minefields. Many who have gone before me have paid a heavy price for their ideals. Some have lost everything they had, except their dignity. All Singaporeans are heavily indebted to these heroes, whether or not they realise it.
I hope I will not have to suffer political persecution like these heroes did, but I know many things are beyond my control. I therefore ask my friends and readers for their prayers and support, as I take my first of many steps in this long march towards building a better Singapore for all Singaporeans.
Related posts:
- Gerald Giam – taking politics beyond the Internet
- The PAP’s obsession with GDP growth (By Gerald Giam)
- Former SAF scholar joins Reform Party
- TOC Report: Workers’ Party hit by latest spate of resignations
- TOC Feature: The Workers’ Party – 50 years of Singapore politics
I have read the full post and would like to give my appreciation to gerald. The steps he takes on toward the road to change is one less frequently taken. I am curious though but it might have been the perception of WP (seen through the eyes of the MSM) that to be a political party that is trying to check the incumbent, as a form of counter balance. To this point, I would ask to have a bit more clarification on the issue of trying to change something from without (as opposed to the PAP view of change from within) and is it a possibility that WP can achieve?
Thanks in advance.
Dear Gerald you should not be wasting your time in a non- multi racial party. The very multi -racial society that built Singapore.
Dear Gerald, I have read the full post. I am impressed that you have really thought through carefully about this difficult decision of joining an opposition party! Take care brother.
Why say “should the PAP stumble”? You join the opposition becos you want to WIN and win well and eradicate PAP if you can. You do not need to make apologies for PAP. As a would be voter, I am incensed everytime I hear Opposition parties say that we will be the check & balance of PAP. For goodness sake, even Olympic athletes around the world can think better than all our Spore Opposition leaders & its members, they take part in Olympics becos they want to WIN and DEFEAT their opponent, plain & simple nothing complicated at all.
Your formidable opponent is PAP and you must strive to defeat them NOT do check & balances of them which is equivalent to kindergarten playtime of want play or don’t play.
singaporeans have heard how a candidate’s past have been given to the press and how employers have given bad remarks and these sort of adverse effects on candidates has instilled a lot of fear in potential candidates such that many dare not even walk this path.
Gerald is courageous. A society’s long term survival needs courageous men and women. Imagine a society full of sheeps. When tested, can the sheep roar?
I like to send my congrats to Gerald. I have heard him speak live on several occasions. Being of similar age, i feel impressed by his answering to the call for a stronger opposition and talents to step forward.
One of the most difficult choices to make in life, in singapore, Gerald made it.
Take ‘em down!
In life there are always things to be feared.
But Life should be lived without fear for a Life lived with Fear is a Life not worth living.
Life is finite. Live it to the fullest.
Its what you Have Done and not what you Fear from doing the right thing.
Fear is nothing but Fear itself.
Ying will be balanced by the Yang. Its a matter of Time.
Undisputable law of the universe:
For Each Action , there is an Equal and Opposite Reaction.
Unleash!
It is good to see more people participating, joining and giving alternative party a prestique standing now. Unlike PAP which has earned itself a bad name over the years and nobody wanted to associate with PAP any longer. I hope LHL take the shit in his face this coming election.
Good! Sporeans need the opposition or else we will lose our country….i mean our city.
To concerned
WP is not a racists party.
Congratulations to Gerald on his decision.
The objective now is to reduce the PAP majority in parliament (98%) by at least 40% and call PAP multi-millionaire ministers to account. e.g.
why do we still have the essentially the same people running the GIC and Temasek after they have made massive losses?
The teams that ran the sovereign wealth funds of Norway and some Arab countries have been sacked and a more competent one put in its place. http://www.opalesque.com/SWF_Briefing/?p=2960
I congratulate Gerald for the positive and courageous step. I hope such a move will motivate and encourage more of our young and capable to step forward to serve the community. The job of a member of parliament is a respectful and rewarding one and could well be a career development. It is also a good paying job for most Singaporean (unless one belongs to the super-elite class of the PAP where only millions is suffice). I would however, like to remind all aspirants that the position of a MP owes his job to their consitituents. MP are foremost representative of their constituencies. We have too many MPs today that thought that they owe their jobs to the PAP government and are not serving the constituencies with conscience and empathy for the common people. As voters, we will elect those that treat us as stakeholders of the election franchise. We need leaders not political master who would lead us as we face the challenges as a community. With the current political scene, i would venture to say that more than one third of the seats is up for challenge. We need better politicians than those offered by PAP. The next two elections are as good opportunities as it can get, to effect the neccessary political change in our country because the PAP is over a barrel with their elitist social policies that has disenfranchise a large segment of population and its blatant abuse of power and greed which has disengage another segment of the population which are capable of serving.
Welcome aboard. Lets sink the PAP luxury cruiser now.
Please help us find out the following:
1. Construction cost for ANY hdb flat and how it changed over last 20 years.
2. The quantified meaning of ‘generous subsidy’ that hdb lease owners so-called received, over the last 20 years.
3. Total Losses, last 10 years at least.
Last not least, please help push for the accounting work, that is said to require decades of accounting effort, to begin.
regards
The Helplessly holding on.
The reality is people join PAP purely to enrich themselves.
I applause your courage. The opposition movement in Singapore needs people like yourself, Dr Wong Wee Nam, Tony Tan and many many more. However, people have be very clear about 1 thing. Involvement in politics is more than just loving our country, and wanting to initiate changes when we see that things are not going right. The opposition political road ahead is an unknown one, potentially dangerous and ruthless. Plenty of past examples are around us. Still, I believe that you have made the right decision. I love my country very much and if people bother to speak up, it shows that they care enough. SINGAPORE is definitely bigger than the pap. Set in motion, the best is yet to be. My thoughts and prayers are with you and all likeminded people.
What would happen if THE 33.3% sign up as member?
Will this make people more confident or daring to sign up?
I think will change singapore forever.
What say you?
Imagine: at the same time, 33.3% of singapore all stand up and say, I want mee siam! Wow, awesome!
Good on you, Gerald. We only need a few good men to begin, with sincere heart and passion to serve. Very comforting to see youths having ideals. We need that.
A brave young man. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Irish politician Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797).
With due respects, the WP is not exactly a proactive opposition party.
Other than in Parliament, they hardly speak up on issues affecting
the people.
Their records seem more accomodating to the ruling party rather
speaking up for the people without fear.
Actually, the Reform Pary or even the SDP would be a better choice
Capable young men and women are joining the opposition.
This is all very encouraging. We need to put into parliament as many opposition candidates as possible. WP, SDP or reform party, it doesn’t matter.
The most important thing is to vote for change.
If you look at history everywhere:
The Fake Heros stand in front after the “war”, lives and take all the credit and glory
The Real Heros stand benind and die young, not ambitious and did things for the love of the cause, the country or the people
Therefore I am far from impressed with the current group of PAP leaders.
All the best to you Gerald
I believe the WP has the potential to be that alternative government in the future, and I want to play my part to contribute to its growth and development. I hope to be able to help my party sharpen its policy proposals and broaden its outreach to Singaporeans who are not usually interested in politics.
–
Congratulations to you Gerald.
WP seems to be branding itself to be the next alternative party.
Dear Gerald, the parliament needs people like yourself with both the heart and the brain. There are much work to be done to create the platform for a better Singapore. I will be voting for you or asking my pals to support you in their constituencies. Best, Tony
join any party also can lah …
most importantly, the residents must be looked after. no use talking, complaining and nothing done. like what most ppl loves to do.
so long as dun be the next csj can alr.
cst & ltk all used their brains before they speak.
so, i hope gerald will do the same.
good luck
WP can continuously be changed and improved. Nothing is carved in stone. There is nothing to prevent WP from becoming better. ITs as simple as having more and more talents join WP or RP or SDP or any Opposition. A name is just a name. Its the people that matters. New Talents will change a party.
People, lets not be myopic and keep hogging on to the past. Lets look forward.
2 seats today, 20 seats tomorrow.
The biggest strength can be the archiles tendon.
PAP also has seen its original old guards team left with only 1 or a few . The rest are Not the old guards.
A name is just a name. Its the people that matters.
Tick Tock Tick Tock. The mouse went up the kookoo clock. *doink!*
18) John on January 24th, 2010 9.09 am
Other than in Parliament, they hardly speak up on issues affecting
the people.
That’s the purpose of being in Parliament, isn’t it? If you have Parliament seats and still communicate through only website or forums then I even more think opposition MPs are wasting taxpayers money.
The biggest contribution of opposition MPs and NMPs like Siew KH is that alot of the stupid things Ministers say in Parliament is due to answering hard questions by them. The MSM will only quote the Minister but may not mention who asked the question, that is why people don’t feel the “contribution”.
Siew Kum Hong contributed very significantly during his term as NMP.
Too bad, his term expired and was not renewed. By who i no no . u know?
Another talent , lost.
All Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons, please extend your NS by Stepping Forward now.
Imagine if 100,000 citizens sign up officially as opposition members.
How to defeat 100,000?
This is just a number for example. Ideally, 500,000 members. How to defeat 500,000?
Many support the Alternative Parties. Many also at the same time dare not reveal their support for whatever reasons. This is self defeating. We may not be courageous enough step forward into the limelight like TT, Gerald etc. But we can give them courage and support by being a member but not on the frontline.
500,000 is the size of AWE! Like the rally attendance for Opposition in the last 2 elections.
If there are many opposition members in singapore, then people will not be afraid to join opposition. This change in mentality could change singapore forever.
PAP stand 4 “Panic And Perish”
Not Only Perish Them, Nail the Whole FamiLEE in the coffin !
#27,
I agree. If people are cmfortable with the idea that its ok to be a member of opposition party, more may step forward. The herd needs to feel at ease.
Also, the public does not know how many have signed up and granted as opposition member. If the figure is significant, i urge that this info be released so that the people knows and some of these hidden dragons and crouching tigers may find more courage to step forward.
When this happens, singapore will change forever.
Way to GO !
The young men and women joining the opposition ranks come from diverse backgrounds.
From what I have read in new media, only friends and relatives of the family are co-opted into the higher echelons of the MIW.
will MSM-only readers like Chinese-only readers know about who has joined opposition?
I think this group cannot be reached.
Coincidentally, i think this group could be the retirees, lorry drivers, blue-collar workers or hawker stall millionaires who only can read chinese, malay or hindi.
Many blue collar citizens could be very unhappy with the policies.
Kudos to Gerald. Time for more bloggers to take a stand instead of just complaining about PAP and doing nothing.
I would say that he is unwise to join the opposition because in sg, without the PAP in power, the country will falter. Do you want to live in the third world nations like in Africa or in rich country like the US who is the first world? I will not gamble my future away with untested opposition. I know that there are a lot of younger singaporeans joining the opposition but then can the opposition deliver on what had been promised other than human rights issues? The answer is quite obvious.
Thank you all for your kind words. I have just taken the first step. I need many more people who love Singapore to run with me in order to bring about real change. If you’re interested to find out more how you can help, please click here or email me at gerald dot giam at gmail dot com.
Tom – You said: “I will not gamble my future away with untested opposition.”
Are you so sure that the current batch of PAP leaders and the scholars they are going to recruit for the upcoming GE are “tested”? Past performance is no guarantee of future success. With the exception of MM Lee, none of them have been through a serious electoral battle, nor have they faced the crises of the 60s.
To vote in a virtually “all-white” Parliament again would be to place a high stake on a very shaky hand.
On the other hand, if you take the time to examine some of the opposition party candidates, there’s a lot more substance to them than just “human rights issues”. More substance, I would argue, than most of the PAP MPs.
Dear Gerald,
I sent the WP an email with an idea for a small campaign and have not heard from your party since. Hope you guys are not getting too big for small people like me.
Tom
People join the Opposition because they must feel that the Incumbent is not doing the right or the best thing, and that they can do better. It should be merely a difference in opinion and ideology, nothing wise or unwise about it.
In Singapore, the track record of the Opposition at the polls is frankly so dismal that I cannot imagine any sane person joining the Opposition Parties with wealth accumulation, social advancement, self-aggrandizement or self-preservation in mind.
Candidates for the Incumbent might well be horses of a different colour altogether. As our PM has unabashedly admitted, love of king and country has little to do with it.
The sacrifices that PAP members make in time and effort and public exposure do not seem any greater than that made by Opposition members. Opposition members do not have large staffs of PA and aides and big budgets to work with. Opposition members hardly have equal airing of views in the MSM. Opposition members probably risk some ostracism in their social lives and possibly in their employment. PAP members do not have to apply to the Opposition for permits :).
Also, the two points you mentioned seem mutually exclusive. If the Opposition are, as you said, untried, one cannot be sure that they would not do better than the PAP, either. Conversely, if you assert as a fact that Singapore would falter in the hands of the Opposition, you have in effect already tried (and convicted) the Opposition.
Congratulations, Gerald, for taking the brave step into politics. Do not think of yourself as an Opposition member but more as a Singaporean who strives to bring an alternative vision to Singapore and making lives better for Singaporeans.
Let this be your goal and the goal of your party. The lives of many Singaporeans are now standing on the threshold of being ruined by the insolence and arrogance of the ruling PAP government. We are becoming a forgotten citizen in our own home.
Like someone else said in his comment, Opposition politics is no longer about checks and balances – it is about representing the need of Singaporeans. For such representation, the Opposition must begin to work towards winning, yes; defeating the mighty Goliath that is the PAP.
In order to do this, the Opposition must get itself in shape by not harping on the ‘symptoms of diseases’ but to find a cure for such diseases. You have your work cut out for you. That’s the easy part. Finding workable solutions which appeal to the masses, as well as for the larger good of the country, are the difficult parts.
People may talk about the poor track record of the Opposition but don’t be disheartened. The real track record of the Opposition is this: that they continue to serve the community and the country even though they have been literally torn to shreds. This is their track record – one that speaks volumes about their sincerity and commitment to Singapore; one that is not led by the sweet smell of bank notes and secured living.
Go therefore with our prayers and our best wishes – O true son of Singapore!
Winston Cheng – I’m sorry you haven’t heard back from the party yet. We’re definitely not too big for anybody. Pls could you resend me the email at gerald dot giam @ gmail dot com. I would like to hear your idea.
gemami – Thanks!
Its the path less travelled.
For the last 50 years, talents DENY the growth of Opposition by not voting and joining them to give them the much needed strength.
Over the last decade, a minority of talents have started to see there is a need to have Check and Balance and a strong voice to represent the 33.3%. All bills can easily be passed if not guaranteed to pass given the almost non-existant opposition for the last 50 years.
Talents do exist, as i have said numerous times but its understandable people do not believe this.
Even talents as talented as LBW, WSK, WKS, LSS , THP, SHT etc etc etc …. exist.
They choose not to join Opposition for some reason.
So, its highly Applaudable that talents are now starting to attempt help the society by strengthening its Alternative Parties with objective to Form the Next Governemnt. The Shadow Government.
The past is not the present.
Change is the only constant.
Life is Finite.
The biggest strength can also be the archiles tendon.
So helpless….will fight to defend IT.
Hi Gerald,
I just received a reply from Shin Leong today. Please forget about what I’ve said earlier.
Anyway, congrats : )
Tom on Jan 25, 2010 at 12.34 am
“I would say that he is unwise to join the opposition because in sg, without the PAP in power, the country will falter.”
How can you say ‘will’ when you cannot prove it?
Are you saying something will happen when you Cannot prove it?
When PAP 1st took power, it had no experience.
Also, can you answer the following:
1. How much is the TOTAL absolute amount of losses incurred ?
2. How do you know? Based on what?
3. What is the construction cost of ANY HDB flat unit? You need to show the price and ‘generous subsidy’ changes
over the last 20 years.
4. Why WP has the highest turn out in rallies held in last 2 elections compared to other parties?
Why after the counting, the result is disappointing? If people do not support WP, why would they turn out in shocking numbers in rain and in mud?
As you can see, while i TRUST , these are questions that beg to be asked and I ask these from a Technical Perspective.
Are these questions enough for you to handle? If not i can give you some more.
P3P #18
An oppositon MP’s work should be more than just attending Parliamentary
sessions.
What if Parliament is in recess, and Govt introduces some major policies
affecting the people, so you don’t comment at all?
Thats what I see in the WP MPs. They need to be more proactive outside
Parliament, and this is I found them lacking
Its seem they are overly too cautious even in Parliament when they are having
immunity
Many foreign politicians and MPs keep personal blogs to deal with issues
concerning their constituents
Now that the imminent challenge is the General Elections, there is an issue that the WP and other parties should address: voter paranoia about the secrecy of their vote is and has been I think one of the biggest stumbling block to Opposition Party success next to the electoral boundary/resource lack problem.
The bulk of eligible voters used to be aged over 40 (it’s changing now) and the irrational fear of repercussions from voting Opposition has I believe worked in favour of PAP. There are also all sorts of urban legends floating around about people not getting their HDB applications approved allegedly due to their having voted Opposition.
I hope the WP recognises this social pattern and perhaps has a strategy in place to educate people on the voting process and voter confidentiality. It sounds rather minor and small, but it’s a mindset that is very hard to change cos it taps directly into people’s psychological fears that their bread and butter will be threatened by voting a certain way. And the group that has the most to lose but are now very largely represented is the MIDDLE CLASS. As long as people FEAR that something they have can be taken away, nothing can overcome that, not political ideals, not social grievances and certainly not their confidence in an opposition political party, no matter how persuasive you are.
I certainly do my best to educate people about how it works, why we have serial numbers on voting slips (one-man-one-vote, from British system) and what happens to the votes (locked and sealed in Supreme ct for 6 months before being burnt). Hope WP will also try to do this in some way.
Thank you Gerald Giam – our hero, our patriot. Present and future generations of Singaporeans will thank you and your family for your contributions and sacrifices. May luck and happiness be with you and your family forever and ever.
3 cheers to Gerald and many more to come.