Aziz Bin Ahmad
I watched the recent elections with cautious interest. I am wary of what the future holds, and at the same time weary of all the ominous warnings & premonitions put forward by both sides. Both have their grounds in saying what they said, but it only makes life more confusing for the ones, like us, who have to pay for the choice (or mistake) we make.
I don’t want us to end up like another country, where passing one law can take months and years, and the citizens who need it the most are the ones who suffer while the lawmakers debating it are sitting in a cool, comfortable large hall, wearing tailored suits, chauffeured there in limousines, and returning home to decent, if not decadent meals with an expensive cigar as a finish.
I do realize there is a genuine need for an alternative voice, where necessary, to be raised, and it deserves an equal amount of attention. However, if the voice, whether alternative or mainstream, is raised mostly, if not purely, for political mileage, then the purpose of serving the people is defeated.
There are times when we need decisive action for the benefit of the people, even if it means u let go of a chance to whack your opponents, and instead utter something that actually endorses them
I have no beef against high defence spending because protecting our nation, no matter how indefensible it may seem, is still important. I also have no mutton against high spending for health, especially since many of us are growing old and the high cost of living means we can’t keep suing our own kids to pay our medical bills. But are we simply allowing the tide to rise and potentially smash us?
I am worried about housing, jobs, cost of living – I know these are not unusual worldwide and our only rational way out is adding value to ourselves, but I do feel the tension when paying and paying, then seeing the signs that soon, the paying will overtake the earning.
I do sometimes envy the European work culture that is very family focused and I wonder if it’s in our genes or just our gullibility that makes us work and work and work, and to simply make profits for those above at the expense of time with our family and our health.
I voted for what I thought will best secure my future. I voted without fear from any quarters, and if a certain old man had run in my constituency, I might have voted for him too. I know him from his words and actions that he is someone worth voting for and to place the trust for your future in. I also know there is still a good leader in the team which contested my area, and I trust he can lead us well for another five years at least.
I may be a small voice in a nation of millions, but I know I matter because I am here – working to contribute to industry, spending to contribute to the economy, ready to pick up arms when called to, basically being here to be a part of this nation.
I am here. Do what it takes but don’t let all of us down.
HELP keep the voice of TOC alive!
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The time has come to examine the legality of Parliament voting to pay itself such magnificent salaries for Parliamentarians. The significant circumstance was that the move to pay itself those salaries was made possible because there were no effective countervailing voice to represent the consent of the citizenry. The WP has members who have wide and deep legal experience. Now that they have come to sit in Parliament, this matter of phantasmagoric salaries has got to be examined and put before an International body for adjudication as to legality. If not legal, then just like the ravaging CEOs of banks, the Parliamentarians must be asked to return their illegal remunerations to the Singapore taxpayer.
There is a groundswell of the citizenry who are keeping their eye on this issue.This is the singlemost issue that would render Parliament as presently constituted null and void. If the ridiculously high salaries remain in place it is an affront to the intelligence of Singaporeans at its most fundamental level. It then cannot be expected that Parl;iament works for the benefit of the citizenry and not for the enrichment of the Parliamentarians themselves. It negates Parliament itself as Parliament becomes non representatiove of the citizenry.
Nice letter and pertinent questions.
I hope we get the right answers in the next 5 years. The surge in the level of political awareness in Singapore, has made me feel very Singaporean.
My question will be, why when the Asian region is picking up very brightly, but somehow in Singapore, we are stuck?
We don’t seem to improve as a nation on the whole. Why is it such and if that issue is well addressed, perhaps we can become a better country.
I think most parties threw only the issues and very few addressed solutions.
It is indeed going to be a new begining.’I hope?’
the WP TEAM of mr ltk will mostly be like a ‘voice in the wilderness’.
i don’t forsee much required open-mindedness and open-heartedness from the PAP.
it owuld surely eb better and more meaningful for this writer to DIRECT his notion of ‘working together’ to the PAP.
AS IT IS,there is but 6 officailly ‘PEOPLE-VOTED ‘ oppo MPs after all the nosie-making?
if these 6 SINGAPOREANS DO NOT ATTEMPT TO STAND UNCOMPRIMISINGLY FOR ALL OTHER TRUE BLUE SINGAPOREANS in PARLIAMENT,who among the HORDE OF MIWs would?
Paying and paying makes a punk sigh:
Pay the masters with every little paypacket.
Pay till death comes.
Dont get sick of paying
Fall sick and be sickled all over
Never fall in love this way again
But sad enough have to
Heard about the “Tipping Point”? We are almost there. Once it is reached, a small swing in votes would cause a disproportionate numbers of seats won by the alternatives.
And in the case of high politicians’ pay, it is mirrored in the US corporate world, whereby the friendly board directors pay the top executives and themselves very very well, with no say by the shareholders (like us citizens). And what disastrous outcome the practice caused to the US economy is clear for evceryone to see.
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Probably I could understand where are you coming from. Let me tell you in real world most of the politicians are either cunts or future cunts. There is always a separation between the people and the politicians. Once Singapore matures to be democracy you will understand clearer this reality. Having said that it’s always better to have major decisions which are absolutely critical to the life and future of people and population to be taken with detailed debate and after a thorough exposure to people’s opinion through media. As an American citizen I wouldn’t like my government to take a call with my life long savings in pension fund to put at stake by government agencies in risky investment even without my knowledge. More mature your democratic system is more you will see bipartisan views accross party line to quickly push forward some people critical bills. This happens not always because politicians are clean and devoted to people but rather in most cases probably to get the extra political mileage.
In a nut shell, democracy is always a blessing to people but its still the people who need to be wise to maintain the checks n balance.
as alluded to in an earlier post, the first past the post system is unique in that , a party with over 50% of the total vote can hold all seats but as soon as that party drops to below 50% total vote it would lose seats big time, maybe even govt. The PAP have only 60% now – all the opposition need to get in 2016 is 10% more and the PAP will be in opposition – a nice sobering thought for the PAP
A politician’s toughest job is not what he does when in office; it’s getting elected. So the so-called “servant of the people” has to ensure that he does everything possible to get in there and retain his position. That’s the way politics is played the world over. In an ideal democracy, if he’s caught sleeping in parliament (in some cases literally) he’d be out on his ear. If he tried pushing unpopular policies he’d be shown the door. That’s the way it should be and we people have to make sure that’s the way the game is played.
While most of us are distracting ourselves with petty issues as to who is ”right” or who is ”wrong” , the incumbents are quietly planning and bringing in truck/planeloads of foreigners n”leaning” on the excuse of foreing ” talent” n lame excuse of shortfall of babies and what-not to build a bigger vote-bank to establish themselves even further. This is what happened during the last few years just before elections.
Many are crowing about oppo lah, PAP lah; many new citizens with their votes saved the PAP from a bigger defeat. THAT UNDID ALL THE HARD WORK , THE EFFORTS OF WEBSITES OF THESE SORTS AND ALL THE WISHING, WANTING ,COMPLAINGING was ALL IN VAIN.
Does anyone know if the new citizens were debarred for cos of not having met a certain period of stay eg., 5 years or .. mandatory period or if the incumbents ignored this anomaly and still allowed them to vote.
Till now, no one for sure knows how many amongst the eligible voters were new citizens? If they were allowed to vote on the basis of citizenship without any mandatory stay-rule then it certainly does not augur well for democracy. All they have to do is bring in more and issue citizens just to make for the shortfall or eroding support from locals.
Stupidity is normal, is human but to be this stupid is beyond redemption. The other big issue is that of disconnectedness, self-absorption (aka me first – kiasuism!) that is pervasive and endemic in Singapore.The incumbents know this and exploit to benefit. If SIngaoreans are uniting now, “ too bad, foreigners have forced us to wake up. To save our sorry arses we unite.
However, this unity will not last cos it is shallow, merely a means to and end. What is the end? Economic survival. Existentially, the disconnect cannot be mended by mere knowledge. It has to emanate from one’s Being. Being for eg, kind, being for eg, emphathetic and most of all being able to the unfortunate, the commoner.When and if each one of us as individual is a catalyst to transforming, society changes. There is no society but the individuals that make the society.
folks, let’s not forget a milestone for this General Election 2011.
how many times do you see so many alternative parties sitting down & ironing out a workable solution, strategy for this year’s GE?
IMPO, while this may not be unity in its true sense, it may be a rare glimpse of what a coalition govt can be at its best.
maybe alternative parties should have such meeting annually? like AGM? they can leverage on their strengths & avoid “re-inventing the wheel”, a waste of resources. with talents dispersed in numerous parties, such annual meetings could pave way for a real shadow govt.
they have shown they can reach a compro-mice on with ground to do battle during this GE. they can try to dispel PAP’s fear mongering that a coalition govt is all about fist-fighting in Parliament.
you dun have think identically (say “aye” always) to make a working govt, but you (all) must be on the same page!
you dun have to play the same instruments to make music, but all musicians must be on the same page also!
Aiyah, PAP will know how to fix it to stay in power for the next election. The scale will not tip
For eg, import more new citizens who will certainly vote the incumbent political party. if possible, tweak the system and make them stay in the east. Note the strong votes PAP gets in the western region, by taking the mrt train heading west, you will notice that mostly around you are speaking in some foreign languages.
You can never out vote them.
I am no politician but intution never goes wrong lah. If the opposition UNITES and stand an election more seats would be lost by the incumbents.
However, Singaporeans have to grapple with this disease first – self-absorbed me-first neurosis; aka in local parlance it is called ”kiasuism”. Material comforts is good lah but it is the gross imbalance that is palpable and sadly the incumbents policies top-down is like that lor. it perpetuates and is woefully divisive and so subtle it is that it takes intelligence and wisdom to see thru the bluff.
The incumbents will always win when such disease is un-reconciled.
aiyo!!! who he voted for ???? like talk c**king????
First, we have been told and sold over and over again by the PAP that Opposition is public enemy No. 1. Many the likes of Aziz swallowed and bought that with their votes in exchange for goodies.
Second, history has shown that absolute power is not without ills. We are fortunate in the same way as there were periods when a particular ruler in a long imperial dynasty was good. That ruler was able to bring peace, progress and prosperity.
Third, is there a better alternative in this modern world where those who govern must not only be capable but also be accountable, and answer first to the people and not the party?
Perhaps, one should observe the real world. There are political dynastic strongmen in countries like Egypt, Pakistan, Libya, and Myanmar. And I need not have to mention what those countries and the people there are suffering. Even in democratic countries like Indonesia and Thailand, raw military power is used in politics against the people. There is a danger where if one party is in power for too long, complacency, complicity, and corruption set in coupled with collusion between ruling party and armed forces. Multi-party systems with possibility of change in government in a few years are definitely better. Though without problems like those mentioned by Aziz, countries with such systems are in the upper rungs and they are not worse off economically and socially than Singapore!
this sunday fund raising to help opposition
17A Telok Blangah Crescent #22-270 Singapore (091017)
please come, form 9am, breakfast provided
Overheard at rally. one woman to another,” wow. ministers are paid 2 to 3 million dollars a year, that means every day they are paid a few hundreds for a visit to the toilet!”
1. Do we realise what a debt we owe to the Internet and the World Wide Web? Before the web, we have only the forum page of the Straits Times to air our grievances. As a result most grievances which goes against the grain of Government philosophy are never aired. Then too we are not supposed to assemble more than 5 to talk to each other about our problems with the Government. So strong is the fear of persecution and economic devastation that a whole generation of Singaporeans have become political eunuchs. I am not exaggerating. After each election a number of people are sure to be arrested and a number bankrupted.While the Ruling Party disdained Western style democracy, they love the British defamation Laws very much. With these laws, they get to destroy anyone who says some things about them, even true things. If these Laws are not swift enough, the ISD will spearhead the charge. So we become too fearful to speak for we are by nature fearful of pain.
But then the World Wide Web allowed forums such as this one to go online. And many like me are enabled to talk quite freely about our predicaments.We are enabled to speak for the first time. We have regained our voice and the mouth muscles still work! Thanks to the British, who gave us the defamation laws and the Internal Security Department as well to screw us and yet as luck would have it, gave us also Tim Berners-Lee who created the World Wide Web.
I am looking ahead as to the form of the spectre of the aftermath of the Election. How shall the witch-hunt take shape with so many people sinning against the Ruling Party on the WWW.
Well people in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya give up their lives in order to shake off tyranny and live. The drama is still going on in our TV screens everyday. Should we throw the blanket over our heads and just forget it?Forget that they swarm us with foreign talents, take our jobs away, pay themselves stupendous salaries, hunt us down by secret police (ISD), make us pay homage to their elites, gag us…
We are talking animals. Once the power of speech is taken from us, we become herds of cows to be milked. If we are not enough in numbers to satisfy the milking program, foreign talents can replace us and is now in the process of doing so.
I hope that the newly elected WP can cut through the trash and get back some sanity into the compact between the Government and governed. First, the holy salaries of Parliamentarians have to be brought down to earth and the perpetrators of the public heist brought to justice with the return of their loot. Yes, I really mean pay us back the big sums that they have robbed from us by whisking the decision to pay through Parliament. Second, the program to replace the original population by foreign invasion has to be stopped before the process becomes another unstoppable holy grail of the Ruling party. Third, elites and elite firms like law firms with connections to individuals of the Ruling Party be prevented from commandeering State Institutions especially the faceless police, ISD, to soften their clients and run errands for them. Singapore is fast becoming a rogue Police State with its Institutions doing the bidding of their political masters and cronies. Yes, I mean Corruption, (the C word) because the effect is exactly the same as the plain rotten corruption we see about us in the region. The ISD should be dismantled or should realign its duties against Enemies of the State not enemies of their friends. Fourth, a reinstatement of the possibility of normal conversations between people without fear of suits of defamation- the law of defamation to be examined and rewritten in the context of its deleterious use by the Ruling Party, whereby people who talk are destroyed or have to flee the country. And so on. We have been living too long under the phantasmagoria of the exceptional nobility of the Ruling Party. With the advent of the WP into Parliament we want such things to be brought up in Parliament, pronto.Some have even suggested that we the citizenry bring up the matter of extortionate salaries of the Ministers to an International Tribunal. This is because unlike the other issues, this issue of paying itself has a criminal intent.
My fellow citizens. Be sure that to the GRC system will be added other peculiar forms of election regulations to render it difficult if not impossible for any more parties to come into Parliament. If I am not mistaken it was bandied about by a core member of the PAP some time ago that one man one vote should be changed to one big man more votes. That is, wealthy and powerful individuals will be allocated more than one vote and the lowly and poor citizenry a fraction of a vote. Next I think it will dawn on the PAP that no elections would once and for all solve all their problems. In this the PAP will not be the first.There are countries with no elections.
I think that the citzenry should think of a way to address an international body like the UN saying that we can’t cope with the political situation and need their help. Fifty years is half a century of thralldom. Another fifty is ahead.
It is both wonderful and amazing that notwithstanding the tampering of the electoral system, there are such gains by the opposition. A little more strategic work on the part of the opposition parties could have atleast double the numberr of seats won. Afterall the opposition secured nearly 40% of the votes cast in the election. Atleast one other party had almost the same proportion of votes as the workers party.
This speaks well for the quality of the opposition candidates and now it is their chance to make a showing on the big stage in parliament. The web will be the most important tool as it will allow the transfer of views and ideas free of government editing. Use it wisely for the benefit of the poor and disenfranchised members of our community and the sky is the limit. The PAP has always said come and participate in improving our nation but it has to be done our way. That was not and will never be enough. MM Lee has made public his fear that one win is enough to set the floodgates open for an alternative government.
No we donot need to wait for 50 more years. The winds of change have picked up and can change into cyclones and torandoes without warning. Political systems that until a few months ago seemed stable have gone pearshaped in weeks.
All the very best to the Workers Party. I like commend you on you great effort and the monumental achievements you have just made.
Ahem… assuming that the votes swinged a little more and PAP got less than 50% of the seats… so who would run the country huh?