Alicia Wong
I am political but I am not partisan. What this means is that I distinguish between party and government. A party, even if they have been the single party in the government for a long time, does not make a government.
A government speaks for its people, and therefore needs to consist of many diverse voices that can speak for different sectors, tend to different needs and raise awareness about different causes.
The fielding of Tin Pei Ling as a candidate is insulting to me, the voter. I do not vote for people I like. I vote for the person who has a voice, who has something to say in Parliament. Because that person is my representative in government. My vote, my one single vote that I submit once every five years, is for someone who can speak for me. I am not voting into Parliament someone who will just say ‘yes’ to every proposal and who will then take home a million dollars, which will come from the taxes I pay.
Singapore has come a long way from a small fishing village to a modern state. Nearly 50 years ago, as a small nation-state struggling for survival, a single party in the government met the needs of the population. Today, Singapore has five million people, with a population that is diverse, with people hailing from different nations and cultures. Even more, we need a government that is diverse.
If I vote for the opposition and not the PAP, it is not because the PAP is a bad party. It is that we need more good parties.
Why is one not enough? Because we need to progress and grow, not just as an economy, but also as a society and as a nation. We cannot have 1.3 billion people to choose talents from, but the government of Singapore in the 21st century similarly cannot be limited to the same talent pool made up of the elites and the scholars.
Change is always scary, but what is scarier is the thought that we want to keep sticking to ways which is serving us less and less efficiently.
I do not understand the fear mongering, the constant threat that if some opposition parties make it to Parliament, it would be the end.Take the analogy about the co-driver, for example. Why is having more diverse members in Parliament so threatening that it would derail Singapore’s future and progress? It is easy to talk about checks and balances when you are only one party. It is not easier, but definitely more accountable, when you have more diversity and more voices.
We are reminded about the track record of a single party in the government. Yes, we have always had carrots and sticks, but carrots and sticks come with a law, the Law of Diminishing Returns. The truth is there is only so much upgrading an estate can take without becoming a construction site. The truth is, a better quality of life is not just about the lift that stops at every floor. In my community, in this country, of which I am a proud citizen, I want to know that the elderly is taken care of. I want to see that animals are given a standard of welfare and rights. I want to know that everyone can afford their own flats without spending 30 years of their lives paying for it. I want people to be able to enjoy their lives.
Yes, it is true that rising costs and inflation is happening around the world. Yes, the single party government has been trying hard to deal with it. Well, then they need more help, from more good people. From countries like the USA to Australia to our neighbours in Malaysia and Thailand, working adults my age can all afford to buy their own homes. Nowhere else is the cost of public housing pegged to market rates. Just five years ago, a 3-room flat in Holland Close cost $300,000. Today, that same flat cost $420,000. That is a whopping 40% increase, for public housing. In that period, how much was inflation? Three to four percent? And what would be the average increase in salary in the same period? Or wait, was there even an increase?
Another feature of the track record is the claim that they provide the best candidates and they have an A-team with enough reserves. A recent reserve that was fielded is Dr Chia. We know nothing about him and his grassroots or people work. The only piece of information that has accompanied every news report about him is, he is an ex-President’s Scholar and he had straight As. I suppose, for a single party, that is good enough. But I am not the party, I am a Singaporean, so that is not good enough for me. Because that scholar does not speak for me anymore than he does for the average Singaporean who makes up at least 80% of our population. I want more good people with different backgrounds to come up with solutions that are able to serve the different sectors of society.
Minister Ng Eng Hen was right when he said, “Voters care more about whether a candidate can improve their lives and be trusted to be in government, than about how intelligent he is.” Yet, the very basis of PAP candidates for Parliament is their academic results and awards. They are all scholars who are paid well, because, as we have been told, it is to prevent them from leaving for the private sector. I seriously have a problem with having ministers who are in Parliament because of the financial rewards. I look at the other parties and they are made up of people from all walks of life, from executives to lawyers, ex-scholars and business persons. They represent Singapore. They are missing a track record because the same thing happens every election. They have never been given a chance to serve the people and to speak in Parliament. One question: is Hougang any worse than the other GRCs?
If things seem more complicated now, it is because they are. A single party government may have been a strength in the past, but in the world today, it is limited and narrow. Gaps and misses are becoming more frequent and apparent. Let me look at some of these complications that have risen.
Housing
The housing issue, for example, is very complicated. The system which has been developed and in which we are trapped in has become complicated. A house is not just a house. Housing in Singapore is tied in to our CPF, our retirement and inflation. In addition to that, it is also linked to profits and to marital status. The current situation is untenable because HDB flats will soon be out of reach of the lower-middle class. It just does not make sense that the cost of public housing that is supposed to be affordable and within the reach of every Singaporean cannot be revealed. I am simply not convinced that the same people who developed and knotted the system is able to see us through the necessary untangling.
New Immigrants and Foreign Labour
With the influx of the new immigrants and PRs, and the injection of foreign workers, there are serious issues that are social and not merely economic. This would include issues like culture and integration. Then there are the related ethical issues, which is not economics, but is pertinent to Singapore as a society. Examples of these would be the ethics of employment of foreign labour, the state of care and welfare for foreigners etc. The singular decision made to bring in a large amount of foreigners is purely utilitarian, but was the common good of Singapore society even an afterthought? Has Singapore as a society made up of individuals and people been neglected?
Transport
Distance-based fares work for countries with a large land area and infrequent public transport system. In a small country with frequent and regular public transport, distance-based fares take advantage of the human desire for convenience. It does not make sense to penalise people who have a direct form of public transport to their destination. It does not make sense for the students who are rushing for class on crowded public transport to change buses or trains just to save a few cents. Who knows when the next bus will come along? It does not make sense for the elderly for whom it is inconvenient to dis-embark, wait and try to get onto another bus. One wonders if another scholar who has not experienced our public transport during peak hours wrote up the proposal which was then accepted by another group of scholars in power.
Personally, I am not concerned about the sexy dramatic issues, like Mas Selamat or the floods. I am concerned about the ability of a single party government to discern everyday issues that Singaporeans face, from housing to transport to employment and integration. Year after year, election after election, scholar after scholar: no one has spoken for the people. The issues are not dealt with until election time. If the single-party government is doing such a good job, then why worry? Why plan so carefully for when the carrots should be distributed? Why wait for election fever before cooling measures for housing are applied? Why – if the government is to serve the people and not just to stay in power?
The writer is from the AMK GRC in which a single party will dominate again, so she really cannot understand why a single party would fear more diversity in the government.
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Picture from msn.
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The PAPs always justify their right to rule because they are scholars and the elites base on the old Chinese ancient Imperialism. The Emperor would past down the throne to his male offspring and that will go down the linage. The rest of the Ministerial officials will be made up the families of nobility and also Imperial scholars. Don’t you know that many of the Imperial scholars are actually the sons and daughters of from the nobility.
How many of the Singaporeans know that many of the ministers’ children are given scholarships and they eventually will roped into form the next PAPs government to continue their legacy. Why do you think that that Tin gal is chosen to join the government? Remember that her husband is the Private Secretary of LSL and he knows too much of what goes behind the scene. So in order not the have his wife who knows too much, he is bought into the party and to reward his faithfulness, loyalty and discretion.
The people in Singapore are just like ostriches who stuck their heads into the ground. They don’t know what is actually happening. Also, PAPs always said they always do things for Singapore but not Singaporeans. Don’t you know that in their mind, PAP is Singapore and Singapore belongs to them?
Have they not asked why do they always get to Singaporeans to pay? Did you not hear them? Singapore has no resources except its people. Therefore,they can onlky collect money from the people. Why do you think they introduce COE, ERP, GST, and let the price of the property increases? It is because they have to make up for the losses they made during the financial crisis.
Singaporeans are not an intelligent lots because what ever the government told them, they just believe them. They said that they can’t control prices, cost of living and the price of the property on one hand, on the other hand they said that the property that belongs to the oppositions’ constituencies will fall. Frankly, the prices of the property will depend on the demand. From what I know, because there are good schools around these areas, the price will never fall. Look at Potong Pasir. The St Andrew cluster of schools are there. The flats there will always be in demand.
Do you know why this time the PAPs are afraid? Its because they have not expect that there are so many talents in the Opposite camps. All along their justifications of their high salary was that they couldn’t find anyone from the Private Sector to serve them. They just have to swallow their words now because many Oppositions are from the Private Sector while many from the PAPs are from the Public sector. If you examine and analyse each of the PAPs candidates, how many of them are really the CEO quality to justify the CEO pay?
You see how many Singaporeans have never analyse how Singapore works. Look at those PAP supporters and see how they argue argument for the PAPs. All they are saying is actually, they are having it good for themselves and they do not want to rock the boat. These people like their leaders actually are not far fetch in their outlook. They are gullible and ignorant as you can see how those people who are in the civil service and are highly educated, they still think that their votes will be track down by the ISD. Really silly.
“Distinguish between party and government” At one time I was warned that I should never advocate this.(can go jail they say) In Singapore PAP are the major share holders and board of directors of Singapore Inc. That is why we all get a few hundred from Singapore shares and the ministers and PAP members gets hundreds of thousands to many many millions. The party is not only the govt, they see themselves as owning Singapore and would not hesitate to prosecute anyone who touch their turf.
Dear ALL WISE, BRAVE AND BELOVED Citizens,
The Voice of Righteousness(for OUR NATION LONG TERM BENEFITS)
Reason why I am posting in the internet at this early hour of final day before cooling day(I am not a good writer) :
I just love my country Singapore which I was born. I want to contribute to our people. And I really want our country to grow healthily and with morals and ethics and compassion, as much as our citizens want.
The following state of mind of mine many of us may not want to see through this article.
But Please let me do an analysis why most GRCs and SMCs contests ARE ALL LOST to Ruling Party INCLUDING ALJUNIED except maybe Hougang. Real Democracy is LOST. AND SEE THE LONG TERMS PROS AND CONS BELOW……
See Below Notes
1) ONE MAIN REASON of Failure of this election is because Traditional Media, for example Newspaper Like Straits Times, New Paper, Today. TV like channel 8, Indian channel and Malaysia channels Suria, Channel News Asia and also radio channels. And who listens to these channels?
It is the less internet savvy common people who outnumbers internet users by 20-30% at least(that is lots of votes, we need 5 to 10 years before we can catch up with to at least match the traditional media population, although now our internet take up rate is 70-75%
BUT how many common folks even internet savvy or abled are politically that upright and concerned? Which is much lesser even when they are internet savvy), which is especially more senior, elderly folks, people who are handicap and cant walk and cant walk well due to old age and also those too busily working fighting for these survival…
Thats why the ruling party is controlling us with very smart IRON FISTSSS for 50 over years, THROUGH THE TRADITIONAL MEDIA.
They are also using traditional medias to drive traffic to their various websites like facebooks and also http://WWW.GE.SG which is quite biased favourably towards ruling party. How SMART.
THEY ENSLAVE the people to work hard and fast till we cant work still cant receive our CPF and retire well, how sad and disappointing and they are brilliant money makers WITHOUT EVEN USING WHIPS, and occasional giving us very very small carrots year after year.
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WE should promote to people to listen to all media to all sides of stories or at least 2 sides of the story. We need to let them know Media is biased and untrue about some stories, at least let the public take traditional media with a pinch of salt.
Other important but not as major REASONS as above :
2) Ruling party apologized, toned down to mellow to gain sympathy, empathy and swing votes and more neutral votes or rather their usual old supporters who fear changes and also fear of anarchy which will not happen as during 1959 our ruling party were having issues and with the resilent of our people and not just government we pulled through, also during 1965 our national building thanks to the old guards of Goh Keng Swee and many old MPs and ministers, and they are now focused on policies, which they would win back 5-10% of the votes, enough to break the opposition by GREAT numbers!!
3) Cooling day magic may see lots of surprise reports / accusation about opposition parties or their members. AlsoThey are actually depriving all voters of chances to last minute evaluate the situation by talking to opposition parties also.
4) PAP average speakers are better speakers and given more airtime and radio time from traditional medias(maybe selected from ruling party tea parties, not using our public money?)
5) Digging out opposition parties and opposition candidates old issues which might not be valid like privatization of hougang HUDC when the hougang accounts are intact and ruling parties are not giving full details, both parties need to clarify but not at this point of time.
6) From what I understand, the ruling party got a team of advisers to teach the ruling party candidates about how to write, speak, dress, public speak, address issues, make newsletters and magazine, and put them into newspaper.
7) GRC created and also democracy dead from that day, and also our feedback system of election is distort until few years later till next election it is too late.
8) electorate is biased towards the ruling party and the rally rules bias including cooling day.
9) Using Anchor ministers like George Yeo, Wong Keng Seng to be a shield to gain political compassion, how smart.
10) Using HDB upgrading and MRT and estate and facilities upgrading to lure voters.
11) The ruling trying to control using websites like http://www.GE.SG
12) Also Take for instance after seeing yesterday night tampines rally by NSP(my hometown), I think MBT can still win Tampines by a HUGE margin(at least 10 more percent).
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So Sorry to say that… (MBT is good businessman really and I really don’t like him as he is draining our money.)
a)Because the NSP team new members are mostly not public speakers(although they might speak from their hearts glad to say that).
b) Also some of them did not capture the hearts of people from the beginning to the end.
c) The opposition parties did not cover enough the blocks of HDB and condos when elderly people, senior folks and people who wants alternative voice or rather representative voice of opposite MPs from Tampines will be heard. I suggest those not so good in public speaking(example speaking too emotionally, some are too soft, some are too monotonous tone, some dont catch rhythm well, eye contact if media is catch no enough) will go to visit in buddies system to reach out to as many residents as possible as tomorrow is the final day.
d) Luckily guest speaker Tan Kin Lian-ex nutc income CEO(spoke many good points like our hdb cost and transport cost too high, but abit too soft but can be better voice projection) lift up some spirits to gather swing and rational votes, followed by Goh Meng Seng(can be better) and also Nicole Seah(rational yet to the point and simple).
e) Speak of pros and cons and give example for end of chapter of speech and also try to back it up with substantial information and quotes.
f) Talk more about plans, dont be too radical do it progressively as it may scare voters.
g) I agree with Mr Goh Meng Seng on high housing price and also compassion of gov is lost which renting house to foreigner for more profit than to rent to Singaporean and left alone to sleep openly in void decks, streets and also parks like east coast. Luckily he mentioned they are not anti-foreigners but must take care of citizen housing and other rights first which saved abit of vote, if not some good number of votes. Also opposition parties please please say about good to have PR and new citizen but seriously the balance of managing these foreign people were lost and they need to
i) Also Miss Nicole Seah cost of livings points which she spoke sincerely and close to our hearts. She present well with very well tone(not emotional but sincere and not pushy)
j) Good points of candidate to say give discount to hdb flats, but seriously for example I would rather want to let ruling party every year give us back 20k of rebate since we got that much reserves for the next 5 years(but ruling party will say it is saved for rainy days, if it is unaccounted for and unaudited but we cant even use to pay our internal debts of housing and cost of livings to save fire what is the
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use of having some much reserves and CPF when there is minimum sum policy which is more than 110k-120k for each person), instead of the petty handouts(or sweets) or rebate(which sends shivers to my spine and mind.
Sorry, Even Hougang may not be safe to opposition, the rest of opposition party are in very jeopardy state. I dont put the ruling party up to bring down opposition morale at this point. But I have to wake loved fellow Singaporeans up.
Hopefully Singaporean have done enough positive deeds and generous mindsets previously to be appreciative of opposition parties so that they can really win, but I doubt Singaporeans have such a good fortune as most of us are self centred about short terms gains about upgrade of hdb, environments, cpf and monetary handouts before election.
And after that struggling to pay for housing debts and bills and payments to counter cost of living for next 5 years, which the people have been doing actually since again I mentioned GRC, because GRC was first CREATED 25 years ago(if we forgot when the GRC Matrix(the movie) was created to kill democracy from day 1).
Many non-ruling parties candidates may be sued for defamation, one of them is Nicole Seah maybe, hope by writing this I am protecting them through public eyes……
Hopefully, opposition becomes stronger, but I doubt so as ruling parties will try ways and means to tear them down and most people like the past elections with capabilities will not want to come into election again, maybe until the day when the cancer of democracy got too serious like we become HK or Japan asset bubbles and higher cost of living. but it would be too late to help.
I vote THE VOTE of no confidence for ruling party on the high housing prices(my children will not be able to afford hdb due to higher price definitely due to inflation, pegging to market prices, overprinting of money, greed of authorities, high cost of building which by right is not so high), ERP(200 over ERP Gantries standby with some 3-5 Singapore dollars, transport cost including CRAZY TAXI prices which the authorities should allow car pool and waive ERP for Central Business District Area, which would drive up cost of living and even housing prices, mark my words here also),
no accountability(no independent groups of auditors with members of the public to witness, tally and sign off) and transparency of Reserves, GICs and temasek reserves, Ministers and Super Scale Civil Servant Pays, bonuses and increment and promotion and increase of headcounts each year(plus retrenchments/retirements of older and more senior staffs). Their cost structure have far become too much higher than what they can give Singaporean back year after year. that’s why they tax more and more in various form year after year and this is a form of price inflation of cost of living. Town councils accounts should be audited also.
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The ruling parties have been good for first national building, but they have already lost the balance between national building of well being for people and money making.
And I intend to leave Singapore as much i don’t want to.
AGAIN MARK MY WORDS HERE, Singapore WILL soon become Hong Kong and also even Japan, China and India where housing price and cost of living are too high!! It WILL GET OUT OF HAND.
It is getting harder each day. Pay and pay without knowing why we need to pay more and more, and we piss and piss. Work and work and work for long hours and when we retire still cant take our CPF(maybe cant even fork out any CPF to pay for housing) and think when my retirement age is 80 to 100 years old by then. And I have to pay 30 years for our house.
I guess Singapore Pte Ltd(not Ltd) has just really becoming a Very Very Very Big MNC(s), even bigger after THIS election….
Singaporeans will continue to be unwilling boiling frogs, and will continue in a way that they wont even know how, where and when to voice out publicly although deep inside their heart they are very tired working and paying debts and bills.
I personally guess and believe all these are due to the reserves and loss of GICs and temasek holding that they want to cover up the losses(including in CHINA Suzhou and India and Thailand) that lead to the recent years mania increase of the prices of everything including housing and ERP, non-withdrawal of CPF, retirement age increase.
No ones want to be left, no ones want to be left at home, no ones want to be forced to leave their homes, but I guess we will.
The education system is THE SOURCE of why our policies of meritocracy and elite, but all along it is emphasizing in second place morals, ethics and compassion. That’s why now our ruling parties leaders or rather followers are yes men and also more close to the party than the nation. The quality and non monetary motivation of candidates for this election from non-ruling parties are far better than ruling parties despite all odds and doubts of people fear change for the better of democracy and monopolies, but ruling parties are dividing them and conquering them one by one… The balance of conscience is lost.
Also, the healthcare is too high and also not enough time to take care of health due to cost of living, for example the lower income like contract workers and more than 30000 taxi drivers and many other private bus drivers…
Upgrading of HDB estate comes with a price, which we have to address the false glory behind it as we are driven so hard so fast to work harder and harder, longer and longer each day. Not sure when we can retire is a scary thing.
The government only spend 1.6% of GDP to healthcare, that’s why we have to work hard for our hefty and long medical bills. Plus lack of hospitals and healthcare scheme where we are reminded that we are not welfare state, but remember the word we can die, but we cant be sick or ill.
The lists goes on and on.. I am neither a statistic guy nor a pro-hdb upgrading man(as it is promoting false glory while we work and struggle for livelihood) but I sense as a concerned resident of Singapore and resident of Tampines,
I urge that Mah Bow Tan(MBT) be removed from election so that he can move on to the private sectors to help ruling parties make more money. George Yeo can retire since they are millionaire, we definitely have talents from non ruling parties.
If we vote ruling party WITH LANDSLIDE VICTORY USING GRC SYSTEM and they don’t control the situation well, Singaporean might be swarmed with 1000000 to 1500000(1million to 1.5 million) more Foreigners soon that our next generations are squeezed out of Singaporean even they work very very very hard and fast, till the day they die. Filial Piety may be lost from children to their parents and before that parents can afford to have any child and don’t even want to get married like many of my friends above mid 35s, due to cost of living to even support themselves…
Remember the cooling day tricks… It is not about voting opposition, it is voting for votes of no confidence of ruling party and voting for ourselves and our children not be enslaved by ruling party, be brave and be farsighted..
To the well-off, powerful and richer people, you might want to rock the boat by allowing GRCs to be biased favourably towards ruling parties, but once the cancer of democracy due to GRC formations are uncurable, the vicious cycle might impact you in vicious cycle manner and even your children in future.
The MAIN, MAIN reason why ruling party don’t want opposition parties is so that they wont check their billions of dollars lost and cannot account for, since the early day Suzhou Industrial Park losses…
Be cautioned in advance my beloved Fellow Countrymen.
Have a GOOD VOTE(there is no best vote, don’t waste your vote to void as opposition need your vote to voice out your real long TERM concerns and NEEDS) using LONG TERM VIEW of balanced multi-parties yet ensure that parties and their candidates are morally, ethically and compassionately and passionately about the people, not just meritocracy and elite system!!
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Bless ourselves and Bless Singaporeans :)..
Guardians and Forefathers of Singapore help US!!
Hope the positive and pure balanced energies finally flows in Singapore
Let there be no over greed, morally, ethically and compassionate government and people through education from young to nurture with patience!!!
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read http://www.goldclubasia.com/forum to see why ruling party are crappy also
I totally agree with Alicia comments that a single party that has been the sole ruling party will not make a good long term government. This “System” is NOT healthy causing the segregation between a good & bad government to be separated by a very very thin red line….
As with the old saying, POWER corrupt people mind. For the sake of Singapore development and our future generations, I implore all responsible Singaporeans to vote for a better systematic approach to governing a country rather than a “For the time being” single good person / party / organization which will NOT last.
PS: Tell me the biggest similarity between China and Singapore, and what do you think of China Government?
I just read ST PG B9 about a 40 year deaf man who got killed on the railway tracks. He was from Bishan – Toa PayohGRC and was excited to vote this year bu sadly he died just days before he could do so. If you have friends who are spoiling votes, please tell them this story.
Some can’t even vote cos they are dead….so sad
JUDGEMENT DAY
After the rallies, do you have confidence that the current batch of MPs can do better to serve you? Do you want to buy an insurance without benefit you and buy for the sake for buying? Is other parties’ proposal more feasible and able to improve and make your life better with more assurance? If the current team’s performance is not up to expectation, the voters should not be afraid to vote for COD system:
Vote for Change,
Vote for Opposition,
Vote for Dwarf system for Next generation.
http://forums.asiaone.com/showthread.php?t=35169
Election Proposal from the Parties
I would like to summarize the election proposal for the 2 different camps for the voters to make the right decision:
PAP Proposal
PAP proposal is promoting “asset enhancing scheme” and upgrading (increase the prices for new flats and raise up the COV for resale flats) and need for “more foreigners” to jet up our GDP under the 1 party govt.
Opposition Proposal
Opposition proposal is promoting “lower cost housing” to have more old age savings and change the economic model to attract more “foreign investment” and increase the productivity by having more babies(aging problem) under the Coalition govt.
These are the 2 different proposals from different parties. Tomorrow is the Polling Day and voters have to decide which proposal that can benefit them the most to have better quality of life and to make Singapore progress for next 5 years.
Be AWARE of new MPs pass their BILLS 2U
a) Energy Sector-Sale of Spore Power etc.Why the new MP from this sector?
b) Finance – New MP is from MAS,Why is he being voted into as MP?
c) Defence Sector–New MP why is our defence spent increasing?
We need a LOUDER opposition to STOP them to pass more unknown bills to SPOREAN
I am replying to AFriendInNeed. Now that we have a small opposition in Parliament in Aljunied GRC, although merely a foothold, I would like to suggest that we ask for people who have become victims of elites teaming up with State Institutions to hound them to tell their stories of how they have been harassed. This kind of symbiosis is common in the failed States of the Middle East where the Elites routinely get the secret police on the trail of their enemies to crush them. In these states the tyranny is open, where people are pulled out of their cars and smacked. Here in Singapore it is more covert.Here a prominent personality close to the Govt, frequently a ‘top’lawyer, calls his friends in the ISD to do the job on his enemy. Nowadays because of the bad press on Muslims, MUIS is also a great player. Together, in one case, MUIS and the ISD weave a web of lies into the personal identity electronic records of of their targets in the ICA. So the hapless citizen is victimized by checks and threats each time he makes an appearance at an Immigration Checkpoint. His complaints to the Authorities typically will not elicit any response or at best negative response. Even the AG will scorn him and refuse the State’s Courts to investigate why he is tormented. The victim is forced into a desperate state of being assailed by unknown forces for undeclared crimes. This will continue until the end of his litigation where he will be soundly trounced by a judge who is also a part of this symbiotic arrangement.
There is an evil symbiotic arrangement between elites and State Institutions which can readily be commandeered to go after the enemies of the elites’ friends. No longer are these premier policing institutions focussed on enemies of the State ( Mas Selamat escaped because the security police are running all over the place in errands for their political masters).
I hope that people will read this posting of mine and yours and add to the narrative, so that we can get a groundswell of evidence of this sort of corruption. You must know that being in control of the electronic identity records is a strategic tool to cow anyone because every aspect of his life can then be monitored and assasinated. This kind of ambush is the sharp edge of States that are consolidating power beyond normal politics. We have got to stop it before it becomes widespread. I have a feeling that it is already widespread but our genteel population do not want to tell of how they have been violated by a string of thuggish State Institutions at the behest of elite lawyers on instructions of client. We now have some opposition, we should start to clean up the corruption of the cronies.
I am replying to AFriendInNeed. Now that we have a small opposition in Parliament in Aljunied GRC, although merely a foothold, I would like to suggest that we ask for people who have become victims of elites teaming up with State Institutions to hound them to tell their stories of how they have been harassed. This kind of symbiosis is common in the failed States of the Middle East where the Elites routinely get the secret police on the trail of their enemies to crush them. In these states the tyranny is open, where people are pulled out of their cars and smacked. Here in Singapore it is more covert.Here a prominent personality close to the Govt, frequently a ‘top’lawyer, calls his friends in the ISD to do the job on his enemy. Nowadays because of the bad press on Muslims, MUIS is also a great player. Together, in one case, MUIS and the ISD weave a web of lies into the personal identity electronic records of of their targets in the ICA. So the hapless citizen is victimized by checks and threats each time he makes an appearance at an Immigration Checkpoint. His complaints to the Authorities typically will not elicit any response or at best negative response. Even the AG will scorn him and refuse the State’s Courts to investigate why he is tormented. The victim is forced into a desperate state of being assailed by unknown forces for undeclared crimes. This will continue until the end of his litigation where he will be soundly trounced by a judge who is also a part of this symbiotic arrangement.
There is an evil symbiotic arrangement between elites and State Institutions which can readily be commandeered to go after the enemies of the elites’ friends. No longer are these premier policing institutions focussed on enemies of the State ( Mas Selamat escaped because the security police are running all over the place in errands for their political masters).
I hope that people will read this posting of mine and yours and add to the narrative, so that we can get a groundswell of evidence of this sort of corruption. You must know that being in control of the electronic identity records is a strategic tool to cow anyone because every aspect of his life can then be monitored and assasinated. This kind of ambush is the sharp edge of States that are consolidating power beyond normal politics. We have got to stop it before it becomes widespread. I have a feeling that it is already widespread but our genteel population do not want to tell of how they have been violated by a string of thuggish State Institutions at the behest of elite lawyers on instructions of client. We now have some opposition, we should start to clean up the corruption of the cronies.
Is Ms Ting a talent ? How abt is someone who said it is ok to make a mistake in 20+ years despite the mistake could potentially be deadly ? Come on, talk to the industry and business owners, does all scholars perform excellently in their job ?
How many minister in Singapore has gone through the usual stress of running a business like the common issue of cash flow issue worrying where to get cash to pay their employee ?
Find me a CEO who will say let’s pay their employee more during bad economy in order to help spending and the economy, also reward the employee generously during boom time because the company is doing well ? Both ways all employee wins except shareholders (tax payer)!
Come on, trust your educational system is working. Ppl are more educated and more informed and exposed. Citizens are less of the uncles and aunties in the 60s who are less educated, less time to think and analyse what government is doing because they are all busy working hard to make ends meet everyday!
The Prime Minister has said sombrely on TV, right after the elections, which I now recall to contain the gist: that members of the Ruling Party should be more humble towards the public. That to me is put things mildly. Not only are members of the Ruling PAP Party arrogant, their friends and supporters in the private sector are able to commandeer State Institutions to do their bidding.For example Elite Law Firms call up the ISD to soften their targets so that these hapless people may give up attempting to obtain justice at the Courts. The AG prevents the progress of certain actions which will reveal unsavory behaviour of certain people.. Some Judges take the side of the Elite and powerful with alacrity. The common citizenry is thus pressed to the wall. it is as if the Government extends to include these elite lawyers who can harness the State Resources they need for competitive advantage and win their cases.
I am well aware that to talk bad about the Police, Courts and especially judges is anathema to the Ruling Party. So many people have been destroyed because they dare to talk bad about judges and the legal system in Singapore.. I am not a fearless fool to stretch my neck out for the chopping block, but I reckon from the PM’s speech that he meant it: be humble and serve the people. It is no way to serve the citizenry when the Government and its elite cloud of connected folks present a monolithic structure to crush everyone in its path without heed of any notion of fair play.
I happen to mention Law firms because they are the foremost mediators of societal issues and because of my own experience.
I hope that an investigation be made by the PM to find out how rampant is the evil symbiotic relationship between the Elite and State institutions.. We the citizenry will not appreciate it much if the Ruling Party members become merely humble in demeanour but will crush any citizen illegally whenever such a one has the bad luck to cross an elite or his client in a conflict.
The Arab uprisings may be due to the arrogant disdain their rulers and the monolithic elitist ruling class regard their own people, more than the abject poverty and hopelessness that is their lot.
We hope too that the new opposition in Aljunied will remind the Ruling Party time and again to be humble, nay more than that, to curb the Elites’ foul play over State Institutions so that there is fair play.