By Howard Lee/ cartoon by Joshua Chiang
I have always had faith in institutions of public service. To me, the public service has always represented the very best of human nature – service to fellow citizens.
Yes, some would call it the iron rice bowl, although those in the rank and file now would attest that it is hardly true today. Sure, the pay could be stable, but there are those who would tell you there is more to be made in the private sector. And I would always like to think that there are those who joined for a chance to make a difference for their people.
Unfortunately, that positive trait has in recent days been dealt a ghastly blow, when the People’s Association (PA) and the Housing Development Board (HDB) got mixed up in the simple tussle for public space between the Worker’s Party (WP) and the unelected members of the People’s Action Party (PAP) in Aljunied Group Representative Constituency.
I will not delve into the evidence thrown up by the political parties to support their bids for management of the public spaces. Who is right and wrong can often be a matter of perspective. Also, there has been very little recorded documents from both WP and PAP to support their claims.
Instead, I would like to focus on three key areas that I felt reflected badly on PA and HDB as public institutions. It had nothing to do with the evidence thrown up by the aggrieved parties, but everything to do with the rightful conduct of the agencies, which in turn has cast doubt on their dignity and impartiality, bodies constituted for the benefit of the people. Unfortunately, such actions increase public suspicion that our government agencies are nothing more than a machine of the PAP.
Decision without consultation – From statements made thus far, it is clear that the reassignment of the 26 lots of public spaces from the Hougang Aljunied Town Council (HATC) back to the management of PA was done without first consulting WP and without asking WP to provide evidence to dispute claims of mismanagement by PAP. It is unfair, plain and simple, to hear just one side of the story, and definitely not something that the public service should do, even on a remote basis.
Pre-emptive prejudice – PA has clearly admitted that the move on HATC was a pre-emptive strike based on alleged difficulties that Hougang Town Council (HTC) has placed for applications made to use public spaces under its charge. But HTC is not HATC, or at best only constitute one of its parts. It should be given the benefit of the doubt, since HATC never had the chance to demonstrate a track record of making things difficult for grassroots orgaisations. The idiom that goes with this course of action is “give a dog a bad name and hang him”. It is discrimination, and discrimination should never be part of public service DNA.
Benefit for a few or benefit of the people – The current action is chiefly an attempt to make things better for the few within grassroot organisations who organise activities at these public spaces. For the people who participate in the activities organised at these locations, it seldom matters (or shouldn’t matter) who organises them or which political party is invited. If anything, the action has cast doubt on the neutrality of grassroots organisations, suggesting that they, too, have political motivations, since their advisors are almost always the PAP member, whether the person is an elected representative of the people or not.
Conversely, the people need every opportunity to interact with their elected representatives, not the advisors of the grassroot organisation. If Members of Parliament have been voted in by their constituents, it is only right that they retain first right of use of these public spaces, as it provides for opportunities to interact with residents and get a feel for ground issues.
If it is not in PA’s or HDB’s interest to facilitate that, the least that they can do is not to hinder it. Hence, it makes more sense for the management of such spaces to be under the purview of the Town Councils.
Sadly, this initial careless decision has routed PA into a corner, such that it can only take two steps to maintain the public service’s position as a defender of the people’s interests. Neither is favourable to PA.
The first possible recourse is to reverse the decision to manage the 26 lots of public spaces taken from HATC. This is not a likely outcome, as it immediately indicates wrong-doing. It would only serve to further undermine PA’s credibility, assuming that the current line of action has not already done irreparable damage.
The second option is to standardise and apply the same to all constituencies and resume administration of all similar public spaces. That alone would bog down PA’s operational effectiveness, but would surely be a cementing point to reaffirm its fairness.
In addition, there is immediate need for damage control, as Desmond Choo’s (PAP’s grassroot advisor in Hougang Single Member Constituency) application to reserve six sites in HTC to be likewise categorised has yet to be approved. Particularly since Choo’s application is, in my opinion, made on shaky grounds. I say this because he has used dated examples, is not the elected representative of the residents in Hougang to be able to speak on their behalf without a petition, and his telling WP to be more creative in using other opportunities to reach out to residents just smacks of double standards.
To me, public service represents an honourable side of us, and to this day, I would still like to believe that the Singapore public service – my former colleagues and friends – have done all they can for the benefit of the people. I would like to think that they go home each day, weary from battling bureaucracy, but not battling bias.
This latest spate is a betrayal of all those who start their day making it a point to put the interest of the people first. Whatever the reasons for this murky business having happened in the first place, I can only hope that WP’s claim of political motivation proves untrue, and PA and HDB would be able to rise above it by taking impartial steps forward.
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The writer has served close to 10 years in the Singapore public service.
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whatever squabble there is,the fundamental courtesy is to accord the MP – PAP OR OPPO – ‘priorities’ to carry out his duties ,forst n foremsot, for the singaporeans who VOTED for him/her in that particular constituency.
let the MP do his/her job without any unnecessary obstruction as there are many problems n issues to b solved like JOBLESSNESS.HOMELESNESS,’PENNILIESS’ and OTHERS.
GROs members should lend sincere n unwavering support for the MP regardless if he is from PAP or WP or others(in future).
SOCIAL COHESION N HARMONY REQUIRES COLLABORATOPN,not OBSTRUCTION.
its a very simple xcercise durin the 7th month dinners
all pap mp attendees hav 3 hdb primeslot carparks chooped and no coupons needed
oppositions hav to place parkin coupons or kannaed summons by lta enforcement squads
~period~
The President is invited to give his comments on the above matter. The Cabinet and Presidential Advisors must order the President to give his officially advised comments in public. The PA is causing political disunity and damage to the Republic of Singapore.
This latest spate only serves to reinforce my belief how some politicians and bureaucrats serve partisan interests and only act in ways that seek to fix their opponents and buy themselves votes. It is pervasive and deep rooted in certain organizations.
HDB has the right to reassign the 26 lots of public spaces from the Hougang Aljunied Town Council back to the management of PA. It is not WP or anyone business to care. This is strictly btwn HDB & PA.
Also, the operating cost of PA can be very high, and they may require additional funding to cover these costs. This additional funding comes from donations by the people. So if PA adopts or rejects certain actions, it simply reflects the will of the people.
Good article; well said. Always go back to basics. Why do you do public service?
Always the spirit of the public service, not the pettiness of narrow-mindedness hiding behind self-justified, self-serving guidelines of BOOTLICKERS.
It’s always amusing when PAP diehards speak self-righteously of their self-created rules, as if they do not have a conscience of their own to determine just from unjust.
It is clear from this incident that PA (and HDB), funded by taxpayers, are used to advance the partisan agenda of a certain party in white. This reflects not the will of the people, but the will of that certain party, particularly in a constituency where the people have made their choice during GE 2011 for an alternative party to hold the reins in their constituency.
LKY has never been more brutally frank when he said it is not the business of the PAP government to help the Opposition. The Civil Service and all GROs including trade unions are tools to perpetuate PAP rule. The recent EP contest is a stark reminder. So long as this practice persists, Singaporeans will never be united. This is the price to pay when the ruling party is hell bent on winning every election by fair or foul means.
The ruling PaP should not make use of HDB & PA to serve its interests- if they continue to do so , come 2016 we will see more wards fall to opposition- PAP please wake up !!
Thanks for clarifying my thoughts on this topic. This article should be published on ST for local discussion to move the dialogue ahead in unifying singaporeans.
@Steven Kho: “This additional funding comes from donations by the people. So if PA adopts or rejects certain actions, it simply reflects the will of the people.”
Can you explain how you made the leap from “…comes from donations by the people” to “…it simply reflects the will of the people”??
By the word “people” I take it you mean the general public so may I know since when does the PA ever take direction from people where adminstrative decisions are concerned? The only reflection of will here is representative of what the PAP commands, pure and simple.
And to anyone who defends the PA as being unbiased and non-partisan, I say “Bah…humbug!”
@steven ko
PA reflect the will of the people? Who vote for them to give them that mandate?
PAP must extend the same policy to losing opposition MP candidates to be the PA Advisors.
I welcome the Presidential candidates and opposition party SGs comments on the above matter. This issue will similarly affect them if they win the general elections.
Lee Kuan yew the PAP stalwart introduced the Religious & Racial via his appropriate Minister when he was PM.
Let him now as MP in his PM son LHL’s PM office and whom he made PM, get his son Loong to introduce I suggest a “PAP with ‘all daft Singaporeans’ Harmony Bill”! And also all “PAP govenrment Agencies with ‘all daft Opposition & Singaporeans’ Bill.
If he could produce a White Paper in parliament detailing the medical records of our affable late President and First NTUC S-G, We don’t see why he can’t do this FOR Singaporeans’ and Singapore Society AT-LARGE’s As A “Open and Inclusive CIVIL Society” as his son Loong proclaimed after his 2006 GE win? Words NOT followed by relevant ACTIONS is just NATO and has absolutely NO CREDIBILITY AT ALL!
Guys,guys please !
My Son ,Steven is Retarded, pse no need to get workup by his comments
Pappies fail to realise that such underhanded tactics only reaffirm that the residents of Aljunied GRC had made the right decision to vote the PAP representatives out during the GE! I believe no Opposition Party had expected any assistance fr the PAP, but the Establishment using the PA and HDB to further hinder the interaction between the elected Opposition MPs is despicable! Mr Khaw Mr Yam have a lot to answer for instead of being so quiet!
@ Steven Kho,
You are right again that “HDB has the right to reassign the 26 lots of public spaces from the Hougang Aljunied Town Council back to the management of PA. It is not WP or anyone business to care. This is strictly btwn HDB & PA.”
However, both are supposed to serve the public and both are funded by the public. Thus, they have no choice but to be accountable to the public. Thus, the public have every right to know the reasons behind their actions.
Sad to say, logical citizens will feel that such actions are childish and partisan….how about you? Unless of course if HDB and PA can justify (which they did not till now).
“Also, the operating cost of PA can be very high, and they may require additional funding to cover these costs. This additional funding comes from donations by the people. So if PA adopts or rejects certain actions, it simply reflects the will of the people.”
Did not know how you come to above conclusion as the will of the people is NEVER adhered to or consulted…..and PA is funded by tax payers…..and they need to serve ALL citizens and not just a particular party supporters…….if they are partisan, then they should not receive funding from the gov (tax payers).
And by the way, from your logic, anyone with 35% votes should be considered highly unpopular with the voters right?? No mandate from the people how huh?
When civil service got corrupted by political party, it is a formula heading for disastrous consequence. Some misguided civil servants become partisan forgetting that their duty is 1st to the people. Grassroots leaders become bold n arrogant believing that their party owned the civil service n try to intimidate the civil servants. Good non-partisan public servants will leave the service thereby worsen the system. Manifestations of such corruption is getting bolder by the day inspite of unhappy response from the public. I fear a time bomb is in the making.
LHL urged all Singaporeans to be harmonious so as to bring the country forward. We all are familiar with this type of call from him. As a nation leader and chairman of PA, issues of this kind, he hear nothing, speak nothing and do nothing. How to be harmonious and move forward?
The evidence is clear. This author is too mild
Both parties can do better. HATC and PA should get together and work for the people.
“They are all false allegation!”
Evidence – What evidence?
This is the standard reply of the day.
Take it or leave it.
Why is it when everyone, when criticising HDB or PA – institutions whose ownership is claimed by PAP – always tiptoe daintily about it. It is obvious as daylight the two institutions supposedly representing the interest of Singaporeans are not – it is representing the interest of the incumbent ruling party PAP. This is so wrong, legally and morally speaking.
@Steven Kho
“HDB has the right to reassign the 26 lots of public spaces from the Hougang Aljunied Town Council back to the management of PA. It is not WP or anyone business to care. This is strictly btwn HDB & PA.”
The time to reason with you or the HDB/PA has passed. There is now ample evidence for gross violation of Article 12 (Equality) of the Constitution by both statutory boards, at the present and in the past.
The People now demand that the rule of law be applied without delay. All violators must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
I agree 100% with Howard.
HDB & PA have to be neutral in the jostle for political space. If we allow this to continue, soon all public servants will also polarize I to political camps and there will be total chaos.
I urge two parties to take action;
1) the PM to stop this nonsense by the PA and HDB leadership. By doing this, you are doing your government a favor before the high tide becomes a tsunami against this perceived sense of injustice.
2) the 65% who voted non-status quo to identify and blow the whistle on their bosses and colleagues who are undermining the important apolitical nature of civil service. You are doing all Singaporeans a favor and you are a hero by reporting political partisanship in the civil service. If you wish to you can report it anonymously via the Onlinecitizen.
All this actions carried out by the government body for whatever reasons has become like a 3 years old fighting among one another, just like child play.
The policy making and actions carried out has attracted international observers, please do not aggravate the already controversial issues a laughing stock to the whole world.
Why don’t the WP ask for some sites to be leased in PaP wards in a tit for tat move. Lets see if HDB approve. If not, people can see how ‘independent’ our stat boards really are!!
Very good article it’ll be nice if we could see this in the Straits Times forum.
I for one support the PAP due the things that they did in building up singapore. But my respect for them has been waning recently. Especially this incident cropping out right after the PM said that there should be unity in singapore.
The PAP should stop this nonsense to win votes when it’s doing the complete opposite
Wah Pian …..PAPies rundog SK speak self-righteously of their self-created rules, he think his grandfather own this place. Talk like “Ah Tou Ah Kow” trying to swallow up people. Where is yr moral authority . Scrap all this deft rules lah.
Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely!! How true.
Based on the parliamentary representation system, people elect their new MPs every five year. Once the new MPs are elected to power, the defeated ex-MPs and all their supporting grassroot organizations including CCC, RC being non-elected representatives lapse.
The newly elected MPs are not required to re-appoint these CCC and RC or keep their so-called non-elected or defeated ex-MPs as advisors because the ex-MPs ought to hand over such functions under the laws of representation in democratic parliamentary election PERIOD.
Do not stray away from this law of representation by parliamentary election otherwise we will be encouraging them to use legalistic tweaking to suppress the people once again. Be smarter people. Do fall for old tricks of using technicalities and procedural issues to twist all issues to their own autocratic rule just like what they have done to write their own million-dollar pay cheques.
It always tickled me whenever ‘Steven Kho’ give his righteous side of the issues & ‘stevenkhofather’ then try to knock some sense into him ! No doubt many of us are put-off by the HDB
& PA biased actions. I like the call for the new EP to step in. Yes, after he has the ok from the PM…..
PAP surely know that one house can only have one head or one firm, one CEO.
To have their grassroots leaders who were voted out by Singaporeans and be appointed as RC, CCC , etc leaders in wards won and mandated to Workers Party, PAP itself is sowing discord and dividing Singaporeans.
Unnecessary quarrels, discord and hatred will be the result of this narrow petty minded policy, that does Singapore no good.
Since it is the President duty to unite Singaporeans, now it falls on Dr Tony Tan to correct this.
One house can only have one head.
Oh brother, can’t you guys understand? PA and CCC are organs of government to gather feedback on government policies. The government has the rights to appoint grassroots advisors. If WP is government, WP will have the rights to appoint whoever they want. If SDP becomes government, SDP can too. If the government is a coalition, the various member parties can negotiate who to put as advisors? Simple to understand, isn’t it?
PAP has its own party grassroots in the form of branches. These serve PAP. PA and CCC serves the government. It just happens that the government of the day is PAP now. For all you know, it could’ve been Barisan Socialis or SDP or WP if they had managed to slowly gain seats and wrest power the last time. But it was not to be. So how?
Elements of the civil service has been used for political purposes for so many years, it would take some time to reverse course and become neutral. It isn’t as if the PAP had denied this in the past. They had openly stated voting for the opposition has consequences vis-a-vis HDB upgrading programmes.
Many people are tired of this. It is high time the political parties move away from leveraging so much on the civil service to score political points.
like 小朋友 玩 masak masak
Doesn’t the other parties like WP and SPP have their own party branches as party grassroots too? Just like PAP have their branches as party grassroots?
PA and CCC is government’s grassroots. It serves the government of the day.
I don’t believe any government of the day will appoint an opposition to lead the governments feedback unit. Not PAP, not WP, not SPP, not any P. No government will do that. Touch your heart and search your soul. You believe any government will do that?
Steven Kho30 August 2011
additional funding comes from donations by the people
………….
who donate?
YOU?
did you not read…pa is funded by the goverment treasury..so which part of your brain is dead today?
eat too much kueh lapis perhaps?
HDB and PA’s actions are further dividing the people. Need a non-partisan person to resove this. In this case, the elected President has the best opportunity to demonstrate unifying the people. The 26 sites must be return to Aljunied. Any deviation will be deemed as biasness against Aljunied MPs.
Steven Kho, even if you want to argue for the PAP, you should at the very least talk some sense. Otherwise you are slapping yourselves in the face repeatedly. And since when does PA depend on donations of the public? It is a stat board that’s sucking us dry and routing the money to champion the cause of the PAP; as if the ministers have not sucked enough.
@Lye Khuen Way
Yes its hilarious and make for good entertainment. Throw in iVoteAhMeng and its gets really funny…insults notswithstanding. Who says Singaporeans got no sense of humour?
Would you have liked to be President??
The answer is YES…..I WOULD TOO.
Give me $4 million bucks.
That’s why.
I will kiss babies, shake hands with people I don’t know and those I don’t like, keep my mouth shut and not ask questions of Gahmen…and yes ..I will suck up to the Pappies too…as well.
For $4 million bucks.. I will do it….and to hell with my principles.
HOW CAN TONY TAN EVER BE INDEPENDENT OF THE PAPPIES??
HE IS AS INDEPENDENT OF THE PAP AS LHL WILL EVER BE?
WHEN LKY TELLS HIM TO JUMP>> HE WILL ASK HOW HIGH SIR???
HE IS CONNECTED TO THE CHEEKBONE, THE BACKBONE AND THE HIP BONE OF THE PAPPIES …FOREVER.
WHAT DID TT DO AS CHAIRMAN OF SPH TO GIVE SINGAPORE MORE PRESS FREEDOM?
SWEET Bugger-ALL…THAT’S WHAT!!!
ALL HE DID WAS SIT Down, FATTEN HIS WALLET AND SUCK UP TO THE PAPPIES.!!!!
WE ARE NOT FOOLED.
THAT IS WHY TWO THIRDS OF THE ELECTORATE DID NOT VOTE FOR TONY TAN.
Who said all Singaporeans are stupid?
RESPECT HAS TO BE EARNED.
Ho hum.
In six years TT would have picked up $24 million ..and he can stick two fingers at us.
Hi,Lye Khuen Way
Don’t forget that 35.19% of Singaporeans voted for a President who insistently reminded Singaporeans – no go beyond what is EXACTKY written in the Constitution ie nothing beyond the $, approval of advised list of appointees and ceremonies attendance. Don’t you forget that! You have not voted in a President to a position that is not in existence. Remember no false allegations!
All the proxies and ABCs speaking here eg one Steven something, takes the hint from one past his used by date politician who threatened the people of Aljunied GRC just before 7 May 11.
But, the people of Aljunied GRC threw shit on his face, so his ABCs are all scrambling all over the cesspits to be the first to do his biddings, however, stinko the turd is!
oh brother 30 August 2011
PAP has its own party grassroots in the form of branches. These serve PAP. PA and CCC serves the government. It just happens that the government of the day is PAP now. For all you know, it could’ve been Barisan Socialis or SDP or WP if they had managed to slowly gain seats and wrest power the last time. But it was not to be. So how?
——————————-
So what do you think if SDP, WP, Barisan Socialis wrests power and the table is turned. What do you think PAP would do ? Keep quite and listen to your good rationale ?
The PA debacle in Aljunied is the tip of the iceberg of a diabolical strategy to keep Singapore under PAP rule forever.It may well be late in the day to ask this question: Why do we need political parties to run Town Councils? Town Councils are essentially estate management functions of the municipality. Remember that the HDB, did the work of estate management for decades before the advent of Town Councils. To make way for Town Councils the HDB had to retire volumes of staff in the 1990s and then for the separate town councils to re-employ them again as staff of the various town councils in the country. It seems to me an unnecessary and wasteful maneuvre unless it was for political purposes. And it is. So any political party must perform estate management duties in its own ward. On the face of it, it seems reasonable, until you reflect that this means that any newly elected political party must enter government with a full team of estate managers for its own ward. It is a wasteful and time wasting system, where the old team of estate managers has to enter into a fresh employment with the new political party. Thus WP having won Aljunied must also deal with the broken park benches, rusting water tanks, breaking down of lifts and choked drains of the Aljunied Estate. This makes entry of new political parties much harder. To add to the problems for new political parties, the PAP has installed its branches of Peoples’ Association, PA, in all the HDB estates in Singapore. The PA is a parallel government service ostensibly provided by the Government but actually directed by the PAP, on Government funds. So new political parties have to get ready a mini government if it aims to contest in an election. It is a certainty that the PA will put spokes into the wheels of any other political party that gets elected. Like the present problem of the PA pre-empting 26 sites for itself in Aljunied, things will get worse if more political parties get elected. The PA will pre-empt every site in every ward. There may also be civil war between normal municipal services and PA services. The tax payer has to pay for everything twice. One important result of this estate management requirement for hopeful political parties is that all the other parties who lost in the last election in 2011 have the burden of keeping a standing army ready for the next election in five years time.
I would extrapolate and predict that the PAP’s next fail safe plan is to write into law that the political party who wins an election will have to provide its own civil servants in its ward as well. Thus political parties will have to have ready on hand, teachers, doctors, nurses, welfare officers, civil engineers , the whole panoply of civil servants in its own ward. Extrapolating one can see that it is impossible for there to be a change of ruling party at all forever, because no hopeful political party standing in the wings before an election can afford to keep on hand the full civil service manpower required for the whole of Singapore.
The dynamically changing political wards together with the estate management requirement described above will keep Singapore ruled by the incumbent party forever, until it merges with Malaysia or such other events unforeseen by the PAP leadership.
What do you call a system where you cannot choose who you want to be your government?
To cut a long story short, Town Councils and the list of PAP bodies like the PA, RC etc are unnecessary community structures arranged in layers above the HDB as hurdles and obstacles to the functioning of new political parties operating in HDB estates. Town Councils and dynamic electoral boundaries must be recognized as devices which will foil new political parties and must be eradicated for there to emerge a multiparty political system in Singapore. The electoral boundaries are geographically illogical and the Town Councils are just extensions of the HDB’s municipal services which it had undertaken until the 1990s when the PAP must have recognized that municipal services could be made into a stumbling block for the success of opposition parties.. As long as these two structure and practice are in place, it will not be possible for elections to be fair and the new elected party to peacefully and efficiently fulfill their obligations to the citizenry.
Fabregas30 August 2011
@Lye Khuen Way
Yes its hilarious and make for good entertainment. Throw in iVoteAhMeng and its gets really funny
…………
its my motto and trademarks to make ALL singapooriums happy friends or foe for i am ahappy no so luck striked baypio man for this rabbit ears
@oh brother,
you are correct only and if CCC and PA are fully paid and funded by People Action Party. But this is not the case.
CCC and PA are fully paid by TAX PAYERS (Singaporeans) money.
CCC and PA are not feedback units of PAP.
You ought to distinguish between black and white. The winning party whom the residents voted in, have the rights to run all these organizations for the term they won, ie 5 years.
PA, CCC, CC belong to the people.
Whichever party won that GRC, got a free term lease of 5 years from the people to manage that GRC.
That is what an ELECTION is about.
@oh brother
PA, CCC & CC are public properties and public entities at various locations. They are not private properties of the PAP. These institutions are paid by public money not from PAP own pocket.
Singaporeans are the owners.
In AHTC, residents there gave the mandate to Workers Party to run and manage all these for 5 years.