By the way of a press release to the mainstream media, Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer has informed that Hougang MP Yaw Shin Leong will not be appealing against his expulsion from the Workers' Party.
Mr Yaw was given till Friday, February 24, to inform Parliament if he will appeal against or challenge his expulsion from the WP. No further details as to why he will not be appealing were not released.
Pursuant to Article 46(2)(b) of the Constitution, Mr Palmer declared the seat of the Member for Hougang as vacant from the date of his expulsion from the Party.
In his press release Mr Palmer said that he will be making a formal announcement to the House at its next sitting on Tuesday 28 February 2012.
source: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120222-329466.html
HELP keep the voice of TOC alive!
If you like this article, please consider a small donation to help theonlinecitizen.com stay alive. Please note that we can only accept donations from Singaporeans. Thank you for your assistance.Do you have a flair for writing? Volunteer with us. Email us your full name and contact details to theonlinecitizen@gmail.com
Barisan Sosialis and Workers Party……Like Brothers Like Sisters…
They try so hard to get into parliament, and they try even harder to get out….
When will these fly-by-night salesman ever learn not to betray the faith of the people ?
It is confirmed that pap ministers, mps and other members like to write rubbish on TOC.
Betrayal of people's faith? seems more like just an unfortunate incident for WP instead.
People makes mistakes, whether its elected MPs from PAP or opposition parties. This Yaw saga has been blown out of proportion. Finally, WP responded with his explusion.
You called this betrayer? You don't have an idea yourself eh? Just too lobo with nothing to do.. so anyhow leave comments?
at least he knows what is right and what is wrong.
do the papies behave the same?
do seemingly self-proclaimed UPRIGHT ppl know then they are wrong these days?
well,you guys and these ppl know the answer.
Nobody can beat the miw when it comes to "betraying the faith of the people"! We trusted our forces to keep watch on Mas Selamat. But what happened?! He limped his way to freedom while our dear PM said "what to do, what has happened had happened. Let's move on." Our minister wks was still merrily laughing his way to the bank with his million$ pay!! This is only ONE of the many incidents of what our dearest miw are capable of!
yeah right, as if when bs is in parliament, the pay for the mps are so high. so out of the world… that it merits them to decide to leave.
How come no head roll when the chief of SCDF and CNB were caught pants down over sex and tax payers money. Where is PAP integrity when WP has already set the highest moral standing for voters to see.
Selective prosecution:One set for pappies and another set for ordinary citizens .Laws must be apply across the board and not via kawan-kawan basis.
Rumours rife that Yaw's in hiding all connived by Low TK to avoid investigations into improprieties in HG TC management….this also implicates WP in general.
PAP must give a date for the 2012 Hougang by-election and advise the possibility of a by-election for Tanjong Pagar if Ex-MM is going to leave Singapore without a word. PAP must account for any MP disappearing act.
He did what is right for wp which is to leave quietly..
The original by-election law stipulates that the PM has to hold a by-election within 3 months after the seat is declared vacant. JBJ won Anson in 1981. LKY subsequently changed the by-election rules. After 1981 no by-elections were held except for the GRC by-election held to enable Teo CH to enter parliament. It was believed in those days before GE2011 that a GRC led by a minister was a sure-win by the PAP. Let's wait & see whether LHL can delay the by-election until the 2016 GE.
I for one, will not be taken aback, if the PM does nothing about the By-Election for Hougang.
You see, he very famously reminded us that if there is nothing to prohibit something, then it is OK to do that something.
It was about some U-turn rules that I have a hard time figuring out. Even now !
@WP doomed
Rumour? Rife? Connived? By LTK?
Let me remind you of this statement made famous by our Elected President…"this is a serious charge, you better be able to back it up!"
PAP will make a U-turn and hold an by-election a.s.a.p or maybe within 1 month after 24/Feb. They will strike while the iron is HOT. They would not be bothered about you and they will still hold WP responsible for the misdeed as deemed that Yaw had already 'admitted' the wrong doing ( he was given a chance). Unless, Yaw will faced up and make an apology to the Hougang resident and that his wrong doing got nothing to do with WP.
May I refreshed the memories of many that there were MPs & Ministers in PAP who made mistakes some even criminal.
Phey Yew Kok
Teh Chiang Wan
Tan Kia Gan
Wee Toon Boon
just to name a few
Yaw the Yawns mistake is a walk in the park in comparisan
PAP have already lost the souls to greed and extreme capitalist. They have developed a dinosaur like skin. Not strange that K.Shame will actually condemn Yawn. too.
citizens, use your brains.
The private matter is between the people affected.
So, how could private matter have come out into the open?
Use your bladdy brains.
Of course there is no mole and no invisible hand.
@ Damn
Relax lah……….afterall LTK/WP’s position is that being “RUMOURS” he/WP has “NO COMMENTS” nor will action be taken.
quite strange for someone who has worked for a cause for years to drop everything & scoot.
its not like he is a FW with absolutely no kin in Sg, one day lightning strike on the head, decided just pack & go at the drop of the hat.
I actually think the prime minister has a reason not to call a by election in hougang:
If he calls a by election, when his father vacates his seat before the next general election, he must also call a by election in Tanjong Pagar GRC.
I don’t think he wants to be forced to call a by election in the GRC. It is a big risk, as his chance of losing both by elections is extremely high.
And not calling a by election in hougang means he won’t have to call a by election in the GRC should the situation calls for one.
I am waiting for the prime minister to prove me wrong.
The onus is with the PM to call for the by-election whenever. Thats the law of the day…period. Why are some even harping about days gone by, past rulings etc…it all so ludicrous!
The days gone by and past rulings show the flip flopping, inconsistency, and how ludicrous is the pap is, and so on.
Armchairs politicians23 February 2012
Why are some even harping about days gone by, past rulings etc…it all so ludicrous!
…………………
is that so? in your bloomin idiotic mind..the past misdeeds commited by pap rules are NOT relevant
who you think you are? Heaven Jade Mperor?
Sitting governments do not generally do well in by-elections. This is the case even in full-fledged democracies such as Australia, UK and so on. This is probably more pertinent in Singapore where we have a parliament dominated by one party. GE2011 saw the PAP's worst election result since independance. An election in Hougang or in Tanjong Pagar GRC before the next GE would be a chance for the people to vent their spleen knowing that their votes will not have any real impact in deciding govt. Political pundits must have advised the PM that having a by-election in Hougang now would return a majority to even a dog running under the banner of the WP , perhaps over 80% majority.
I'm just wondering will the PM make this forceful announcement that "WP has failed the people in Hougang and therefore I will held no by-election but instead PAP will take over Hougang." ??
I have a feeling this might happen.
MND Khaw Boon Wan and the PAPchairman was so quick to jump on the band wagon with comments about the debacles faced by the WP. But no comments from him when his party member Tin Peh Ling breached the GE dateline on the 1st day of cooling-off-day in GE 2011after midnight. Why was he keeping mum about the matter and not a single words emerged from him either to defend or condemn the PAP candidate concerned in the matter.
There was a big row in the mass media discussing about the infringement of the guidelines epecially from the public. Now we can see this guy painstakingly put it with great effort to find fault and aggravates the situation to condemn the WP arresting opportunities to the PAP advantatage.
MP Kumar Nair says in "Today" that our GE decides which party forms the government, and so voters vote a party and not an individual MP. Hence, when Yaw is sacked by WP, he loses his seat, and WP can send a WP substitute to take his place. There is no constitutional nor moral requirement to hold a by-election in our electoral system.
But if so, then the system should not accomodate independent candidates at elections. And what if an elected independent candidate resigns? Which party then repesents the constituents?
So our electoral system is rather a mix, a confusion of one which vote individual MPs (indicated by its allowing for independent candidates), with one which vote a ruling party, as described by Nair.
Perhaps, the writer of an above post is right. Piecemeal changes have been made to our electoral system in order for the PAP to evade by-elections, perhaps only after JBJ won that historic by-election. And those were done without due regard for consistency within the system as a whole! (Too focused on "fixing the opposition" to care for holistic concerns?)
And so, as a Hougang resident, I am very confused. I voted Yaw and WP? Now, Yaw is gone, and someone else from the party represents me, and Nair says the situation may rightly be permanent. OK, I did vote the party, but not anyone within the party. Should I not choose the substitute WP candidate, rather than let the party choose; and even if the latter, should the party choice not be permanent, rather than persons taking turns?
Also, If, as Nair says, I voted the party. Then the party I voted for still exists after Yaw's departure. There therefore should never be any national by-election where a party MP resigns. At most, only a vote for an alternative party candidate is called for. But the system allows for only national by-elections.
This mass of a confusion is the syatem which PAP MP Nair claims, in his article in "Today", has served us so well! (PS; silly cliche, always appealing to our assumed prosperity to support anything they do! Even if indeed we are so prosperous, it has been due to this electoral system?? How??)
I find it hard to imagine what went through Yaw's mind. He had worked so hard for so long and when the accusations were made, he just let it go without even trying to defend himself. He had been quite tenacious to come so far in opposition politics. How did that tenacity vanish just like that?!
Dr Tan Tai Wei
as a Hougang resident, I am very confused. I voted Yaw and WP? Now, Yaw is gone, and someone else from the party represents me, and Nair says the situation may rightly be permanent. OK, I did vote the party, but not anyone within the party. Should I not choose the substitute WP candidate,
…………………………..
when mrs chiam represent potong pasir under the same banner opposition..she lost to the pap party
does this answer your question?
baike.baidu.com/view/8818.htm
stories of guan yin and origin
Can practice and verify before believing
What if one did indeed transgressed in the past,but has repented, truly turned over a new leaf,vowed not to commit the same mistake again, and now wants to whole-heartedly serve the people?Will he be accepted by a political party as a potential candidate in a GE?
Perhaps Yaw did succumb to temptation.When did his illicit laisons take place?Last year?5 years,10 years ago?Will we probe into his teenage years too to ascertain if he engaged in teenage sex or joined a street gang?How thoroughly will we investigate a person's past to find out his/her suitability for public service?
When the Internet first arrived,someone got convicted for downloading pornography as it was then deemed a grave offense. Since then,the social norms have changed,and the authorities know they cannot do much about such private activities.
Extramarital dalliances are highly private matters,and different cultures view them differently,and draw the line at different places.The Chua Soi Leks,Bill Clintons,Silver Balooney(Silvio Berlusconi),Strauss Kahns are more common then we thought.It's just that many of them,including CEOs,doctors,lawyers,engineers, lecturers,bankers and other top professionals,have mastered the commsumate art of wrapping fire with paper.
So is surfing smut on the Web less serious a trangression than having other women other than my legally-wedded one,if I were a top public servant?
Who,or what decides?Rather arbitrary,I would say.