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Posts tagged with "PAP"
Political pokerplay: the government’s gamble
Jul. 24 | Khairulanwar Zaini ‘Our glory days were behind us but our excess was just beginning.’ – Jeanette Winterson Do not blink, friends, because an audacious game of political poker has just begun. Our government is very much aware of its eroding popularity...
Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum 2010: Once more, with fear
Apr. 12 | We derive a strange and sickly comfort in the familiar, even if that familiarity invokes fear. It is otherwise hard to explain our enduring vulnerability. When Teo Chee Hean began by reminding his youthful audience that Singapore begun as ‘an accidental...
Mandate assured … as long as PAP remains incorruptible
Feb. 10 | trulysingapore Dear editor, I refer to the letter by Dr Yik Keng Yeong dated 9 Feb 2010. Dr Yik points to the unequal scaling of the economic peak by countries in the region to suggest that work ethic is not the same across countries. By extension, places...
Men in White silent on key historical issues, say scholars
Jan. 19 | Wong Chun Han / Pictures courtesy of Asia Research Institute, NUS Rather than shedding light on the unfamiliar chapters of Singapore’s political history, the authors and publishers of Men in White have kept readers in the dark in some regards,...
Cooling-off to remember PAP’s success
Jan. 15 | The following letter is by Mr Andy Lim. It is in reply to Dr Yik Keng Yong’s letter (see below, “It’s a sound policy”) in the Straits Times forum page to Dr Catherine Lim’s interpretation of People’s Action Party’s announcement...
Cooling off – PAP’s insecurity exposed
Jan. 13 | I was surprised that a shrewd leadership like the PAP could come up with a ruling that … exposes an insecurity that must make even its supporters wonder about how strong, after more than four decades of leadership, the bond between the Government...
Challenge of communication
Jan. 9 | K Shanmugam K Shanmugam is Singapore’s Minister of Law. This article is the editorial of the Nov/Dec 2009 edition of PETIR. The PAP has become one of the most successful political parties in history. But even as we acknowledge its exceptional...
Is multiracialism also just an aspiration?
Jan. 4 | Breaking News: HDB resale flat prices rose 3.8 per cent over the third quarter which saw prices going up by 3.6 per cent. (Straits Times) Singapore’s economy shrank 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter to December from the previous three months…...
National Geographic interviews a dinosaur
Dec. 29 | There are not many countries in the world where people would persistently vote into power a leader who thinks they are all worthless ants… Ben Bland, Asian Correspondent
Lee Kuan Yew had suggested “instigating riots and disorder” to crush opposition
Dec. 27 | From Martyn See’s blog, Singpore Rebel: Below is an excerpt from the newly-published The Fajar Generation. The Barisan Sosialis was then the strongest political force in Singapore and its leadership united and staunchly anti-colonial in their outlook....
Loosen stranglehold before providing political education
Dec. 20 | Ng E-Jay In the latest edition of Petir, the People’s Action Party’s bi-monthly party magazine, Law Minister K Shanmugam warned party members that younger voters could erode the PAP’s political dominance if they are not convinced that...
TOC Blog Feature: 10 reasons why I cannot vote for the PAP in the next election
Dec. 13 | From the blog, yaevlejunce: Now that I am of age to vote, I am unable to vote for the PAP in the coming election because there is such an urgent need to send across a strong signal through their very thick skulls that there is a problem in the way it’s...
MM Lee: I am exception to the rule
Dec. 12 | We also have a rule, I’m the exception to the rule, I’m 86… But I’m not doing the work; I’m just forecasting… The work is being done by younger people in their late 40s and 50s. MM Lee Kuan Yew, on why younger politicians...
“I’d rather be sued for defamation than shot in the head” – P65 blogger says of opposition in S’pore
Dec. 9 | [If] I were in the opposition, I would rather be in Singapore than in any other Asian “democracy”. Life is unfair, but I daresay I would rather be sued for defamation than shot in the head. Fredric Fanthome, P65 blog, in his replies to readers
PM Lee proposes “24-hour cooling-off” period before Polling Day
Dec. 1 | PM Lee proposes that websites should also stop postings on elections during this period. Exception for “news reports”, he says. (See WP’s Low Thia Khiang’s reaction below.) Channelnewsia’s report on PM Lee proposal on a...
TOC turns 3 – and memories of an elite uncaring face
Dec. 1 | >On 1 December 2006, The Online Citizen went “live” online, after several months of preparation. Today, we celebrate our 3rd anniversary. We thank everyone who has helped and contributed to TOC in ways big and small. We thank especially our readers...
Was Singapore just a fishing village?
Nov. 30 | It has often been said that Singapore was just a “fishing village” before independence and the arrival of the People’s Action Party. “Many years ago, when Singa pore was just a fishing village, our forefathers came here in search...
Pre-election test – Name your MPs (Quiz 2)
Nov. 26 | With the next General Election not that far away, how well do you know your MPs? For a start, do you know what they look like? Do you know their names and the wards they’re in charge of? For the ministers, do you know which ministries they head? If...
Big brother is watching New Media
Nov. 13 | Donaldson Tan Last week, Alicia Wong reported on TODAY that from as early as June 2009, government ministries and agencies have been seeking social media intelligence services for monitoring online sentiments related to their scope of work. According...
We’re not visible in Potong Pasir, but our RCs won 3 star award – Sitoh Yih Pin
Nov. 12 | Our Residents’ Committees have won three star awards from the People’s Association recently … so this is evidence our volunteers are still putting in effort, it’s just that we are not visible. Sitoh Yih Pin, PAP candidate in...
Politicians’ personal sacrifices – lets have a sense of proportion
Nov. 11 | Just because Indranee and Shangmugum earn less now (but still in the millions) does it mean that they are sacrificing their bloody selves? Hello, do we want to put them in the same league as Mother Theresa or Mahatma Ghandi next? Let’s have a...
Political renewal – obstacles and sacrifices
Nov. 11 | The following is a Channelnewsasia Talking Point programme episode on political renewal, featuring the Workers’ Party’s Sylvia Lim and the People’s Action Party’s Lim Wee Kiak.
PAP on New Media coverage of General Election 2010
Nov. 6 | Secretary-General Lee Hsien Loong said, “Using all the media people are comfortable and familiar with, then we can be present to contest with them [Loyal Opposition]. And if we see things that are not correct on websites which are respectable and...
One reason why we should vote PAP
Nov. 4 | Documented public reaction to then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong’s comments in the 7 July 2003 issue of Time (Asia) magazine about homosexuals that “…some people are born that way. We are born this way and they are born that way, but...
A peek into PAP politics – present and future
Oct. 25 | Fang Shihan >> TOC News Almost as an apology to the theatrical tragedy staged during the Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum (KRMF), the young PAP sponsored forum, tantalizingly titled “Straight Talk: Is Singapore = PAP?”, seemed like the Q&A session...
Fascism that works
Oct. 23 | KJ He was a leader who held a nation in his thrall. From the excesses of empire and occupation, he arose with a voice so clear it could not but give his people hope, give his people dreams. He arose and gave them such ravishings of riches never before...
Eric Low & Sitoh Yih Pin – what happened after GE 2006
Oct. 9 | On Eric Low A year ago, a despondent Mr Eric Low fresh from a second straight morale-sapping electoral defeat at the hands of Workers’ Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang — decided that he would stop being taken for granted by Hougang residents. So,...
Pre-General Election campaigning
Oct. 6 | Breaking News: Judge acquits SDP leaders – Singapore Democrats Donaldson Tan The Pre-General Election Campaigning is already in full swing. While some opposition political parties have quietly begun their weekly walkabouts to reach out to...
A romance writer jabs at Singapore’s patriarchs
Sep. 19 | The following is an excerpt from The New York Times. The dress is called a cheongsam, and the woman wearing it is Catherine Lim, 67, arguably the most vivid personality in strait-laced Singapore and, when she is not writing witty romantic novels or...
Have your views of the political parties changed in the last 3 years?
Sep. 19 | Andrew Loh Picture by Alex Au, Yawning Bread On 6 May 2006, Singaporeans went to the polls to vote a new government. The results? The People’s Action Party was returned to power by a majority of 66.6 per cent of the vote. 1.2 million Singaporeans...
Facebook MPs
Sep. 10 | Andrew Loh One meets his Member of Parliament for various reasons. The most common, of course, is when one has a problem. MPs conduct Meet The People Sessions or MPS, which are held weekly in the MPs’ constituencies. One might also meet his MP when...
Singapore’s political centre of gravity has shifted
Sep. 7 | The centre of gravity has finally shifted. But what of the government’s response? Are they still in denial mode? Is there anyone there who has the wisdom to see that the best legacy they can leave behind is to redesign the political system to make...
PAP will win next two elections: Lee Kuan Yew
Sep. 3 | From AFP: SINGAPORE – Singapore’s elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew said Wednesday that he expects his People’s Action Party to win the next two elections to extend its grip on power by as much as 10 more years. “I don’t see any...
Men In White – “No-holds-barred report” on PAP?
Sep. 3 | From Martyn See’s blog, Singapore Rebel: “It was a no-holds-barred report”, gloats Richard Lim, one of three senior journalists who were commissioned to write the history of the People’s Action Party in a new book entitled Men In White,...
The Singapore Story – A failure of pragmatism
Aug. 29 | Note: We have removed the earlier report on the IPS forum on NMP Viswa Sadasivan’s speech. We will publish further clarification later today, together with Mr Viswa’s letter to The Online Citizen. The Current Affairs Desk In his inaugural...
PAP pondering how best to fight to stay in power
Aug. 24 | The following article is by Seah Chiang Nee, first published on The Star Online. The Government appears to be telling young Singaporeans that if they want debate, the government will give it to them and if the youngsters want parliamentary democracy,...
Online space “abuzz” with PAP sites, says Teo Ser Luck
Aug. 21 | Three years on, the online space is abuzz with the People’s Action Party’s main and youth wing websites… The beauty of the new media is that it promotes diverse views and interests. Teo Ser Luck, ST Forum, replying to Choo Zheng Xi’s...
“Democracy need not involve the presence of an opposition,” says PAP member
Aug. 13 | The following is an article written by Xu Kaixian, a member of the People’s Action Party’s Paris Ris West Branch. The article was published in the latest issue of Petir, the PAP’s newsletter. The views are his own and TOC does not support them....
The race to engage Singaporeans
Aug. 12 | Andrew Loh Mr Teo Ser Luck has been a very busy man. After winning in the 2006 General Elections as part of the People’s Action Party’s team for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, he was immediately appointed Parliamentary Secretary (Parl Sec) for the Ministry...
Politicians cross swords in cyberspace
Aug. 11 | Khairulanwar Zaini / Andrew Loh The last time Dr Chee Soon Juan crossed swords with Mr George Yeo was in 1996. The two had met at a Select Committee hearing specially convened to ascertain the Singapore Democratic Party’s assertions about healthcare...
PM Lee doesn’t take private jet
Jun. 10 | Mr Lee said he did not think Singapore was an affluent country, the Korean daily reported. ‘Besides, as a government official, I have to lead by example. Singapore’s senior officials fly economy class, not first class, for flights under...
MP recounts fiery attack
Jun. 9 | From The Straits Times: MR SENG Han Thong was about to have his lunch when he felt something like cold water trickling down his neck. The next thing he knew, he was ablaze. Only when the Yio Chu Kang MP was being taken to hospital in an ambulance did...
Tweaking back to time…
May. 31 | Our forefathers fought for Singapore to be freed from the shackles of colonialism and for us to be able to run this country for our own interests instead of those of our colonial masters. Two generations later we find ourselves struggling again to restore...
PAP understands opposition more than opposition understands itself?
May. 29 | Opposition parties & their leaders must beware of such ‘Greeks bearing gifts’ situations. This is especially so when the PAP seemingly understands the entire opposition camp much better than the fragmented opposition camp understands itself. Yaw...
No need to vote tactically, says Vivian Balakrishnan
May. 29 | What we are trying to tell our people is that in future, you don’t need to vote tactically. We will guarantee a diversity of views in this House, but focus on choosing candidates who can form a government, focus on choosing someone who will run your...
Victims of reverse tactical ploy or party political opportunists?
May. 29 | Announcement: TOC is relaxing its moderation policy. As most of you can see, your comments are allowed to be posted immediately. However, we are still keeping an eye on the comments, and will not hesitate to remove those which are personal attacks, racist...
Political changes are for “long term strength and stability”, says PM Lee
May. 27 | Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced changes to the political system in Singapore in Wednesday’s session of Palriament. Here are the videos of PM Lee’s speech:
Govt appoints 7 gatekeepers to vet political films
May. 27 | Extract from Martyn See’s blog, Singapore Rebel: After you make a film in Singapore, you are required by law to submit your film to the Board of Film Censors (BFC). If your film has political content, you have two choices – to declare that it...
Fallacies of the boon of PAP dominance
May. 27 | Breaking News: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announces changes to electoral rules. Parliament to have at least nine opposition MPs, including NCMPs. Breaking News: Mas Selamat Kastari, suspected terrorist caught by Malaysia, has been put on a two-year...
