I’ve been mulling a long time over whether or not to do a post on the General Elections seeing how politics is such a contentious issue and this is after all a happy family blog.
The truth is, I’ve never been this interested in local politics in all my 28 years and this political awakening (if you can call it that) is a big deal for me. Not that I don’t like politics as a whole because I spent days camped out in front of the TV watching CNN during the last few American Presidential elections and my entire Final Year Thesis was on the topic of American politics. I’ve just never been interested in local politics because it seemed like such a lost cause to me. It was always just a bunch of disgruntled old men yelling at other less disgruntled old men – something I had very little interest or time for.
This time though, I’m excited because not only do we finally have a chance to vote (instead of being told we have no options), we’re also seeing young voters being interested in the voting process. I’ve been reading so many political opinions of late that it didn’t seem right to just sit this one out.
For starters, here’s what I’d really like to see in government.
1. I want a government that knows how to man up and say “I’m sorry” when they’ve made a mistake. For example, a mistake on the scale of busting the YOG budget by 3 times needs to be addressed with a decent amount of compunction rather than dismissiveness. With this current crop of PAP leaders, sorry really does seem to be the hardest word. Hey here’s a thought, people are more forgiving when you take responsibility and say “I’m sorry, I messed up big time.” You see, only after I hear the apology, I’ll be ready to hear about all the wonderful things you’ve done in your 5 years in office, not the other way around.
2. I want a government that really listens. The only defense that the PAP constantly falls back on these days is “I know better so just sit down and shut up.” Even if you genuinely believe that your Cambridge degrees and life of entitlement makes you better and smarter than everyone else, it would still do you a lot of good to listen to the struggles of your people. And by listening, I don’t mean walking around a week before election wearing flowers and doing your presidential wave.
3. I want a government that’s accountable. Ok, that’s my beef with a one-party system right there, a complete lack of checks and balances. It may have worked 57 years ago when you were ruling a country who didn’t know any better but we do know better now and one of the pitfalls of such a system is beginning to manifest itself in the form of disconnected, arrogant leaders who assume they have a right to lead just because they have kissed enough bottoms and made the right political connections. Connections like um say, marrying the private secretary of the Prime Minister.
4. I want a government that rises above the need to resort to threats in order to get votes. It’s insulting that you think our votes can be bought by shiny new lifts and a fresh coat of paint. If the price to pay for upgrading is my integrity and sense of justice, I’d much rather walk up that extra flight of steps and carry both my kids to run in the rain, thankyouverymuch. Also, what about your supporters living in these opposition constituencies? It’s a tad mercenary that you would sacrifice them as collateral damage just to prove a point, isn’t it?
5. I want a government that understands the value of humility and servitude. Often, it’s not just what you do but the manner in which you do it that counts. It bugs me that our Ministers talk down to the very people they are supposed to serve just because they don’t share the same opinions. You don’t get to be all high and mighty and demand that Singaporeans kiss the very ground you tread on. After all, we were the ones who put you in office and we will take you out if you alienate enough voters.
To all the people who think that voting the PAP means voting for stability, my only question is this, stability for who? If I were an incompetent Minster drawing $1.9 million of taxpayer’s money annually, I’d be yelling about stability too. I mean, it’d be mighty unstable for me if I had to one day *gasp*, take a ride on a crowded train like all my minions. And then I’d actually have to walk from point to point because where will I ever find the money to have people carry me around on their shoulders while I wear this ridiculous garland around my neck. I can’t be certain but even if Desmond Choo did momentarily lose the use of both his legs, there’s a whole range of fancy motorized wheelchairs that can serve as perfectly good modes of transportation. There’s really no need to rely on a human sedan these days. Last time I checked, you guys were supposed to BE public servants, not HAVE a lot of public servants.
Now lest you think that I’m dissing all the good work our government has done in years gone by, I’m not. I have a lot of respect for MM Lee, SM Goh, PM Lee (Jr) and a select handful of Ministers. I’ll be the first to say that I’m terribly proud of how far Singapore has come with all that was going against us so props to y’all. On my recent flight back from Florida, I was seated next to an elderly American gentleman who was thrilled to be sitting next to a “tiny Asian girl who didn’t take up too much arm room” (exact words, I promise) and decided to reward my lack of size with a spirited discourse about our Minister Mentor’s awesomeness the moment he heard that I was from Singapore. He went on and on about MM Lee’s political acumen, sharp thinking and fabulous policy-making skills. I have to admit that it was nice to know how much respect people all over the world have for one of us. Finally, he asked me “so what do you think of him?” To which I replied, “I agree with everything that you’ve said and even though we sometimes don’t like him very much, he is the single most respected man in all of Singapore.”
That said, I just have a teensy weensy problem with the argument that just because they’ve had a proven track record, we should blindly cast our vote for all the subsequent leaders that they pick out for the sake of stability. First of all, we all know that past successes don’t necessarily guarantee future success. Second, for all their success in ruling the nation with a tight fist, the leaders in PAP don’t seem to be particularly adept at picking the next generation of leaders. If you’re saying that after scouring the entire list of under-30 Singaporeans and the best you can come up with is a Tin Pei Ling, that tells me all I need to know about your selection skills. I have nothing against Pei Ling as a person and I’m sure she’s every bit as saccharine sweet as her photos suggest but I have a lot against her ability to serve the needs of the people. Underneath the hollow-sounding rhetoric she dishes out, I see no substance or even real desire to better the needs of Singaporeans. It seems to me that the only criteria to be selected as a future leader in the PAP is to be able to memorize and regurgitate the party’s rhetoric (that is starting to sound as empty as a big fat black hole of emptiness).
I’m also not surprised by the popularity of her direct opposition candidate, Nicole Seah. After hearing her various speeches and interviews, I am suitably impressed. Yes, I get that she’s even younger, has no track record or experience, gets a little nervy during some of her speeches and is probably this popular only because of the seeming incompetence of Tin Pei Ling. All fair criticisms, but if if I could vote in that constituency, she would still definitely have my vote for the very fundamental reason that she’s got heart – something that’s sorely missing in our incumbent party. I respect the fact that with all her inexperience and practically zero chance of drawing a $15,000 monthly salary, she was willing to offer her candidacy simply because she wanted to make a change for the benefit of the people. Her agenda is not a fat paycheck but to put right the things that have gone so very wrong in our government. I’d go as far as to say that even if she made it into parliament and doesn’t accomplish all the things she set out to, that’s ok because damnit, she tried.
I’m growing tired of hearing the PAP say that change can only come from within. After 57 years as the ruling party, the most notable change I see is in relation to how their paychecks are getting larger. The only way to show that Ministers don’t have to draw an obscene salary from taxpayer’s money is to have brilliant Ministers who are not in it for the money and yet no less committed or capable than those who demand to have their coffers padded.
This is definitely going to be a watershed election and I’m proud to have candidates like Sylvia Lim (in my opinion, the best public speaker in the local politics scene), Low Thia Khiang and Chen Show Mao offering their services to the nation. For the first time, I feel like there’s a chance we as the people have the power to effect change. Instead of sitting around and complaining that things aren’t right and we can’t do anything about it, we see candidates who are willing to step up to the plate to make a difference. And more importantly, we see voters (especially younger ones) who aren’t ignorant or apathetic.
On this note, I’d like to point out that identifying certain glaring faults in the incumbent party does not make one anti-PAP or pro-opposition. Voters are a lot more discerning these days and just because they question some facets of your leadership does not make them the enemy. The bottom line is that I vote for progress and if that comes in the form of non-PAP politicians, that gets my vote. And I can honestly say that if the PAP can indeed bring change from within and address all the issues that have been raised, I’d be happy to be called pro-PAP.
For now though, there are several PAP candidates that don’t deserve a seat in parliament. A lot has been said about the GRC system and for all its merits, it doesn’t seem right that mediocrity is rewarded just because the right alliances are made. To be more precise, it would be a great disservice to Singaporeans if Tin Pei Ling gets a parliamentary seat and Sylvia Lim doesn’t.
In any case, this election is going to be more exciting than an episode of 24.
PS. Also, PAP, just cut it out with the comrades thing. The only people I know who went around calling everyone comrades were perpetrators of genocide. Seriously, just stop it.
163 Comments
Hey good stuff you have here but I will just like to say about point 4. PAP is not sacrificing those under the opposition constituencies because those people voted for the opposition, that means they want the opposition to take care of them, isn’t it? PAP, in this case, has no obligation to aid the opposition areas since, afterall, they are not the ruling party for that area.
I don’t know if you get my point, basically its just why should PAP be taking care of an area under the opposition? shouldn’t the opposition be doing that instead?
Moreover, you should live in the opposition area if you aren’t, to see if you really want to carry your kids up flights of step because I have been living in such a estate which is dirty, smelly and run-down for eight years and I’m sick and tired of it.
So I think point 4 is, slightly flawed.
This video should explain it a little better. http://youtu.be/FQJq_jlKcK0
Whatever it was, it was not for lack of trying on Chiam’s part.
Hi Sharon,
I am not affiliated nor am I supporting any particular political party.
I am just speaking my mind as a fellow Singaporean, nothing aiming towards you Sharon. :)
I basically find your responds interesting and I will like to “borrow” them to ask some questions and share my views.
You asked, “Why should PAP be taking care of an area under the opposition? Shouldn’t the opposition be doing that instead?”
Yes, the opposition has to do that, but will it not be better if the ruling party can work with the opposition in the “opposition area” for the People, for the Country as a whole? This will greatly facilitate the progress of a healthy Singapore, instead of the “You didn’t vote for me, so I don’t care about you, and since you voted for him, I will not help him to help you either.” attitude.
I personally do not believe that opposition party’s aim, is just to oppose the ruling party. No, that is stupid. I believe the purpose is to have both parties working together for one Nation to make sure as much corners are covered before any major decisions are implemented, or whether the general direction the country is moving towards is beneficial for the People.
I truly feel that this should be the way.
We all want to better Singapore, to better Singaporeans.
Also, this IS the better way to win the hearts of the People, and it will probably help the ruling party in their next election anyway. :)
As to your other point:
“Moreover, you should live in the opposition area if you aren’t, to see if you really want to carry your kids up flights of step because I have been living in such a estate which is dirty, smelly and run-down for eight years and I’m sick and tired of it.”
Have you talked to the minister of your area about problems you are facing with the living condition of your area? If so, who and what was said?
I see many Singaporeans just complained about their “problems”, but they are not acting towards solving their problems most of the time. It is this mindset that is the MAIN problem.
Ultimately, it is not who runs the government that matters, it is how we are running ourselves that is the most crucial and important Change we must achieve, in order for Singapore to still be relevant in the world and in our lives.
Thank you.
I agree with you that most Singaporeans only complain but can’t offer solution. However, I disagree with you that it is a better way to win the people’s heart if the ruling party help the opposition party and upgrade their living environment as well. People may think that it is a job well done by the opposition party in getting the ruling party to do so. People in general only make noise when you do something wrong. When Temasek holdings make a loss during economic crisis, people make noise. When they make back the money and make even more money now, people all keep quiet. I wonder how many of us make mistakes, cost the company millions of dollars and stand up to admit the mistakes during a meeting with our bosses?
I wonder how many of us, when making mistakes that cost the company millions of dollars brush it off nonchalantly and tell our bosses to move on; then sign off a 30% pay increases to reward ourselves for not losing more.
@ WeC, I believe there are many people of the sort you mentioned. They blamed others for the losses and get credit themselves. In my 15 years of working, I had met at least 3 of them.
@Sharon, I don’t understand why you disagree with point 4. PAP should take care of an area under the opposition because there are many PAP supporters in Opposition wards though not as much as under PAP wards.
Are you also saying that it’s OK for those who voted for the Opposition in PAP wards to enjoy lift upgrades?
Remember, the money come from Singaporeans. PAP should not use it as a weapon to threaten Singaporeans.
You are right to question that Victor. However, life IS unfair. If you decide that you want to vote for the opposition, you live with that decision. Five years ago, the country was not ready for a change in the governing party and yet those opposition wards decided that they were soooo smart in choosing the opposition. It is all about the right timing. I’m not saying that the PAP is right in their decisions. However, it is their way to force people to swing their votes in their favor and they actually have the power to act on it.
This year, the country seem to be ready for the big change, hence now is the right time to vote for the CORRECT party.
I love how you readily submit to blatant vote buying and pork barrel politics.
“I’m not saying that the PAP is right in their decisions. However, it is their way to force people to swing their votes in their favor and they actually have the power to act on it.”
I love your courage for standing up for what’s right and not getting cowed by the thugs.
Life is unfair. Government shouldn’t be. If it is, CHANGE IT.
If you read a few comments down, you’ll realise that kendo has already addressed your points. But i do think it bears repeating that no one is asking PAP to “take care” of opposition constituencies. Honestly that is really condescending to think that the opposition is unable to do so. There is no lack of talent in the opposition camp, and definitely no lack of trying. The issue here is about RESOURCES. Not the PAP’s resources, but the countries resources. Everyone pays tax, everyone works hard to contribute to Singapore’s economies. resources should go towards ALL constituencies PAP or otherwise. The PAP’s attempts to not approve or allocate these COMMON RESOURCES to the opposition GRCs is not justified at all, despite what the PAP would like you to believe.
A sidenote: Not everyone bases their votes on upgrading. These people voted based on who they think could represent their GRC’s concerns in the best to higher authorities. If you want to base your vote on that, sure, but dont think your’re -direct quote- “soooo smart” for taking that tone with them.
Hi Sharon,
I think you misunderstood point 4.
nobody is asking the PAP to take care of the area that belongs to the opposition, all they are asking for is to give them the money that rightfully belongs to them anyway so that they can maintain their estate.
These people pay equal taxes, and the upgrading policy of PAP uses money from taxpayers, NOT PAP’s own pocket.
So PAP have no right to say that upgrading is their policy and people don’t vote for PAP, they wont get to upgrade their flats.
If that is the case then those people staying in opposition ward can direct their taxes to the opposition.
So your point of carrying kids up flights of steps is caused by PAP refusing to release funds for these SINGAPOREANS, to upgrade their flats.
Vote more opposition in so that money can be chanelled fairly to every Singaporean.
So, its is your thinking that is flawed.
Ken
basically our constitution is flawed.
how can there be only one political party in any area, left un-challenged and hence a walk-over for many many years?
i am now 32 years old and have never voted in my life! now because i am overseas, and failed to register on time as a overseas voter (come on there’s more than a week when i called to check!) i’ve been knocked off the electoral roll.
Frankly speaking, i think flats upgrade is part of NATION BUILDING AND DEVELOPMENT and thus, i think this issue of only PAP area get upgrading and Opposition area gets nothing is basically.. crap.. are you saying that those people living in opposition area dont have to pay tax??
All these upgrading and stuff comes from tax-payer’s money and it only fair that it is used to build the infrastructure of the nation and should not be use as a weapon for threatening people for more votes. this is just totally wrong.
Its HDB doing the housing upgrading and i believe HDB is part of the government, NOT PAP. There is a flaw in which all government agencies seems to be control by the PAP. this is all just wrong.. Government agencies should be on a non-biased basis and work towards the overall development of Singapore, not development of PAP
er nope. they are the government. they are there for the PEOPLE. do you see a democrat president obama tell that to the republican states in the US? it’s the opposite, they should be WOOing the people in those opposition constituencies even harder right? to prove that they want EVERYONE in on their grand plan.
Sharon, i’d suggest that you come and live where i live.. The grass always seem greener on the other side, doesn’t it.. You shld look at the condition my estate is in and how poorly managed it is & we are under PAP. I’ve no idea who my MP is… The election is just round the corner & I’ve yet to see him knocking on my door and shaking hand with my family, asking how the family is doing (no matter how fake this is cos where were you the last 5 yrs).. Would you rather sell your integrity and future of your kids (with all those new immigrants’ giving birth in Singapore, stealing what rightfully shld be your children’s and their children’s places in pri sch, sec sch, poly and uni & later on in life, their jobs) for a fresh coat of paint in your void deck and some covered walkways (wait a min, there’s none in my estate fyi) or would you want someone to speak up for the general good of all Singaporeans when they decide to waste our hard-earned $ for some silly causes or raise the GST from 7% to say 10%.. The choice is yours but like what MM Lee says, you live with your choice and dun regret it for the next 5 yrs when food prices continue to escalate higher (but not your pay) and the GST is 10%..
I can vouch for Candy’s argument. I used to live in Circuit Road, Aljunied (under PAP) and seriously, it wasn’t a good place to live in. There were constant mysterious deaths, CNB raids, fires, people fighting at the void decks. As a kid I could not go anywhere without my mum accompanying me. In case you didn’t know, Circuit Road is called a ‘ghetto’ in Singapore. I was shocked (but not really surprised) to learn this when I entered uni. And this ghetto was ruled by PAP all the way. And when my school was in Bedok South, there was this madman who stalked me all the way into a bus and even entered my school once and caused a scene. This is not an isolated case in that area. Again, Bedok is under PAP. Seriously, be thankful for what you have. The issue is resources being monopolized by the PAP.
I also stayed in circuit road for 30 years. When I was a kid, the place is full of ‘mafias’. Lot’s of illegal gambling and drugs trafficking. My neighbour was sentenced to death for a kg of heroine found in the flat, just 3 doors away. The illegal gambling then was openly done in the hawker centre. After which, with efforts from the authorities, all these had been clamped down. However, crime fighting, especially in these areas (there are more than 1 such area in Singapore), is not a simple task and I had witnessed the effort from the authorities to minimise it.
As for the mad man, I had seen mad men in various areas in Singapore. Bedok is not the only place. Older estates will have more of such cases. In my 39 years of living in Singapore, I believe we had progressed a lot and I am grateful for what the government had done. I had travelled to more than 15 countries around the world and stay in some of them for quite a while but I will still like to be back here where I call home.
However, it does not mean that I agree with everything they did and I also do not have confidence in the new gen leaders. At this moment, when the ‘elders’ are still active, my confidence is still with them. Lastly, it is also partly because the opposition has not impressed me. I went for SDP rally for holland-bukit timah but I am disappointed.
Politicians are elected by the people, and they should strive to serve the people, and hence winning their votes in the process. By denying them services that a government should provide and showing the people that “this is what will be if you don’t vote for me”, and hence gaining votes at the next election, that’s ridiculous. Citizens pay tax. The tax goes under an administration known as the government. The government uses the money to provide facilities for the people. The government is NOT the PAP, or any other political party for that matter. To reinforce my point, delivery of services are the responsibilities of a government. The responsibilities of the political parties are to listen to the people’s concerns and issues, and come up with a policy that best serves the need of the people. the responsibilities of the other political parties are the scrutinise the policy to make sure that no one is disadvantaged.
Sharon. If your son/daughter decides to one day walk out of your house, do you still think you’ll care for him/her? Or let’s say should you, in a moral sense, do something about it?
If your answers are no, then you shouldn’t be a parent. If the government works in a way only taking care of the PAP-constituents, then I can’t comprehend how they constantly harp about how they want to serve the people. I think they just want to serve people that reciprocates their love. And that, my friend, is not love.
if you son/daughter decide to be someone else’s son/daughter, what will you do?
the current government is not perfect, i personal hate a few of their doings, like erp. but i like cpf, which if not implemented, most of us are still staying with our parents. i also love the guts to go ahead with the casinos. w/o the casinos, many of our friends in the construction and related industry would have been out of job long time ago. anyway, what else do we have to bring in tourists?
look around you, it is not easy to achieve them. political stability and extensive infrastructure are the only reasons why there are so many foreign investors in singapore. we don’t even have enough human resource locally to support them. and hence the talent imports. do we need so many bangla here if we are willing to work as construction workers?
opposition party is not miracle drug, things won’t change just like that, especially when there are no concrete plans from the opposition. lastly, things may change, but not necessary for the better.
pap may not live up to expectations, but neither have the opposition impressed me. for now, i guess my choice is clear.
If he chooses to be someone else’s son/daughter, I will still love him/her as my own. Period.
Anyway, since you’ve made up your mind, then I shall say no more on this matter. I’m no pro-opposition and was a neutral. But I don’t trust the next gen PAP team to take us into another level. I cringe at the fact that Tin Pei Ling probably will become an MP and a doctor that nobody knew off is ALREADY in.
I worry. But it is INSANITY to keep doing the same thing and expect something different to happen.
guess we have the same worry. i also do not have confidence in the next generation but at this moment, the elders are still around. i just don’t feel comfortable to change for the sake of changing.
one of their fatal mistake is that the succession planning starts too late. we do not have a strong next generation of leaders and that’s why the current situation. there are many more who are much more capable and suitable but where are all these people? guess politics is not as attractive as commercial world, though people keep complaining that they make loads of money.
it is either the ruling party or the opposition got to step up with the next gen leaders and i am still waiting. wondering whether i am one of the chosen ones? hmmm…
A few thoughts.
If you look at the number of seats contested by the opposition, you’ll realise that only a handful of these constituencies are fielded by really capable opposition members. If these people get elected, they wont be big enough to form a government, but at the same time will hold a few seats in the government. Isnt this the best of both worlds no matter what the opposition’s policies are? The PAP will keep majority, and let’s face it, their effective policies will stay implemented because they PAP majority will make it so. However, if there is ever a really big issue that comes up, the PAP is forced to listen to a few differing opinions if the citizens have any concerns. Win-win?
Furthermore, the economic crisis has shown that even the PAP does not have the foresight to anticipate every crisis, or make correct moves all the time. We can say all we want about PAP vs WP or NSP’s proposed policies, but there will always be something that someone did not plan for. In these situations, the government must adapt. How can we make sure that the measures that they take (that they have not already proposed) are the right ones if they can pass any policy without moderation due to their sheer majority? I definitely see this as a reason to ensure that we have some credible opposition with some REAL power, no matter how much i like PAP’s economic policies.
The PAP is a party. I get that. The government, however, should be non-partisan. Using state funding to further one party’s own political advancement and punish their opponent amounts to stealing from the coffers and misappropriation.
You should be asking why opposition estate are not upgraded; and not why should it be. After all, you are a taxpayer too, right?
People vote opposition for three things. One , to take care of their constituency, two to speak up for them in parliament, three to add constructive debate in parliament with the aim of improving policies and improving legislation. And if they can form the government , to look after the country , although this last point is fairly moot.
As for constituency management , it is the role of opposition MP to look after. They have their own Meet the People session, Town Councils etc.
National funding for national upgrading projects should be available to all. Not made unavailable to those who voted opposition. It’s an argument that the government will continuously find it hard to justify morally. Unless the people living in opposition wards are exempt from national taxes and not perform or perform less NS.. Why should they have to pay for the rest of the country’s ungrading works if they are not beneficiaries as well.
“Hey good stuff you have here but I will just like to say about point 4. PAP is not sacrificing those under the opposition constituencies because those people voted for the opposition, that means they want the opposition to take care of them, isn’t it? PAP, in this case, has no obligation to aid the opposition areas since, afterall, they are not the ruling party for that area.”
I like to respond to the above comment, and point out that point 4 is not flawed.
Area upgrading leverages on government funding, which comes from all tax payers’ money. This is a pool of money contributed by all taxpayers and executed by the Executive arm of the government for upgrading, not the Legislative arm which primarily determines policy. When we vote a MP into Parliament, he represents his constituency. I don’t see how the Legislative arm can in all justice and fairness legislate upgrading in favor of Pro-PAP wards.
Once you are elected in, you should be able to separate government from party interests. If you can’t, then we truly need to call for more transparency and fair representation in government.
Sharon, In a democratic country, there should be a separation of the civil service and the elected ruling party. The civil service carries out policies passed in a parliament, regardless of the party in power. This is not happening in Singapore. The ruling party and the civil service are integrated. That means that HDB will only do as PAP instructs. An opposition party will have difficulty getting them to upgrade the flats in their constituencies the same way they do for the PAP territories. And similarly the Ministry of Finance will not provide the money for the upgrade. This is ridiculous as people in the opposition constituencies pay tax too.
A bill for upgrade that is passed in parliament should apply to all Singapore, regardless of whether the constituency elects an opposition party. But this is not happening in Singapore.
I cannot imagine in USA or any of the democratic societies, the government would dare say ‘Hey, you did not vote for me, therefore, you are not entitled to the same benefits approved by my parliament.’ But this is happening in Singapore!
This is the high-handedness that is going to get the PAP govt in trouble this election. It is also very juvenile and immature in approach.
sharon, the mandate of a good government should be to care for all citizens, not just the ones in their constituency.
i agree with what Sharon above me said regarding the argument of point 4. it should say something that the votes for PAP in potong pasir increases with each GE, shouldn’t it?
i like what you wrote here, because it’s pretty balanced, and not those one sided “DOWN WITH PAP” crap that i’ve been reading so far online.
i share your sentiments that TPL is less deserving than Sylvia Lim, and even Nicole Seah even, to be a MP, but i’d feel really sorry if GCT can kiss the Parliament goodbye simply because of one “Kate Spade” that the PAP miscalculated. i have nothing against her posing with a Kate Spade bag, or her biggest regret (hey, it just shows she’s a filial gal, no? and that question is pretty subjective), but she just doesn’t seem too cut out to be a politician. if she can be MP, then i think all of us can be one too.
Hi, see my response above. My question is simple – are upgrading funds PAP funds or government i.e public funds? If they are public funds, why the distinction?
In Chiam’s words- aren’t Potong Pasir residents Singaporeans? Don’t they serve NS? Don’t they pay income tax?
Hi Yuki,
You are reading these “crap” because PAP has been dishing “crap” to those people, its their sentiment. they have had enough.
Yeah i feel sorry for GCT too. I was formerly living in Marine parade, and i do see him more then 1ce every 5 years. even when i was just a precocious 8 year old then. But since he endorsed TPL then he should accept the price for getting booted out due to TPL. Though i dont think he will be out, so its moot.
People are bashing TPL because one of her friend came into a forum to threaten and use his connections to try get those people into trouble,
also people are finding it hard to accept that someone who gets flown to Japan just to celebrate a birthday, is able to connect with the people with hardship.
And on the point of her biggest regret? well its not about her filial piety but the answer shows her immature thinking. If she cant give a more sensible answer , how is she going to represent the people in her constituency in bigger issues? (BTW her parents are still alive? and the studio aint going anywhere soon)
and by the way, the coffee shop that her parents own easily sell for millions.
Exactly you hit the nail on the head, if she can be an mp everyone can
but not everyone can get into a pap GRC. she should be put in a SMC.
this GRC thing is causing people to be torn between voting for an old guard or not wanting to vote for a new nubile person. this is not democracy.
if not for our very flawed GRC system, we wouldn’t be put in this (in George Yeo’s words) emotional dilemma! We’d be in a position to tell TPL to try again when she’s earned her wings and still keep whoever we feel has done well for us.
VERY VERY well-said :) Agree 100X
I have two people I know who resigned and joined the civil service in Singapore and have informed me that not only there is less to do, more pay and benefits in the govt sector but they can get to go home on time everyday. I was so worried one day no one will work in a private sector anymore because you are paid less on a net basis, you pay taxes and you have to work alot more harder, multi-task and have a lot of corporate governance and accountability issue.
Some years back, I moved fr private sector to a stat board (because I wanted to experience how it was like in the public sector) and saw how people there work much shorter hours, get good benefits and could still complain that their workload is heavy!!! I also hated the bureacracy and many processes that don’t make sense to me and only end up causing a task to take a longer time to complete. So in the end, I just resigned – without another job waiting for me, simply because I felt disgusted by what I saw, didn’t want to put up with the nonsense anymore and decided enough was enough. From then on, I no longer think highly of our civil service. And if the govt wants to run S’pore like a corporation, then they will have to at least half their manpower! Coz there are too many people inside taking salary for doing little work, and still complain and complain about working long hours. If they ever leave civil service and join private sector, I bet they will never be able to survive!
For example, no one has addressed the governance issue properly for the SLA fraud… why is a civil servant who is getting reasonably well paid still tempted and hungry. Are we hiring wrong civil servants, who are tempted by monetary rewards? I remembered a Chief of Internal Audit saying that he pays his auditor fairly and even below the corporate salary until they serve out long enough, the reason is because if the individual becomes an auditor only because he/she is attracted by money and not because he wants to identify frauds and misconduct then you never know if the auditor can be silenced with monetary gains and not highlight issues of concern. He has a point.
Sharon, you obviously have no idea that PAP is not equal to government. Everyone pays tax to the government and why should taxpayers’ money be used in a biased way just to benefit the PAP? Get your fact right and be a TPL.
I find Daphne’s and all other respondents on her article, balanced,mature, sensible. For the good of Singapore,it is hoped that ministers of Singapore Govt can be matured up with such wisdom than to just comform to the Party Whip.
This election is proving to be one of the greatest elections in recent decades!
It is wonderful to see so many young people being more aware with the government in Singapore and that people are not as politically apathetic as they claim.
I do sincerely hope that at least a few of the GOOD opposition parties win in order to balance the one-sided views in our government.
However, I urge Singaporeans to pick and choose which opposition really deserves to win. There are some brilliant oppositions who ask the right questions but they come out with the most ridiculous “solutions” – giving up SG ports (eg). Asking the right questions does not mean that they are capable of being a good leader. Identifying PAP’s faults does not equate to them being able to be a better party.
In my opinion, PAP is brilliant as a whole party, albeit their certain faults, they surely produce results. However, the opposition are divided into two – either they are very good from what we’ve seen so far or they are simply Singaporeans who can only point out others’ faults, to put it simply, royal “complainers”.
Singapore is ready to accept change in the government but I do not think we are ready for the opposition to fully take over.
hi LS, your point about suggestion to giving up SG Ports…
this is my understanding; what he said was that our container ports are important to our economy, but a large part of that space is occupied by shipyards. He merely suggested relocating the ship building activity so that we can expand the our value added port operations and better compete with the regional ports being set up by our neighbors. I think u may have read the version put out by one of the local newspaper…
the local tv and newspapers tend to have one sided coverage infavour of the white…
Thank you!….. I fully agree what LS said.
I agree that PAP has produced good results, which we can see. The question is: what is it that we DON’T see. And where can we find out in a country where the media is strongly controlled by the major ruling party? We will have to be naive to think PAP has a flawless record of serving the people. The role or aim of the opposition party is not to “take over” the ruling, but to question the government and its policies.
Hi, you said that the leaders in PAP don’t seem to be particularly adept at picking the next generation of leaders. The problem with the PAP is that it picks candidates to serves the party, and not the people. This we can see why some previous PAP MPs had fallen out.
@Sharon, you said ~’PAP, in this case, has no obligation to aid the opposition areas since, afterall, they are not the ruling party for that area.” Have you ever consider that one day, if the the opposition forms the government, and it adopts the same attitude as the PAP. ? I can not imagine what happens to those staying in PAP wards. You get my point? I suppose you are aware that the availability and access to fund for upgrading to the opposition is quite different as compare to the ruling party. Or are you thinking that PAP will forever be the ruling party in future, and that the opposition will never have any chance to be the ruling party?
Just sharing a little trivia – Full name is Sarah (Tin) Pei Ling, what a coincidence to Sarah Palin, hmm ….
Hi there, as a fellow 28 year old, great read!
I am glad that you have had your “political awakening”, I especially love the referencing via links – a hallmark of our project writing days in tertiary education days of old undoubtedly – brilliant!
Not sure which constituency you are in, but I just wanna shamelessly plug my piece here as well, seeing as to how you’ve gotten plenty of traffic. I do want to play my part for my beloved Aljunied, so here goes…
http://www.facebook.com/notes/terence-tan/i-am-an-aljunied-constituent-what-is-my-role-in-this-election-what-are-yours/10150176467157884
Government is supposed to govern the whole country, it is ridiculous to say that opposition should take care of the area just because they won.
Government is for the country and people, NOT for just the majority ruling party, I remember years ago when statements were made saying that the opposition is a good form of reminder to remind the ruling party to work for the people, and say that the political system is in place. Now they are getting condemned…Now both sides are focusing on bad mouthing each other, I will say the future is bleak no matter which side wins, cause both are just looking to win, not hoping to serve anymore… The original spirit of PAP is history. Side note – Honestly, what is the purpose of a highly inflated 99-yr lease HDB flat? So we can earn money by selling it?
Whats the point anyway, you sell high and will buy high again unless you are moving to stay under the bridge or something, the flat = house = home = place to stay, when you sell it, most like is trying to go for a up/downgrade(due to what ever reason) so the price is dependent on the market, your flat price raise means that next flat of choice will also raise the price, you will NOT make any/much money out of it. And with the legal fees and everything, be thankful if you need not pay a lot. At the end of the road, all the money will go to the government “pocket” aka reserve, where government(ruling party) thinks that is a bad idea to reduce the price of housing(which will reduce income of government = use country’s reserve) but they are using the government reserve for investments, which some have made substantial losses. Question: why is Temasek Holdings using the government money to invest? Is it government affiliated or owned? Worries on the company, not much people have integrity nowadays, even monks may lie…
Imagine if you lived in a village, where you paid taxes, and from the taxes the village head only used to better upgrade the facilities in areas where they had support. It’s utterly ridiculous.
I’m glad to have the opportunity to vote against the PAP. Even if I don’t succeed in getting them out this time around, I’ll vote against them in the future, and tell my children to. They’ve become a party more interested in their own wallets than the people, and I hope in particularly Vivian B and Mah are tossed out. They are definitely two ministers who deserve no respect at all.
Sharon, PAP is the ruling party. They are the current elected
party governing. They are NOT the government. The money
does NOT belong to the PAP, but the government and it’s people.
It does not matter who is the current party governing, it is not their
right to do whatever they like with the nation’s money. It SHOULD be
EQUALLY distributed amongst the people, and in this case GRCs, regardless of which party is in that constituency. Anything less is genocide.
The party with the most seats form the government. PAP is therefore the government. However the money that the government spends is public money.
[…] of the Day: https://www.motherinc.org/stuff-best-described-as-not-safe-for-parents/my-take-on-the-singapore-gener… This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. ← General […]
Hey you argue well and said a lot of things that resonated with most people. Clearly you have the passion and the ability to articulate them, how about thinking of joining the opposition? They and Singapore needs people like you. I am optimistic of Singapore because I do believe there are many more young people like you out there who have been apathetic before but may have experienced a similar “political awakening”. The future is in the hands of you young people.
A bit jaded and old :-(
I just like to point out that the people of Potong Pasir & Hougang not only voted their opposition leaders into the parliament, they have voted in the only people that can speak up, exercise checks & balances on PAP’s (not THE government) policies. They have also made the decision to vote in the only people who will be speaking/acting on behalf of all Singaporeans! Now their town is suffering the consequences of no upgrading??? How ridiculous!! HDB upgrading should be an entitlement to all Singaporeans, not used as a carrot to bribe voters! This practice have to stop, its shameful & has no class!
I was just reading your post on the GE and I found that you basically said what I also wanted to, so if you don’t mind I’ll put it up on my blog.
By all means, Melvyn.
The PAP does not draw on its war-chest to upgrade HDB flats. Estate renewal is a national program and not a gift from the PAP. I’m appalled that the PAP has perpetuated this myth. They’ll threatening to take away annual leave and healthcare next.
Great post Daphne. It’s exactly what I’ve been thinking and saying but not as eloquently as you have put it here.
I live in a area under PAP. Quarterly we have fogging for our area and after fogging, I got to clear hundreds of cockroaches at our void deck. Can PAP look into this too and not just upgrade our lift?
For the past 5-10 years, we have been giving PAP many, many chances.
Pls verify for yourself. Go to Parliament web-site to read Parliamentary Reports. Parliamentary “debate” is made from prepared speeches – so, it is not something said at the spur of a moment.
Minister Lim Swee Say is no small fry as he is from the PM’s Office. What did Minister Lim say in Parliament on 3 Mar 2010 in reply to Opposition MP Low Thia Kiang’s points: “WE ARE DEAF TO ALL THESE CRITICISMS”.
To make an informed decision, voters must first be informed.
1. Law Minister Shanmugam said on 4 Nov 2010 (para 23): http://app2.mlaw.gov.sg/News/tabid/204/Default.aspx?ItemId=515
“There are thus LESS INSTITUTIONAL CHECKS AND BALANCES ON EXECUTIVE ACTION IN SINGAPORE compared with the US – AND THAT IS DELIBERATELY SO.”
2. A few days later, on 9 Nov 2010, speech time in Parliament CUT (a) from 30 to 20 mins for MPs and (b) from 60 to 45 mins for ministerial reply:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1092372/1/.html
Is this what you want as a Singaporean? Is this the type of Law Minister we deserve?
The Pariah´s last post ..April Fools Day
Did any citizen pay $8 for heart surgery under Medishield Scheme advocated by Minister Khaw Boon Wan with (A) Deductibles and (B) Co-Insurance under Medishield?
So how did Minister Khaw get away by paying only $8 for heart surgery?
Because Minister Khaw DID NOT PRACTISE WHAT HE PREACHED. He bought extra insurance riders to cover the Deductibles and Co-Insurance which he advocated as being essential core elements to prevent abuse and wastage of medical resources.
Is this the kind of PAP First World Govt you want?
The Pariah´s last post ..April Fools Day
i am not sure what did kbw preach but deductibles and co-ins are the core elements in preventing abuse and medical resources. buying additional ins to cover them is a personal choice and the cost is covered by the insurance company. in this case, i assume you don’t have any additional ins to cover the deductibles and co-ins?
else, please suggest a better way. i also know how to complain. thanks.
Fellow Singaporeans – A $30 VERSUS $300,000,000 QUESTION:
Following GE2006: After GST hike to 7%, PAP MP Lily Neo has to challenge Balakrishnan on why only $1 extra per day for the needy – $30 allowance increase. To which, Minister Balakrishnan glumly asked Lily Neo as to how much MP Lily Neo wants, how much would be enough.
2010 Youth Olympic Games: Minister Balakrishnan exceeded YOG budget by $300,000,000 just like that. Any accountability to date?
The Pariah´s last post ..April Fools Day
yup, how much is enough? can you give a figure and substantiate?
these are 2 different issues and let’s don’t mixed them up. the budget comes from different sources.
i am with you on the yog budget thingy though. very pissed by the way the entire yog is organised. and yet they over spent. or shall i not even use the word organise?
per my understanding, Dr Lily Neo showed a breakdown that after paying off all the basis essential, the needy are left with only S$5 a day for three meals which is not enough.
Dr Vivian impatiently told her off that S$5 a day for three meals is enough and asked her if the needy intend to have hawker food or restaurant meal?
Can anyone tell me which hawker centre shall i go so that i can have 3 meals a day for S$5? Dr Vivian probably has attended many free lunch/dinner invitation over the years. He need not has to pay for his meal, lost touch with the ground and thus relying on his childhood time that S$5 a day for three meals (hawker food) is enough!
There will always be some people in the world who are easy to buy over with money and shiny toys. No need to argue. Just let them be. Thats the way they choose to live their life. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak. We cannot blame them. But these are also the kind of people that will not defend the country but will run away for their own benefits.
The pap have already answered as to why was the yog budget busted by so much. It’s because the budget was too low. There’s no way our country can hold such a grand event, given the original budget. And that was their fault for setting such a low budget. Look at those athletes. Everyone of them enjoyed it alot!! So how can you say that they screwed up?!?! That was a just investment for a good reputation. The overall spend was very much worth it. They spent it on the youths. Our future. Not on themselves. So why are you say that they did a bad job? I bet you read or heard from some biased source. So next time, if you want to post something about politics, be fair and just. Don’t be so biased. From this. I can only see that you hate the pap. You are too ignorant to understand politics. Be well informed before you post. Or you’ll just be a shame and a laughing stock
Hi Ryan,
We do, unfortunately, pay millions to the ministers to do a good job. Budgeting happens to be one of the essential skills, not least when they also have an army of super-scale paid civil servants supporting them.
The government sets the budget, went for it, and should keep to the budget. If it’s busted, fine. At the very least, say sorry and account for what went wrong. I believe we simply received a dismissive response from Vivian B. Who knows what they spent the extra $250 plus millions on?
This incident shows how nonchalant the PAP is with respect to accountability, and without checks and balances in the form of opposition MPs, who knows when corruption will set in?
Oh, pardon me. Corruption will not happen because they have legalized it by voting salary increments and bonuses for themselves. (I can’t resist this jab =p)
The YOG is an extravagant expenditure. If our country has unlimited resources , this would be a justified indulgence.
As it is, we are reminded by Dr Lily Neo in parliament how the underclass of Singapore is barely surviving and requires a little more for their SUBSISTENCE. She asked for a small top up( I can’t remember the amount, I think someone mentioned $30 p.m.more).I read somewhere that she was speaking up for some 3000 needy folks. Now let’s say , it’s $50pm more, ie $600 p.a. For 3000 people , it will be $1.8mio. For $387mio, these people would have received aid for 215 years! If we have money for an indulgent item which lasted two weeks and now remains a faint memory, surely we can afford to divert some of the budget towards helping the poor
For a perspective of how much is $387mio, let’s take a look at how much it takes to build a hospital. As you read in the papers, it takes something between $800 to $1000mio to build a hospital. A hospital last for decades. SGH has been around for I don’t know, 30-50 years?
$387mio can build almost half a hospital that can last a long long time and that helps thousands of people.
Another example. The Straits Times needy school children pocket fund helps, I believe 11,000 children. That is children who come from family who don’t even have enough money for pocket money on a daily basis.
If we were to give them, say $5 per day only , a thrifty amount. On a 25 day school days, it comes to $125 pm and $1375 per year base on 11 months. For 11,000 children, it works out to be about $15mio per year. For $387mio , we could have provided these needy children for 25years!
So are we being fair and just in the criticism?
When a budget is busted, one should never blame on the budget being too low. After all, who sets the budget in the first place? And budgeting does not mean simply plugging an amount from the sky. It is an essential skill for any executives of an organisation (if you have ever worked in a corporate environment, you would know it), more so for the persons governing a country.
It seem to be that Miss Sharon is telling Singaporean who vote for opposition not to expect any support from the ruling party if they decided to chose the opposition to serve them. Miss Sharon , Please bear in mind the whole of Singapore people pay tax to the government be it PAP or opposition wards. So your arguments seem to be is more flaw than ever. Opposition wards is still a part of the Republic of Singapore, it is not as although the opposition wards have declared independence of Singapore that it will not expect any support or help from the government.
Hi I’ve a question:
You said (like how everybody else is saying) that you are tired of ministers drawing a big paycheck. Do you have any idea how much MP’s who are not from the PAP are paid? Are they drawing the same amount of salary?
Opposition candidates has been frequently using this point to attack the PAP. However so far (correct me if I’m wrong), I haven’t heard them talking about how much would be a reasonable pay for a minister. Should they be elected into parliament, how much are they willing to lower their pay?
No one is making an issue of MP allowance. It’s not that big a deal. Its something like $15,000 pm or $180,000 p.a. Ministers’ salary however goes into millions, as high as between $2 to 3 mio.
What’s a reasonable annual salary of a minister? Good question.
The amount must reflect personal sacrifice as well as public service. Too much personal sacrifice is not fair to the minister and also makes it hard to recruit office bearers. Too high and it erodes the public service element and undermines moral authority.
It has to be somewhere in between and in most ,if not all countries, it is closer to the end of the spectrum of sacrifice. Even if we want to be different, and want to make it less burdensome for our ministers, it should not be pegged to MR48 scale ie 2/3 of 48 best paying in the private sector . And this is regardless of how well the economy does, they always take only the best 48 paying. Is that not too high for public office? Intuitively one should intuitively be asking that. So where is the public service element? It’s very low on the scale.
Which brings me to moral authority. How can high paying public office holders ask for sacrifice or volunteers to serve the country when they themselves are so well paid? Would you answer the call of someone who you know is getting so much money to volunteer or even die for your country? How about “what’s in it for me?”
Check out Sylvia Lim’s speech in parliament about minister salary:-)
”Ministers in Singapore are the highest paid politicians in the world, receiving a 60% salary raise in 2007 and as a result Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s pay jumped to 3.1 million Singapore dollars, five times the $400,000 earned by President Barack Obama. Although there was a brief public outcry regarding the high salary in comparison to the size of the country governed, the government’s firm stance was that this raise was required to ensure the continued efficiency and corruption-free status of Singapore’s “world-class” government.”
A person who is a true patriot, who truly loves his country and with a personal value built on integrity will not need big fat check to entice him to be righteous or to prevent him from corruption.
Yes, money is important for our living, but how much beyond our daily needs is considered ever enough? If the money comes from the public and is not yours, will you be bribed if you are earning $400K, but will not only if you are earning 3.1 million?
Hi Nick,
To answer your question, Sylvia Lim as an opposition NCMP has argued furiously in parliament against unreasonable ministerial salary raises, despite the fact that this would compromise her own salary.
Furthermore, most opposition candidates are willing to sacrifice their 16K deposit in the name of idealism, as they have much less of a guarantee than PAP candidates.
So yes, I believe they would be willing to put self-interest aside.
Touche! Let us call a spade a spade indeed and stop all the BS!
hi,
It is not easy to put up with the lousier facilities, but the money to upgrade the facilities is tax-payer’s money, why should the Singaporeans in opposite MPs areas not entitled to those up-grading, it is not as if the Potong Pasir constituency collects the tax-payer’s money and is not coming out with the money to up-grade. I do not live there but I salute to the people there and the MPs there(in the oppositions), having limited resources, have the positive spirits and stamina to go on and on, something that we need to build on. Fighting for 20 years……..is not easy. Though I applaud the stable policies and appreciate the talents we have in PAP, but they have a smoother journey than the opposition, which requires more than money ($13,000), actually a very strong will and spirits to carry on despites failures many times. We just needed more people of this kind, who is looking beyond the MP’s salary or the ministers’ privately competitive remunerations.
“The bottom line is that I vote for progress and if that comes in the form of non-PAP politicians, that gets my vote.” Brilliant! I read somewhere else that with such high salaries, those affected should be on the basis of ‘HIRE AND FIRE’.
SAVE our next generation children from DEBTS.
Share with your friends the lyrics of the links is so heart warming
http://www.youtube.com/user/project2O11#p/a/u/0/p1tzIRkIFs0
[…] days have been totally insane. I’m just awed and humbled by all your comments and feedback on the last post. It’s very encouraging to know that so many Singaporeans are starting to take interest in the […]
Seems like Mr Low needed three years to actually decide to ‘support’ residents in Aljunied. Does that mean that he’s going to take another three years to come up with proper plans to improve the lives of citizens?
Having an opposition representation in parliament may not mean they will be able to provide for the residents. What plans does WP have? Other than harping on the need for a “first world parliament”?
We need an opposition representation who is accountable.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1123186/1/.html
The HUDC blocks have hit a wall as the Town Council in Hougang, which the WP has been managing, has been unable to give them the numbers for the sinking fund alotted to the 7 HUDC blocks.
Where is the money of the residents?
Hougang is only a small part of Singapore and yet it has not been fully accounted for. So how will the possibly elected WP be able to run a much bigger ward?
Think twice before you vote, you may want change but whether the change is made up of accountable ppl who can make our lives better is another thing.
Cheers!
devvyman i think you have missed the point altogether.
Most people are talking about changes that they want to see, and why they want to see changes. People already know what the PAP did 50 years ago, and what the PAP is doing now. People also know clearly that the PAP is not accountable for their mistakes, choosing instead to gloss over them.
So now people want to see whether or not the opposition is better. I dont see anything wrong in that. I am quite ok with that.
Frankly pick your top ten pap candidates, and pick the top ten opposition candidates and compare them man for man/woman for women. Ai ya, to any fair minded person, its really quite clear who has better credentials. So I think people can take a chance for the next 5 years. After all, people have so much upgrading already, new paint at the void deck etc……I mean, if there is no upgrading for 5 years, no big deal la…… I think people can tahan!!!!!
But maybe I am wrong, so please tell us what should we be afraid of?
Can Singaporeanet say thatthe lines between party and state are not blurred? U.S political system is not perfect but they clearly forbids the machinations of government to be made use of, by any party, for political capital.
@Alan
They are paid well so that they’ll not be corrupted!! Argh!! Do you even go thru social studies before? It’s to preven them from being tempted by outside source! They are not allowed to have outside businesses if they are MPs. That’s why they are paid more than ministers of other countries!! Other countries allow their ministers to have their own businesses including Obama! If you don’t even know what you are talking about, don’t talk so much. Furthermore, you are most probably one of those few who didn’t enjoy the yog. But there are millions of youths in the world who enjoyed it. The budget went bust but the event was a success so why is there a need to apologise?? They’ve already come out and account that their budget was too low. And the fact that you guys are unhappy, even though theyve done so much to make the event a success, just because you guys want an apology makes me laugh. If you compare the budget with other olympic events. The yog expenditure was a fair amount. So why do you say that ” who knows what try spent the money on”.
Dear Ryan,
You seem very blase in dismissing other people’s comments.
What evidence do you have to substantiate that ministers in other countries are allowed to have outside businesses? From what I know, at the very least, Thai ministers aren’t allowed to to have their own businesses and they are certainly paid less. (“Section 267 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (2007) prohibits the Prime Minister and Ministers from having any position in a partnership, a company or an organisation carrying out business with a view to sharing profits or incomes or being an employee of any person” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samak_Sundaravej). And from what friends who were involved in some aspect of organizing the YOG have said, the MCYS bungled up big time and there was a lack of clear direction and leadership in most of the organizing committees. (Don’t just look at things on the surface from the view of a spectator).
Besides, having high paychecks may reduce frequency of corrupt practices but it also undermines the sincerity of these civil servants to serve the people rather than their pockets.
@Ryan,
I thought hard whether I should reply to you, but decided that I should say my final piece. You might be surprised that I did enjoy the YOG, especially watching Isabelle getting to the finals.
I would not know whether other countries’ indeed are allowed to have their businesses, so yeah, I would not be commenting on the portion, and perhaps, you do not know as much too (reference Tim’s comments).
I do agree that the YOG was a success to the world, and honestly, i am proud of it. However, to me, holding a glorious YOG at the expense of imprudent budgeting is not acceptable. It is their responsibility to ensure that the YOG was a success while keeping to the budget which they themselves estimated.
The YOG is a new event with minimum marketing value, and comparing it with other Olympic events would not be appropriate.
Well paid so that they will not be corrupted? That’s PAP’s rhetoric, and I don’t quite buy it. Since they are indeed so well paid, they need to be subjected to higher levels of scrutiny and accountability. It comes with the pay you know? Ask any managers in a well structured private company if you need to.
From both of your comments, I see that you have been studying Social Studies well. By the way, I do not think PAP is a bad government, so I’m not out to discredit them at all cost. If you think you do need to defend them further by answering again In the condescending manner that you did, you are not doing yourself or the PAP government any good.
our ministers pegged their pay to the top earners in the private practice without facing the same accountability or consequency faced by those professionals for their mistake/bad decision that cost the company a lot of money etc.
The PAP constantly justify their pay and claimed that they are the best…day in day out, it has created the high standard citizen has on them as well. Please remember that our country is paying them more than a peanut !
Daphne,
Well written! I share the same sentiments as you do, but you’ve penned it down much better than I could ever have! Great job!
love this article. reflects my sentiments totally. can i share this please?
Please go ahead!
To the rest: There’s no need to ask for permission alright?? :)
hi devyyman, u refer to article from cna, cmon our so call world ranking 154 media which is pro gov link. they ask hougang town council acc to be transparent, yes but can all pap town council acc to be transparent too? they will never disclose it.
Daphne, you have written a darn detailed article which has some grounds for Singaporeans to ponder on. While some seem relevant, others may not be.
The ministers are very much human and they do make mistakes. It’s human nature to point fingers when things go wrong, but when things go right, does anyone acknowledges it? It’s all part of a learning process. No one can predict the rain, hence, a flood at Orchard Road; and if one is bent on breaking out of jail, he or she will find all ways to get out. All systems, as much as we want full-proof, there are bound to have gaps, otherwise many unsound-human-initiated-tragedies (aka 911) could have been prevented.
Those “walk-abouts” that they do prior to the election are just part of the process…just like if you were running for presidency in your university, you will be also garnering for support. Are Singaporeans not aware of the many “Meet-the-People” session that these ministers do every week; or do not need the help; or may think that they would lose face if they seek help? These ministers have stepped out of their comfort zone and be in the scrutiny of fellowmen, it’s a high price to pay…would you do the same…losing your privacy and family time and yet be criticized? (No hard feelings.)
As much as TPL is young and has a long way to learn, isn’t it good that despite her age, she’s willing to come forward? If this is’t a good time to nurture younger MPs, then when would be a good time? Looking at Mr Chiam, I respect him, but am a tad worried if he could still be serving with “gusto” as before. As for Mr Low, does anyone question his agenda for moving out of Hougang to Aljunied?
It is true that it has turned “ugly” with the war of words exchanged during this period, and it saddens me to see what kind of impacts it has on our children…(heard a young girl commenting, “Mummy, this one bad one?”). Let us not impose our thoughts on our children but rather also allow them to have their own mindset when it comes to their turn during future elections.
Do we, as Singaporeans, be thankful for where we are today (as compared to other developing countries)…imagine, a small dot on the map but we can still manage satifactory, if not better. Have we forgotten that along the way, there will always be up’s and down’s…it’s not a bed of roses. One should ask, how does one pick himself up and move on constructively towards progress? Have no doubt, there will be more challenges ahead…do we sit and cry over spilt milk or find solutions. If one can serve the nation, give him/her a chance…but let’s not forget the many blessings (be it natural or human-related) that Singapore has benefitted. Let’s not be complacent and work towards unity rather.
Hi Na,
While I agree that we should look at the good that the incumbents have done and probably even the good that the opp has done for the country but do not let all that appears good make us blind to the misdeeds. There has to be a balance.
While you say: “These ministers have stepped out of their comfort zone and be in the scrutiny of fellowmen, it’s a high price to pay”, the opposition parties are also scrutinized and have a higher price to pay for the sake of letting Singaporeans have an alternate voice. In terms of sacrificing comfort, I think it is obvious who has to sacrifice more.
Do you think there will be unity in a country if the govt is able to work towards their goals without regard of the views of the people? If so, perhaps we should continue with a one-party govt (but in time to come our views will no longer matter and our children need not worry about having a mindset).
With regards to questioning Mr Low’s agenda for his move to Aljunied, it should be fairly obvious what his agenda is by now. It is to grow the opposition voice in parliament so that the govt will be held accountable to listen to the voice of the people (at least that’s how i see a first world parliament to be).
Surely both incumbents and opp have made mistakes. But eventually, I am (and I hope most people are too) asking for is a govt that has integrity, upholds justice, is compassionate, serves with humility and has accountability.
Hi Tim,
Thank you for your response. I truly appreciate it and for trying to see the good done. Yes, we must not be blinded but we do need to rectify. By the words ‘these ministers’, refers to the ruling party as well as the opposition parties. If I’ve mislead you otherwise, my apologies.
As for Mr Low, yes, we have also heard his voice but could this be just a cover for something else? Look at Hougang all these years, could this be the time if things were done for the next five years (if won by PAP), only to be “contested” and “taken” back later on…? Food for thought but we won’t know till it really happens…;)
Yes, we need to hear all “sound” arguments to strike a balance and then make rational and good decisions…but then again, don’t we make bad ones now and then?
I guess only time will tell if we have made a good or bad decision. But in the mean time let us continue to strive towards a strong nation in which all citizens will be proud of having played a part in building. With the poor being well looked after and the rich being civic-conscious. And on the political front, a respected parliament with healthy debate that the ensures the best policies be put forth with sound rationale.
My sentiments exactly! Just hope that all these will be handled in a more civilized and cultured manner, and not become a laughing stock for others (in terms of other countries). Afterall, we don’t want our next generation to become enemies with one another…love and peace starts from HOME. :)
Hi Na, I agree completely with you. They are human too. And it is so true that people only start noticing when things go wrong. Where are the compliments and gratefulness towards things that are done well? I would say it is hardly there, it is mostly taken for granted that it SHOULD be done well.
And we Singaporeans are often known to be ‘complain kings & queens’ as well. Just look at the well-known website “stomp”.
I really do wish that people would start looking at the good FIRST before picking at the bad. It would make you a better person at the end of the day.
One of my biggest fears is that my children would one day grow up with the mindset of criticising & complaining. I know Singapore has got so much more potential to be a leading nation of the world. But I do think that mindsets need to be changed.
It really doesn’t hurt to learn to be more forgiving and to learn to count your blessings.
[…] https://www.motherinc.org/stuff-best-described-as-not-safe-for-parents/my-take-on-the-singapore-gener… […]
If the salaries of the ministers were lower it would be easier to justify greater forgiveness of any mistakes they make.
Hi Daphne,
You definitely put all the stuffs and words right…BRAVO
I too feel that we need more Sylvia Lim in Parliment.
We don’t need Tin Pei Ling to waste taxpayer money by licking
boots in Parliment.
I can totally understand the frustrations of the citizens with some of the policies of the PAP government.
I too have faced some of these problems myself which we all can easily point to the flaws in government policies.
Issues such as high cost of living, huge influx of foreigners, over-crowding in public transportations etc.
We can all get very emotional about it and go for the juggular and vote for the opposition to tell the PAP government to “wake-up”.
Indeed one of the apparent flaws of the PAP government is the feeling among the citizens that firstly, they have stop listening to the ground and secondly, the fact that the “heart” factor is missing in government policies.
However, in this “cooling off day”, I think it is wise to view things in totality and be rational about our decisions. Let’s look at the big picture.
Granted, the PAP government has made some fatal mistakes in its policies in the last 5 years.
Granted, the PAP government has failed to communicate effectively with the ground about its more unpopular policies.
Granted, the PAP is seen as becoming “aloof” and losing the “heart” factor when dealing with its citizens.
However, in the overall scheme of things, they have done well in bringing all of Singapore forward through quite difficult times over last 5 years.
Yes, there will be people left behind as the income gap grows. But this is a fact globally as economies grow, there will be growing gap between the have’s and have nots. You can see it in everywhere in the world.
If you want high growth, you will have issues as rising cost of living, more foreigners and more income gap.
Unless of course we want to start moderating growth and start distributing our wealth (which seems to be what the opposition is trying to do – let’s spend our “small change” $60 billion dollars).
To summarise, I do feel angry with some of the PAP policies. It affects me and it affects my family.
Like most of you here, I was initially happy to see that the opposition seem to be able to gather more “quality” candidates this time around. We have more scholars and more high degrees holder, more MDs etc this time around.
However, my happiness was short-lived.
After hearing the opposition speeches, I am even more dismayed than ever.
I was hoping that they will come up with even better policies than the supposedly flawed PAP policies.
Instead what I got back was some poorly crafted ideas that only play to the emotions of the gallery. Nothing substantive.
Even worse, they are asking for blank cheques! How can they say vote us first and then we tell you what we do! My goodness!
And this is coming from a supposed better crop of opposition candidates!
I thought aren’t you supposed to propose better ideas and we gauge you on the strength of your ideas to vote?
If you say the PAP ideas are bad, then tell us what will be your better ideas right and I will vote for you.
You don’t just complain about the policies and come up with ideas just on how to spend the money we have. Everybody can come up with ideas on how to spend money.
So if you ask me, yes, on the surface it seems that the opposition has brought in better candidates.
I thought my time to finally vote for the opposition is finally here two weeks ago to vent my frustrations against the PAP government.
But today, on “cooling day”, I say, I am totally disappointed with the opposition.
When PAP government was in the opposition, they ask people to vote for them based on the strength of their ideas and policies.
Now the opposition is asking me to vote for them just for the sake of having an opposition voice and just give them a blank cheque.
I am sorry, I don’t think so.
If that is what you called a “First World Parliament”, then I am not for it.
So yes, I would say no to the opposition (albeit unwillingly).
I guess, I have to put my bets on a party that have at least get it right 80%-90% of the time (and 10%-20% of the time screwing up my life) then to vote for an opposition that has no track record, no plans, and almost no good ideas (they will probably screw me 90% of the time if they got voted).
That’s my two cents worth.
i think and feel that we should not be overly focusing on the punchline “First World Parliament” used by the opposition party. Granted that the existing alternate plans/ideas from the current batch of opposition parties may not be better or probably worse off compared to PAP. But do you agrees that this imperfect plan (from the opposition party)would be discussed, debated and eventually be modifyed or rejected when it is brought up in the house should the opposition parties be elected as an MP in the first place? The process of discussion and debate for the benefits of the Citizen would be absent without the presence of the other party in the house!
Should the ruling party emerge once again as the only party come 7th MAy 2011, i am sure that many of the voters today would not have the chance to vote again in the next election!
The recent “sorry” from the White is only a strategy….While there is a possibility of risk to vote for the change but remaining status quo can only be worse!
Fact is no one will blog about polities to sing praises, NO ONE.
Singapore needs to advance politically. Government needs accept criticism and improve himself. Watchdogs needed to be setup … it can be the press, unions, or opposition parties in parliaments.
This is the first step. Without this political advancement, economic and social will be stagnant.
The politics space needed to be “opened out” …. but in “appropriate speed”.
In the earlier days, we need one strong paper to be in main control so that progress of nation can be done efficiently. Today, things has changed. We needs cooperation from multi-parties to bring in new ideas. The world is getting too complex for a single person to solved.
From the way PAP uses GRC, control of press, unions etc and unfair oppression against the opposition parties, i think it cannot bring about political advancement to Singapore.
Likewise if people still vote out of fear or cannot move out of their comfort zone, I would say Singapore people is not ready political advancement too. In that case, it would be difficult for the nation to progress to the next stage of progress for politics, economics and social