GE2020 a Watershed Election and Rebirth of Hope

For decades, many Singaporeans have suffered and struggled against the seemingly unbeatable Goliath – the People’s Action Party. We seethed at the way they messed with our Constitution and rammed through undemocratic repressive laws like POFMA. We shed tears reading how they gunned down vocal critics and destroyed the reputation and lives of opposition leaders like WP’s JB Jeyaratnam, Tang Liang Hong and  SDP’s Chee Soon Juan. We were hurt and insulted by how they disrespected Singaporeans with their arrogant words and dismissive actions which made our people feel like second class citizens.

After the disappointing GE2015 where the PAP won almost 70% of the votes, many hopeful Singaporeans became despondent and frustrated as the PAP-ruling party tightened its control over us and accelerated its toxic brand of politics with the help of its increasingly aggressive Internet Brigade (IBs). The sense of hopelessness grew with the implementation of laws like Pofma, which purportedly is to fight fake online news but which in reality has been weaponised by the government. The light at the end of the tunnel was dimming and some voices went silent.

This 2020 election changed it all and has brought a rebirth of hope

GE2020’s results on July 11 brought immense joyous relief to many people.  The sheer happiness and loud crazy cheers that rang loud in the streets of Hougang and Sengkang  at dawn reverberated across the island.

Photo taken by Lawrence Chong

Indeed, we have much to celebrate. This was only the second general election where all seats were contested since our country’s independence. That is significant. For many years, there were walkovers due partly to pork-barrel politics and gerrymandering and many of us could not vote. Some only got to vote when they were middle-aged! How galling! Hopefully, walkovers will never again happen here and all of us can exercise our right to vote including more than 200,000 overseas Singaporeans most of whom were upset at being unable to vote as there are only 10 polling centres worldwide.

Another heartening fact is that more than 2.5 million turned up to vote despite concerns about the Covid-19 virus, and this, according to the National Archives, is the highest voter turnout for a general election since Singapore’s independence!

A key milestone to note at this GE2020 is that PAP’s share of the votes dropped in most of the constituencies except for a handful. And its overall vote share fell from the whopping 69.9% in 2015 GE to 61.2%!

Contrary to the general impression that the PAP is hugely popular, the party’s vote share at every election has actually been dropping since 2001 when it scored 75.1%. It plunged to 66.6% in 2006 and to 60.1% in 2011 before being bumped in 2015 when the PAP used Lee Kuan Yew’s death and legacy to manipulate public sentiments.

So what do the latest GE results mean? That it fell again in line with the downward trend shows the underlying unhappiness with PAP is still there and that there is growing widespread  concerns over the PAP’s elitist and arrogant style of governing, its brand of gutter politics, its self-serving agendas and certain policies that do not really improve the lives and future of Singaporeans.

SCMP’s report yesterday quoted NUS political scientist Chong Ja Ian as attributing PAP’s marked drop in vote share to “less satisfaction with how the PAP hs been handling policies from the economy to the coronavirus pandemic” Bridget Welsh, an honorary research associate at Malaysia’s University of Nottingham was more blunt and said “in the Singapore context, this is a defeat (for the PAP)…(it’s the) worst seat performance and loss of popular vote”.

This election’s victories, seemingly small, are in reality significant achievements. The Workers Party, led by an astute Pritam Singh, gained much admiration for outplaying and outwitting the PAP and he significantly bolstered the image of the party which had taken a beating in recent years no thanks to the lawsuits instigated by the ruling party over Aljunied GRC.

WP won three constituencies and 10 Parliamentary seats, the most ever by WP.  This was despite fielding several younger candidates like economist Jamus Lim and lawyer He Ting Ru against PAP’s political office holders including two ministers in Sengkang GRC.  WP’s East Coast GRC group led by Nicole Seah lost but dealt an embarrassing blow to the group led by PM-designate Heng Swee Keat with a paltry 53.4%.

WP’s handsome wins in Aljunied GRC and Hougang were impressive in view of all the allegations and lawsuits thrown by the ruling party at WP over the past few years which led many to assume that voters there would not root for the team in blue again. Instead, WP gained a 9-point vote share to almost 60% in Aljunied GRC, a testament to the wisdom of voters there.

Concerns over WP stalwarts Low Thia Khiang, Chen Show Mao and Png Eng Huat not contesting proved unfounded. Hougang SMC, long our beacon of hope, also gained vote share with a strong 61.1% win by Dennis Tan.

WP’s chief Pritam Singh proved to be an astute politician in planning the party’s success at this election. Fielding younger, smart and eloquent candidates like economist Jamus Lim in Sengkang GRC and Nicole Seah in East Coast was a masterstroke that resonated well with young and old voters.

Sengkang GRC’s win by a group of relatively young but outstanding WP candidates was the real surprise of the night. Thousands of households in Sengkang cheered loudly in the wee hours when the result was announced. Hundreds of thousands more across the island cheered along with them, ecstatic as we were over this huge achievement. The seemingly impenetrable GRC system had been cracked again by the Hammer and by many young families living there.

While we were disappointed that Progress Singapore Party led by well-respected Dr Tan Cheng Bock did not manage to win a seat, take heart that PSP as a new party managed to do very well in its first election, within a very short time frame, with vote share averaging about 40% for all the GRCs where it contested. Dr Tan’s team in West Coast also lost by a mere whisker with 48.3% of the votes.

PSP will also be offered two NCMP seats in Parliament thus further cementing their presence as a credible political party. Eighty-year-old Dr Tan’s poignant and heartfelt messages calling for political changes to improve the lives and future of Singaporeans and his criticisms of bad government policies have also raised extensive awareness and touched the hearts of many people both young and old.

Left- Dr Tan Cheng Bock  formed PSP to try and right the wrongs he felt were causing unhappiness to Singaporeans. Right – SDP’s Dr Paul Tambyah is the first Singaporean appointed President-elect of the US-based International Society of Infectious Diseases.

As for Singapore Democratic Party which did not manage to win a seat, it shows it is a party to be reckoned with. The vote share of its two star candidates increased despite the PAP wielding the Pofma sword and casting aspersions yet again at them and their party. Dr Paul Tambyah, an infectious diseases specialist, scored 46.26% – the highest by a losing opposition candidate among all the SMCs. SDP chief Chee Soon Juan similarly saw a significant 6.4 per cent increase in his votes to 45.2%. All this shows that voters approval of SDP and Chee have gone up and that they stand a good chance of doing even better at the next elections.

We need to remember that the victory of this GE2020 is thanks greatly to the tireless efforts of all the alternative party leaders, candidates, members and their armies of passionate volunteers. With so many credible and capable candidates contesting all wards and walking the ground all over the island they were able to enlighten countless Singaporeans that there are many non-PAP people with the ability and the heart to represent us in Parliament.

Such a united effort on the ground and online would have made a substantial positive impact on voters. For sure, PAP, even in its worst nightmare, could not have imagined that its plan to hold an election during a pandemic, without election rallies, using only digital platforms, could have backfired so badly.

For a long time, many had lamented about the political ignorance and apathy of our people especially the youths who grew up amidst a culture of fear and propaganda in social studies. There was speculation that at this election, the opposition would be wiped out as many would vote for the PAP out of fear of the uncertainties caused by the pandemic and a desire for stability by trusting in the devil they knew best. We were gladly proven wrong.

This GE2020 showed us that in reality there are many Singaporeans who are discerning, not cowed by fear and who are willing to speak up and vote for positive change.

No physical rallies so what? The wind of change was palpable even on digital platforms. Elections news and messages were shared fast and furious, commentaries and posts drew an immeasurable number of comments and robust debates on handphones, on computers on iPads, etc etc.

We have globalisation and social media to thank for this change. Better educated, more aware, more woke, the millennials, together with likeminded older Singaporeans, will reshape the political landscape and policies to be more human-centric and Singaporean-centric. Being more sensitive to social issues like fairness and inequality, many will no longer be easily fooled nor intimated should the PAP remain unrepentant and continue to mislead, bully and misuse its power.

Like many older voters, the millennials are not blind to injustice nor incompetence.

The PAP’s increasing incompetence weighed heavy on many of us. Trust has to be earned and not demanded. Past performance is no guarantee of success. Trust in PAP 3G and 4G leaders had justifiably withered as we saw how the economic policies were hurting many Singaporeans who struggled to cope with the high cost of living, the rising healthcare costs and the ignominy of having to compete so damn hard for good jobs against the overwhelming number of foreigners here.

This election, held during a pandemic, also made us question the PAP’s agenda and competence even more when we saw over two million Singaporeans queuing under the hot sun and in crowded polling centres to cast their vote. It defied reason to endanger lives just so the PAP could gain a strong mandate.

Long queues formed at most polling centres leading to an unprecedented extension of polling by two more hours

All the feelings of anger, betrayal and disappointments…and hope went into the X we marked on the ballot paper on July 10, 2020.

The saying united we stand rings true. After so many decades of trying to make our voices heard it seems that our message is finally starting to get through – through our votes.

Speaking yesterday after the polling results, PM Lee Hsien Loong acknowledged that the election results show a clear desire for a diversity of voices in Parliament. In a surprise move, he said Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh will be formally appointed Leader of the Opposition and will be given the staff support and resources to carry out this role.

Through our votes, we have spoken and we have finally been heard. The road to real change is a long and arduous one but we need to find our rightful place as Singaporeans again. We need to make Singapore truly our happy home again. We can do this by being united in speaking up without fear and doing right by our conscience.

We can do it and we will get there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fool’s Gold in a Pandemic

For 3 months our government advocated and directed people to wear mask unless sick. This was a terrible life-endangering mistake

The Govt’s anti-mask stance finally changed in early April when infection rates soared

Yesterday, we received two shocking news – One was the record high of 287 new infections pushing the new total to over 1900 confirmed cases in Singapore. The other was our Land Transport Authority (LTA) announcing that it has started “rolling out” plans to have social distancing in public transport and at stations, bus stops and stations.

Why was the latter a shocker? Yesterday was April 9, almost three months since we had our first case of Covid-19 virus! Why did it take our government that long to realise preventive action is necessary despite being warned by many netizens of the endless crowds (unmasked at that) in trains and buses and malls etc, etc!

The longer this pandemic plays out the more it is exposing the weaknesses of government leaders and the major flaws in policies and societies, including in Singapore. As someone rightly pointed out there is hollow praise in premature accolades and in the constant self praise by some governments. Luxuriating in praise from the WHO at the 100 m dash is fool’s gold when this pandemic is a marathon with no finishing line in sight yet. Gold should should be awarded to the deserving at the finish line.

To be fair, all governments have been working very hard to tackle the pandemic including our government. Some have been outstanding in how they have handled and managed the crisis and reassured their people such as in Taiwan, South Korea and New Zealand. We have much to learn from them on crisis and people management.

Our govt did great initially and the contact tracing is certainly good and we have an excellent and responsive healthcare system. But our Govt leaders have shown an inability to think out of the box and to anticipate and foresee the crisis scenarios in a holistic picture. The key to good crisis management is not in just reacting and doing damage control but in anticipating issues and preventing them from becoming a big problem.

Fact is costly mistakes have been made and our G was slow in taking proactive preventive measures starting with not shutting the doors fast to visitors from Wuhan (don’t be xenophobic, cannot close borders they said) to not anticipating that the infection rate would surge by letting people go out as per normal and allowing crowds in malls, on trains and buses without any masks.

Worse, telling people that masks do not help and actually advocating through propaganda and advertisements and in school education telling everyone NOT to wear mask unless sick was a life-endangering mistake that should not have been made. The over-fixation on logistics and stockpiling surgical and N95 masks for frontliners led to this terrible mistake. Yes healthcare workers need the masks and yes there is a mask shortage but common sense tells us it will become a vicious cycle stressing the healthcare system if even more people fall ill due to lack of proper protection.

George Gao, Director General of China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said in March: ”The big mistake in the U.S. and Europe, in my opinion, is that people aren’t wearing masks. This virus is transmitted by droplets and close contact. Droplets play a very important role—you’ve got to wear a mask, because when you speak, there are always droplets coming out of your mouth. Many people have asymptomatic or presymptomatic infections. If they are wearing face masks, it can prevent droplets that carry the virus from escaping and infecting others.”

The leaders in most countries have urged the use of masks as one of the key ways to protect against the virus and they also set out to protect BOTH the people and healthcare workers by rationing sales of masks and telling people to be prudent in the usage and to stay home. Some like Taiwan and Hongkong got creative and churned out alternative DIY masks and cloth masks over a month ago at least.

Here, our government only stopped “discouraging people to wear a mask” last week in early April and even then does not insist by law that everyone should wear a mask when they go out. Such confusing U-turns in policies and the now lame attempt to tell us to mask has led to some people to say “Govt never said must wear. It is optional”.

Over the past three months, the virulent nature of Covid19 was laid bare for all to see as we gawked at the shockingly fast spread globally and yet there was always a sense of hesitance and slowness in our govt’s response. Concerned about the economy and perhaps wanting not to spark panic (or because the ministers really believed this virus was not a giant threat) the Govt downplayed it too much in their tone, words and actions. PM Lee even told us to live life as normally as possible in a FB post last month!

And just three weeks ago, he was also seen at a very crowded foodcourt in Ang Mo Kio doing campaigning and taking photos with residents! He was unmasked and did not keep his distance. What did it say to the rest of us when we saw the top man doing this in a pandemic?

That this pandemic is not serious, that it is okay not to take social distancing and masking seriously? Many people have been lulled into a false sense of security and the urgency emerging now is coming a tad late.

Just a few days ago, huge crowds still formed at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, some malls and at IKEA as if all was well. And just yesterday a PR photo was published showing PM Lee and some ministers at a meeting – all wore masks and sat apart. A little late but better late than never to undo the costly mistakes made.

The explosion of cases and fast increasing number of infections here did not surprise many of us as we had been screaming on social media posts (some even wrote letters to the MSM) about the shocking complacency of many locals and expats here and about the glaring hot spots that were like tinder awaiting the right spark.

Unmasked humans thronging overcrowded public transport, Crowded restaurants, Crowded shops, Crowded food courts, Crowded wet markets, Crowded Mustafa were all recipes for a disaster waiting to happen. Frequent hand washing and sanitising? Few were spotted using sanitisers in public while many were spotted leaving toilets without washing their hands still!

NGOs had also warned early about the potential petri dishes at crowded dormitories and construction sites. Yet, the warnings of over-crowded filthy dorms housing foreign workers were ignored, seemingly swept under the carpet so to speak, third rate humans not worthy of better attention while returning locals and expats were quarantined in 5 star hotels. Life is unfair but it cannot be this unjust.

The ignored warnings have manifested into several hundred infected foreign workers and a quarantine of over 20,000 and counting. Too much not done, too little proactive action taken, too late to turn the clock back.

Yesterday, Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the Covid-19 task force, tried to excuse this oversight by saying “Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of benefit of hindsight”! To the minister I say this has nothing to do with hindsight but a lack of foresight in crisis management coupled with negligence when NGOs had tried to warn the govt about potential clusters forming at crowded dorms that house over 350,000 foreign workers here.

Yesterday, Minister Masagos also lamented on FB that too many people were not taking this Covid-19 seriously. Perhaps the minister, who also serves on the Covid-19 task force, can spark an honest reflection on what was done wrong and how to get more people to take it seriously.

For one, call it a LOCKDOWN and not that ridiculous and lame “circuit breaker” Simisai circuit breaker when the house is on fire already?? Every country with a lockdown calls it that except for Singapore. Uniquely Singapore? Spare us. Secondly, all signs point to a Dorscon Red already so why isn’t the Govt raising the Red alert?

Raise to Red, Call it Lockdown and I guarantee that will get more people to take this seriously.

A cheeky meme poking fun at the Govt for not raising alert to Red and not calling it a Lockdown which reflects the reality

In some ways, I am glad this pandemic is shining inescapable light and shame on many wrongful acts committed by humans, the follies of some governments and showing up the utter selfishness of many which includes the PAP leaders pushing to hold the election sooner than necessary. How could they even think about that now when the infection rate is spiralling upwards each day? All their attention and our state’s limited resources should and must be focused on taming this spread and calming the people first. No ifs No buts about this. Lives must come before votes.

This pandemic is separating the chaff from the wheat as we see the common man step forward as our true heroes: Too many to name here but they include the whistle blower doctor who died in China, many healthcare workers who died in the line of duty; the 4 brave local docs here who wrote a letter urging us, against govt narrative, to wear masks; the countless nurses, doctors and all healthcare workers worldwide who work tirelessly to save lives; the average Joes and Janes who create videos to show how to make DIY masks and other PPE gear; the community helping each other such as by donating masks and food to the needy and elderly; the many funny meme-makers who crack jokes and upload chirpy videos daily to cheer the world etc, etc, etc.

In contrast, where are our crazy rich tycoons, they who have fed off this land? They have been surprisingly silent. What else will we see and what else will humanity learn as the pandemic unfolds further?

By Jentrified Citizen aka Min Zheng

 

 

 

 

 

Who is Indranee to tell us to be grateful?

At a recent Parliament session, Indranee Rajah, a senior minister of state said “We should be grateful that a person of such standing has agreed to dedicate himself to the public cause” in reference to Ex-MP MP Hri Kumar Nair’s appointment as deputy Attorney General. Her reasons on why we should be grateful included citing how he took up the job “despite the considerable personal and financial cost to him” and that he “earns significantly less than what he used to earn”.

She had said this in response to Workers’ Party MP Sylvia Lim comment that filling a constitutional post with a party politician is not ideal as the appointment “carries a risk of undermining public confidence in the AGC’s stated mission of fair and independent prosecutions, and it is a risk that is best avoided”.

Veteran lawyer Hri Kumar Nair, known for his vociferous comments on the opposition when he was a PAP MP, is the first former politician appointed as DAG.

My post here is not about Hri but about Indranee’s patronising response. It is irksome as it is not the first time PAP leaders (and their fervent supporters)  have told us we should be GRATEFUL to them for making “sacrifices” when they take up a top dog government job. Saying this simply reflects their elitist and calculative mindset.

Like everyone, we make a career choice after weighing the pros and cons. Everyone of us forego something when we let go of one job for another. We make the choice, we live with it.We do not tell those who benefit from our employment to be grateful no matter how taxing that job is.

The poorly paid elderly aunty and uncle cleaning public toilets do not ask for gratitude so why should those in high-flying jobs?

Fact is those in high-flying jobs like Ministers and top guns in government posts have many benefits including high pay, power (lots of it), fame, recognition and access to a  vast network of who’s who in business and politics. What then is their sacrifice when weighed against what they gain?

Sure, some may lose a bit in pay when they move from private to public sector (but how many of such people are there?)  and they may lose some privacy being a public figure. Here, we have to ask them about their intrinsic motivation which is supposed to give greater satisfaction than tangibles like money. Are they not getting heaps of satisfaction by doing a job of their choice? It’s not like they were coerced into it.

Do teachers tell their students to grateful?
Do doctors and nurses tell their patients to be grateful?
Did Obama tell his people to be grateful when he was President?

NO.

Respect has to be earned, Gratitude has to be heartfelt. Both cannot be demanded.

So, can PAP please stop telling us to be grateful? We will let you know when we are.

Fake alarms from fake news

Indeed, we expect the PAP-controlled government to seize this Trump-spawned opportunity to scaremonger and lead Singaporeans into thinking that anything critical about the G and the PAP is “fake news”. They and only they are the unadulterated truth, the way and the holy grail in their minds. From implementing the Protection from Harassment Act under the guise of protecting the vulnerable to trying to define the Government as a person to benefit from the POHA law to suing and jailing vocal dissenters what wouldn’t the PAP do to protect its power? Watch next how they will use the political tactic du jour to shoot down critical blog posts and online articles as “fake news” while trying to cover the real truth with their own “alternative facts”. Actually our G is already adroit at doing this kind of dirty politics. But they will step it up while riding on the Trump battle cries. – .Jentrified Citizen

Yawning Bread

As the contestation over the “alternate facts” so beloved by the Trump administration crescendoes — as it surely will over the coming months — the Singapore government will see more opportunities to import the same arguments into Singapore as a means of heightening censorship. The twist will be that our government will claim that their “facts” are facts, whilst their detractors’ views and statements are “fake news” or falsehoods, conveniently swapping the positions of government and opposition in the American debate.

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Ministerial Promotions: What Lee Kuan Yew Preached vs How Lee Hsien Loong Practises

The PAP-style of meritocronyism is not only continuing but has become a huge joke and a global embarressment with its frequent promotion of paper generals and unproven persons without the relevant experience to top posts of great responsibility. How do these PAP leaders live with themselves? How do they not feel at least some shame from the disgusting hypocrisy practised by them and their leader the PM? How can they preach meritocracy and urge us to be a cheaper and more productive workforce while they are getting promotions and sky high salaries without having proven themselves? As a Singaporean you should be concerned and you should be disgusted if you are not. These people are being paid using taxpayers money and these people are being groomed as our future leaders. Open those eyes and think about it – Jentrified Citizen

2econdsight

I never cease to be amazed at how fast novice PAP MPs are appointed ministers – even faster how their promotions are confirmed. A whatsapp message sums it up, ‘Do nothing and can get promotion. I oso want .’

PAP’s leadership renewal is conspicuously planned so ‘that Singapore…continue to have honest and capable leaders’ (Lee Hsien Loong) or ‘the best people in government’ (Goh Chok Tong). Or leaders who will not ‘succumb to corruption’ (LKY).

Carrie Gracie, BBC, reports, ‘to steel its…members against temptation‘ or corruption, Xi JinPing (by LKY’s assessment, ‘a man of great breathe…in the Nelson Mandela class of persons‘) started revolutionary tours for its key cadres. The PAP, however, prefer a shortcut, paying the highest salaries of any government worldwide.

Here’s how LKY sold to Singaporeans the key intent for the high salaries:

So it was an unending quest for the right man…

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Why we cried when Schooling our Singaporean champ won gold at the Olympics

Our Singaporean hero – Joseph Schooling who won the gold medal for the 100m butterfly event at Rio Olympics 2016

Tears flowed and there has been non-stop euphoric rejoicing by Singaporeans ever since Joseph Schooling won our country’s first Gold Olympic medal for the 100m buttefly event. The win was made even sweeter by the fact that this awesome champion is our homegrown talent and not an imported foreign sports talent brought here and given instant citizenship purely for the sake of winning medals.

Before the defenders of the “Foreign Sports Talent Scheme” and moralising minority start getting prickly and shout “Xenophobia” let me explain why the reaction by Singaporeans is so vastly different for Joseph vis-à-vis the foreign sports talents.

Firstly, let me state that  I understand why there may be a need to import foreign talents for sports and that this is done by other countries too. I also appreciate the fact that all these foreign talents who come here do train very hard (such as the table tennis player Feng Tianwei from China who has sustained serious knee injuries from her training). Most Singaporeans have nothing personal against these foreign sports people. These people took up a great offer from our government and one cannot and should not fault them for that.

Many footballers with talent have also been recruited by national football teams all over the world.  These talents add unique strengths and enhance the team play as a whole. It is acceptable to most when a large football team comprises some foreign players. There is no public angst over this here either because the football team is still viewed as a Singaporean team by virtue of the fact that most of the players involved are locals. And many of these foreign players like the former football legend Abbas Saad assimilate well with our home boys and our culture.

Where the public discomfort comes in and when we get turned off is when foreigner sports people are deployed by our government on a highly visible mass scale in small team events and in solo sports events such as in table tennis. IMO, it is time for our government leaders to start asking themselves why is it that so few ordinary Singaporeans (with the exception of people like MP Lee Bee Wah) celebrate when table tennis sports medals are won by PRC-turned-Singaporean players?

Why is there no euphoric explosion of national pride? Why are no tears shed by the people? Is it worth it to keep investing millions of taxpayers dollars to bring in loads of foreign sports talents if it doesn’t arouse our national pride in the same way that Schooling’s triumph has done for our country? I am not saying to stop completely but at least review the objectives, value and quantity to bring in under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme.

On the difference between the euphoric response by Singaporeans to Schooling and the generally ice-cold non-reaction to the wins by our table tennis team, the answer is pretty clear cut. There is no heart-to-heart connection between us and these PRC-turned-instant Singaporeans.  There is little pride felt when a “bought” talent wins just like there is no pride in scoring an A if one had paid another to sit for an exam.

It also does not help that many of these table tennis PRC players behave like foreigners, they come across as unSingaporean and they do not even bother to speak English. I do feel sorry for these foreign players who slogged at training and at the Olympics but the fact remains that most Singaporeans find it hard to identify with them and feel no pride in such “bought” successes.

Instant new citizenships and wearing the Singapore T-shirt may make these foreigners officially Singaporean, but to the rest of the ordinary citizens our hearts feel empty when they win.

It is not xenophobia at all just to make it clear.

Euphoric celebration by Singaporeans (photo by Edgar Su Reuters)

When third-generation Singaporean Joseph Schooling won the gold medal, tears of joy flowed spontaneously on countless Singaporeans faces. It wasn’t that we (yes I cried too) decided “Oh we must cry because he is true blue local”. Not at all. Our hearts and minds simply responded with a burst of patriotic pride. The heart just knows when one of our own has done us proud. Our first gold Olympic medal by our local boy. Our local hero! Truly inspiring.

No matter how long it takes, no matter how few our Olympic medals, I think most Singaporeans would prefer grooming more of our homegrown talents than to keep importing foreign sports people enmass. Winning is great but we should take pride in how we win. Some things are just well worth waiting for.

Democracy in a Straitjacket

This blogger hits the nail on the head with his analysis that GE 2015 might have been PAP’s high watermark (implying it is going to get harder to win votes after that). This would partly explain why the ruling party has set in motion a series of shocking dictatorial moves in recent months including the questionable ELD complaints and police raids and seizure at the homes of Roy and Teo Soh Lung over their harmless postings on Cooling Off Day; the warning to foreign companies not to sponsor any events including Pink Dot at Speakers Corner; and the latest whammy announcement on the ban on use of the Internet by civil servants (excluding the top guns of course) from next May.

Why is the government doing this? Let’s drop the pretense and face the facts. The ruling party is doing this because they need to tighten their controls over the people now that their Superman Lee Kuan Yew is dead. Without LKY around, the PAP is significantly weaker as their leaders have not earned sufficient respect from the people to win die-hard loyalty. Post-LKY era, the current crop of PAP leaders probably figured they need to show Singaporeans they are still the boss and on top of their game. Hence, the series of chilling actions taken by them over the past few months. It would not be farfetched to say that many of these actions are pre-planned to strike fear into the people’s hearts, just as how LKY used his knuckledusters in the past. The PAP-government is sending the same old message out – “Don’t mess with us or else…”. In many countries, much of what they are doing would be deemed illegal but here in a small island where they hold complete power over all the relevant agencies and where their word is law, the citizens are almost powerless against such tyranny.

What we are seeing IMO is but the tip of the iceberg. My gut feel is we can expect more repressive actions to be taken by the ruling party in the coming months. Having absolute power is a heady feeling and there are no boundaries as to how it will be wielded when the ones in power have no one to be accountable to. Absolute power corrupts absolutely indeed.

Banalysis

“The other day, someone told me the difference between a democracy and a people’s democracy. It’s the same difference between a jacket and a straitjacket.” – President Ronald Reagan, 1986

Ever the wry wordsmith, Reagan coined this phrase to reference the looming shadow cast on the peoples of Eastern Europe by the Iron Curtain. A very different time and place, perhaps.

Yet, the analogy hit uncomfortably close to home. The familiar buckles of political control have once again tightened on civil society. Early in May, underage dissident Amos Yee was arrested and hauled to court to face potential charges for sedition. Later that month, convicted murderer Kho Jabing was executed at 4.30 pm on a Friday, the first time in Singapore’s history any prisoner on death row was not hung at the break of dawn. It was rumored that the authorities were furious at his lawyers’ stalling tactics and…

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I would vote for SDP

Sharing this blog as it lists many valid and strong reasons to vote for Dr Chee Soon Juan. It also debunks the threats and myths that Bukit Batok residents may lose their upgrading if they do vote for him. Let’s get this straight, BB will still get the upgrading as they are already in the works. Secondly, please remember you are not voting in an estate manager but an MP who is involved in much bigger issues including debating vitall policies that affect all of us.

Some of you may have misgivings due to the negative impression created by the PAP and the MSM,. Ask yourself how valid is that stigma?

Do consider voting for Chee because it is indisputable that he does have the courage to stand up to the mighty PAP and the intellect to speak up for us in Parliament. He does have the determination to speak up against policies that are not good for us. Lastly, he has shown that he does genuinely have our interests at heart. We can count on him to add more diverse and balanced views to the debates in Parliament.

BB residents, this is a win-win situation for you. Vote for Chee and you get the loving attention of not one but two Parties. Vote for a better future for Singaporeans please.

Article 14

I lived in Bukit Batok from 1985 to 2007.  If I were still a resident of Bukit Batok, I would vote for Dr Chee.

For as long as I have been eligible to vote, I have voted for an opposition candidate for the primary reason that there is a need to bring some balance to Parliament.  The motivation has not been about replacing the PAP immediately as the government of the day but about having sufficient number of non-PAP MPs in Parliament.  2 reasons:  Diversity of views & Checks and balances.

Diversity of views and ideas is sorely lacking in our Parliament and debates in Parliament regularly echo the same thought processes, the same arguments and the same assumptions.  Non-PAP MPs from multiple parties will help to introduce that diversity into Parliament.  WP MPs do provide alternative ideas in Parliament but they tend to be weak-voiced not due to the…

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A Mud-Slinging By-election, again

This witty drawing by Cartoon Press aptly captures the character assassination of Dr Chee Soon Juan by senior ministers and the Prime Minister no less during the Bukit Batok By-election. What kind of appalling values are they imparting to our youths and Singaporeans in general? That it is ok to behave like goons and to hurl insults at opponents to get what you want? How can the leaders of our country behave in such a deplorable manner when they are supposed to be role models? 

On Integrity, Hypocrisy & Setting Bad Examples at Bukit Batok By-election

When leaders set a bad example – PM Lee and Minister Grace Fu continues the demonising of Dr Chee Soon Juan during the Bukit Batok by-election.

For those who are unaware, the persecution of SDP’s chief Dr Chee Soon Juan has been going on for over 20 years! And the PAP leaders are still at it, doing their unethical best to demonise this man without any regard to how their attacks would affect Chee’s wife, his children and his parents.

It was really shameful to see our Prime Minister and senior ministers behave in a despicable manner during the Bukit Batok by-election. Ministers Grace Fu and Halimah Yacob continued the PAP’s bashing of Dr Chee Soon Juan last night at the Bukit Batok rally. They threw various slurs at him such as mocking him for being “unemployed” and for being rude to former PM Goh Chok Tong, something that happened eons ago.

It is very ironic and hypocritical that we have highly educated Singaporeans buying into the character assassination of Chee based on what the PAP-govt have claimed and what the local MSM have reported including over some flimsy allegations. Yet these same people have never spoken up against the numerous unethical actions committed by Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP against the citizens (including likening us to dogs)  and against hundreds of innocents who were jailed for opposing them.

So it is really laughable to hear PAP supporters and some Ministers bitch about petty little things like Chee being rude to Goh ONCE when they have never objected to the numerous reprehensible injustices committed by the PAP leaders against the people of Singapore.

The top leader of this country PM Lee Hsien Loong also joined in the demonising of Dr Chee during a support visit to Bukit Batok the morning after the BE rally. During media interviews, Lee disparaged Chee (which was unsurprising). What was shocking was he actually called Chee crazy when there is no truth to it!

Quote LHL: “So, when I read the Wanbao interview with Dr Chee I was saddened but not surprised. Because he is not sorry for anything he did. He is not – he is proud of his record, he is proud of his craziness streak. And yet when he comes today, he presents himself as a changed man.”

Does he look or sound crazy in any way?

Bad habits die hard indeed. LKY used to excel in sticking labels on people to stigmatise them and now Lee junior is continuing with this tradition. In 1988, ex-President of Singapore Devan Nair wrote in his letter to LKY :”Your genius for sticking labels on people does Singapore no good. The truth of things often requires the removal of the labels on them. Nowhere more so than in the brand of politics you have developed. Thanks to you, Singapore has rapidly become a vivid illustration of the political adage: ‘Give a dog a bad name and hang it’.”

As a citizen of this country, I hope my fellowmen and women realise that such leaders who indulge in ad hominem attacks set a deplorable example for their country and even more so for their supporters. When they behave deplorably in an adversarial manner in attacking their critics it sets the tone for their supporters.

This may explain why the PAP supporters have also adopted such an unpleasant adversarial behaviour online.  It is evident online in the increasingly hostile way in which they defend the PAP and in the way they attack in droves in an arrogant and  patronising manner to mock those who dare criticise the ruling party.

The growing nastiness of the PAP and their supporters is troubling. This is becoming a nation increasingly divided. We do not need such hostility to worsen the cracks. Where is the civility and graciousness that was preached by the government? What will happen to the unity and harmony of Singaporeans if such hostile behaviour continues to be encouraged by the ruling party?

PM Lee also called Chee hypocritical.

There are no greater hypocrites than the PM and his PAP gang in the way they constantly preach integrity while abusing their power and indulging in actions that smack of no integrity.

• These politicians draw the highest pay in the world for a government while mocking Chee for being “unemployed” (in reality he has been working hard by supporting his family through his writings despite being demonised by the PAP).
• They play the race card in politics and at BB by-election while claiming that Singapore is not ready for an Indian PM.
• They use all sorts of dirty tactics to destroy their most vocal critics and to fix the opposition parties.
• They go against our Constitution in oppressing the people’s right to free speech; they have jailed hundreds of innocents without fair trial.
• And they shamelessly milk the state-funded island-wide People’s Association resources to promote PAP and their leaders while dispensing questionable benefits in return to supportive grassroots leaders.

These are but some examples in a long list of their litany of sins.

In closing, allow me to quote PM Lee who said it is”completely wrong and bad” in reference to those calling on Chinese voters to pick a candidate on racial lines. I agree.  It is indeed “completely wrong and bad” to pick any political candidate – including the next Prime Minister – based on race. It is also “completely wrong and bad” to call an opponent crazy when he is not.

Hypocrisy and Integrity? You, PAP leaders, are not worthy to even mention these words.