REFORM PARTY'S STATEMENT ON MICHAEL PALMER’S
RESIGNATION
The Reform Party notes PAP MP for
Punggol East, Michael Palmer’s resignation this afternoon.
Marital
infidelity and breakdown is sad whatever the circumstances and our
thoughts are with the respective
families.
The Reform Party urges the PM to call
a by-election as soon as possible in order that the people of
Punggol East may exercise their democratic right to be represented
in Parliament.
The Reform Party was one of
the strongest and most vocal advocates at the time of the Hougang
vacancy and fully supportive of Mdm Vellama’s case for a
judicial review of the by –election laws. The Party’s views
on the need for timely by –elections are a matter of record. Please
see the links to our previous press releases on this subject
below.
The
residents of Punggol East should not be deprived of the ability to
choose what they consider to be the most attractive ideology
or the candidate that will be most effective in holding
the government to account. Furthermore in GE 2011 we were prevented from being able to contest any
SMC, even in areas where we
had been conducting outreach for some time.
For
these reasons we are strongly considering contesting this seat if
and when a by-election is called.
Finally we note the PM’s comment in
his letter accepting Mr. Palmer’s resignation that the affair was
particularly serious because it involved a PA staff
member.
The
control of grassroots organizations by the PAP is just one of the
ways the PAP uses state resources to affect and influence
voters.
Some of
the others are state control of the media, obstacles to the growth
and funding of alternative parties, the harassment of individuals
through defamation suits, the control of the Elections Department
by the Prime Minister’s office, and threats to withhold upgrading
from Opposition wards.
In Putin’s Russia these types of
actions have been referred to as tantamount to electoral
fraud. In Singapore they weaken the PAP’s claim to have the
people’s mandate.
Kenneth
Jeyaretnam
Secretary-General
http://therealsingapore.com/content/reform-partys-statement-michael-palmer%E2%80%99s-resignation
Reform party got chance meh ? Or is it trying to be another SDA
Desmond to lose the
election deposit ? 
