To : Female Mod of this forum, feel free to delete this if you
feel you do not want this topic to be here.
Yahoo
‘New
Parliament, new politics will show how far S'pore has
come’
Attitudes and policies towards the not so well off will likely take
centre stage at Parliament. (Yahoo! photo)
Singapore's 12th
Parliament sits on Monday with 30 faces, new policy
thrusts and new expectations of a citizenry that wants the rules of
engagement changed.
(SLIDESHOW: Where your MP is sitting in Parliament)
A sentence in
the Ministry
of Health's vision statement on 12 October might just sum up
what to expect.
Providing a
context to its plans and strategies for the next five years, the
ministry said it wants to "enable all Singaporeans to live well,
live long and enjoy peace of mind".
It is the bit
about peace of mind -- an expression that runs counter to a
government's ideology embedded in hard-nosed policies and politics
-- that throws open the possibility of a new mood sweeping
Parliament over the next few days.
Social policies
If there is one
issue that will take centre stage, it is that regarding the
attitudes, not just the policies, towards the not-so-well-off and
those who will be hit hardest if a recession does happen.
In that context,
the policies of the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports --
helmed by a new face, Acting Minister Chan
Chun Sing -- and the Ministry of Manpower will come under
close watch.
Statistics that
came out in the run-up to the Parliamentary sitting show the extent
of the problem.
Incomes for those
at the bottom fifth hardly changed in the last 10 years, showing
that the gap between the haves and the have-nots are getting
worse.
Add to this, the
statistics revealing that if you are above 50 and have lost your
job, getting back into the workplace is a long and heart-breaking
experience. Many of them get so disappointed looking for a job that
they are just resigned to a jobless future.
A new vulnerable
group has also emerged: Those who don't earn much (about $2,600 a
month), have meagre savings and have primary or secondary
education. They don't qualify under the government's financial aid
schemes and are likely to be hit hardest if a recession knocks on
Singapore's doors.
Housing
This will continue
to be a sticky issue though National Development Minister Khaw Boon
Wan has acted swiftly to take some of the sting out of the
hot-button issue in the last elections.
With the Prime
Minister saying that the public housing market will take four years
to go back to some form of normalcy, the ghost of old policies gone
wrong will haunt the House.
New media
With President
Tony Tan highlighting the new media as an area of focus in his
opening address and with the Ministry of Information and the Arts
joining in to say changes to the rules of conduct are being
considered, expect some heated debate.
The bone of
contention will be this: Who should be the guardian of sharp,
responsible debate in the online space?
It is understood
that some ministers have already met some of the new media players
to find an amicable solution. A sticking point is the government's
view that views reacting to blog posts should be moderated.
On the other side
is the view that interference like this will drive away eyeballs to
other places. Even if there is a will to take this route, it will
need a lot of resources to manage.
Politics
Although policies
that shape the new Singapore will be the focus in the debate, it is
the politics that will show how far the country has come as a
mature nation.
The Workers'
Party, with six elected MPs and two non-constituency MPs in the
new Parliament, will want to show that its brand of respectable and
responsible, but straight-shooting, politics is entrenched.
The People's
Action Party, with its MPs already saying they are going to be
more outspoken and occasionally cross the official line, will not
want to be seen as putting down dissent or tearing into the
Opposition with all its power and force.
For the WP, it
will be snipe, snipe, then withdraw. For the PAP, it will be feel,
feel then attack.
The PM and his
team will have the harder task of making its game plan work.
