OPINION
The PAP has always boasted that their MPs are the best talents
in Singapore. The parliamentary sessions last week had been an
eye-opener to see these MPs flaunt their “talents”.
Based on their speeches, it is quite obvious that many of them,
with the exception of Inderjit Singh are living high up in their
own ivory towers and completely out of touch with the ground.
This is not surprising given the fact that some had found their
ways into Parliament without contesting an election. Tanjong Pagar
MP Koo Tsai Kee, for example, had been a MP since 1991. He had
never fought in an election before.
From the most callous to the most juvenile remarks, we compiled
them into a list here for our readers to enjoy, recap and to
remember when the next election comes:
10. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (Holland-Bukit
Timah GRC) on why he has ordered the removal of homeless
Singaporeans camping out in the public (forcefully):
“I have taken such an active stand to make sure we do
not have people camping out on beaches, or parks or void decks,
even though these may be safe and indeed, sometimes even pleasant
areas for adults. These are not good and safe areas for children.
And so I have insisted that (to) anyone with children. The children
must be put in a proper home; they must continue to go to school.
They must continue to get access to good food, good
hygiene”
9. Jessica Tan (East
Coast GRC) expressing her worries that the hike in foreign worker
levy will turn away foreigners:
“The hike in the foreign worker levy which if not calibrate,
will send the wrong signal to companies looking to invest in
Singapore or to foreign talents that the country is not
open.”
8. Josephine Teo (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC)
rejecting WP MP Low Thia Kiang’s suggestion to scrap the foreign
worker levy:
“”I can speak on behalf of the union leaders that we totally
and firmly reject Mr Low’s disastrous suggestion that we remove the
foreign worker levy as it will harm our workers’
interest.”
7. Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade GRC)
asking the PAP to spend more taxpayers’ monies to help the new
citizens feel welcomed in Singapore:
“We have not done any large scale survey, we do not know
their problems but we have already gone ahead and decided that the
funds will go towards organizing activities…..What we ought to do
is first – find out what new Singaporeans need, and then target
funding at helping them meet these needs.”
6. Teo Chee Hean (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC)
on the ruling party’s renewed focus on productivity which has
declined consecutively for the last three years and being caught
napping during a speech made by DPM Wong Kan Seng:
““We are now a more developed economy –
further up the productivity curve. We have made progress, but those
ahead of us have also progressed and moved up as well. And those
behind us have made rapid advances and are catching up with
us.”
5. Koo Tsai Kee (Tanjong Pagar GRC) trying to
lick the boots of his superior, Teo Chee Hean:
“The SAF, despite its manpower constraints, has been able to
face up to a widening range of security threats in recent years
under Defence Minister Teo….And I am not saying this because he’s
my boss.”
4. Baey Yam Keng (Tanjong Pagar GRC) who told
the media a few days ago that he planned to raise issues concerning
his residents in Parliament
“Food is an important part of our rich cultural
heritage – one which has been and will always been an attraction to
locals and foreigners alike……The Food Museum could delve into
aspects of local cuisine, such as ‘why Hong Kong noodles did not
originate from Hong Kong’, and ‘why our Hainanese chicken rice is
different from that found in Hainan Island’” .
3. Mah Bow Tan (Tampines GRC) who appeared lost
after being grilled by fellow PAP MP Inderjit Singh:
“PRs make up only one in five resale flat buyers and have
minimal impact on resale prices.”
2. Ong Ah Heng (Yishun Central) in an
impassioned speech to defend foreign workers:
“I know of one family who complain the cleaners in their
precinct are lazy and too old. They don’t want local workers who
are old, they want young foreign workers. To satisfy the demand, I
changed the local workers to foreign workers. Foreign workers are
not a burden to us. Their presence here is not negative. Without
foreign workers, things will be worse.”
And the quote of the year so far goes to Lim Swee Say for
revealing the truth about the PAP MPs – that they are deaf to all
feedback and criticisms.
1. Lim Swee Say (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) to
Low Thia Kiang for bruising his ego:
“We never give up……. We are deaf to all these
criticisms…..So instead of telling us that low-wage workers are
having problems, why not be part of the solution?”
We can’t really blame them for being deaf when they have been
taught all along to sing in tune with their piper master PAP’s
octogenarian leader Lee Kuan Yew:
“To be the prime minister, you don’t have to know every
instrument, but you got to recognise, ah, he’s a good violinist,
he’ll be the first violinist, he’ll be the double bass. He will
play the viola, he will have the trumpet, he will do the drums.
Then you coordinate them and then you have great music. And if you
already have a great orchestra, you can put a dummy there and you
still got great music.”
[Source: Channel News Asia, 5 March 2008]
Singaporeans, do you still see any value in voting for the PAP
in the next election? This are the kind of MPs you will get raising
your concerns in Parliament! And don’t forget you are paying them
$13,000 monthly to sprout such highfalutin stuff!
Remember the PAP election slogan of 2006 – “Staying together,
Moving ahead”? The PAP MPs are indeed staying together and moving
ahead without us! While the pay of the PAP ministers, ministers of
states and parliamentary secretaries are expected to increase by
8.8 percent this year, will you even dream of a pay rise?
When your PAP MP put up a “wayang” house visit to your
home in the next few months before the election and
pretend to “listen” to you, don’t forget this gentle reminder
from Lim Swee Say:
“We are DEAF to all criticisms!”
Temasek Review March 8, 2010
