3 principles for change
By Zakir Hussain, Political Correspondent
CHANGES to Singapore's political system are in the works and on
Sunday, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong spelt out three principles
that will guide these amendments.
One, they must
be fair to all political parties; two, they should result in a
strong, effective Government after an election; and
three, they must
ensure diverse views are represented in
Parliament.
Mr Goh also said that Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong will give details of the changes in Parliament this
week.
He made these remarks to reporters at a community event when he
was asked to comment on the subject, which President S R Nathan had
touched on in his opening Address to Parliament last Monday.
President Nathan had said: 'Our political system is not set in
stone. Singapore politics must evolve over time, as the world and
our society change.'
The President's Address, including the plans and policies of
individual ministries, will be debated by Parliament from
Monday.
Mr Goh, in setting out the three objectives, said: 'Whatever
changes which shall be made must be based on certain
principles.
'First, they must be fair to
all contesting political parties. That means changes must not be
biased in favour of one party or the
other
'Second, they must end up,
after the election, with a strong, effective Government. That means
you do not want to have a system, which ends up with a weak, hung
Parliament, and then you have a coalition Government. That is
politically unstable for Singapore.
'And third, they must facilitate representation of diverse views
in Parliament, including views of opposition parties.'
http://www.straitstimes.com/
If you look at the voting trend in the past few elections,
people are glamouring for change, esp the younger generation.
PAP not matter how strong in the past, must acknowledge this new
trend.
An invisible force that they are slowly but surely
acknowledging but try doing so without embarassing themselves in
the process.