Why is there no unity among opposition?

Gazelle SG

PAP is such dominant force in Singapore political scene, hence I would have expected all the opposition parties in Singapore to group together and give PAP a good challenge during election.

Sometime it really amused me when we see opposition parties challenging one another during election and also the disagreement within the party.

For a country of this size does it make any sense for have so many political party? Do you think Singapore will be a better place if we dont have a dominant political party like PAP?

Jontst78 SG

a one party system is not the way to go, definitely. Otherwise elections are a moot point. There has to be some from of accountability in the ruling party. No single person or party should have absolute power to rule a nation.

Edit:

Just realised I didn't address the question in the thread title.

As to why there is no unity behind opposition, most probably due to differing views or values. Some more extreme than others. SDA is one example of parties coming together.

WP being the more prominent opposition party, probably doesn't see a need for a coalition yet I guess. (just speculating here)

Chee and Chiam definitely have their differences, so seeing them ally in the near future is not likely.

JBJ, who is forming DRP (Democratic Reform Party), disagrees with Low and Chiam(who according to JBJ is happy playing with the current system), and is aiming for thorough political reform.

Poh Ah Pak SG

No single person or party should have absolute power to rule a nation.

Very true, it's too dangerous for a small clique of people to wield such power over the people.

Look at the example of Chia Thye Poh, so sad:

http://www.singapore-window.org/81130sc.htm
http://www.jamesgomeznews.com/article.php?AID=63

Gazelle SG

nobody is suggesting that we should have 1 party system, my question is why cant opposition form an alliance or something and combine their resources to challenge PAP?

<Precious> SG

They all bo liao mah........ Rolling Eyes

Poh Ah Pak SG

my question is why cant opposition form an alliance or something and combine their resources to challenge PAP?

I think you should ask PAP.

the Bear SG

they can.. they can..

however, their hubris and ego get in their way

Gazelle SG

dont always point your finger towards PAP lah, if the opposition wants to form an alliance, I am sure there are many ways they can do it without breaking the law.

If I remember correctly there was some major fallout between members of the opposition party and some split to form new party or something. Is that true?

hloc SG

Mmm.... good question.

A 1 party system (like ours) indeed Suck A*s..... but I still prefer a strong govt then one made out of many weak parties who have to 'horse trade' all the time inorder to get anything done .

In my mind, I think a system would be good if the main govt holds 55% of the seats and the Opps holds the rest. And the Opps holding the 45% comprice of only 2 bigger parties.... not many many smaller ones.

Jontst78 SG

falling out, 2 cases I can remember, tho not in detail

SDP, Chiam was heading the party. Chee was a I think a more snr member then. Chee wrote a paper or article or something, chaim told him to "self censor" the article, and the disagreement started from there I think. The facts in a blur now, might do some digging later. Anyway, like my earlier post, hence SDA and SDP forming an alliance, not a realistic probability in the near future.

Low got JBJ ousted from WP, so well JBJs DRP and WP forming an alliance, not a realistic probability in the near future either.

Stand to be corrected, if anyone has more details information to share on the above incidents.

Jontst78 SG

Originally posted by hloc:

Mmm.... good question.

[b]A 1 party system (like ours) indeed Suck A*s..... but I still prefer a strong govt then one made out of many weak parties who have to 'horse trade' all the time inorder to get anything done .

In my mind, I think a system would be good if the main govt holds 55% of the seats and the Opps holds the rest. And the Opps holding the 45% comprice of only 2 bigger parties.... not many many smaller ones. [/b]

55% of seats held by PAP still gives them power to enact normal law. personally, I think an ideal composition would be:

45% PAP, 25% party A, 15% party B, 15% party C. might actually give PAP a run for their money. Give them a sense of competition, make them actually put an effort to empathise with the general populace. at the same time retain their better ministers.

hloc SG

Mmm..... I think your numbers are more correct. Mr. Green

Chin Eng SG

at the end of the day, it all depends on who’s ego is larger and who has more clout!

Lin Yu SG

Simple - there are principles that sometime doesn't agrees.

take the present ruling party. the 1st generations and 2nd generations disagreed with the operation of a casino. the 2nd generation firmly say that a day as a leader, he will not allow the casino.

So, the new 3rd generation leader now on the seat decided on one. were they all united in one party? different leader have different moral standard.

maven2 SG

Agreed. That way we can all progress with the appropriate checks and balances. And the only laws and policies that will pass are those that can convince at least 5% of the opposition parties.

The opposition aren't interested in taking over the entire goverment as much as they are interested in preventing a single party to do as it pleases with scant regard for the people.

Generally, people have the misconstrued idea that the opposition is there to oppose all of the PAP's policies. This is not true. If the policies are good and beneficial, why would they even oppose to it? It's about Singapore. Not about the Parties. But to PAP, it's about PAP - PAP is Singapore.

To answer the topic, if its simply to get rid of PAP, yes they would have allied long ago to get rid of it. But its about the people. And what is good and beneficial for the people. And in that they have differing views, so they aren't in alliance as yet.

(human) SG

The present moral standard is if they are not getting pay increment they are going to become corrupted. Do you see how low graded compare to the earlier generation?

the Bear SG

i guess, herein lies the problems faced by our country

LazerLordz SG

Singapore's size and population, not to mention electoral figures, should be able to sustain two to three major parties and not lose its efficient governance and policy making, while enhancing checks and balances.

I foresee a two-three party system in the future.

The ruling party might only possess 50-55% of the vote, enough to make policy but not enough to amend the Consitution as it WISHES.

t_a_s SG

They did form the SDA

Melvin Tan SG

Hi,

Just curious if there is any country in the world where political parties unite to take on bigger players despite having differences.

In US and UK for example, although two parties instead of one party dominate the politics there, their citizens who do not support either one have no strong channel to go to. And these countries have more than 200 opposition parties excluding the dominant two, compared to 5 - 6 active opposition parties in Singapore.

In a way, more political parties may mean more diverse choices.

Regards