Originally posted by oxford mushroom:
What has CSJ done for his own party and for Singapore? Who can
remember what he has said in Parliament? This is a man who has
ousted his party founder and brought down the most promising
Opposition party of the time by his selfish ambition. He will be
remembered for his useless dramatic gestures like hunger strike
(during which he cheated) and vitriolic attacks against his own
country overseas.
Under his leadership, SDP has declined from being a threat to the
ruling party to become a joke in the political scene. He does not
inspire confidence in both local citizens and foreign investors.
But I do not have to worry about him ever ruling Singapore....he
won't.
CSH "ousted his Party founder and
brought down the most promising Opposition Party of the time by his
selfish ambition" ?
If this is not another wild unsubstantiated speculation from one
who claims to be a PhD but will resort to disinformation that was
purposefully made to slander CSJ and the SDP.
If you were more familiar with the SDP
If may serve you well if you familiarize yourself to the writings
of some other more educated supporters of CSJ than on
slanderous street talk,
While the ideals and vision of the SDP is embodied in Dr. Chee, he
is by no means the Party. He is simply its voice. He alone cannot
engineer or oust Mr. Chiam without the combined, voting capacity of
the Central Executive Committee and the cadres of the SDP. The SDP,
the Party being democratic and not autocratic or monastic, believed
that it was time to have a change for leadership to steer it in the
right direction. That was why Dr. Chee took over Mr. Chiams role
as Secretary General. Mr. Chiam resigned from the SDP in 1993. The
Party and/or Dr. Chee did not kick him out --- a myth which The
Straits Times has and had propagated, a myth which so many
Singaporeans so readily swallow without question.
Hence, let the following facts be now known:
Mr. Chiam See Tong of the Singapore Peoples Party (SPP) RESIGNED
as Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) in
1993.
Even then the SDP held back releasing this news for one month in
the hope that they could persuade him to change his mind.
The SDP only went public AFTER Mr. Chiam refused to yield and
insisted that for him to come back as the Sec-Gen., he must be
given the powers to appoint CEC and cadre members (in effect,
single-handedly controlling the party). This is undemocratic as
this is what many SDP members joined the Party to fight the PAP
on.
Mr. Chiam then decided to go to the Singapore Press Club, which has
never been friendly to the Opposition to run down his colleagues
and leaders of the party, leaders which members freely
elected.
(All members had earlier on signed an oath -- that no member shall
criticize the party publicly after they left it.)
It was only then that the Party voted to expel Mr.
Chiam.
If all the scholars engaged by the
present Government cannot run the country, perhaps it is time for
this Government to loosen its grip, so as to allow a more
competitive environment in which the first generation of leaders
found themselves in, and which threw up the best from the
Community.
Is it not a surprise that we see less self-made Singaporean success
stories, when compared to the early Singapore History under the
Colonial Government ?
Are there any self-made Singaporean equivalent to the likes of Tan
Lark Sye, Tan Kah Kee, Lee Kong Chian, Ng Quee Lam, Chen Su-Lan,
Kwek Lian Hong, the Aw Brothers of Haw Par, and their other modest
contemporaries ?
CSJ and the likes of Chia Ti Lek and Goh Meng Seng - have dared to
stand by their principles, and at least have dared to challenge the
establishment with their impeccable private life.
They were honest to their cause and their beliefs.
What can a mushroom from Oxford hope to establish - despite the
claims of a PhD qualification - when claiming to disassociate from
the politics of the Ruling Party, will unashamedly further their
cause in sneakiest manner ?
