Originally posted by Fatum:
I don't see it as solely voter frustration alone ... it's
pragmatism on the part of the incumbent party ... the political
landscape is changing, inexorably ... platforms are changing and
evolving ... take this forum for example ? .... some of the
comments are outright slanderous, but you hear of any forumnites
being dragged off in the middle of the night ? ...
Pragmatism towards the reality of
a population that is no longer as gullible and so easily persuaded
as the electorates of the past few General Elections.
The Electorate today are exposed to the Global Community, where
competition with the World's best is on-going.
Can Singapore afford to remain a close Political System, while at
the same time urging the population to be open and flexible to face
the challenges from an open Global Economy ?
" Slander " is an art perfected by the incumbent Ruling Political
Party then anyone in the Speakers' Corner can match.
How many opposition party had their character assassinated with
impunity ?
How many opposition member has been able to obtain a similar
punitive compensation in the same quantum that was awarded to those
Ruling Party members that formed the Government ?
Will anyone - who have been dragged away in the middle of the night
- be given any opportunity to write about their experience ?
Those from the Catholic Social Workers who were arrested in the so
called "Marxist
Conspiracy" had recanted
their forced statements, and were quickly
reincarcerated .
Was there a "Marxist Conspiracy", or was it
fabricated to persecute a threat to the truth of the
inefficiency of the Labor Movement in Singapore ?
if this is the case, it's a better idea for the party to engage
this change, to prepare it's members for the new landscape, than to
wake up one day and discovered that it has lost too much ground, no
? ...
Can the incumbent Ruling Political
Party "engage in this change, to prepare it's members for the new
landscape" ?
Can politics continue in the manner that is being carried out over
the last FORTY YEARS - with all decisions being influenced by the
POWER OF ONE ?
Can Singapore and Singaporeans compete with the World when we have
a Government with an antiquated Third World mindset - fearing the
loss of control of the minds of its Citizens, and requiring all
information to be controlled by Government Agencies or Government
Linked Companies ?
that being said, having seen at first hand how elections are
conducted in a liberal democracy (the recent Canadian elections),
I'm not entirely sure it would be a totally good idea to go down
that path, I'm not sure if I want my MP to be a better show man
than a representative of me in parliament ... I want him to be good
enough to sell himself and his case of course, but I don't think i
want to see the political and electioneering process turn into a
circus ...
Are our Singapore Members of
Parliament superior to the Canadian MPs ?
Can our MPs be representatives of the Singaporean constituents who
have elected them to Parliament ?
The Singapore political and electioneering process has already
turned into a circus in the manner that the Election Boundaries are
drawn, and in the manner that the election is based on a GRC system
that allow a losing MP to hold office to represent a Constituency
that rejects him.
It was a good experience to see federal and provincial candidates
come to the school and sweat through brutal question and answer
sessions on camera, i think it's good and healthy to see candidates
actually actively canvassing for your vote and trying to sell their
cause to you ... but what i don't hope to see, is that candidates
become hostages to the narrow interests of small groups of people,
promising the sky to everyone from single mother students,
professors asking for more research funds, union janitors asking
for more benefits, simply made some candidates loose all
credibility ...
With all forms of public media
being in the control of the Government, and in a political climate
that has little qualms in allowing the incumbent Ruling Political
Party to abuse its long held powers to influence the outcome of the
election process in its own favor - can there be any sensible
debate seen in more mature parliamentary election process ?
The situation that exist in mature democracies can hardly exist in
Singapore, not with an incumbent political party that only act in
its own self-interest.
I hope we can strike a balance between the two, and not let the
whole process degenerate into a fracas, the antics of some
opposition members still leave a bad taste in my mouth ... politics
should always be a gentlemanly contest, let all parties remember
that
Can politics be a gentlemanly
contest, when the Ruling Political Party sets all the rules in its
own favor ?
When incumbent politicians - who claim to be members of the First
World community - but have the political minds of Third World
politicians, can political debate rise above the fracas, antics,
and false accusations that have been displayed over so many
elections across FORTY YEARS - that have seen some capable
opposition members being driven to bankruptcies
or fleeing
persecution ?
The word
'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the
word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking
parasites'. - Larry
Hardiman
