GE just around the corner, time to take a stand if you dare

last SG · 2004-09-25T20:55:19+00:00

I will trust Low Thia Khiang with my life

the Bear SG

a wise person once noticed: a bad workman quarrels with his tools Laughing

Nelstar SG

Originally posted by Kismet:

Well, if you can come up with [b]good and logical policies which benefit Singapore and SIngaporeans, I don't see why I would not vote for you, bian tai or not. What you do in your spare time in private that is not against the law is really not my concern. Very Happy

[/b]

I would ultilise nearly 50% of the reserves to push the Government near the digital edge such that Singapore will gear up for future service industry needs. The first is to remove the damn BB price hike made by Singnet, Starhub and PI. Improve the damn infrastructure so much that it is made easily available and fast for everyone.

However, that may take over a course of 4 years and the danger of running our national reserves low may creep in. However, Roosevelt once made used of reserves to improve facilities needed in the future and it proved to be good. Why not Singapore?

Nelstar SG

The Government had become conservative since LKY stepped down. We see actions done slowly instead of with more haste. We are losing every portion of our industry if we keep allowing our neighbours to crawl and attempt the same feat. Is Singapore gearing down? Yes to me. We need another leader with good vision like LKY such that the country will improve further. We must not let our country slacken more.

Nelstar SG

The current opposition only tackles the daily problems, not the future. Their lack of vision was appalling. I attended one session of such talks before. It was infuriating that the opposition are but a pool of scattered sand lacking ideas and angry with the Government. They can only keep pointing fingers at mistakes committed by others, and when challenged to foresee the future they suddenly lost their voice.

They keep talking about checking on the PAP but they are so lightweight that I cannot even trust my future in them. Such is the problem that is causing our country to gear down.

goh meng seng SG

Dear Nelstar,

It is great to hear someone so bold and ambitious to want to form his own political party! Wink It demonstrates that we still have people with bold visions and ideals in Singapore which most people are apathetic politically.

Forming a political party is not difficult anyway; we already have "one man show" party in Singapore! Wink

But to run the party effectively, making it grow and such, needs lots of commitment, perserverence, mental strength and of course, sarcrifices. Leadership is another considerations, whether you could inspire others to understand and identify themselves with your visions and dreams.

I think the "easier way out" from your situation is to join a party and try to change from within. My lecturer and mentor has ever mentioned to me that it would be better for me to join PAP and try to work my way up and change the party from within. But I find it too bulky and clumsy to evoke changes.

Somehow, it is true that you could trust your life, political life, with Mr. Low TK. That's how I feel when I first met and chat with him. There is no doubt in my mind, after that meeting, that I could trust my political life with him. The rest is history.

And it is easier to make things works and progress in alternative political parties. There is already a basic mechanism and we just work on it, we get satisfactions when we see the effects. It is truly exciting, in some sense.

Hope you got your political party set up soon. Wink

Goh Meng Seng

fymk SG

Any opposition party who talks about changing the foreign talent policy and looking after Singaporeans first will get my vote.

Kismet SG

I think that the foreign talent policy is necessary for the survival of Singapore.
But I think at this point in time, it is becoming overdone.

At the end of the day, Singapore is limited in both resources and space.
With the government encouraging more babies together with the influx of foreign talent, I cannot imagine what will happen 20 to 30 years from now. Overcrowding, less space etc.

It is easy to rectify a problem of "too little" - you just bring in more "talent" but what will happen when the problem becomes one where it is "too much."? Do you start kicking people out ???

Just a thought ... thinking into the future.

iveco SG

Don't tell me Steve Chia is your idol? Twisted Evil

His skeletons in the cupboard are in the public domain these days, you know.

iveco SG

There has to be a lot done to help the reservists who are 1st in line for retrenchment. It is heartless to treat foreigners with no commitments to our soil better than those who make all the sacrifices just because the latter must take time off work for in-camp training.

Unless retrenched NSmen are promised EU-style welfare aid, there is no reason to vote PAP at all.

Furthermore, some expatriates like Supremist are extremely ungrateful. We could do with less of his kind in SG.

fymk SG

Foreign talent policy should be just restricted to jobs which no singaporean has the capability to do . On top of that , we should get Singaporeans training in the lacking skills so that a singaporean can take over the foreigner's job when he/she has the capabilitiy to do so.

As for scholarships - I say restrict it to foreigners - some of the foreigners are just using us to jump to USA or Australia. I met a few in Australia who used Singapore as a jumping board. We have been screwed over on that aspect . That's the reason why I am anti-foreign-talent-policy nowadays. One of them was laughing about Singapore's policy until I smiled and told him that I was singaporean..then he shut up.

paperchicken SG

So wats Chia Ti Lik stand on that ? Rolling Eyes

paperchicken SG

just hit the nail on the head. Rolling Eyes

paperchicken SG

INSIGHT
Opposition parties have to win people's trust

Last week's Insight looked at the declining fortunes of the Singapore Democratic Party under Dr Chee Soon Juan. Readers give their views on the SDP and the overall state of the opposition.

'IF THE opposition parties really want to see a check-and-balance mechanism to the ruling People's Action Party, then they have to work extremely hard to gain support and draw members. You just cannot be active, and want to be seen and heard, only when the General Election is around the corner.

In fact, whether there is an election or not, a responsible opposition leader should be on the ground most of the time.

It takes years to win the people's trust and confidence, and this is what most opposition parties lack.

For them to prove their worth, they should first put their house in order and show greater interest in domestic issues.'
- Jeffrey Law Lee Beng

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'DR CHEE spends his time on airy-fairy ideals on Western-dictated 'human rights' and 'democracy', globetrotting and shaking hands with representatives of Western non-governmental organisations.

I don't understand why SDP members do not realise that the public has lost interest in Chee... A politician who does not know how to prioritise his political battles and win the public's hearts and minds is useless to us.

That he spends most of his time overseas and in organisations like Alliance for Reform and Democracy in Asia further upsets me. How can he say he is fighting for us when he is not among us?'
- Jeremy Tan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'I WISH to urge our opposition politicians to focus on building the nation for future Singaporeans rather than propose policies which are either short-term, or worse, to the detriment of Singapore.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew once said that whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him or give it up.

Our opposition politicians need to display the same steel resolve and ability to govern, to their fellow countrymen, if they hope to win our hearts.'
- Bernard Ee (Melbourne, Australia)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Although the article was mostly equitable, it insinuated that the party faced an ominous future. It also connoted that Dr Chee was responsible for its decline.

But the article is appreciated - it helps more young Singaporeans such as myself to become cognizant of the opposition.'
- Amarinder Singh

vito_corleone SG

the problem is not whether we want to take a stand or not, but whether our stand will have any effect. so what if we take a stand? PAP will still win no matter how we vote. so since whether voting or not makes no difference, why vote?

and given the "bo chap" or "heck care" attitude of most s'poreans, they don't care who wins as long as they have food and shelter.

chunyong SG

Originally posted by vito_corleone:
[b]the problem is not whether we want to take a stand or not, but whether our stand will have any effect. so what if we take a stand? PAP will still win no matter how we vote. so since whether voting or not makes no difference, why vote?

and given the "bo chap" or "heck care" attitude of most s'poreans, they don't care who wins as long as they have food and shelter.[/b]

well, we are already slaving out guts out liao, where got so much time and energy go think about what the gahment is doing. if they wanna do something, its hard to change their decision to do so. there is a cap to number of opposition people in the cabinet, so even if they manage to hit the cap, they also can't really do much in my opinion.

further more, we are only voting for the guy in charge of our sector, not someone high up there who could change the way SG operates. Just imagine a class voting for a rep who helps to switch off the lights after the lesson ends, is it really important who does the job ?

sgdiehard SG

Who are the "we" are you talking about? How many are the "we"? PAP still win because the majority still vote for them. Our votes will not make any difference if the majority do not share what we believe, or we do not share theirs. The "bo chap" and "heck care" attitude does not encourage the opposition, does not help the ruling party and is no good for the country. Sometimes we need to ask why are we the minority.

The opposition should be working now to get to the people. Any great idea not supported by the people are castle in the air. Ideas cannot be supported by the people if it is not told and explained to the people. Why are the people not told? I usually don't see the opposition until few days before the nomination day! Crying or Very sad

paperchicken SG

there are two WP members here maybe they can answer your qn. Rolling Eyes

goh meng seng SG

Dear Chun Yong,

It is really disheartening to read your posting here.

We are not only voting for someone who is only in charge of our sector (i.e. Town Council), definitely not someone that is just to switch off the lights after the lesson ends. MPs' responsibilities are much more important than that. Though the overwhelming domination of PAP in parliament has practically turn the parliament into something like a "rubber stamp" in law making, but it is still important to have proper parliamentary debates on every issues. MPs are law makers and they are supposed to pass laws that would eventually affect our daily lives.

To belittle the role of the MP and thus the vote in your hand is to make a mockery out of the democractic process we have at the moment. PAP links the governing of the ward via Town Councils to the selection of MPs, has deliberately sidetrack the original importance of the role of MPs as law makers. Voting is a matter of struggle between social role vs self interests. This link only tries to enhance the considerations on the "self interests" by each and everyone, playing down the importance (supposedly to be a more important role) of the social role of lawmakers. I call this "rule by materialism". Subsequently, to enhance such materialistic self-interests considerations, they added HDB upgrading into the equations.

Is this healthy for Singapore's long term development? After I read your posting here, it has confirmed my fear that the success of such tactics have done great damage to our fabric of society.

Goh Meng Seng

goh meng seng SG

Dear Nelstar,

There are advantages and disadvantages of taking "hasty" approach. Efficiency comes with a price; At what Price?

To have a "stable" system and vision, we should not be afraid of people "catching up" with us at all.

We must realize that we are part of Souteast Asia, not America. We must also realize that our neighbours could well be our strength, not "enemies". For the past decades, we have tried to live and strive out alone, without the need of taking our neighbours into considerations. We are encaged in such an "unfriendly" mindset that the only considerations we have is how fast our neighbours are "catching up"! This is a source of tension and unhappiness sowed in our relationship with our neighbours. This will have to resolve ultimately.

Whether we like it or not, we are stuck down here, a little red dot in SEA. The vision of Singapore would be a stronger, united ASEAN; ASEAN UNION should be the long term strategic aim, with economic Free Trade Zone as the mid term aim. What we lack as a small nation, we could establish it in economic unison with our neighbours. We lack economic depth and we cannot expect to find it in some far away places like USA!

I am risking sensitive strategic political views to state it here. The total population masses we have in this ASEAN economic union will make us a formidable entity with great bargaining power, as comparable to China, India, EU or even USA. We should enhance economic development and union with our neighbours instead of taking them as a form of egoistic comparison, which has been done again and again by PAP leadership, so insensitive to the feelings of our neighbours.

Goh Meng Seng

goh meng seng SG

Again, this is a piece of writing without any insight at all. It is ironic that it is put under the column "Insight"! Wink

Just have to pay a little visit, just a few clicks away to realize that the author doesn't even know what is happening on the ground! Try these links:

http://www.wp.org.sg/news/news_articles/20040809_national_day.htm

http://www.wp.org.sg/photos/photos_wp04.htm

And to say that opposition parties proposed "short term" policies is really making a mockery out of PAP! What "long term" policy has PAP suggested? Adjustment of CPF contributions as and when they like, they want? WP has already proposed that CPF be fixed at 35% more than one decade ago! This is a realistic, sustainable rate, while PAP insist of raising it back to 40%!

This is the kind of social engineering via the mass media that is happening day in day out.

Goh Meng Seng

Originally posted by paperchicken:
INSIGHT
[b]Opposition parties have to win people's trust

Last week's Insight looked at the declining fortunes of the Singapore Democratic Party under Dr Chee Soon Juan. Readers give their views on the SDP and the overall state of the opposition.

'IF THE opposition parties really want to see a check-and-balance mechanism to the ruling People's Action Party, then they have to work extremely hard to gain support and draw members. You just cannot be active, and want to be seen and heard, only when the General Election is around the corner.

In fact, whether there is an election or not, a responsible opposition leader should be on the ground most of the time.

It takes years to win the people's trust and confidence, and this is what most opposition parties lack.

For them to prove their worth, they should first put their house in order and show greater interest in domestic issues.'
- Jeffrey Law Lee Beng

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'DR CHEE spends his time on airy-fairy ideals on Western-dictated 'human rights' and 'democracy', globetrotting and shaking hands with representatives of Western non-governmental organisations.

I don't understand why SDP members do not realise that the public has lost interest in Chee... A politician who does not know how to prioritise his political battles and win the public's hearts and minds is useless to us.

That he spends most of his time overseas and in organisations like Alliance for Reform and Democracy in Asia further upsets me. How can he say he is fighting for us when he is not among us?'
- Jeremy Tan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'I WISH to urge our opposition politicians to focus on building the nation for future Singaporeans rather than propose policies which are either short-term, or worse, to the detriment of Singapore.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew once said that whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him or give it up.

Our opposition politicians need to display the same steel resolve and ability to govern, to their fellow countrymen, if they hope to win our hearts.'
- Bernard Ee (Melbourne, Australia)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Although the article was mostly equitable, it insinuated that the party faced an ominous future. It also connoted that Dr Chee was responsible for its decline.

But the article is appreciated - it helps more young Singaporeans such as myself to become cognizant of the opposition.'
- Amarinder Singh
[/b]

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