Its a political price to pay for keeping on the reins of power.
Imagine.. all these Ministers, Minister of State, 2nd Minister of
State, Senior Minister of states and even to those Per Secs or
what-have-you.. all have been in one way or another a scholar.. PAP
is very very afraid of these people. So they will justify whatever
it may take to keep them under the PAP umbrella. Imagine these
people going on their own political agenda and forming their own
parties. With the voice they have, PAP will have a very very hard
time. So if such a person with political influence to sway public
opinion comes along, he is either "with us or die".. eg.. Francis
Seow, Tang Liang Hong, JB...
Another way of looking at it.. even if these people do not go on
and start their own parties, the ground will be too levelled for
comfort.. (PAP's comfort) They will not risk picking any "normal"
candidate and ask him/her to run in a consituency. And if no choice
they have to find someone, he/she will be placed in these so called
"GRC" so that they will be under the charge of one minister. Its a
challenge to the ordinary Singaporean's mindset. Do we dare to vote
out a group of people including a Minister and have them replaced
with an opposition of 4-6 people? If they lose, they lose big, but
they win knowing they Singaporeans are kiasu and kiasi type.. This
is sad, in the way that we carve out our own political
graveyard.
