SINGAPORE: Party cadres from Singapore's ruling
People's Action Party (PAP) will choose members for the party's
highest policy-making body, the Central Executive Committee (CEC),
when the party holds its biennial conference on
Sunday.
It will be the first PAP conference after the May
2011 General Election.
All eyes are on how far the party has transformed
itself and on its postmortem of the party's performance in the last
General Election, said Nominated MP, Assistant Professor Eugene Tan
from the Singapore Management University.
Asst Prof Tan said: For me, one of the major things I look at is
how well is the party going to address diversity -- the diversity
of views -- the fact that people no longer look to the PAP as the
answer for all their problems.
"There is now the increased competitiveness in our political
landscape and Singaporeans see the value in a more competitive
landscape.
"In a way, they have internalised what the PAP government has
always preached, that good governance is of vital importance and
for many Singaporeans, their view is that good governance would
require the political landscape to be a lot more competitive and
diverse."
On their part, PAP MPs said there has been more engagement with
party members on the ground.
MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC, Mr Zaqy Mohamad, said: "This is where I
think that a change in the approach in terms of having engaged the
branches, going to party seminar and then going to party
convention, the approach is a lot more different from the past,
because in the past, the perception of the PAP is top down.
"There is a lot more engagement today.
"There is a greater need for consensus not just with Singaporeans,
but also within the party in terms of how we want to shape our
future together."
Trade and Industry Minister of State Teo Ser Luck said: "It is also
very important that the voices of the people are heard and also
when it is heard, (whether they are) taken seriously and how can it
be a channel of feeder of opinions into the revision of
policies.
"That's very important because the demographics are slowly changing
as well. We have a greying population, but at the same time the
younger generation have their point of view -- they are more well
informed and shape their own thoughts differently."
Apart from Party Secretary-General and Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong, several other party members, are also expected to
speak.
Elections to the CEC are held once every two years and political
watchers feel a good number of those expected to form Singapore's
fourth generation of leadership team would be vying for places in
the CEC.
And the decision as to who will make it to the CEC is in the hands
of the party cadres, who will cast their votes at the start of the
day's proceedings on Sunday morning.
- CNA/lp