DPM Wong:
"..opposition pls come.. and help us better the
constituency"
DPM Wong KS: "..I
hope the opposition will come, give our voters a chance, and also
help us understand what else we need
to do (so as) to do better in the
constituency."
So as DPM Wong has spoken, just as the PAP seeks to lead the way
forward, it too needs the 'opposition' as a form of quality
assurance- to give it better perspectives and the endorsement of
the populace. If the interest of Singaporeans is really paramount,
then the PAP should stop fixing the opposition but work together to
democratically elect the new cabinet in parliament.
I believe that in the most modern democracies to come to come, many
will be coalition governments, as such, Cabinet Ministers may come
from differing parties or even amongst independents. What matters
most is that the independent vote of each MP in the best interest
of their constituents towards the appointment of fellow MPs as
Cabinet Ministers is done transparently to his own constituents.
The sum total of all MP votes is what determines whom the new
cabinet Ministers should be.
Of course political parties might fight it out as to whom should
populate the new cabinet, however, each party would be very mindful
of the limits of basic moral decency so as not to damage the moral
authority upon which they have been granted to govern- the very
essence of what yields them the public endorsement at every
subsequent election. This is what politics ought to be about in the
first place: the principles of moral human leadership by
example.
People have to be focused upon the need for clean and efficient
political leadership. To procure anything less is a slant to one's
own dignity and the betrayal of one's society.
~ "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you
did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for
me.'"-- Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
Rgds
B.C.
End-notes/ References:
- 'Separation of powers' [wiki]: "The separation of powers is a model for
the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient
Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part
of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic. Under this model, the state is divided into branches,
each with separate and independent powers and areas of
responsibility so that no one branch has more power than the other
branches. The normal division of branches is into an
executive, a legislature, and a judiciary. ..."
- 'DPM Wong questions opposition's GRC motives':
"If they were to compare the candidates of the two sides, I
hope that they will closely scrutinise all the candidates. If they
are new candidates, then make use of this occasion to grill them,
to understand them, to know more about them, and to ask them.... I
have been looking forward to this for a while...and I hope the opposition will come, give our voters
a chance, and also help us understand what else we need to do (so
as) to do better in the constituency." [ST, 24Mar2011] [alt link]
- 'PM Lee says countries worldwide respect and admire
Singapore's proven system': "Suppose you had 10, 15,
20 opposition members in Parliament...I'm going to spend all my
time thinking what's the right way to fix
them, to buy my supporters
votes, how can I solve this week's problem and forget about next year's challenges?.. "
[CNA:03May2006][YouTube/@1m10s]
- 'Singapore ministers set for million-dollar pay hike': "...'If we don't do that
... corruption will set in and we will become like many other
countries,' Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean was quoted as saying in
the Straits Times last week." [Reuters5Apr2007]
- 'Town Council Act (CAP 329A) states clearly that Govt
must work with Town Councils (run by MPs) to implement
LUP': "It is a joke that for some strange reasons or
another, Mr Shanmugan’s ministerial colleague has refused to obey the Town Councils Act by choosing not
to work with Hougang Town Council and even has the audacity to
TWIST the facts by claiming that 'it is the role of the grassroots
advisers to implement the LUP' through his press secretary
when it was stated NOWHERE in the Town Councils Act that the LUP
has to be carried out by the grassroots advisers!
From beginning to end, there was no
mention of the words 'Grassroots advisers', 'People Association' or
'PAP losing candidates' and so how did Mr Eric Low come into the
picture at all? " [TR, 29Oct2009][alt link]
- '‘Adviser over MP’ raises many questions':
"PAP MPs are appointed as advisers to the grassroots
organisations in their wards by the People’s Association (PA).
In the two opposition wards, the PA
picked the PAP candidates who contested but lost in the wards in
the last two polls as the grassroots advisers."
[ST, 22Oct2009][alt link]
- 'How PAP uses taxpayer-funded grassroots for political
gain': "The People’s Association (PA), ..Like all
other stat boards, it receives a yearly grant from the government
to run its programmes and cover operational costs. .. It spent a total of $320 million last
year.However unlike most stat boards, whose
chairmen are usually the permanent secretary of the parent ministry
or some other senior civil servant, PA’s chairman is none other
than the Prime Minister [pict]. .. No other
public sector board in Singapore has so many “Men in White” on
it..." [G Giam, 10Oct2009].
- 'Upgrading should be a separate issue from the General
Election': "We are concerned about the linking of
public housing upgrading and estate renewal programmes to electoral
support for the PAP in a constituency. The prioritization of upgrading programmes should be
based on sound criteria and be kept a separate issue from the
general election.." [petitiononline.com]
