PAP Has Truly Lost The Malay Votes Now...

Taken off TheOnlineCitizen website:

TEACHING Malay as a foreign language rather than a mother tongue could be one way to halt the decline in fluency among the community, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday. He said this suggestion might apply to Malays who grow up in an entirely English-speaking environment.

Dr Yaacob was addressing more than 200 Malay-Muslim pre-university students gathered at a theatre in Ang Mo Kio for a dialogue session aimed at sharing ideas to benefit the Malay-Muslim community. The other panellist was Madam Moliah Hashim, chief executive of self-help group Mendaki.

Innova Junior College student Ahmad Muslim, 17, asked what could be done about the decline in Malay fluency among the community. Dr Yaacob said everyone in the community has a role to play in keeping the language vibrant, but the challenge lies in keeping it relevant to the younger generation.

He added: ‘We are not in Kelantan or Kedah, where everyone speaks Malay in and out of the classrooms… it may be timely for us to teach Malay as a foreign language rather than as a mother tongue.’

The student also asked if the tide of foreign talent might eventually replace local workers. Madam Moliah said a change in perception was needed: ‘Instead of thinking of how you are going to compete with local and foreign talents for the job, reimagine that you are also a world competitor… that you can become a foreign talent yourself elsewhere.’

My goodness!!! What has Mr. Yaacob been smoking of late??? And what a time to say it, just a day after Parliament has dissolved. I came to work yesterday to the sounds of my Malay colleagues grumbling that they are now regarded as “Foreign Talents”. To them and I believe to the majority of Malays, the comments made were another tight slap to their faces to go along with the ones made by a certain octogenarian in his recently-published book with regards to integration and being less strict on practising their religion..

After what happened within these first four months of the year, I am definitely sure now that the Malay and Muslim community in general will think twice about supporting the People’s Action Party (PAP). From time to time, I hear my Malay colleagues and friends complain that they are being marginalized, from important posts in the military, to the madrasahs not getting enough recognition as compared to SAP schools and so on and so forth and what have the Malay leaders in the PAP been doing? They have just kept quiet, happy to keep the status quo going and afraid to standup to their paymasters. And now you have another in Zainal Sapari who is just another yes-man.
 

Like Mandarin, Tamil and English, Malay is our national language. Our anthem, though most Singaporeans do not understand its meaning, is in Malay. Our uniformed groups’ commands are in the language. Heck, even our day-to-day conversations are laced and peppered with bits and pieces of it. To treat the language like a foreign language would reduce its value and place in this country’s rich heritage where the indigenous are Malays.
 

It has been well-documented that the oldest person to contest this General Elections do not like the Malays, especially our neighbours. But to hear these sort of comments coming from the so-called Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs is completely irresponsible and even harder to digest. I hear Malay teachers out there complaining their hard work has gone to waste all these years and they are now being treated like an afterthought. But what do you expect from a so-called minister in charge whose kids learn Mandarin in school and has no regard for his own mother tongue?
 

The other day I watched the news and renowned political analyst and associate professor at NUS, Dr Hussin Mutalib, cryptically said one of the factors that would affect the way the votes go, will be down to the Malay-Muslim votes. I think he was the first political analyst who actually dared to say and admit it where others have just brushed aside or think it is not worthy to mention it. And these comments came out a day or two later to just confirm that this time round, the ruling party can expect the second-highest race population in this country to have a big say in how it will pan out come 7 May 2011.

Common Sense Prevailing Within The Opposition

This past weekend showed that common sense seems to be prevailing within the Opposition ranks when a few parties who were possibly locked in three-cornered fights at the upcoming General Elections, chose to make way for others in their straight fight with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). All cited “for the sake of Opposition unity” for their decisions in pulling out.

On Saturday, the National Solidarity Party (NSP) announced that they were giving up Moulmein-Kallang GRC and Yuhua SMC. Instead they will focus on Choa Chu Kang GRC, Jurong GRC, Tampines GRC, Pioneer, Radin Mas and Whampoa SMCs. The party has also said they are interested in contesting at Marine Parade GRC as seen by their presence at a walkabout in the area the previous weekend. This moves allow the Worker’s Party (WP) to contest Moulmein-Kallang GRC and the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) over at Yuhua SMC.

On Sunday, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) announced that they will focus their efforts at Holland-Bukit Timah GRC and the single member constituency wards of Yuhua and Bukit Panjang, giving up Whampoa SMC in the process. The Reform Party (RP) has also decided to give way to other opposition parties in two SMCs and one GRC, paving the way for the NSP in Jurong GRC, the SDP in Yuhua SMC and the Singapore People's Party (SPP) in Hong Kah North SMC.

Questions still remain on the possible three-cornered fights being faced between the PAP, NSP and RP over at Pioneer and Radin Mas SMCs, or the rumoured four-cornered fight at Sengkang West SMC One of the opposition parties would have to give up on certain wards, if they want to remain true to their pledge for opposition unity or harmony. My personal take is that based on history, when his late father Joshua Benjamin was the MP for Anson back in the early 80s, the head of RP, Mr Kenneth Jeyaratnam, will go after Radin Mas SMC and giving up Pioneer for NSP. This makes a lot of sense since the NSP is also contesting Jurong GRC, which is next to Pioneer.

However, there is so far no news nor concrete plans to contest Sembawang, Ang Mo Kio and Tanjong Pagar GRCs, the latter two being the strongholds of the Prime Minister and Minister Mentor respectively. Rather than worry about three-cornered fights elsewhere, I call upon all Opposition parties to unite under one banner and contest at these areas to show the ruling party that it’s not a walkover by any means. I am sure there are unhappy citizens in those constituencies and they would want to show their unhappiness through their votes.

What have the Opposition got to lose? In 2006, even the so-called “Suicide Squad” by the Worker’s Party team garnered a third of the percentage. That says a lot on the sentiments being felt by the people on the way the ruling party is governing this country. A show of solidarity and unity would go a long way in making the voice of the people heard. And that could only mean one thing: That the Opposition have truly arrived!!!

Humility Goes A Long Way In Winning Over The Electorate...

The Prime Minister lamented recently that the party was finding it difficult to attract people from the private sector to join them. Which explained why out of the 24 candidates introduced over the past 4 weeks, only a third, are not from the public service sector. The online community have also decried the wisdom in getting new citizens like Foo Mee Har and Janil Puthucheary to represent them in Parliament, the latter getting a major brunt for not serving his National Service like any other male citizens.   

Perhaps a change or review in the selection policy of the ruling People’s Action Party could do the trick. Some say that the PAP is only interested in high-fliers, some have been earmarked as soon as they received their President’s Scholarships, while some have been highlighted for their rapid rise in the ranks of the public service. Though someone like Tin Pei Ling who was “promoted” for her grassroots work since she was 21, or people Ang Hin Kee had gone through retrenchment were made candidates to show the diversity in the party’s ranks, the majority of the electorate still feels that the ruling party will always be elitist in its approach to getting new candidates.  

Not only that, what rankles in the minds of the laymen is the perceived lack of connection and sincerity between the People’s Action Party members / Members of Parliament from the ruling party with the people on the ground. Yes, one might be able to say that a highly educated person who earns high incomes is able to connect with the ground based on their humble upbringings, but the fact is lip service do not constitute to actions. Take for instance, the recent walkabout made by new candidate Ong Ye Kung, which was reported in the papers. He had an advanced team to do the honours of telling the residents that he was coming and that could cut short the introductions that he had to make.  

You tell me, is that sincerity and being genuine to your cause? Has the insurance of hiding behind the coattails of the Foreign Minister made him over-confident that his team would win Aljunied GRC? I was also unimpressed when I saw the introduction of the last batch of candidates especially when I looked at the body language and swagger of the ex-Chief of Army, Chan Chun Sing. The way he spoke and the way he carried himself are exactly why the laymen hate this kind of elitist attitude that the PAP possess. He spoke about “standing their ground and staring down the competition” and saying it with an arrogant face. Tell me, who are we competing with? Who are we at war with?  

Contrast that with Desmond Choo, who by all accounts knows that he is up against a strong incumbent (Low This Khiang). This guy spends as long as twenty minutes with one resident alone and taking great pains to hear out their problems. Not only that, he endears himself to neutrals by sticking to the fact that he is just a second adviser to the Hougang Grassroots organization. Another one that impressed me is Dr. Intan Azura Mokhtar. As much as I would like to find flaws in her, I simply could not find any. She is definitely sincere, humble and someone I would not begrudge if she becomes an MP.  

The electorate would like to see more candidates like Desmond Choo and Dr. Intan Azura Mokhtar who are ordinary Singaporeans who still live in HDB flats, who from time to time take the public transport, as well as being highly educated, knowing what it feels like to be a normal Singaporean with their eyes and ears on the ground. These are the people who still believe in remaining humble and not think that they contest is done and dusted even before they begin. These are the kind of candidates which the opposition have managed to woo for this upcoming elections. True enough, some might not be holding high-flying jobs nor highly educated. At the end of the day, your intentions, sincerity and willingness to serve your residents will shine through. And a large part of it is due to humility, which only a few of the PAP candidates old and new, possess...

Are you sincere Mr Harminder Pal Singh???

Taken off the insing.com website:

Motivational speaker and founder of a training company, Harminder Pal Singh, has joined the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA). He will be part of the party’s team contesting the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC. He has pledged to help every family in the constituency to make a million dollars, with the help of his profession.

Mr. Harminder Pal Singh (39) is the founder of a company that helps people to achieve their own success. He is a Computer Engineering graduate from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and holds a certificate in marketing. During his undergraduate days in NTU, he served as president of the student council. MP for Hong Kah GRC, Zaqy Mohamad was also once a student council president at the university.

I read with interest in The Straits Times yesterday, a similar article on Mr Singh. In it he outlined the fact that he is looking to get into Parliament as a prelude to his candidacy for the role of President in five years’ time. He definitely has big ambitions as his pledge to help every family in the Pasir Ris – Punggol constituency to make a million dollars showed. But what is even bigger is his personal mission to become President of Singapore in time to come.

However, I personally feel that this kind of lofty ambitions smacks of selfishness and flawed sincerity. By going out and telling the media of his plans for the future, it only plays into the hands of the ruling party, whose chairman had yesterday called for voters to scrutinize and assess the credentials of each opposition candidate. As much as I would like to say Mr Lim Boon Heng sounded very much like sour grapes, besides shedding crocodile tears, I can’t help but feel there could be a bit of truth in them.

Not only is the electorate supposed to assess each possible candidate’s credentials, their potential and their abilities, I am sure when it comes to assessment, voters will be interested to know if the gentleman or lady that they will be voting for will be with them for the short term or for the long run. By stating that he would use his Parliamentary experience – provided he is elected – as a stepping stone for the President’s role in future, what kind of message is he trying to tell the electorate???

We already had a bad experience with one of our previous MPs who was greedy enough to vacate his seat in Parliament to assume the role of President after just winning the elections for a mere two years, only to fall from grace thanks in no part to a conflict of political views with a certain octogenarian from the ruling party, who had accused him of having an addiction for alcohol. We do not want the same episode to make this country a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. We hope that Mr Singh would be sincere in serving residents for a long time to come, if or not elected. If he chooses to make use of the voters to gain credence for his lofty ambitions, he can forget about standing for elections. We want sincere MPs serving us, not making use of us…

DPM Wong Denounced Workers' Party's Manifesto....

DEPUTY Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng urged voters to ask the Workers' Party for a detailed explanation on how it plans to implement the proposals set out in its manifesto. In his retort to the opposition party’s approach, he said, “Like in all brochures that companies put out, you have to drill down to the details. What do they mean by the specific recommendations?”

He cited, the Workers’ Party's call to peg the price of HDB flats to the median income of eligible buyers, and for flats to be affordable enough that mortgages can be paid off in 20 years instead of 30. “If you want to pay the mortgage in 20 years, does it mean you have to pay a higher sum every month? And if you fix the price at the median income, will there also be restrictions on the sale (price)?”

Of late, we have seen how DPM Wong has been feeling the heat from the fact that his GRC wards will see a contest in ages, especially against a well-respected politician like Mr Chiam See Tong. And what does he have to offer his residents??? As usual, the PAP’s ploy is to entice voters by coming out with five-year upgrading plans for each constituency. Every weekend leading up to elections season, we will be served news on upgrading plans for a particular ward or constituency.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to show the world that these are some things that the PAP is extremely good at whenever an Elections season comes around, besides giving generous amounts to the people prior to Polling Day, only to ask for it back some months later when they implement new policies. And up till now, the electorate, the majority of whom have been religiously voting the PAP in previous elections, have not learnt their lessons.

Paying a mortgage in 20 years doesn’t mean one has to pay a higher sum every month. What it could possibly mean, is to reduce the price of owning a house, make it feasible for young couples and those from the lower income group to live, without having to rent or getting a smaller home if they have a big family. As it is, the sizes of new homes have reduced a lot since 2000, yet the prices have risen beyond belief, which is not a fair reflection of its value.

Sure MSK is back to his detention cell, but questions still remain, how did the Ministry of Home Affairs under the charge of DPM Wong bungle when the whole country was gripped by drama from the Whitley Road Detention Centre episode? As the SDP’s Vincent Wijeysingha rightly pointed out in the CNA Forum the previous weekend, let’s not talk about the quality of good governance especially when this particular Cabinet saw the first escaped detainee. Not only is he held accountable for but the whole Cabinet as well. And I hope the electorate does not forget that and that the opposition parties would remind them should they do.

What is wrong with Reform Party???

IN the latest of a string of resignations from the Reform Party (RP), election candidate Alec Tok on Friday announced that he has quit the party. Mr Tok said he resigned as he disagreed with certain clauses in the party's protocol for CEC members which he had to sign after he was co-opted into the CEC last month. The Reform Party had named Mr Tok as its election candidate for the single-member constituency (SMC) of Radin Mas.

One of the clauses states that central executive committee (CEC) members are subject to a three-month probation period, during which they can be asked to leave without any notice or reason needed. Another clause states that any CEC member who resigns will must agree to a three-month 'gardening leave' period, which bars him or her from speaking to the media. Mr Tok said that such clauses went against the party ideals of openness and transparency. He also objected to the fact that he was not told, before joining the CEC, that he would have to agree to the protocols.

With the general elections looming near, this is definitely a massive setback to the Reform Party’s approach. If one or two persons cannot get along with another person, it might not be the fault of everyone but if so many members disagree and quit en masse, there must be something that is just not right with the leadership of the party. This latest episode is one of the reasons why it is difficult for the Opposition to gain credibility and win over the hearts of the electorate. Internal bickerings, constant disagreements, personality clashes, the ones who are laughing are none other than the ruling party. This has been going on for far too long and is precisely why Singaporeans do not have much choice but to go along with the PAP, no matter how much they want an Opposition to ensure checks and balance in Parliament.

Opposition parties have different approaches and ambitions by their varying manifestos. But they forget that the reason for their existence is to provide an alternative to the Government. Yes, they have said they want to contest all seats, but as it is, why are we still hearing things like three and four-cornered fights??? Why can’t they join forces and be under one opposition banner??? Everyone has his / her own ego to satisfy, each person is power hungry to the point that they forget their mission to check the Government.

As for the Reform Party, after this episode, they would be fortunate if they can get a decent amount of percentage vote from the electorate. Not only are we unsure of the identity of the candidates, the quality they possess and how are they going to make a difference, we have to make do with the fact that their leadership is autocratic. And who is laughing all the way to another victory in the upcoming Elections??? No prizes for saying the men in white…

The Prime Minister's In Denial...

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said a two-party political system is "not workable" in Singapore because there is simply "not enough top talent". Speaking at the National University of Singapore on Tuesday night, PM Lee said such a system would result in weaker governance. He also revealed how the People's Action Party (PAP) "seriously considered" splitting the PAP into two parties but gave up after it was obvious the second team would not be as good as the original.

My goodness, what he actually meant was, he does not have any confidence in both the Opposition and the rest in his own party to carry the nation forward. This smacks of utter arrogance and denial that other Singaporeans are willing and already ready to take over if the current Government fails to do their job or in times of crisis.

He is already shaken by the fact that the Opposition have in some ways made their presence and intentions felt by saying that they would try to contest all the wards in the upcoming Elections. He is also worried that a GRC might finally fall this time. This is why he is pulling all the stops in telling the electorate that a two-party system is not feasible.

The electorate wants an Opposition that would ensure that the Government is checked and balanced. The current Government thinks having backbenchers from their own party would ensure they are being checked. At the end of the day, the backbenchers themselves have to toe along party lines and follow what the top brass decreed. In short, they are nothing but yes men. So yes, there can never be a second team from the PAP cos they would only be a poor reflection of their A team…

Impressed By Vincent's Performance

I was and still totally blown away when I watched the CNA Forum the past weekend when members of the opposition and the ruling party sat down for a televised dialogue / debate. Why is that so??? It was because of the performance, honest, upfront and totally blunt comments that were dished out by the Singapore Democratic Party's Vincent Wijeysingha. For posterity sake, here's the collated clip of his astounding performance and excellent delivery which had netizens alike purring...

Gag Order Issued On MM Lee???

For the past fortnight or so, when the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) have been making a lot of noise with regards to the impending General Elections and introducing their new slate of candidates, one name has yet to give the media a proper soundbite on his thoughts. We've all seen how Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has been getting himself acquainted to new media and engaging the public with his thoughts, but so far we've heard nothing from the party's founder.

Rumours are rife on whether he has been issued a gag order so as not to embarrass himself and the party further with his ill-advised comments. As what Punggol East SMC MP Michael Palmer had pointed out in an exchange forum at NTU recently, the party has acknowledged that losing the Muslim community's votes in the upcoming elections is a possibility in the wake of MM Lee's comments made in his book "Hard Truths To Keep Singapore Going".

It would also be interesting to know given his silence, that he might be the biggest name from the party who will not be standing for elections this time round. It remains to be seen if the possibility would arise but it seems very much unlikely given the fact that Mr Lui Tuck Yew, the second-in-command from the previous Tanjong Pagar GRC has been moved to the newly-minted Moulmein-Kallang GRC and a void has been left for the ex-Army General Mr Chan Chun Sing to fill.