Mah Bow Tan: LUP has to be implemented through government (PAP) channels
October 14th, 2009 | 
Author: From our Correspondent
The National Development Minister Mr Mah Bow Tan has replied through his press secretary Mr Lim Yuien Chien to Mr Low Thia Kiang’s letter in the Straits Times Forum, claiming that he was “wrong” about the Life Upgrading Programme (LUP). (read letter here)
Mr Low had earlier written a letter to the Forum complaining that he had been sidelined by HDB and PA in the process of bringing LUP to his ward Hougang.
The PAP grassroots adviser for Hougang and losing candidate in the last general election Mr Eric Low made the announcement of Hougang being selected for LUP two weeks ago, sparking widespread furore in cyberspace.
His critics contended that the announcement should be made by the MP of Hougang Mr Low Thia Kiang instead of the Mr Eric Low who has no business to be involved in the first place.
In his letter, Mr Lim explained that since HDB’s upgrading programmes are carried out and funded by the government, they have to be implemented through government channels and in the case of HDB upgrading, this channel is the advisers to grassroots organisations, who are appointed by the Government.
He added that there is no basis for opposition MPs to lead the LUP since they are not responsible for generating budget surpluses which are used to fund the LUP.
Mr Lim’s explanation brought a flurry of angry responses from netizens who are unconvinced by it.
Yellowbra wrote:
“I am a Hougang resident. Let me put it clearly to Mr Lim Yuin Chien. It is the perogative of the PAP govt whether to expedite or to carry out the LUP. What one level governance or the bloody PAP being prudent thus has the surplus funds to execute the LUP. Come on, your cockamamy explanation is making you look like a fool. Hougang residents had waited too long and the LUP is insignificant now.”
Baikinmen queried about the role of grassroots advisers:
‘It really calls to question the role of so-called grassroots advisor. If they are civil servants, working for the PA, then they should not engage in politics. If they are politicians, then they should not plant themselves as advisors in places where there is a more legitimate representative of the people ie. the MP. But then again, as was pointed out in the last GE, opposition wards are “lucky” to have an official MP and a wannabe MP serving the people.”
Ghostrider added:
“The two so called advisers are loser, they lost during last general election.
On what basis they are being selected to represent the residents of these two oppositon wards?
Can the residents of Hougang and Potong Pasir appoint their own grassroot advisers?
Or, these grassroot advisers must be of servile quality, hand-picked by PAP leaders?”
Stevewu77 called on Mr Mah to quit for practising “pork-barrel” politics:
“Lim Yuin Chien, “All things being equal, we have always put the PAP wards first” Mah Bow Tan 8 Oct 2009.
It is easy to distill from the annual reports of how 13-year-old estates (e.g. in Toa Payoh) went ahead in the LUP of the estates older than 25 years old (e.g. in Potong Pasir and Hougang). These instances are totally without merit and are certainly not isolated. The estates are not even equal to begin with. Now we know that they are condoned and may even have been directed by the minister himself.
As minister under the Constitution, Mah Bow Tan would have taken the following oath:
“I, Mah Bow Tan, being chosen and appointed as Minister of Singapore, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will at all times faithfully discharge my duties as Minister according to law, and to the best of my knowledge and ability, without fear or FAVOUR**, affection or ill-will.” **emphasis added
Mah Bow Tan not only engages in pork barrel politics with impunity but has the arrogance of admitting it in public. This has made a mockery of our Constitution and of the vows he has taken as a minister.
For this alone, Mah Bow Tan should be fired.”
mingsuny sums it up succinctly:
“the issue is with the inconsistency.. In PAP wards, it is the MPs who announce the LUP.. but in the opposition wards, it is the PAP-appointed grassroot advisors”
Singaporeans are getting more aware, educated and astute and will not be easily satisfied with such a simplistic official reply from the government.
The crux of the issue really lies in the system itself which allows the PAP to control the People’s Association which should be kept strictly non-partisan.
Grassroots leaders should be appointed by the residents themselves and not from above by the PAP.
As this episode has shown, it is unhealthy to have one single party controlling all levers of the government.
The government of Singapore must be made accountable to the people and all political parties must be made subservient to the will of the electorate.
The PAP is only a political party. The Singapore government can be formed by a group of parties or any other party and not necessarily the PAP.
Singaporeans must exert more pressure on the incumbent to reform the entire system which is put in place to perpetuate its hegemony by asking serious, sensitive and difficult questions constantly.
Comment source: ST Discussion board
Related articles:
>> Low Thia Kiang strikes back at HDB and PA
>> Lame reply by HDB and PA on why LUP are announced by PAP losers
>> Mah Bow Tan:” I don’t expect non-PAP MPs to explain LUP”
Posted in Editorial
Coz it’s true to character of...
It this why we pay them multi-million dollar salaries. To act as clowns????
so what they are saying is that the Opp MPs are NOT part of the government.
“… since they are not responsible for generating budget surpluses which are used to fund the LUP.”
What the fuck?? So the budget surpluses come from PAP instead? I would have thought they drain it with their salaries.
Time and time again. When will Singaporeans vote out the PAP dogs? They are so shameless and they are so powerful and feared. I will not want my children to be led around the nose by them.
Mah BT is clearly out of his depths. He messes up every ministry he has been assigned thus far….this time is no different.
People’s Association shoudl be renamed “PAP’s Association”. It is clear as day that PA is effectively a puppet of PAP.
What Mr. Mah is saying, since the government is the one sponsoring the program, they need to let the people know who is the one giving them the carrot. Once they take the bite they will know how well they are being treated by the government. Provided the one that feed them is from a party that the government can trust else the carrot will not taste sweet.
For the benefit of his constituency Mr. Low should not pursue the matter anymore and let the work begin.
Taking a contrarian view maybe we should be happy that their behaviour is pissing off more singaporean. This could eventually quicken their downfall.
Repeatedly they win the election. Cant beat them, join them!
Long Live PAP!!!
Hope u throw me some crumbs after you are done with your fat surpluses and salaries!
Long Live PAP!!!
since when govt = PAP?
isn’t the govt, while mainly consisting of one party, also includes OTHER opposition parties?
this is sick.
1st, Mas Selamat escape, Minister for Home Affairs was asked to resign.
2nd, the Poison Rojak case, Minister for Environment was asked to resign.
Now, the LUP case, Minister for National Development is asked to resign….
But all are not resigned.
What will be the next.
Let them carry on their Alice in Wonderland logic and let them live in their own World. As long as you know, I know, and we know the truth and carry on spreading this truth. Does it really matter anymore?
Singapore is a democratic country as proclaimed by our dear leaders, let’s see whether this claim can stand the test of the ballot box come election day. Spread the truth, inverse the ruth.
Mah Bow Tan, Lee Hsien Loong, Wong Kan Seng, et al….
THESE are the “quality minister” PAP are touting about?
Who voted these clowns in? (OK OK, no one voted WKS in….so next election, you guys know what to do)
Is Hougang in Singapore or some part of Africa?b
LUP funded by government? Hey!! what stupid logic can that be!!!! LUPs are all funded by taxpayers in FULL AND WHERE DOES THE FUND came from? The government are fed by taxpayers and nobody else. The word “No Basis” regularly used by PAP members are standard excuses, shun responsibility and hide their dirty linens.
such an arrogant reply by LIM. That sum up the failure of the PAP. Vote the opposition !!!
By the way has anyone thought about what the MIW has been preaching over the last 10 years about the surpluses built up in one administration cannot be used by the next without the president unlocking it.
This essentially is their way of thinking. They run it like a company. Since they cannot make money outside singapore, they make it out of singaporeans.
So, where did all the surpluses come from? Its all from you and me. Its from HDB flats you buy, the EZlink cards you use, ERP, nets, road tax, petrol tax, etc, etc. We must be the capital of the indirect tax. Every ministry is run like a business thinking of how to generate more money. Everything must not just be cost recovery but profit generating under the disguise of market subsidy – from healthcare, Housing, transport, telecomunications, food, etc…
Get ready for more surplus generating ideas from them.
I think we should all start a very serious topic to question:
Are Singaporeans serving PAP or are PAP serving Singaporeans? Looking back at all that have transpired and the way PAP talked and behaved, it is apparent to us that pap are treating Singaporeans like housemaids, exploiting us to the maximum and using us to the fullest at their beck and calls. End of the day, we still pay these stooges their million dollars salaries.
I don’t know if we will ever see change in our lifetime. SGeans don’t want to rock the boat. I know ppl who will just vote for PAP, because they are the “tried and tested”….
what will you do when it comes to the crunch. I’ve never voted… never was required to do so..
if you watch the morning chinese show yesterday, you will be surprised to hear an old lady complaining about the influx of chinese immigrants on the TV. The MP was taken aback (from PAP of course).
You never know…
Have you seen anything like this?
with reflection, the LHL regime is VERY oppressive against the singles.
For those singles who are 35, the new CPF allocation rates implemented by LHL is extremely unfair against the singles.
You will find that the amount of monies allocated to special and medisave to increase a lot and you ended up with very little monies (far too little to service a 3 room flat rent alone). So despite the nice sounding MBT when he anounced the new measures such as allowing singles to buy bigger flats and the 10% downpayment, all the measures work against the single.
If you think partnering with another single would help, well, their scheme actually weigh in the age of the other single and if he is older, you will end up having to service the loan over a shorter period that the 30 years.
They take the average of your ages.
And this ended up having you and your guy to pay a bigger monthly payment.
IT is very oppressive.
So, whenever, pap ministers anounce something, you can be sure, the opposite effect will be felt by the targetted group.
To people of Hougang and potong pasir, please continue to support your MP, more people will join you. Minster Mah has make it very clean that LUM is managed by PA and grassroot with HDB, it has nothing to do with any MP, be it PAP or opposition. In this case, it really does not matter who is the MP to have LUM.
It is very clear cut now that the two opposition ward did not get LUM for so many years was not because the residents there voted for the opposition, but it was in fact due the PAP linked PA and grassroot member in their ward not able to perform, it has nothing to do with the opposition MPs.
The ideal situation is that once a national program is announced, a non-partisan civil service executes it.
This non-partisan civil service treats all wards, singaporeans equally.
The problem is that today they have corrupted the civil service to be synonymous with the ruling party. They then went on to twist the situation like its a company and they have a right to decide who gets it because they “earned” the money.
This again is nonsense but yet how many people can see it.
The money is every singaporean money. The civil service is to serve all singaporeans.
All LUP is to be executed in a consistent way for teh beenfit of all Singaporeans regardles show they voted. Civil service must treat each ward equally.
In a proper democracy, the civil service should be non-partisan. The government of the day is made up of all that are elected not just the ruling party. All policies affect all citizens equally.
The civil service executes a program in a non-partisan way.
The problem is that we have a corrupted system in which the ruling party has changed this very important separation of the party from the state. Even LKY has once made references to Government is PAP. This is where the corruption starts. It is why the PA and HDB behave as such.
What’s worse, they tried to say that the LUP funded by surpluses built up by PAP and how this money can be spend must be made by PAP and PAP alone. This is fundamentally wrong. This is the citizen money. Once the decision is made to spend it on LUP, every single citizen must benefit equally. Every ward gets the same treatment. What is being done and has been done for the longest time is completely wrong.
It is wrong of PAP to try to make government and its civil service and PAP synonymous.
These ministers are always giving rosy pictures to the PM and in turn secure a pat on the back for being so capable of carrying out their duties. As a result the people suffered the most from the spiralling hdb prices. i think some public protests need to be in place to counter these shit policies.
“Funding for LUP is possible only because of the Government and the Budget surpluses it has generated through prudent policies”
“HDB’s upgrading programmes are carried out and funded by the Government.”
Mr Lim Yuin Chien, I think Singapore will be better place for all, once you and your kind read up a little bit of history to understand the limitations of any Government: A government can only transfer wealth, be it good or bad policies; it can NOT create real wealth. Period… and asset appreciation doesnt count as generating real wealth.
If governments do really create wealth, say better than private tax-paying individuals who take on more risk, then heck, why doesnt the WHOLE country & population take on your low risk and yet high paying job and “generate policies”? Umm, yeah, generating prudent policies is very productive indeed.
*Sarcasm off*
One more thing, I know what I am talking about. You know why?
You guys in power have been “generating prudent policies” since 1980 and especially after the 1985 recession in which you guys took more control in the economy , and yet Singapore has to fall back on mass importation of cheap FT/FWs in order not to decline…
Doesn’t this tell you anything about how far & and much wealth “prudent policies” can get you 20-25 years later?