PM Lee: PAP will not be “taken advantage of” again in Potong Pasir
November 2nd, 2009 | 
Author: From our Correspondent
When asked by a Potong Pasir resident if the PAP has any plans to win back the constitutency from opposition MP Chiam See Tong, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the problem had to be looked at in a ‘detached way’, and that no easy solution existed.
While there is the need to look after those in Potong Pasir who voted for the PAP, the party must be careful not to be taken advantage of, he said, recalling the 2006 election.
“We took the approach of doing more for the opposition wards so they would be grateful and vote for the PAP. And Mr Chiam went around saying, ‘Why don’t you continue voting for me? Then you’ll have two MPs for the price of one’. After the experience, it was decided that the PAP would change the way it treated Potong Pasir,” he added.
The PAP which controlled the government’s purse strings, had repeatedly denied the necessary upgrading to the two opposition wards of Potong Pasir and Hougang though the residents living there pay taxes to the government like the rest of Singapore.
Estate upgrading, which includes installing lifts on every floor to correct a design lapse in earlier flats built by HDB, has been indiscriminately by the ruling party to “entice” voters to vote for them, a Singapore-style pork barrel politics in practice.
As 86 per cent of Singaporeans live in public housing built by HDB, a government agency, they have little choice but to depend on the “goodwill” of the ruling party to upgrade their flats which will see a rise in the asset values.
Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong once threatened the residents of Hougang and Potong Pasir that their estates will be turned into “slums” of Singapore if they continue to vote for the opposition.
Though both opposition wards are denied upgrading by the ruling party, they appear to be better run than the PAP wards.
Last year, the PAP Town Councils lost more than $10 million dollars of their sinking funds in risky investments involving structure-linked products. The two opposition Town Councils did not lose a single cent as their management committees have been prudent enough not to park their funds at safer places.
The PAP has been trying ways and means to undermine the authority and work of the opposition MPs in their wards via appointing “grassroots advisers” who are actually losing PAP candidates in the last election to interfere with their work.
For example, PAP grassroots adviser in Hougang shocked the entire nation by announcing in a press conference that he had “brought” the Lift Upgrading Program (LUP) to Hougang instead of its MP Low Thia Kiang.
The National Development Ministry then gave a lame excuse through its press secretary Mr Lim Yuin Chien that it is the government’s practice to work with PAP-appointed grassroots advisers as opposition MPs are not “accountable” to the government.
However, the Town Councils Act (CAP 329A) stated clearly that the minister had to work with the respective Town Councils to implement LUP on the ground. There was no mention of the roles of grassroots advisers. The ruling party has remained surprisingly silent on the matter.
Given that the PAP enjoys easy access to state resources by virtue of its incumbency, it will be forever an uphill task for the opposition to win more seats in the elections which explains why the PAP is able to maintain its political hegemony for well over five decades.
Posted in Editorial
Coz it’s true to character of...
More like Singaporeans will not be disadvantaged again in the next elections.
The cheek of it all when they offered $100 million of our money for the upgrading of PP to win the election for the PAP. Who is being taken advantage of.
Why should our money be used to promote the PAP’s interests?
>>“We took the approach of doing more for the opposition wards so they would be grateful and vote for the PAP. And Mr Chiam went around saying, ‘Why don’t you continue voting for me? Then you’ll have two MPs for the price of one’. After the experience, it was decided that the PAP would change the way it treated Potong Pasir,” he added.
有没有搞错!? 自己输不起，却去怪别人。。 呵呵。
Singapore belongs to the people of Singapore. It does not belong to any of the political parties, PAP or opposition. It certainly doesn’t belong to the PRs and foreigners.
In the coming GE, it will be the people of Singapore who decide and we will not be swayed by threats or persuasion.
The time has come for Change. No member of any political party should think that he is bigger than the people. No member of any political party should withhold from the people what rightfully belongs to them. An certainly no member of any political party should threaten the people.
only the ppl of potong pasir has been taken advantage by PAP, not the other way round.
i feel inspired to move to potong pasir and hougang!
I hope Singapore Pool can start a betting section for the next winner of the Singapore general election.
Even with the hoo and the ha and ranting of the netciitzen, my bet is firmly on PAP. Not that I like them more but I like wining more.
When it comes to Potong Pasir, the bet is too risky but the payout should make it worthwhile to bet.
Poor Mr. Chiam is in poor health, does he has a successor? Thanks him for his service to his constituency and wish him good health.
If the people of PP has taken advantage of him/ and his party, why offer the other side of the face to be slapped by giving LUP?
It makes no sense.
.
Dear Potong Pasiran. If U give back this ward to the PAP!
U must know what the first thing they’re going to do? Increase your consevation charge triple times ,many years they don’t have such an oppotunity to increase U.other than that more rents charge going to impose on U people. taking many years of revenge.That’s Y LHL said think of a way to deal with this! This is How To Fix The Opposition and U people..
Have the cows come home yet?
You can blow your horn loudly, but until the cows come home, there is little or no chance for any dramatic change…
Too bad.
I believe Politicians must have sincerity, sincerely serving the people. If PAP are serious about serving the people of Potong Pasir, they should work doubly hard! Move people with their sincerity and not accuse Potong Pasir residents of taking advantage of them. The citizens are not commodities for any politicians to make use of, to buy, to sell and reap a handsome profit.
Excuse me but what exactly have we taken advantage of? Your $2 abalone porridge or is it that 100 million dollar upgrading crap?
disgusting goons!
PPTC had “replaced 22 Lifts for free just before the recent announcement of HDB’s Lift Upgrading Program” : Wilfred Leung, Councilor, Potong Pasir Town Council.
Can PAP match this?
Hopefully PAP will lose more seats. Otherwise, they will continue to be arrogant and continue to ignore the problems faced by ordinary citizen !!! The situation in Singapore now is the PAP government can do whatever they want without taking any consideration of the citizen. LHL does not deserve any strong support from the voters as he has failed to deliver anything good in his five years as PM!!!!
Once if Potong Pasir is lost to the PAP in the next election, one thing will bound to happen, PP will be merged into a GRC.
I win your bet hands down on this.
LHL is damn thicked skin.
What has PAP for Singapore in the last 10 years?
Rubbish.
I forgot to add, his wife and father have lost singapore a lot of monies.
Losing Potong Pasir to PAP would mean that they will squeeze us dry to cover the gap.
Quote
BarelyAlive on Mon, 2nd Nov 2009 8:31 pm
I believe Politicians must have sincerity, sincerely serving the people. If PAP are serious about serving the people of Potong Pasir, they should work doubly hard!
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when it comes to the RP, we should know better from the example of SitohYP. the man who dumped the walkway on CST and walked out after losing.
完全就是为了利益，一点多没有诚意
“2 MPs for the price of 1″ hahaha … Chiam is wicked!!! LOL
It is not good to have singapore 100 per cent PAP ruled. Very unhealthy, not different from North Korea!!! But then maybe we are a little China…
Without GRC they would have lost their pants.
Feedback in this portal is crucial and invaluable to the PAP to change to win the minds of the people. All they can think of is how to fix the people of PP. We have not even mentioned their shameless multi-million dollar salaries.
Grow up! Play fair and be fair to the people of Singapore. A time will come when they will be swept into the rubbish heap.
A bunch os self-ingratiating buffons!
it is a timely reminder of TR to point out that the opposition held wards are indeed better run than the PAP style run wards. The money lost in the PAP wards meant a lot to the residents although it is peanuts to the PAP . This shows arrogance and non consultative manner among the PAP ministers. Is this the way they run and treat the people that supported them .
“Last year, the PAP Town Councils lost more than $10 million dollars of their sinking funds in risky investments involving structure-linked products. The two opposition Town Councils did not lose a single cent as their management committees have been prudent enough not to park their funds at safer places.”
Hmmm…was this written in sarcasm?
The two opposition Town Councils did not lose a single cent as their management committees have been prudent enough not to park their funds at safer places.
Typo Error?
You mean their mgmt committees have been prudent enough to park their funds at safer places.
Since wining the last election, promising Singaporeans “No one be left behind”, Singaporeans responded with 66% mandates. What have been achieved by PM & his team so far?? Yes, influx of FT/FWs, so no Singaporean is left behind, behind every Singaporeans there are 3 foreigners. I am definitely more happy, more Singaporean before LHL became PM.
QUOTING…
New Era on Mon, 2nd Nov 2009 2:19 pm
Singapore belongs to the people of Singapore. It does not belong to any of the political parties, PAP or opposition. It certainly doesn’t belong to the PRs and foreigners.
In the coming GE, it will be the people of Singapore who decide and we will not be swayed by threats or persuasion.
The time has come for Change. No member of any political party should think that he is bigger than the people. No member of any political party should withhold from the people what rightfully belongs to them. An certainly no member of any political party should threaten the people.
UNQUOTING…
But… the only problem IS… they and we all know that Mr. Chiam IS getting frail and not as active as before… as there was talk about he’s wife standing for election in PP… but then was this an MSM ST piece to tell us all something… OR something else???…
So 3rd PM seems confident…as he sweetens the PP grounds till the next GE comes… and IF pap again lose like he did to newbies in AMK at the last GE that gave him the PM seat…
There’s some hope yet in Singaporeans as PP. Hougang and then AMK resident’s there have shown… that at least some SINGAPOREANS… ARE SMARTER than WE think yah!!!
Indeed, Singaporeans have not been left behind because all of us are STILL standing in the same spot ever since the last election while everyone else is moving ahead!
Oh the irony. Is PAP being taken advantage of, or is residents of Potong Pasir and Hougang being taken advantage of? These residents paid the same taxes, their sons do the same NS, yet they are denied the funds to upgrade their estate.
A case of the thief crying robbery.