PAP MP De Souza: More robust debate from PAP MPs than opposition MPs
December 11th, 2009 | 
Author: PAP MP Christopher De Souza said during a two-hour dialogue – “2010: How Can Our Youths Serve Singapore” organized by the Young PAP that there is more robust debate from the PAP MPs than the opposition MPs in parliament.
He was responding to a question by Project Engineer Alex Tan who blamed the PAP’s dominance for the apathy of Singapore’s youth.
Mr de Souza extended an invitation to Mr Alex Tan to attend Parliament to see how PAP MPs speak their mind.
“If you’d heard Denise Phua speak on, say special-needs kids, you will think she is an opposition MP,” he said.
Mr Tan also said the PAP may feel it is helping the people but the people feel disadvantaged by its policies, from foreign talent to national service.
A fellow participant shot back at him:
“‘If you’re so disenchanted, why not leave Singapore?”
The dialogue is part of the YPAP’s series on social and political issues to better engage a younger, more outspoken generation, with the aim of renewing the party’s ranks and support.
The event was attended by 150 youths and 2 PAP MPs, Mr Sam Tan and Mr Christopher De Souza.
In reply to Mr Alexa Tan, Mr Sam Tan said the fault does not lie with the system, but that “it all boils down to individuals making their own choices.”
“If people feel they want to exercise their will and choice and want to serve, there are many ways they can do so. (The issue) is not the system, it is us,” he added.
Mr Sam Tan also reminded young Singaporeans not to run down Singapore when abroad or with foreigners:
“People will have less respect for us and our dignity will be dented,” he said.
He quoted the example of opposition MP Mr Chiam See Tong during a trip together to Kuala Lumpur who was asked by him “if he would speak in a different language from the PAP MPs”.
Mr Chiam’s reply was:
“When I’m outside Singapore, I speak as a Singaporean because Singapore is my country.”
Mr Tan agreed with Mr Chiam:
“‘Singapore is also my country. Let us speak in one united voice.”
Mr Chiam is one of the only two elected opposition MPs in parliament. The other is Hougang MP Low Thia Kiang.
While both men are considered veteran MPs, they seldom dare to challenge the ruling party or take them to task in parliament.
Some PAP backbenchers like Inderjit Singh and former NMPs like Siew Kum Hong and Eunice Olsen are even more vocal than them raising important, sensitive and difficult questions in parliament which embarrassed the ruling party.
When asked point-blank by PM Lee during a parliamentary last year if he felt DPM Wong Kan Seng should resign over the escape of Mas Selamat Kasteri, Mr Low Thia Kiang was stunned into silence.
Like many others, Mr Sam Tan appears to be confused over the separate roles of the party and state.
Singapore is not the equivalent of the PAP and criticisms towards the party should not be misconstrued as an attack on Singapore.
While Singaporeans should stay united as one nation, there should be ample room for differing political opinions to be expressed in Singapore.
Due to the dominance of the PAP and its control of the mass media, only its voice is heard and permitted in the public domain which is unhealthy for the nation in the long run.
Posted in Editorial
Re: “PAP MP De Souza: More robust debate from PAP MPs than opposition MPs.”
Even though the underlying message in the above quote is that Singapore does not need an opposition like the pAP has always maintained, it is also vindication for what I’ve been saying: Chiam See Tong, Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim are INEEFECTIVE.
Vote SDP, or spoil your vote in the SMCs/GRCs that have WP/CST/ or RP.
“If you’re so disenchanted, why not leave Singapore?”
And give the PAP the satisfaction of one fewer patriot to check on it and to make a difference, one voter at a time. No way!
“Chiam See Tong, Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim are INEEFECTIVE.”
I second that comment. If only JBJ and CSJ were in parliament now, but the 2 of them that could pose a real challenge to the PAP are bankrupted and put in jail.
When opposition speak up, you jail them. When they are cowed by the jailing and harassement, you say they don’t speak up. Either way, you win. PAP, the most kiasu of parties.
@Robox on Fri, 11th Dec 2009 2:05 pm
Spoiling your votes only makes PAP wins.
This is why opposition cannot make inroads into parliament because opposition supporters do not unite.
if opposition mp engage in “robust debate”, pap govt will say that they are politicising issue.
even, a pap mp like amy khor got ticked off once for voicing out.
As long as party whip is applied, no matter how many pap mps voice out, it make no difference, just ask tan soo khoon, tan cheng bock.
“‘If you’re so disenchanted, why not leave Singapore?”
My answer to that snake?
After you have rimmed my ar@e with your venomous fork-tongue, I shall leave for a while and come back for more!
Do we have a deal?
//“If you’d heard Denise Phua speak on, say special-needs kids, you will think she is an opposition MP,” he said.//
If Denise Phua is so opposed to PAP policy than she should quit and join the opposition.Why is she in politics?To talk and talk and talk and DO NOTHING ELSE?…what a wayang!
Inderjit Singh talks like an opposition hah? And yet he is also a WHIP at the same time? !!!..what a contradiction ?
Who are they trying to fool.
Parliament is not there to float giant balloon with all that hot air. ACTIONS SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS..Give me an MP who gets things done..Not just speak for speaking sake.
the usual crap from MIW. Parliament restricts a MP on the number of issues he/she can raise. Also MIW MPs have access to highly paid civil servants to do their work.
#Robox
“Vote SDP, or spoil your vote in the SMCs/GRCs that have WP/CST/ or RP.”
What??? So you would rather let PAP win in the wards not contested by SDP??? And have even fewer opposition members in parliament???
An ineffective voice is still a far more effective tool as a demonstration of the people’s discontent, than to have no opposition voice or presence at all.
Unless SDP fields enough candidates to challenge a majority of wards, your strategy will doom us to more “good years” for the MIW.
No thanks, Robox.
well he can say what he wishes right?
The fact remains, his opinion is his opinion.
What about the opinions of the 33.3% population?
I am more concerned about the opinion of the 33.3% than that from 1 person.
Can he prove beyond reasonable doubt what he said is the truth and nothing but the truth?
Else what does it mean?
Excuse me; I opine that most Singaporeans have been mesmerized by the relentless propagandas by the miw using the MSM as the powerful rhetorical tool to such an absurd level, which can not differentiate the difference between parliament debates and decisions making!
You can have the most rigorous and effective parliament debates but, ultimately decisions have to be made and policies implemented! Who are the decision makers? Only the oligarch of the miw makes those decisions; “without taking into considerations of all consensuses by ALL-WIM”, let alone objections from the opposition parties; this is due to the dominance of the top-echelons of miw in the same-old-clique. Building of casinos is a very good example!!
If these are the cases for all national decisions making process then, what is the point of having parliament debate? Does it make any difference between rigorous or indifferent/apathetic/apathy debates with this type of parliament set-up?
Its all wayang show all the way in parliament!
“more robust debate from PAP MPs than opposition MPs”
Are you sure? Then how come all of you PAP MPs voted the same “YES” at the end of the debate, since some of you have so robustly debated against a certain policy??
Is this not cheap wayang??
“If you’re so disenchanted, why not leave Singapore?”
Hmmm…
This is not the first time I come across such words – apologists of PAP and its doctrines use such words rampantly.
It is US versus YOU mentality – a typical mindset of elitist PAP leaders.
What robust debate by PAP MPs. Old fart has been wrong on his bilingual policy for decades and yet none of those leeching MPs dare to defy him. Old fart’s daughter-in-law has lost billions of state-owned money and yet none of the leeching MPs dare to bring her to accountability.
I concur with Robox.Either vote for SDP or spoil your votes.Why?Because spoilt votes do speak volumes.Suppose if spoilt votes are greater than what a PAP candidate garnered ,the PAP MP lose all moral grounds..so would the PAP,when the entire spoilt votes are significant…the International community also watches and our message is clear.
To vote for an ”approved opposition” is to play into their hands.No difference in voting for Denise Phua or Indrajit Singh.
Got to put a stop to all this wayangs..
@True Singaporean:
i don’t think it would advance Denise Phua’s goal to join the opposition. she wants to help children with special needs. it would appear that, to her, the best way to do so is to be in the PAP, though she would have to sometimes speak as if she i a member of the opposition.
and it’s unfair to say that Denise Phua just talks and does nothing. Denise Phua has done quite a fair bit for children with special needs. for instance, her ‘lobbying’ has gotten MOE to invest more in the education of children with special needs, changing its policies and putting in place various initiatives. incidentally, even before she became an MP, she was already the president of the Autism Resource Centre and helped found the Pathlight School (a school for children with autism). i think that could constitute as doing a lot.
but don’t dismiss the power of ‘talk’. one of the reasons why the PAP acted so harshly against CSJ and JBJ is their ability to talk about issues which the PAP are uncomfortable with and, despite being constantly beaten down, continue to talk about these issues doggedly.
@True Singaporean on Fri, 11th Dec 2009 5:03 pm
I don’t think the pap elites are concerned about moral grounds, the word is not in their vocabulary…
#True Singaporean
“..the International community also watches and our message is clear.”
And to what effect could (and would) the international community sway this country’s governance? Your view with regard to ending the wayang is respectable, but I personally feel it’s too idealistic with little concern for actual results.
I’m not one of the more well-off nor elitely qualified folk in this city-state, I can’t afford to give up my one chance to change the livelihood of myself and my future family on a demonstration that banks on the compassion and influence of foreign powers. Folk like me need an opposition voice, and only after that has been gained, an effective one.
WOW! what have the present education done to that youngster,apparently pro-PAPish?
” IF YOU ARE SO DISENCHANTED,WHY NOT LEAVE SINAGPORE?”
IF this young turk and his MP think like that,the future of singapore is sure to go down the “LONGKANG”
like the BUKIT TIMAH flood-waters.
hey! your grandpa and my granpa and their grandpas and WE ALL build this palce you call HOME and you wanna chase us out for the sake of some probably betraying foreigners;yes they will leave us in a lurch when they find they can make more money elsewhere and that will be soon!
i think this young man whoever you are,probably needs to read some basic history instead of “rocket science”,else he end out like those “rocket-scientists” who screwd up Wallstreet and the whole of USA?
MP, you better pull him out and EDUCATE him.
he is no where compared to the oppsition junior club members who stood for the last GE in ANG MO KIO.
a real waste of our taxpayers’ money for his expensive education…MP, we demand a refund of wasted taxpeyers’ funding
and don’t even think of fielding him in future eclections.
tthe best place to put him is to clean up after the FTs’ litter.
PAP Party WHIP which enforces all MP to vote according to party line, makes the whole Parliament Debate meaningless.
If you debate passionately, you should vote passionately. MP are voted in by the people of their constituency,and MP should vote according to the desire of his constituency and not according to PAP party Line. This is illogical.
WHIP distorts parliament votes, because all outcome are 99% passed, even when it is a 50/50 thinly supported decision. How would our children learn from the passed parliament decisions? We don’t even know what is strongly or thinly supported decision? There is no meaningful statistics to guide them?
Also, the building of Casino or IR was never even voted in the Parliament. Everybody talks, but there is no vote to carry such an important decision for Singapore. It is a decision that Singapore government has decided to change course from prohibiting gambling to building a casino.
@True Singaporean on Fri, 11th Dec 2009 5:03 pm
Do you think PAP cares about moral victory? If PAP wins, they continue to dominate us, brainwashing the citizens and run the country like their own fiefdom. Why would they care about moral victory as long as they get electoral victory?
It is hard enough to wake up the PAP supporters. But to have anti-PAP voters to spoil their precious votes just because they do not get their choice of opposition party will doom us all.
If anyone of you think any of the opposition party can go at it alone against PAP, then you are just living in an illusion. This I think is part of the reasons why opposition cannot get more than a few seats in parliament.
You MUST see that any opposition party victory is a victory for ALL opposition party.
We are not at that stage where we can pick and choose our opposition party. If you pick and choose now, you will NEVER get the party you want.
Divide and conquer is the strategy of PAP. If you know this, you will then have to know that you are falling into the tricks of PAP.
Think of it this way, if A is a SDP-only supporter and B is a WP-only supporter. And if A got WP as his opposition candidate and B got a SDP candidate. Both voids their votes in protest…who wins? PAP wins.
However, if A voted for WP even if he only supports SDP and B voted for SDP even if he only supports WP, basically what happens is A got his wish via B and vice versa….who wins? Both because both gets what they want via opposition unity.
Understand this concept and then understand that is how you get your favourite party into parliament. If everyone is selfish, no one gets to eat.
“‘If you’re so disenchanted, why not leave Singapore?”
No one has the right to tell another Singaporean to leave this island. Singaporeans have every right to be here. These people have become too arrogant.
Singaporeans are certainly not happy with the way things are here. But we are not leaving. We are going to change things in the next election.
Time for Change.
UD on Fri, 11th Dec 2009 4:03 pm
Well said. I will vote for any opposition who contest in my GRC, SDP or otherwise. I want as many opposition in parliament after the next GE.
If the MIW is returned to power, that will be the end of Singaporeans.
I don’t get it with people who seek to divide the opposition. Could they be part of the internet brigade?
however vocal of the PAP MPs is agaisnt the PAP policy,when come to voting,they are still binded by the party whip ditto.
NMP and NCMP cannot vote on important issues.so no point having more of them.
we NEED elected Opposition MPs.
and i disagree with spoiling the vote.
Now is the time to rally our kins and friends in voting the opposition.
i also would like to encourage us to support the opposition through political donation.it would greatly help them in election for their campaign materials,election deposits etc.i not,we could be a member of their money.
every dollars and cents counts.
UD on Fri, 11th Dec 2009 4:03 pm
“Unless SDP fields enough candidates to challenge a majority of wards, your strategy will doom us to more “good years” for the MIW.”
How can you be sure? SDP has been pretty quite these days, how can you be exactly sure about their manpower? As they have said PAP should release the electoral map boundary first.
debate may be more robust from PAP MPs but it is all a WAYANG
when it comes to voting time on a policy, PAP MPs will all have to vote one way because of the party whip
for REAL debate, VOTE FOR CHANGE, VOTE OPPOSITION
wayang or not,we will know in good time…those ‘wayangs’ can only last one term???
we have tolerated PAPies who talk down to us for like centuries?
how many viable candidates could SDP field ?
we need to stand as ONE OPPOSITION or there is no REAL opposition.
don’t screw up by being “parochial”,we need the whole spectrum.
better still,go into the next GE as ONE BROTHERHOOD or all of us here and elsewhere would still end up DISAPPOINTED!
There is a Big Misconception by many.
1. Is the Opposition short-handed? YES! But is there a lack of talents in singapore to Join the Opposition? NO! why so many talents : NMP, activists and intellectuals like TKL, Mr Leong etc to name just a few?
So, lets once and for all Bust this Myth. There is no Shortage of Talent per se. They din join. Simple as that.
2. What is so wrong about Opposition party per se? Its part of parliamentary system. Can the constitution be flawed? Is opposition party illegal? Or course not! Is joining one illegal act or crime? of course not!
3. An Opposition party got a bad name? What is in a name? What is a Name? Its the Leader that matters. Form a new party get a clean slate and have new high calibre talents form a New Opposition party like RP. Talents come and go. Get new better ones in. Its not a name or a person. Its about a country. Its about people like the 33.3%. These are tax payers too. They pay and pay everyday despite all hikes. They pay and pay whatever they need to survive.
Given that Opposition party is necessary and there is provision for it, why do singaporeans Deny their Growth to Represent real flesh and blood humans who are citizens ? There are 33.3% of them based on last count. Are these represented base on seats? Is this not an issue AT ALL ? Absolutely not? Can you prove it?
This is prolly the biggest mystery i know of singapore and singaporeans.
Meanwhile the mystery continues.
When the MSK took an unscheduled holiday from his palace in some scenic cul-de-dac in Johore and LTK questioned the mandate of WKS to remain in office, what did MP De Souza and his troop of loyalists stood up for WHEN OUR NATIONAL SECURITY HAD BEEN ENDANGERED.
Bi-partisan or partisan of national interest in that instance????
In war time, if some of his MIW fled the country, what would MP De Souza do or say to me?
Carry your gun, go the front and fight proudly to the last man standing while we elites gets more time to pack our US Dollars and out the next flight from some military air fields to avoid the Changi over-congested rush hour crowd?
These people are a marvel of airy fairy-tales. Singaporeans don’t have such short memories or are we????
Oh really!! My impression of MP De Souza was he looks more like a sick kitten in parliament than our roaring Silvia lim or even previous NMP Steve Chia. If your melon is sweeter, there is no need to shout because people will know. I hope PAP people can stop all these nauseating self-praising. If they don’t feel sick about repeating their “GREATENSS” or “7 WONDERS” if any at all, please spare Singaporans such on-going trauma as if we have not had enough from Shitty Times. I find their arguments too stale to swallow knowing election is around the corner.
Can I ask….why project engineer alex tan and not alex tan? Title obsessed is it? Like this want to be malaysiakini…pooodah!
There is no need to follow any Kini.
If we become followers , people already know where you heading.
How to outsmart like this?
TR need not follow kini.
TR can be a leader for kini to follow.
//“If you’d heard Denise Phua speak on, say special-needs kids, you will think she is an opposition MP,” he said.//
//“If you’re so disenchanted, why not leave Singapore?”//
Denise Phua heard both of you and she’s now packing up with her entire family.
“‘If you’re so disenchanted, why not leave Singapore?”
Right. Why don’t you and I pack up our families and leave together???
a PAP MP needs to lobby to her own gov (party) to provide for the disadvantaged?
does anyone think this in itself is already weird.
Just WAYANG only, don’t think Singaporean are so stupid!!!
Only those lacking foresight would suggest spoiling the votes with WP/SDA/RP as the opposition candidates. Clearly lacking foresight, narrow-minded, dim-witted and very evil-hearted. Illogical, Irrational, Overly emotional. PAP has lost touch of the ground these days and are becoming arrogant, that’s not good. If WP/SDA/RP are pro-PAP that is very unfortunate but I think extremist views and elements within the opposition parties, in fact, within any parties, are even more dangerous.
This is another cheap skate attempt by Pigs @ parliament to protect their perks.
Even if what they claimed is true, has the lives of those oppressed people been improved?
They are scare that if they get voted out, they won’t have monies to pay for their condo.
Cheap pigs@ parliament.
The Japanese have a lot of reserve in monies and oil.
They are smarter than LKY and are probably laughing at him:
Why import all these foreigners so that if they don’t stay, the Japanese lives get badly affected (like the way LKY describe)?
They have the means.
That’s what monies are for.
Not to throw them and burn them in lousy bank investments or Chinese investments that the chinese turn around to laugh at them.
The Japaneses must be thinking that LKY is senile now.
Re: “‘If you’re so disenchanted, why not leave Singapore?”
I’ve got a better one: If you disenchant me, YOU leave!
To this pig @ parliament:
Please make sure your fellow pigs show up in parliament first before we can tell if they contribute in debate.
btan on Fri, 11th Dec 2009 3:46 pm:
Re: “Think of it this way, if A is a SDP-only supporter and B is a WP-only supporter. And if A got WP as his opposition candidate and B got a SDP candidate. Both voids their votes in protest…who wins? PAP wins.”
First, let me explain that I’m now only half-serious about spoiling your vote as a strategy: it’s going to be impossible with electronic voting because of the discrete nature of program design – on a computer screen, you cannot ‘mistakenly’ mark both options, mark neither (error message) or mark outside the circle/box. (BTW, they have retaliated and are introducing electronic voting because I had devised this as strategy for some targetted groups, namely minority races and LGBTs, while I was in the old SBF.)
However, I was prepared that the PAP would retaliate in the event of electronic voting, the equivalent act would have to be stay at home on polling day.
However, I have changed my mind since then about targetting the same groups because my disenchantment then with ALL political parties then has been replaced with my support for the SDP, which I consider to very responsive to the ground.
This being the case, I realize that in some cases like the one you illustrated, it will not be to the advantage of the non-PAP party contesting.
But it can still work if we target the parties that we don’t want in Parliament – bearing in mind that I hold the pessimistic view that there are going to be exactly nine seats by opposition parties in the next Parliament* – but ONLY PROVIDED there is a genuine groundswell against those particular parties.
How to create that groudswell? With, a truthful assessment of the performance of the non-performers so far. No more trying not hurt the opposition’s chances and maintain a politie silence.
That’s why, when the PAP IB and their collaborators in the opposition support base resurfaced with their anti-SDP attacks, I decided to provide that truthful assessment.
That’s why I have said: If people want to work against my interests, I will be happy to reciprocate.
Footnote:
I will be very happy if my pessimistic view is proven wrong; this is one occasion that I hope to hell that I AM wrong.
Parliament question time – real democracy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klXy9J-dGa0
I rest my case.
If their debates were so robust, why r we seeing half baked policies that seem to condemn the citizens but is pro-foreigner?
To BarelyAlive on Sat, 12th Dec 2009 2:51 am
Re: “Only those lacking foresight would suggest spoiling the votes with WP/SDA/RP as the opposition candidates…I think extremist views and elements within the opposition parties, in fact, within any parties, are even more dangerous.”
Care to explain how so-called opposition parties who mimic the PAP at every step of the way are less dangerous than those – extremists to you – who are actually suggesting steps for change?
By the way, if you know any political science, are the wannabe fascists from the so-called opposition parties also extremists for the very fact that their fascism – even if only a whisker less extreme than the PAP’s – is considered an extremist political ideology?
why not get someone from reform party in and we see how it goes? they are the only option we have after WP and SPP. SDP too damaged already
@ reform party on Sat, 12th Dec 2009 11:03 am
“SDP too damaged already” ??
No matter how ruthless the oppression of SDP to discredit them, I believe the tide is turning.
A lot of Singaporeans are waking up – it is political persecution against a dangerous political opponent ever willing to expose those deceptions – point blank of no credibility of substance.
People knows that everything hurled against SDP is ear-bashing of citizenry and the rest of it needs no further elaboration of truth.
Kangaroos, an Australian icon, is now a stupid joke in cyberspace blogging and kopitiam talking by citizenry.
The Pappies crowd is clearly increasingly unnerved by their own undoing of rotten political harassments in the rapid loss of their own political capital.
Singaporeans are NOT blind or stupid. The next election result will show.
Singaporean should start giving votes to opposition parties in order for them to grow and have their own talent pools. It is difficult for opposition parties to grow if people do not show any support for them. !!!
“Mr Chiam is one of the only two elected opposition MPs in parliament. The other is Hougang MP Low Thia Kiang.”
As a Born Citizen , it saddens me to realise that
33.3% of the population who voted do not get 33.3% opposition members in parliament.
Does the number of Seats TALLY with the Votes casted?
Is it that only in singapore is there such a situation of imbalance?
Why do people Consciously Deny the balancing of power given that the constitution provides for existence of opposition and this is a so-called democracy?
I wonder how intellectuals from around the world think about this situation? Can they write a thesis on this? This is a technical question only.
PAP in deep s***. You cant outsource your political activities to some cheap amateur spin doctors and expect good results.
PAP should employ Obama’s team or Karl Rove. I am sure they can be enticed by the kind of salaries the Singapore government has.
More robust debate from PAP MPs? What robust debate?!
They talked about HDB losses in the newspaper – less than two weeks later I got a letter from IRAS. A notice informing me of the increase in my HDB property tax.
Where got debate?! Any motion in parliament will just passed and forced into our throats – whether we like it or not.
Isn’t spoiling the votes an extreme move? Extremism does not mean those that carry weapons and go around killing other people or holding on to ideologies such as fascism or communism. In fact pure democracy is extremism in itself – being at the other end of the spectrum. Pure democracy will alienate minorities. There’s always pros and cons to anything. However, it is unfortunate that there are people who are definitely not smart enough to look at an issue from different angles, different perspectives.
Of course it is possible for us to spoil the votes and what good will that do? The PAP will end up winning every single of the 84 parliamentary seats. They will have the power to change the constitution as they wish. Dim-witted individuals won’t think of this, of course! They will be too caught up in their overly-emotional, irrational ways to think of the effects of spoilt votes. So what if PAP will not win the popularity vote? The PAP will not give a hoot about this. To the PAP, the fact remains, they are in the Parliament and they control power – Absolute power. and what will those who suggest spoiling their votes do? Go on a protest, hide in your room, cry and sulk and complain for another 5 years? and again sow discord among opposition come the next GE? If spoiling of votes work, the PAP would have been easily displace many years ago!
Therefore, spoiling one’s vote is definitely a suicidal move propogated by those who really lacks foresight. Haven’t we all learnt from the impact of the walkout of Barisan Sosialis? Barisan sosialis enjoyed more support from the people than the PAP and yet they slip into oblivion. The magnitude of such wide support for an opposition has not been replicated since. But of course, some people just don’t want to learn from past mistakes! Choose to remain stubborn, stupid and inflexible! They see a hole and fell into it. The see another hole and fall into it again. The see one more hole and still fall into it. What can SDP/SDA/WP/NSP/RP do on their own? They need for opposition co-operation is clear.
EVERY VOTE COUNTS! I’m pretty sure TR readers are smart enough to know of the negative effects of PAP gaining absolute power. Let’s not lead the opposition into a political suicide. Be thankful for CST & LTK and vote more opposition into parliament.
I believe that if a country wants to go somewhere that she have never been, she got to do something that she have never done.
PAP cannot promise that the change will always be for the better. However, if you want improvements, you have got to start change.
I believe the ruling party has done quite a fair bit to change the political landscape. Getting more opposition to sit in the parliament even though they are not elected. In this way, debates are more holistic and is not just PAP view points.
Change cannot be overnight, just give each other some time and we will see it. Be it eventually opposition taking over the parliament or PAP taking over the parliament, it will always be the people that matters. You can be sitting in the parliament representing opposition but never voice out for the people you represent. Or you can choose to voice out your views/bills regardless of which side you are on. In that way, you are truly representing your residents’ needs.
Do consider my comments and have a blessed day. =)
I quote Justice Obstructed on Sat, 12th Dec 2009 11:51 am
‘Singaporeans are NOT blind or stupid. The next election result will show.’
A pity that too many Singaporeans ARE blind. They are blinded by money. The endless pursuit they have been spun into. Too many will vote for PAP again for fear their properties will crash in values. This is going to be the fear pill the electorate will be swallowing this coming elections.
Well-played by the MIW though. In a way, these MIW do deserve their sky high salaries for retaining 98% of parliamentary seats even though they only get 60% of the votes. I think it’s worldclass politics on display. No?