[Youth Quake Reaction] Youth Parliament in Singapore?

I attended the Youth Quake discussion on yesterday at the WP HQ, titled: "Youthquake: Is there Space for a Youth Parliament?"

I came in pretty late, but still managed to catch at least 30 mins of the "debate".

There were talks and issues raised about how the youth MP should be elected, what segmentation should be used to select the youths to be represented, many emphasis on representation, talks abt how it could be a grooming ground for future MPs, whether it should be held at the actual parliament house, etc...

I did not speak, as I thought I might raise the same questions as someone else or issues that is already discussed while I was still on my way there. But one stark problem about the discussion persisted and disturbs me the entire time I was there listening: the lack of fundamentals.

Running a country in a macro-scale (read: actual government) involves the most important pillars of life: food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, leisure/rest, education and transportation. As long as all these pillars are fulfilled: meaning everyone can earn enough to pay for food, shelter, healthcare, transportation and lastly clothing and leisure as well as good access to good education- you can be assured you will be in power for a long time to come (thats how PAP under LKY, and subsequently inherited by GCT and now LHL had managed to dominate the Singapore Politics for so long).

Thus for every policy and initiatives set out by the government, its MUST fulfilled one of the above mentioned pillars (meaning it will benefit the citizens) or it must help to boost the economy of Singapore (which in turns boost the earning of Singaporeans - theoretically). So where does having Youth Parliament stands in this context?

If its like what I heard in the discussion - its really nothing more than just a political brainwash of the youth to become more "political" (than politically aware) and for that handful to become egoistic because of their perceived "power" in holding that Youth MP seat (which, in accordance to what was discussed, likely to end up having the same group of youth dominating those seats).

Someone quoted an example of how a Youth Assembly was tested in Malaysia, which was dominated by the youth from the various political parties; to avoid it becoming to partisan, the rule changed it to be non-political - the same group of youth turned up, this time round, representing their schools. <--- this is exactly what will happen if we go down the route of having a Youth Parliament without a anchoring fundamental - What is the purpose of a Youth Parliament?

Some had argued that the Youth Parliament is to give power to the youth, to give the youth the voice to speak out and be heard; for the adults to take the youth more seriously and allow the youth to contribute to the proceedings and policy shaping in the Real Parliament, etc... - I totally DO NOT concur with this "fundamental" of having a Youth Parliament. It does not do economical good, does not keep food price or housing price low, does not make transportation better and cheaper, does not earn Singaporeans more money, does not pay for our ever increasing healthcare cost.... so whats left is education. But what kindda education is there in the above mentioned "purposes" - it more likely to create more Chee Soon Quans than Low Thia Kiangs or Lee Kuan Yews.

But also because the establishment of a Youth Parliament cannot apply to any of the pillars except Education; THEN EDUCATION MUST be the focus of having a Youth Parliament.

So what do you want to educate the youths of Singapore, through having a Youth Parliament?

To me, there are several things youths can learn through a sitting in a Youth Parliament: 
- Critical Thinking (to above to see thru the haze and be constructive)
- Understanding how policies are made and shaped
- Understanding the hidden currents and hidden costs behind every policies that is crafted
- To allow the youth to think for the greater good
- To tap on the youth's creativity, thus to propose creative solutions that can be implemented by the government
- To allow the youth to become more politically aware (not becoming more political. its different)

Youth Parliament should be like what Internship for students are. It should be to experience what it is like to be in that position, understand the difficulties, the hidden problems - all in all, as an education.

Any talk abt electing the kids to the youth parliament, giving them power, telling them to discuss national issues which they would not understand the magnitude at their age, without guidance from actual MPs that were elected into the real parliament - would be prematured.

And if this is to be implemented, the Youth Parliament should be a mass participation initiatives, that every week or every session, the youths that fills up the seats are always changing and different. We do not want clouts or the same individual turning up all the time - it should never be a place to be grooming politicians. Perhaps it can be run by the People's Association or the Ministry of Education. It can also be run according to educational level, where you will not have a 14 year old (sec 2) debating against a 22 year old (undergrad).


IN CONCLUSION: Any establishment of the Youth Parliament must be of the right reasons and fundamentals. As long as it does not fulfill any pillars of life or of economic good - its can only be of the wrong reasons: of individual/partisan interest <--- which we must avoid at all cost.

National Day flagcounts...

Its the National Day, but looking out from my window, at all the HDB flats - look at the number of household whom got hang the national flag, you know something is wrong....

Someone (a friend) commented, "if singaporean only hang during the national day, so does it mean they love the country only for a day?"

But is the question so simplistic?

There is 2 "simple" explanation: Either ppl dun bother to put (in an innocent way, like what happened to my household), or in a more political sense, ppl arent "thriving" nowadays.

"is the question so simplistic?"

To suggest that what was mentioned by my friend: is to move the entire talk down to a specific that is not debatable and is presumptuous on that the only reason ppl hang is because they love the country. I sincerely believe most Singaporeans loves Singapore a lot.

I'm making the statement (my status update) because it is something I have been observing closely over the years (as I'm a super patriot); from the days we first started having this flag hanging thing in the 90s, where everybody hangs up the flag (literally everyone voluntarily) - coincidentally a time where people are generally very happy with the government, and people are happy in general.

"This year is the one of the worst I observed, where on National Day, only 5% of the ppl are hanging the flag"

But over the years, are things start to get gloomier, prices rises, life get more difficult, incomes/salaries are stiff... you noticed less and less ppl starting to put up the flags. (although we cannot deny the every possibility that in the 90s, hanging flag is popular because of it novelty or maybe because there are too many foreigners nowadays whom dun really care, living in the hdb estates).

This year is the one of the worst I observed, where on National Day, only 5% of the ppl are hanging the flag (based on my vantage point outside my house). Those which have near 100% hanged are always because the RC members come and hang themselves (and they stole my flag when they collected all their flags, along with my one I hanged myself - a few national days ago...)

"and they (RC members) stole my flag when they collected all their flags, along with my one I hanged myself - a few national days ago..."

Something is obviously wrong. The question that beckons is, what's wrong?

A Review of LKY's Hard Truth Interview

Watch the entire interview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihiE4oGyYlQ

THE REVIEW
I totally concur with whatever was said by Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

As for the highly disputed topic on Muslim integration, my take is that, its being taken out of context and that because of the way how the question is ask and the incomplete snap answer that Mr LKY gave that created the misunderstanding.

Muslims "separate-ness" to me is best described as like a "Vegetarian-Christian with brotherhood (gotong royong)". Just like our vegetarian friends, they have unique needs in the stuff they eat (halal); they are religious like our Christians whom goes to churches; and uniquely, for the Malay Muslims, they have this unbreakable bond between them which is widely known as Gotong Royong, or the Kampung Spirit.

Muslims "separate-ness" to me is best described as like a "Vegetarian-Christian with brotherhood (gotong royong)"

But the separateness and distinctness would just be as starking if the Chinese is the minority, whom eats pork, drinks alcohol and dun go to the places of worship every week.

But ultimately, that's the beauty of Singapore - the beauty of diversity. And I sincerely believe if we were to go to war, we will fight alongside each other as brothers and be proud to die for one another. =} (hope that day wont never happen though)

Regardless the Result.

Hi Dear Singaporeans,

Today, is Polling Day. As I'm writing this post, we are only 2.5 hours away from the end of Polling and the beginning of the transportation of the Ballot Boxes to the Counting Station/Centres.

Majulah! had been campaigning in support of the Opposition as its my personal belief that Singapore need a stronger slate of Opposition seats in Parliament to provide for check and balances against the overwhelming power of the PAP, in view of the poor performance by the PAP in the past 5 years. However, this by no means, saying that PAP had not done any good; PAP still have their good, despite their decreasing capability and increasing self-serving inclination.

Regardless of what is the final verdict today; regardless who is voted in.... Majulah! hopes that every Singaporean will give their best wishes to the winners, PAP or Opposition. Because, no matter what, it is a mandate given by the majority of our fellow Singaporeans. And in the faith of Democracy, it is a collective decision by Singaporeans and we should respect the final results.

Finally, Majulah! wish to appeal to all winners of this Election, to do their best for the People of Singapore; to serve with Integrity and Righteousness; to work towards making a brighter, fairer, more inclusive, more compassionate and most importantly, a happier Singapore for every Singaporean. A Singaporean Singapore.

Majulah Singapura!

What to consider on Cooling Off Day?

This edition of the General Elections, it will be the first time where a "Cooling Off Day" is introduced by the PAP which disallowed any campaigning by the political parties prior to the Polling Day on Saturday.

Majulah!, not being too sure to what extend this new rule is being applied : "- The transmission by any individual of his personal political views to another individual, on a non-commercial basis, using the telephone, Internet or other electronic means"

To be safe, this will be the last Majulah! post prior to the Polling Day.

------

On this moment to the moment you step into the polling station, your thoughts (mainly the undecideds) will be switching back and forth whether to vote for the PAP or the Opposition.

My Take: Just vote for the Opposition.

The PAP had been too overwhelmingly empowered for too long. We were lucky to have Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his team to lead and bring Singapore from the 3rd World to the 1st World. But before you deciding to vote just because of this, please remember, the Election is about the Future you want; not to grade the PAP for their past glories beyond the previous term.

PAP led Singapore had been doing very well on a macro economic scale ever since Mr Goh Chok Tong took over the baton. But unknown to the Singaporeans then, Singapore the Republic is slowly transformed into Singapore Inc. Many of the corporations that were previously Government held are privatised and a profit-driven philosophy is installed. The years under Mr Lee Hsien Loong made matter worse as Singaporeans witnessed the worst ever performance by the PAP since their rise to power year prior to Independence.

HEALTHCARE
Today, healthcare cost is so high that ordinary Singaporeans are avoiding getting medical treatment despite their dire need. Many said, its better to die than to fall sick.

HDB
HDB deliberately reduced the number of HDB built, coupled with the increased population, forced HDB prices to rise like to new heights; even during the recession year, HDB pegged their apartment pricing so firmly that even the private developers wanted to compensate for the poor sales of their private condos units by lowering their prices, were unable to do so because they can't be selling condos below HDB prices. And of course, without the Free Market Correction, prices just continue to rise from where they left of.

TRANSPORTATION
The big squeeze everyday which I think I do not need to say more.

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
Without enough Oppositions MP in Parliament, the PAP government could change the constitution anytime and in any way they want; the worst case scenario could be them, allowing the Permanent Resident voting rights so that they can tip that 51% they need amidst the increasing unhappiness against them.

ETC, etc... etc....

You get the drift.

PAP had a 25 years plan and while we are in the 10 or 15th year mark, they have no reason to let down and stop their plans. The lack of substance in the manifesto is a sign that they are intending to continue what they had been doing for the last 5-10 years: more foreigners, higher GST, higher ministerial salary, more ERP, higher healthcare cost, etc...

So dear Singaporeans, vote for the Oppositions, towards a more caring, more inclusive, fairer and more responsive First World Government.

PAP's GE2011 PR Catastrophe

PM Lee's Day Rally Speech

"I feel sad for the PAP... literally.

....I was expecting much more from our Ruling party."

Today, our Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong apologised for the mistakes made by the PAP over the last 5 years, ranging from Mas Selamat's escape to the floodings and also the shortage of HDB flats built. And overall, it wasnt a bad speech either!

Objectively, its wasn't a bad thing, to apologise and admit one's mistake is admirable and respectful. But what is wrong, is the timing. He cannot choose a worse time to admit to PAP's imperfection and existence of gaffes & mistakes.

"what is wrong, is the timing. He cannot choose a worse time to admit to PAP's imperfection and existence of gaffes & mistakes."

Throughout the past 5 years, for every big incident/disaster, PAP's ministers kept quiet; pushing the blame away, and blatantly unrepentant about the problem that absolutely made under their jurisdiction. None of these PAP ppl admit to any mistakes and none of them, astonishingly, apologised at all.

Fast forward to today, in the red hot middle of the Elections period; of all the time and days in the world, PM Lee decided to apologise today. What a big mistake....

PAP's ministers kept quiet; pushing the blame away, and blatantly unrepentant about the problem that absolutely made under their jurisdiction. None of these PAP ppl admit to any mistakes and none of them, astonishingly, apologised at all.

Now, all the Oppositions jumped on his admission and trampled all over his effort to pull those former PAP supporters back to supporting the PAP.

There can only be 2 good time to apologise. FIRST, and as always the best policy, is to apologise IMMEDIATELY when the disaster strikes, regardless any investigation had been made or whether the fault is on "him" (as to the person in charge) or not. Which the PAP did not...

The only other good time, is when PAP returns to power on Election Day, re-elected once again, gaining the mandate of the people. PM Lee could have triumphantly thank the People of Singapore for keeping faith in the PAP, despite all the mistakes and gaffes that the PAP had made, and to promise the Singaporeans that PAP will do better this term.

PM Lee could have triumphantly thank the People of Singapore for keeping faith in the PAP, despite all the mistakes and gaffes that the PAP had made, and to promise the Singaporeans that PAP will do better this term.

But no........... he chose today.


This entire incident, together with all the other "self foot shooting" speeches/interviews, poor understanding of what will tick the heart strings of the people and gutter politicking shows that the PAP is poorly prepared for this General Elections, despite being the one deciding when it would take place.

PAP is the most powerful, richest and most resourceful Party in Singapore. They are the people who run the show in Singapore and the leaders whom are supposed to lead Singapore to a brighter future. But General Elections, probably the most important event on any PAP calendar, had suffered with such poor PR strategies and skills (public relations).

The various PAP teams do not seemed to be sharing the same ideology or election message; SM Goh shoots Wong Kan Seng just to protect George Yeo's butt (which at the same time, shoot every single other ministers); Every PAP speech sounds so scripted, too much macro talk, little substance and many fails to touch the heart of the people. Not to mention, failing to provide the plans and solutions for the problem they created themselves (which they in turn blame the world for it).

As a Singaporean, I totally concede that no matter what happen at the polls, PAP is definitely going to return back to power as a Majority. But the abysmal PR by the PAP highlights how weak, unprepared and disorganised PAP could become; especially in the face of such brilliant PR and organisational abilities shown by virtually all the Oppositions parties.

And thus, with the prospect of another 5 years under the PAP leadership, I'm really worried how well PAP could do, especially for the People of Singapore, when they can't even give a good clean fight against the Oppositions...

"the abysmal PR by the PAP highlights how weak, unprepared and disorganised PAP could become; especially in the face of such brilliant PR and organisational abilities shown by virtually all the Oppositions parties."

I really hope PAP would buck up... They had disappointed me in the way their fight had gone (despite me backing the Oppositions); I was expecting much more from our Ruling party.

I feel sad for the PAP... literally.

(Doesn't make sense since I'm taking the Oppositions' side, but really... I feel genuinely emotionally sad at the state of affairs of PAP)

Would PAP one day grant PR voting rights?

As by my previous articles, citing the possibility of PAP granting PR voting rights in future elections, I am by no means saying the PAP will do it; but the PAP will have the option to do it if they feel that their positions threatened or compromised enough.

In 10 years time, PAP would have achieve their target population of 6.5 million people in Singapore. Of which by then, there would have been at least 1 million of them gaining PR status. With only the maximum of 3 million Singaporeans Citizen voters, PR voters whom are likely to vote for the ruling party together with staunch supporters of PAP (including Civil Servants whom believe they are obligated to vote for the PAP) would almost definitely ensure power for the PAP.

But this drastic constitutional change might not happen, as it would permanently damage PAP's reputation and trust among the true blue Singaporeans. But according to history, PAP had not restrained themselves from doing anything possible to defend their position of power, so there is always such possibilities as long as the Constitution is not protected with adequate number of seats held by Oppositions.

I'm not selling fear as the previous articles seemed (because I was genuinely frightened by the possibility), but at the same time, we cannot deny the fact that PAP could do it if they want to.

When that day really comes, Singaporeans will have no rights whatsoever to revoke the Constitutional change because.... we gave them the mandate and voted them in.

This revelation is meant as an education to the people as to the importance of Opposition in the house, an additional thing to consider who you should vote and please do not construe this as an direct attack against the PAP. I will still say the same thing if one day WP is in absolute power - no party should have absolute power.

The Regime of Fear and its Toll.

Posting in support of the Opposition here, and on a personal level of Facebook apparently taken its toll on the people around me, and the people who cares for me.

The amount of pressure and risk taken by the Opposition candidate are thus beyond what I can imagine.

Just still 5 days from the Polling Day, my love one already pleading me to stop my campaigning for Opposition support. I do not fear (since I do not attack personalities thus dun run the risk of lawsuits), but fear strikes those who cares of those that are campaigning against the Ruling Party.

This regime of fear, and the perpetration of the fear of the PAP had reached a point where, it suddenly felt like the 1960s and 1970s all over again. It reminds me of the time where Mr Lee Kuan Yew consolidates his power through amazing political maneuvers as well as hard stances/actions against its opponents. Although I'm not in irk with what was done, because all along history, great leaders make hard and difficult decisions for the good of the majority. Churchill sent Allied Troops up the Normandy against one of the most fortified regions in Europe; Emperor Han Wu Di consolidated power thru his patience and foresight, making countless tough decisions.

But in today's context, the existence of the "fear factor" is disappointing. And to think that we are in a democracy, the existence of fear of the PAP is ridiculous and at the same thing, distraughting.

PAP will come back to power at the end of Election Day, that is for sure. I can only hope that PAP will take a bit more effort, fill in the gap that left behind in their pursue of revenue and GDP growth and get back some of the lost trust Singaporeans have had in them.

At least 1/3 of the Singaporeans are disappointed with the PAP, despite I know PAP do not need their vote (PAP only need 51% to win); I hope PAP would do the right thing, a good political party would do.

Who should the one providing the Future Plans of Singapore?

Honestly, I'm very disappointed with the way how the election is going so far because until today, just 5 days from Polling Day, I still dunno what are the macro plans PAP have for Singapore. I still dunno HOW PAP is going to tackle of the issues that had arise from PAP's last 5 years in power.

What more joke-able, is that so many People of Singapore are scrutinizing the plans and proposals from the Opposition... Do you know that MM Lee, SM Goh and PM Lee might be laughing at this "game" thats happening, and we the Singaporeans are really as daft as they believe?

"MM Lee, SM Goh and PM Lee might be laughing at this "game" thats happening, and we the Singaporeans are really as daft as they believe?"

I can't really stress enough: NO OPPOSITION PLANS WILL GET THE GO AHEAD FROM THE PAP (if PAP returns to power as a Majority Party).

I repeat again: PAP WILL NOT GIVE POLITICAL TOKENS TO THE OPPOSITION TO FULFILL THEIR ELECTION PROMISES.

I still have to say again: OPPOSITION PLANS MEANS NOTHING WITHOUT PAP'S BLESSING!



SO... why the hell are you still reading and finger pointing the proposals and points made by the Opposition which you think will not work for Singapore? Dun you think its a bit too early to scrutinize the Opposition for a credible alternative plan when everyone knows that the PAP will return to power with a massive majority ultimately in this election?


ONLY THE PAP's PLANS WILL GO THROUGH. And so, this question beckons: What is PAP's future plan for Singapore? How are the PAP going to deal with all the issues that faces Singaporeans today?



...........* silence *.............

"Why would the PAP stop what they had been doing for the past 5-15 years when their plans are planned up to 25 years in advance and had been working extremely well for them and their "report card"?"

Honestly, you know why PAP is so quiet? Because they CANNOT reveal their plans to you.... because...
- they intend to continue to bring in more foreigners
- increase the population in Singapore to 6.5 million
- continue to build more ERPs
- continue to raise their salary
- continue to raise GST to 10% for some stupid reason
- continue to let HDB prices balloon
- continue to control the number of HDB built to create a scarcity to push the prices up
- continue to give more scholarships to foreigners together with allowances
- continue to set up work fairs in China to attract for Foreigners
- continue to raise transport fees to keep the transport companies profitable
- continue to allow medical fee to increase to keep the hospitals profitable (or more profitable)
- etc...

You get my drift? Why would the PAP stop what they had been doing for the past 5-15 years when their plans are planned up to 25 years in advance and had been working extremely well for them and their "report card"?

Nothing will change under PAP in the next 5 years. Mark my words. NOTHING will change.

[READ THIS] GREATEST FEAR after GE2011

source: facebook, http://www.facebook.com/notes/windy-voice/spread-this-greatest-fear-after-ge2011/104752662945762

GREATEST FEAR after GE2011
by Windy Voice on Friday, April 29, 2011 at 1:47am

Dear fellow Singaporeans, friends, Alternative (Oppositions) Parties, PAP supporters and PAP moles who will be reading this.

This note is not going to tell a tale of whether to fire our maid anot or whether PAP is fair or unfair in the past elections or how badly or how good PAPhave perform for past 5 years but this note is going to highlight my GREATEST FEAR which so far I have yet seen any netizens posted out.

After watching TV broadcast about the WP rally host @ HG SMC, I have a chat/ discussion with my dad.I found out that for the past few elections, there're always so much viewers @ Opposition parties rallies. But however in the end, every elections, the Opposition parties do not get enough votes to get into the parliament. Hence, our parliament never have enough (>1/3) alternative voice to cancel any bills proposed by PAP.

After some research online, I've concluded something: That this election is not a joke! And do you know what I fear most? The unstoppable bills by PAP in Parliament House!

Kindly vote for all Alternative (Oppositions) Parties in your area! No matter if they are good or bad, new or old, even you trust or do not trust them! Why? Because this election we really need at least need 1/3 non-pap members inside parliament. Why?

Because if after this election, PAP still take >80 seats. Any bills proposed by them will passed through and cannot be block because we do not have enough non-pap members to voice out and reject those bills. If in the next 5 years, PAP suddenly make a bill like in Hong Kong (SAR) where they let all Permanent residents (PRs) to vote. Next election, we, the TRUE BLUE BLOOD Singaporeans' voting powers will be totally gone.Kindly take a look at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Hong_Kong

If in the next 5 years, PAP suddenly make a bill like in Hong Kong (SAR) where they let all Permanent residents (PRs) to vote. Next election, we, the TRUE BLUE BLOOD Singaporeans' voting powers will be totally gone.

[...Any Hong Kong permanent resident (PR) aged 18 or above may register as an elector in the geographical constituency in which he/she resides, except those mentally incapacitated and those serving in an armed force...
...Article 21 of The Basic Law of HKSAR stipulates:
Chinese citizens (PRCs) who are residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be entitled to participate in the management of state affairs according to law. In accordance with the assigned number of seats and the selection method specified by the National People's Congress, the Chinese citizens among the residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall locally elect deputies of the Region to the National People's Congress to participate in the work of the highest organ of state power...]

So, am I just another Chicken Little crying that the sky is falling? You may think PAP will not dare to create such a bill and even if they will, they would have created it long before. But think twice, if PAP create such a bill in the past, Singaporeans will be alert about there's a large inflow of PRs who can vote in elections. And the limited amount of PRs would not be able to vote and support PAP even if elections were held.

But story is different now, after these few years of largely import of Permanent Resident (PRs), we are totally surrounded by PRs, PAP are now able/ ready to propose such a bill. Anytime, just one time, they can just create a bill to allow PRs to vote in coming election 2016 and we are dead meat. These PRs will definitely vote for PAP to ensure they can stay here and replace ALL SINGAPOREANS.

Anytime, just one time, they can just create a bill to allow PRs to vote in coming election 2016 and we are dead meat.

That's why for this GE2011, if PAP are still holding at least 2/3 of the 87 seats, the Bills proposed by PAP will pass through like flowing water. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Parliament

In fact, there should never ever be any single party in a parliament in the first place because they act like a monarchy with total government powers in their hands. Any bills is exactly an orders. Whatever voting process they may go through are for public show. Tell me have you seen before who from PAP will dare to stand out and opposed their own PAP policies bill?

Hence, this GE2011 is very important, no, maybe I should say this is the MOST IMPORTANT election ever! PAP has already note on that this time the ground is not that sweet and there are many citizens are not happy with their policies. After GE2011, they try their best to make any bill to pass in Parliament in order ensure itself staying as incumbent. One of such bill maybe to let Permanent Residents (PRs) to vote to support them.

Wake up, my dear fellow Singaporeans. Do not overlook these details. Kindly avoid the same mistake again and again.We can not afford to make mistake again or we (PAP supporters and PAP moles included) will be totally replaced by PRs! Never give absolute power to a single party. Dun just think/ focus on PAP policies of economic growth, they are "icing on cake", PAP are going to replace us ALL with PRs after GE2011.

Hence, above briefly mentions my GREATEST FEAR for GE2011. Every Singaporeans, dun joke about for this election. Every vote counts. This is not a game. Vote wisely.

Vote the Alternative (Oppositions) Party in! Vote for any party! WP, SDP, SPP, NSP, RP, SDA!
Trust our future in their hands! In fact, actually we dun have a choice! It's now or never!
WE MUST REALLY HAVE >1/3 of the 87 seats filled with Alternative (Oppositions) parties!
In order to not get replace by the PRs!

Let us have a First World IDEAL Republic of Singapore - Majulah Singapura!

= Windy Voice 2011 =

---------

Above article is the work of Windy Voice. He/She happened to be advocating the same view as Majulah! ; but he/she went even further to highlight the potential threat that exist for Singapore - honestly, I am totally shocked by the prospect and the possibility, in fact, the existence of such law in Hong Kong already.

I strongly urge EVERYONE to VOTE AGAINST THE PAP.

PAP already have a lot of loyal votes, they wont get kicked out so suddenly. It is the undecided voters like you that will make the difference.

VOTE FOR THE OPPOSITION REGARDLESS WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES! WE NEED TO DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION!

Oppositions' plans are irrelevant.

"Most of the Oppositions proposals will never go through, because as long as they are not part of the Majority in Parliament, none of their plans will get the go ahead nor the fundings from the Government."

A lot had been discussed and debate or even argued among the voters abt the manifestos and plans proposed forward by the Opposition. Whereas, PAP's manifesto is nothing more than just some grandeur words backed by no concrete plans what-so-ever...

Yet... the interesting thing is that, there is little finger pointing towards the lack of detail by the PAP, and a lot of debating about the intricacies of the Oppositions' proposal, especially by PAP supporters.

Voters, please remember this: most of the Oppositions proposals will never go through, because as long as they are not part of the Majority in Parliament, none of their plans will get the go ahead nor the fundings from the Government. PAP have no reasons to help Oppositions gain political points by giving the Oppositions what they want to fulfill their election promises.

"PAP have no reasons to help Oppositions gain political points by giving the Oppositions what they want to fulfill their election promises."

So: Oppositions' Plans and Manifesto = Pointless.

So you may ask, why vote for the Opposition then?

The only reason left to vote for the Opposition is this: We need at least 28 Oppositions (1/3 of all the Parliamentary seats) to block any changes to the Constitution of Singapore that is not of benefit to People of Singapore.

This is very very important because the Constitution of Singapore is the Soul of Singapore. We must at least be able to protect it from any changes thats is negative to fellow Singaporeans. And its also because of the lack Oppositions that resulted in the existence of GRC, which ultimately increased the barrier for Oppositions or anyone whom would like to represent the people to get into Parliament.

"We need at least 28 Oppositions (1/3 of all the Parliamentary seats) to block any changes to the Constitution of Singapore that is not of benefit to People of Singapore."

As for most Bills that did not require a change in Constitution, all is needed is a simple majority, which is almost a given since the Majority Party (in our case, the PAP) is always going to get their bills passed despite any opposition to it. But the existence of Oppositions will give robust debates and corrections to any proposed bills, thus enabling the bills passed to be checked and at least more well thought through than what it used to be.

"For most Bills... all is needed is a simple majority, which is almost a given since the Majority Party (in our case, the PAP) is always going to get their bills passed despite any opposition to it"

---

So under no disillusion, its almost certain that PAP will return to power as a Majority come Saturday on Election Day. What is important is, how many Oppositions will win a seat in Parliament and represent the other 49% of Singaporeans which PAP do not need to return to power.

Hope this article give you a clearer understanding why we should vote for Opposition come Election Day.

If you feel that PAP did a good job, and we can trust them to the point that we do not need Oppositions to have any check and balance to any proposed Bills or existing Legislations, Please just vote the PAP.

If you feel that, as a result of the lack of Opposition, that we are experiencing a dip in our happiness and quality of life as compared to 5 years ago in the last election; and thus realising that there is a vital need to have more Oppositions to voice our concerns: Please just vote the Opposition regardless who they are.

"The existence of Oppositions will give robust debates and corrections to any proposed bills, thus enabling the bills passed to be checked and at least more well thought through than what it used to be."

The vote is with you. Vote wisely.

Voting is Secret. Voting is compulsory.

Sylvia Lim's Parliamentary Speech against Ministerial Salary Hike

If you never knew that Worker's Party had ever raised a speech against Ministerial Pay hike, you should watch the fantastic speech by NCMP Sylvia Lim in the Parliament.



Do you still want to vote for PAP?

Some of the Majulah! articles you should read before voting...

I'm digging out some of the old articles that I had written way before the election fever set in, and I want you people to be able to put things into perspective. NOTE: This articles are written during "peace" time, and is still relevant on this very critical juncture of Singapore's fate.

Foreign Labour Issue - PAP's addiction to Foreign Labour and its GDP boosting effect:
http://youngsingaporean.blogspot.com/2011/02/addiction-of-cheap-foreign-labour-drug.html

PAP's Psychology and a reminder of how they like to blame it on everyone but themselves:
http://youngsingaporean.blogspot.com/2011/01/fas-disband-national-team-saga-inside.html

Our CPF becoming more and more like Income Tax and that you will never get your money back
http://youngsingaporean.blogspot.com/2010/12/cpf-becoming-income-tax.html

Election Issues that worth you thinking about:
http://youngsingaporean.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-suggestion-on-some-policies.html

Overpopulation:
http://youngsingaporean.blogspot.com/2010/01/overpopulation-beginning.html

The "For Show" nature of PAP and their hypocrisy:
http://youngsingaporean.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-just-all-wayang.html

My Prediction that at least one GRC will be lost be PAP, more election issues you should think about (reminder, this is a 2009 article, and its still perfectly relevant and reminds us of some issues that we forgotten):
http://youngsingaporean.blogspot.com/2009/09/learn-from-obamas-administration.html

Singaporeans are underpaid:
http://youngsingaporean.blogspot.com/2009/08/singaporeans-underpaid.html

Another salary issue, for this one, I proposed that we should become a nation of entrepreneurs:
http://youngsingaporean.blogspot.com/2009/08/singaporeans-contemporary-coolies-my.html

My political disillusion and the unfairness of it all:
http://youngsingaporean.blogspot.com/2009/03/political-disillusioned.html

People forgot about this issue - Town Councils investing using our money:
http://youngsingaporean.blogspot.com/2008/11/town-council-use-our-money-to-invest.html

Happy Reading!

A "Dud" of money thats coming your way.

These few days, PAP rebuff that the high GST is off-set by the Government payout from GST-Rebates and that the PAP shares the fruit of growth through the Growth Bonus. Every statement from the PAP big guns seemed to make sense and that in normal circumstances, the common man would really find it hard to deny the argument.

BUT...

The problem is that, this year is no longer the first year Singaporeans receive "money" from the Government; either through GST rebate or whatever nonsense they call it.

Unfortunately, it did not change the fact that ppl are still unhappy with PAP; i'm sorry, correction: ppl are increasingly unhappy with the PAP. Why is this so? Why are the people so pissed off with the PAP if the policies of rebates and "counter-measures" are on paper working perfectly fine.

"Its no longer a secret that PAP frequently hand you a carrot but extort you to return that carrot with compounding interest through other means."

The popular unhappiness with PAP is a very clear indication that the payout DID NOT do its job, it DID NOT elevate people from the difficulties they faced, it DID NOT make the people's life happier... Its a CLEAR INDICATION that there are a lot more other issues that's to be address.

"The popular unhappiness with PAP is a very clear indication that the payout DID NOT do its job"

Its no longer a secret that PAP frequently hand you a carrot but extort you to return that carrot with compounding interest through other means.

Problems compounded year on year. Why there isnt so many issues in the past and why there is this time round. Apparently something is not right.

Lets put things into perspective: For a bottom 10% uncle whom is already too weak and too old to earn much money, the GST rebates and Growth Dividends/Bonus are a welcomed relieve to the hard life.

But this very uncle will pay back all these payouts very quickly to the PAP government, thru the increasing cost of healthcare (this uncle probably rather die than going thru a much needed operation which he cannot afford to pay for), thru the GST and thru the increasing cost of Transportation in Singapore.

So what problem did the payout solve? Is the payout solving the root of the problem?

"Problems compounded year on year. Why there isnt so many issues in the past and why there is this time round. Apparently something is not right."

So dear fellow Singaporeans, do think through the entire spectrum of issues and perspective; imagine what PAP would do in the very near future (something they do after every election victory) and cast your vote wisely.

Fog of War; The issue we should be concern about.

Of all the hurrah and mudslinging for the past weeks up to till now, the hottest election topic had been HDB and cost of living.

But in my opinion, more "costly" issues are at stake that were not talked abt or talked about enough: Healthcare Cost, Electric Bills / Privatisation of Power Supply, Education.

So far, from what I had seen, only SDP seemed to have covered every concerns I have for the future.

From my personal experience, Healthcare cost have reach a point where its becoming crippling for the average families. No one can afford to fall critically ill, and that the reason is not because of the welfare of the self, but because of the cost of the healthcare bill that follows it. People like my mum had to push back any operations or procedures, or simply follow the "long queue" to get diagnosed and appointment with the specialist at Public Hospitals. I'm sure many folks simply refused to get treated for their otherwise critical situation just because of the money sake.

My grandmother's stroke required all 6 of her children to fund the medical bills and the cost of hiring a elderly care giver; while me, staring at the prospect of paying my mum's inevitable medical bill all alone in the future when she is much weaker and frail. I'm not sure how well will our Medisave and Medicare work when that time come (considering the healthcare cost have never stop increasing for thus far, and I dun see it stopping either).


What about electricity? The privatisation of electric company and the intention to change to a prepaid system which we "buy electricity" from a device that would be installed in our home... the whole thing just sounds so.... I dunno...it disturbs me.


No matter who got elected, I just hope that their minds are on the side of Singaporeans and committed to make Singapore a better and happier place to live in (and i have to add: FOR EVERYONE.)

The Sim Ann Phenomena

Today (technically, its yesterday), on Nomination Day at Greenridge Secondary School, SDP Holland Bukit Timah team lodged an objection against Sim Ann of PAP's candidacy as she is still under lawful employment in the Civil Service while she reportedly identified by herself as 'unemployed', thus effectively proved to be a 'misrepresentation' by the PAP team for the Holland-Bukit Timah team.

However, the objection is over-ruled without reasons by the Returning Officer at the point of time. There after, the Elections Department said in a statement later that the Public Service Division has confirmed that she is no longer in the civil service.

Based on understanding thru the sources online, the PAP candidate is still serving out the rest of her Notice of Resignation from the Civil Service and is technically still a civil servant at the point of nomination.

"The employee serving the notice of termination is still considered an employee of his current employer."

According to the Employment Act (http://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/employment-rights-conditions/contract-of-service-termination/Pages/contracts-of-service-and-termination.aspx)

Starting Work with New Employer while serving Notice of Termination with Current Employer

The employee serving the notice of termination is still considered an employee of his current employer. Unless his current contract of employment allows him to work with another employer before the date of termination, he has to seek written permission from his current employer to do so.

So technically, She is still a civil servant no matter what the Civil Service answered. Just like we guys in the military, we can only get back our pink IC on the very last working day of our service.

Right or Wrong, you decide.

Successful projects are lead by great visions - not tyrants.

A response to this article: Why People-Powered Projects Are Ruled by Tyrants - http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/02/st_essay_assange/

Actually, because "democracy" leads to infighting; projects that are successful are often born of the vision of one or a few individual. These few individuals gives "power" and "freedom" to the masses where themselves continues to steers and control the "rules" to make sure its going the right way.

Facebook would become MySpace if you give ppl unlimited freedom. Wikipedia will lose its credibility as an encyclopedia.

So rather than saying it ruled by Tyrants, its more like "guided by the vision set forth by the creator; with rules/limitations set to keep the entire project in the right direction to create the desired outcome".

=}

--extended response as continued--

Living in Singapore, there is nothing more apt than using my country's history and personality as an example.

The best example would be Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Minister Mentor of Singapore, the former Prime Minister whom led Singapore from a 3rd world nation without any natural resources, to one of the most vibrant nation in Asia.

He is definitely in all aspects and perspectives, a Tyrant/Dictator; BUT, he is guided by a vision, a philosophy and a strong conviction. It is thus, this vision, philosophy and conviction that path the way for Singapore to what it is today.

The vision that the entire stretch of the west coast be used as the port of Singapore - Jurong Port. A vision so ambitious and ahead of its time, many detractors laughed it off as a joke in the beginning - until the groundwork began that people realised its going to happen.

It is also his principle that Singapore will not have a National Airline just for the sake of having a National Airline, survived by Ego and Pride. SIA began right at the beginning as a profit driven airline, and takes drastic steps to differentiate and became the top airline in the world.

He also credited for making Singapore a "Garden City"; a result of his vision of a green city, with plants planted everywhere, along the roads; importing of new species of trees and flowers that fits Singapore's climate and etc... Not to mention his investment into the cleanliness of the country which became the hallmark and the most remembered aspect of Singapore.

"Tyrant", in the form of the article, isn't always bad. But tyrants without visions and guiding principles are the ones that we should be worried about. As far as the history had shown: Tyrants without vision, without principles, without an ambition of greatness/benevolence will go nowhere; failure and infamy beckons.

The Addiction of the "Cheap Foreign Labour" Drug

The latest hoo-ha for the recent days had been about the 2011 Budget, as well as the fierce debate about the relentless dependant on Foreign Labour in our work force.

On one side of the debate, "supporters" are saying things that are inline with what the PAP is advocating: that we Singaporeans should up one ante and go up the value chain instead on stagnating at our comfort zone.

One example I quote: "If more jobs are going to foreigners, we should reflect on why we are getting less competitive in the job market, compared to complaining about the government policies. The demand comes from the companies as there is a lack of talent almost everywhere. Why is the debate always centered around foreign talent being "cheap"? Closing the door is only going to lead us to death."

"The demand comes from the companies as there is a lack of talent almost everywhere. Why is the debate always centered around foreign talent being "cheap"? Closing the door is only going to lead us to death."

But on the other side (which I'm probably on), people are arguing that the Government's tweaking of the economy is causing things to go haywire and that its just an "easy/lazy" solution to pump up the GDP.

I quote: "If so, all the more PAP should not interfere the labour market. Let the labour market correct on its own based on supply and demand. If local engin supply is low, firms will have to increase wages to a level to attract back the supply, which will also allow Singapore to build its own local talents accordingly in that niche area. Instead of spending efforts to make engineering a more lucrative career, the PAP takes the shortcut, importing cheap labour from China and India, suppressing the local engineering wages. There's a limit to how many ppl u can fill up in this little island and the result is over-reliance on foreigners- a habit once addicted cannot be kick. And, once the foreigners made enough, they move back to their country while there are firms abusing this cheap foreign labour policy. What's the point of having locals in managing role whom only knows how to "talk" but cannot do real work? My view is such economic model may not be sustainable over the long run. What innovation hub can u create out of a labour system like this?

Go take a look at the welders, the technicians, the construction workers in Australia, for example. Why they can gets locals to fill up and why Singapore can't. It's addiction."

"My view is such economic model may not be sustainable over the long run. What innovation hub can u create out of a labour system like this?"

The thing is that, the existence of Cheap Foreign Labour is similar to the use of Drugs. Its an addiction thats difficult to kick, and had been served by the PAP for the past 10 years. Today, many of companies today are addicted and very dependant on Cheap Foreign Labour, and locals whom are doing the same job are relegated to excepting the "inevitable" and had to accept stagnation or even decrease of salary just to keep up.

I'm not too how much "upgrading" can do to actually increase your salary in most of the industry. Take my profession as a designer. I'm competing with foreigners whom are willing to take up lower than market-rate pays, just to secure a job and hopefully gain PR status very soon (many of them graduated in Singapore). And take your imagination on a ride, how different can a designer's job be or "advanced"; as an employer, you are given a chance to hire a cheaper worker - you would do it!

"And take your imagination on a ride, how different can a designer's job be or "advanced"; as an employer, you are given a chance to hire a cheaper worker - you would do it!"

A company or business owner have little incentive to "invest" in human resource when the margins can be increased just by sacrificing local workers and hire foreign ones (despite the increase is very little). The decision to not invest in the people would also mean that the company would not lightly be embarking on a strategy of offering higher value products and services (since they wont have the people to do it, nor the courage to take up such a risk) nor taking a serious look at improving "productivity" - since you cant expect newbies and PR-wannabes to perform extraordinarily.

"The decision to not invest in the people would also mean that the company would not lightly be embarking on a strategy of offering higher value products and services"

Remember, foreign talents, especially those PR-wannabes' focus is to keep their job until that get PR and thats it. Most of them do not have the mindset of excellence or have a look at advancement. The life and death of the company they are working is of the least of their concern. As such, cheap foreign workers and PR-wannabes have little loyalty or pride in their job and given the chance to slack, they would probably take it. (I'm not guessing, its based on conversations with business owners whom hires foreign workers and from observations)

The most disastrous thing now is that, Singapore is already addicted to this drug. We are now hooked by the ready and steady flow of cheap labour; and the government seemed keen and determined to continue on this short-term policy.

----

This reminds me of the story of our water supply in Singapore. Its purely because of our lack of water resources that Singapore decided to invest and develop our own water resources and technologies. Its because that water is in short supply that we innovate for solutions and increase it. If Singapore had taken the easy path of only importing cheap portable water from Malaysia and decided not to develop our own source of water supply like Desalination and NEWater, the future would not be as certain as it is...

And if we had not depend so much on Foreigners for labour, our industries would have innovated to make better use of the increasingly more expensive workers than the current situation of sticking to the same "proven" formulae; and our workers would have increased their productivity purely because of the companies initiatives to make better use of them, and not get criticised and humiliated by our PAP leaders whom thought they knew better.

FAS disband National Team Saga - A inside view of our Gov's belief system.

For local football supporters, the past month had been the worst nightmare since Singapore was trashed by Malaysia at our National Stadium some donkeys years ago...

All local club competitions are won by foreign teams, Singapore kicked out of Asian Cup when they just required a draw to get through, Singapore knocked out of the group stage of the ASEAN Championship (Suzuki Cup), and many other bad press that still persisted till today.

But the biggest news (one that spread across all possible medium in Singapore) is the disbandment of our very own National Team.

In an interview with Channel News Asia, FAS President Zainudin Nordin (also MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC and the Mayor for Central CDC) said, "We have analysed the reports on what happened in 2010 and realise that for the good of football, I think, we have a major revamp of the national team. What is going to happen is that we are going to have a new slate of players, that means players that will be totally taken from ground zero.

"...means all the (existing) players will be dropped and the national coach and the technical team will do a (new) selection based on merit." - this literally mean that the coach and the FA had been selecting players without basing on merits and their performance for the clubs in the S-league."

"That means all the (existing) players will be dropped and the national coach and the technical team will do a (new) selection based on merit. From all the assessments, we believe this is the best thing to do, for the good of the future of Singapore football."

The problem with this 2 paragraph in the interview highlighted a previously unknown and unacceptable fact for a country pledge to meritocracy - "we are going to have a new slate of players, that means players that will be totally taken from ground zero. That means all the (existing) players will be dropped and the national coach and the technical team will do a (new) selection based on merit." - this literally mean that the coach and the FA had been selecting players without basing on merits and their performance for the clubs in the S-league.

Not to mention, FAS also uses a Foreign Talent Scheme which they basically "buy" the allegiance of certain "outstanding" players so that they can represent Singapore (which is why Mr. Goh Chok Tong was confident of "buying Singapore into the 2010 World Cup" with Goal2010.

The revelation confirmed what the fans had been obeserving and feared that the National Team is not selected based on merit. The finally revealed "truth" shocked the entire local football supporters community and quickly gain countless criticism from a huge cross section of the Singapore population.

"it is becoming obvious that this is quite self-serving and may reflect the bigger picture of what the PAP's belief of the method to achieving success is."

If in football, the organisation led by PAP leaders have the beliefs that importing foreigners and trashing out everyone except changing the management and leadership is the way to do things - it is becoming obvious that this is quite self-serving and may reflect the bigger picture of what the PAP's belief of the method to achieving success is.

Since all the messed ups in 2010 by PAP leaders, none had stand up to apologise and admit that the cock ups are their fault. This very public disbandment of the National Team just further show that the leadership will just keep protecting their own butt and will put the blame to the people below them whom had actually worked very hard but still fail because of the poor strategic and organisational decisions made by the leadership.

Gazetting of TOC - a sign of weakness?

"The first reaction I had was that the Ruling Party is attempting to "shut down" TOC."

The breaking news yesterday was the announcement of the gazetting of The Online Citizen.

Based on the article, the TOC is required to reveal all the ppl behind the site as well as being gazetted as a political association - thus cannot receive any fundings for overseas at all.

The first reaction I had was that the Ruling Party is attempting to "shut down" TOC.

TOC, is infamous for their extremely one-sided and anti-PAP stance; to register with MDA, gazette as a Political Association and at the same time revealing everyone's identity is as good as opening themselves to potential lawsuits and even the controversial National Security Act.

"...revealing everyone's identity is as good as opening themselves to potential lawsuits and even the controversial National Security Act."

I personally do not endorse the sort of reporting by TOC, but do give them credit for doing a pretty good job at revealing the plight of fellow Singaporeans and mis-doings under the current Government's imperfect rule.

But on the other side of this developing story, the leadership of the PAP apparently had revealed indirectly of their vulnerability ahead of the coming election. They apparently know that their profit and GDP driven rule for the past 4 or more years is rated very badly by the people. In addition, last year (2010) was the worst ever year for PAP for as long as any Gen Y babies (1983 and later) can ever remember.

"They (the ruling party) actually knew that they had pushed the envelope too much."

They (the ruling party) actually knew that they had pushed the envelope too much; they finally realised that they can actually and possibly sank into their worst ever performance in an General Election since our nation's independence; they are afraid the status quo will no longer be able to be maintained. The gazette of TOC reveals all this.

The PAP had, since under Mr Goh Chok Tong's rule, started to play with carrots like HDB upgrades, Lifts Upgrade, Before-Election-Cash-Payouts, and many other less than impressive ideas... They assumed that most Singaporean are daft and will not be able to tell that they are manipulated through the use of these carrots; that even if they knew, they would still vote the PAP in because the oppositions just cannot make it...

"...a new Generation of voters (the Gen-Y) that a high percentage are expected to vote nay to PAP."

But the coming General Election is different... it would going to go down in history as the first election in a long time to be fully contested without a single walk-over. It is going to happen at the back of the worst ever "living-condition" and happiness level since independence... as well as a new Generation of voters (the Gen-Y) that a high percentage are expected to vote nay to PAP.

I just wonder, if TOC refuse the register, what is going to happen? =\

What will Singaporeans do if PAP decides not to have Elections at all?

Honestly, being through and through Singaporeans, we totally understand our typical Singaporean nature of just keeping quiet, minding our own business and avoid "mafan" situation at all cost.

The many years of subdued situation and caused a muffling effect on the vocalness of Singaporeans about politics and public affairs. Political talks and criticisms can only be heard in small talks and occasional conversation with family members and taxi drivers. Although the internet forum and political portals like Temasek Review and TheOnlineCitizen is getting traction - it does not change the fact that its already part of our nature to be shy and reserved.

"so many incidents already, yet we still do not have any riots, public display of disapproval or anything of any sort."

Mas Selamat escape, YOG over budget, Temasek and GIC financial losses, rubbish comments from PAP politicians, multiple 50 a year floods, Wikileaks about Singaporean diplomats unkind words about fellow Asian countries - so many incidents already, yet we still do not have any riots, public display of disapproval or anything of any sort.

Suddenly I have this thought: What if PAP decides to scrap Elections totally?

"What if PAP decides to scrap Elections totally?"

Will this be enough to call Singaporeans into action to protest against such a move?
Will there be riots?
Will there be strikes?
Will there even be any strong reaction by the people???

It seriously worries me when I have such thought incepted into my mind (by myself; and now, by me to you). I suddenly sees the important of "freedom of speech" and "the rights to protest". Suddenly, the student riots in England does not seem silly anymore... Suddenly, I realised how vulnerable Singapore is now - just that its not because of Racial Differences - but Political Indifferences...

And common sense tells me that of all likelihood: Singaporeans might actually do nothing.

"Singaporeans might actually do nothing."

Will you stand up for democracy and freedom if that day ever comes?