Post GE 2011 Discussion

[Oppsgal]

http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/2011/05/keep-discovering-new-titles-fly-emeritus.html


:rotflmao:

[raysusan]

[quote]‘Would GE results have been different?’


http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Ee.lXeo.xvd.GkmjUBTfvA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7dz00MDA-/http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/m3v8du6mT_iF5YdamUPAzQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7dz02MzA-/http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/bLAuY0ZDrss0a1imdTnUvA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00NzM7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/249/2011/03/22/Gerald-Giam-1_115550.jpg\">

Gerald Giam of the Workers' Party (Yahoo! file photo)

Worker's Party assistant webmaster Gerald Giam has criticised the timing of PM Lee's major Cabinet reshuffle, saying the recent election outcome in some wards may have been different had voters known about the expected changes.

Referring to PM Lee's Cabinet announcement on Wednesday, Giam, 33, said on his Facebook page, \"While the PAP saw it fit to tell voters... who the potential office holders would be, there was no hint that some ministers like Raymond Lim would be dropped from the Cabinet\".

\"Had voters known that, the election outcome in some wards may have been different. Voters now know that some of the Ministers that they are voting for in GRCs may lose their portfolio immediately after the elections,\" added the IT consultant, who's been confirmed as an Nominated Member of Parliament (NCMP).

Singapore People’s Party (SPP) Benjamin Pwee, 43, also echoed the same thoughts and said that the ministers should have informed voters of their decisions before Polling Day.

In a statement to the media on Wednesday evening, Pwee also singled out Wong Kan Seng – who is the anchor MP in the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC – saying that if he was “sincere”, the now former minister should have revealed his decision to retire from Cabinet before residents had cast their votes.

“He should have been more transparent and made his position clear to the voters before Polling Day that he would be stepping down from Cabinet. It would have affected the way voters voted, and the results of the elections.\"

In the recent election, Pwee was part of the team led by opposition stalwart Chiam See Tong who contested in the GRC. However, they were defeated by the incumbent PAP team led by Mr Wong who had secured 57 percent of the votes.

\"Credit should be given to Singaporeans who voted for the opposition which forced a change within the PAP, but more questions should be raised about the new cabinet line-up,” added Pwee who is also the party’s second assistant secretary-general.

Three key ministers -- Mah Bow Tan, Raymond Lim and Wong Kan Seng -- are not part of the new Cabinet and all three will be resigning from government.

Mah Bow Tan led the PAP team in Tampines GRC, which won 57 per cent of votes against an NSP team, while Raymond Lim was part of the East Coast GRC team headed by Lim Swee Say, which won 54 per cent of votes against a WP team.

The PAP margin of victory in all three GRCs was significantly lower than the national average of 60 per cent.

During Wednesday's announcement, PM Lee revealed that the trio have \"served in challenging appointments and made many valuable contributions.\"

He added the three men had previously expressed a desire to step down, but he had asked them to stay on and help him fight the recently concluded General Election.

\"Now that elections are over, they have reiterated that they do not wish to be reappointed,\" he said.

Meanwhile, the National Solidarity Party (NSP) has applauded PM Lee's major Cabinet reshuffle, saying that it shows the PAP \"is starting to listen to the voices of the people\".

But while NSP's Marine Parade candidate Nicole Seah welcomed the changes, she is also keen to see how the new Cabinet team performs.

The 24-year-old told Yahoo! Singapore, \"I'm heartened to see that the PAP is starting to listen to the voices of the people. However, I am also watching now with keen interest at how this will impact their performance over the next 4-5 years -- whether this move is merely a cosmetic one aimed at winning the voters back.\"

NSP party chief Goh Meng Seng agreed, saying that \"at the very least, PM has shown that he is willing to put up to a call to accountability to voters\".

Mr Goh said the three key ministers who were not part of the new line-up \"deserved to retire\" because they were \"accountable\" to issues over housing and transport and the Mas Selamat case.

However, he too, is not convinced the problems in such areas can be so easily solved.

\"I have this funny feeling that they can hardly change anything. Housing and transport will take time, but they are putting more popular ministers to take care of those ministries,\" he said.

Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) secretary-general Chee Soon Juan also said that it is more important instead to focus on whether the new ministers will be able to address the hot button issues such as transportation and housing.

“Shifting portfolios among ministers without addressing these policies only signals that the Government is interested in cosmetic changes,” he added.

Chee said that his party is looking forward to seeing the ministers articulating new policy initiatives which it expects to be “significantly different” from their predecessors. “Otherwise, it is a clear message that it is politics-as-usual from this Government,” he added.

Among the sweeping Cabinet changes announced, Minister Lui Tuck Yew will be leaving the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts (MICA) to take over as Transport Minister.

He wrote on his Facebook page that his new role will be an \"interesting challenge given its political sensitivity.\"

He added that he recognised that land transport is \"one of a number of areas that irks commuters. Going forward, we will have to do better.\"[/quote][quote]THE reply by the Prime Minister's Office ('PMO on pensions for political office and MPs') last Saturday - which appeared together with a related report ('Pension about a tenth of minister's pay') - was in response to cyberspace speculation that ministers receive million-dollar pensions.

The Government should have been more transparent in its reply by specifically rebutting the speculation.

Statements such as '10 per cent of his annual salary'; 'pensionable component has been frozen since 1994'; and 'a minister qualifies for the maximum pension of two-thirds of this pensionable component only after having served as an office-holder for 18 years', tend to confuse ordinary Singaporeans.

All the Government needed to do was to quantify its clarification into dollars and state how much Mr George Yeo, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua and Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed will receive each month as pension.

The Government should also have stated whether all ministers aged 55 and older - and who have the minimum eight years of service - are being paid pension in addition to their salaries and, if so, how much.

In other words, the PMO's reply should have explained pensions for public office-holders and MPs in absolute dollar terms.

Now that Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong are leaving the Cabinet, the pension amounts they will receive could also be made known to the public.

If the Government does not respond in a clear manner, the high figures speculated online will be taken as true by many people, casting further doubts and raising more questions on the subject.

Krishnan Harihara Kasthuri Rangan[/quote]

[DesertWind]

Give Khaw a chance lah! Lets see what he can come up with!

Frankly I am quite relieved that he got the post. Who else can handle or inspire some sort of confidence? Sarcastic remarks are not going to help. It IS a reality that a lot of S’poreans (including my uncle) is contemplating and my uncle is already residing in JB.
Not that I want to go JB myself. It is not our territory/country after all.
Make more sense to locate foreign workers there and free up Boon Lay/Serangoon Gardens workers’ dorm. to spare Singaporeans!

[verykiasu2010]

I believe the dropping of WKS, RL, MBT, LKY & GCT from the new cabinet line up is a direct consequence of the GE 2011 result, not pre-meditated.


Going into the GE2011, these 5 together with GY and LHH were still hoping to be re-elected to hold office.

It is the post-mortem within PAP that at least for the time being conclude that these 5 must go.

Well, LHL has listened, and the rest of the team are now parroting they will listen more and consult more.....but we don't want to listen anymore. we want to see action now ..... :siam: :siam:

[raysusan]

to me it is like 换汤不换药

[pinky]

if our children are able to buy a heavily subsidised HDB flat at $8, then we should :udaman: to him and thank the sky and the earth

[verykiasu2010]

raysusan:

to me it is like 换汤不换药

没有鱼! 虾也好.

[concern2]

raysusan:

to me it is like 换汤不换药

Wow, raysusan, you took the words right out of my mouth!

[concern2]

verykiasu2010:

I believe the dropping of WKS, RL, MBT, LKY & GCT from the new cabinet line up is a direct consequence of the GE 2011 result, not pre-meditated.


Going into the GE2011, these 5 together with GY and LHH were still hoping to be re-elected to hold office.

It is the post-mortem within PAP that at least for the time being conclude that these 5 must go.

Well, LHL has listened, and the rest of the team are now parroting they will listen more and consult more.....but we don't want to listen anymore. we want to see action now ..... :siam: :siam:

From what I've read, the three PAP ministers had asked to “leave” before the election, but PM only agreed to let them retire after it.

[verykiasu2010]

concern2:

verykiasu2010:

I believe the dropping of WKS, RL, MBT, LKY & GCT from the new cabinet line up is a direct consequence of the GE 2011 result, not pre-meditated.


Going into the GE2011, these 5 together with GY and LHH were still hoping to be re-elected to hold office.

It is the post-mortem within PAP that at least for the time being conclude that these 5 must go.

Well, LHL has listened, and the rest of the team are now parroting they will listen more and consult more.....but we don't want to listen anymore. we want to see action now ..... :siam: :siam:

From what I've read, the three PAP ministers had asked to “leave” before the election, but PM only agreed to let them retire after it.

not disputing what you read. i oso read it. and that is a public statement.

everybody wants to save face to say that \"i am ready to step down anytime\"

if that is really the case, PM would have known before the GE how vulnerable PAP was going into the election.....but it seems they only \"wake up\" to it almost towards the end of the campaign, hence the apologies and the noticeable change in tone by the various ministers at the end of the campaign

I maintain my believe that the result of the GE plus the relentless torrent of social media feedback (some genuine, some astro-turfing) leaves PM Lee no choice but to wield the axe. else it would be like what LKY suggested sometime ago that PAP will lose the government in two generation

just my believe. nobody needs to agree with me.