Punggol East By-Election coming ? MP steps down
-
Strparent:
Wa, last night couldn't be your buddy cos I was making mud pie with my feet!
u, MMM and raysusan always my election forum buddies[/size][/i] :boogie:
Wow, appreciate sharing of all those photos! I had guests at home (from neighbourhood town :evil: ) and I deserted them to join the crowd downstairs!
Was the first time since 1996 I attended WP rally. Waded beyond the hard ground into the pool of mud, getting my slippers stuck every now and then was no joke. It was too dark to see how the ground was like but I continued to head towards the light and the crowd. I had to take care not to splatter dirt onto other people.
The PAP rally brought the rain, and it didn't stop until right before WP rally started. What strange timing that was. As I peered out of the window at the never ending showers earlier in the day, my mom blurted, \"The rain will stop for the good people.\" And it did.
The crowd was slow to arrive. I suspect that to be due to accessibility. Streams of people arrived in batches as I watched from my window. Each LRT could only carry that many people each time. Many old folks were there to listen to what is not available through MSM. There was light drizzle when I joined the crowd, and was surprised few were using umbrellas for fear of blocking others' views. Some old folks had already made themselves comfortable there earlier with cardboards and chairs to sit on. Most people ground themselves to a spot that has no puddle, and when someone tries to move in the crowd, we would have to pluck our feet off the ground to give way. The crickets hopped amongst our feet, trying to find their way to safer grounds.
I didn't stay throughout, but long enough to see camera flashes from the flat nearby. Each time LTK came up to speak, there would be bursts of party pops with reflective papers sparkling above our heads. When he greeted us and we responded with a unanimous and spontaneous ”好！“， I heard it echoing through the blocks of surrounding flats...
Ok, gota go, fill u guys in later..
Please share how your ride was in getting here - for those who came from other places! -
MMM:
to me, wp is like the pap in the 50s-70s. people-oriented, humble, focused. yes, i want wp to have more seats in parliament. already pap scrambling to right their policies that gone wrong, and with wp inside, they would do more.
I respect ruling party for what it has done for Singapore. However, i also feel that without wp and social media providing control checks. Things that we saw in the last 2 years will not surface to the commoner. Their presence helps drive accountability to the people and transparency. Some questioned if wp has done much. But being the minority how much can they influence???
the problem however is wp and pap trying to be more populist to win votes and think of their survival in terms of 5-year politics and policies, rather than strategic like the pap of the 50-s70s. -
The way I see oppositions is they are not the same. WP seems more sincere and credible and rather upfront. They are saying they do not wish to seize power from PAP but just want to check the government, watch the government. They even admit PAP have good policies. They want to be in parliament so that they can continue to ‘check’ and ‘watch’ government.
To me, this is dangerous for Singapore. From what they said, I took it that they know they can’t ran Singapore and they are happy with their ‘checking’ and ‘watching’ roles. I am fine with it even though I think if I am the one who do all the hard works, coming up with solutions and policies but someone who doesn’t do much can just ‘check’ and ‘watch’ and get all the credits, it will be hard for me to continue doing it. In this aspect, kudos to the PAP. Now what if WP comes into power? Then they no longer can ‘check’ and ‘watch’. They have to do it, like what PAP is doing now. If they are as capable as the incumbent, I don’t even bother who will form the government, as a political party, I just feel if you want my vote, it is not enough to play the roles of check’ and ‘watch’. -
HVR:
If they had said that they could form a government, would you have believed them?The way I see oppositions is they are not the same. WP seems more sincere and credible and rather upfront. They are saying they do not wish to seize power from PAP but just want to check the government, watch the government. They even admit PAP have good policies. They want to be in parliament so that they can continue to 'check' and 'watch' government.
To me, this is dangerous for Singapore. From what they said, I took it that they know they can't ran Singapore and they are happy with their 'checking' and 'watching' roles. I am fine with it even though I think if I am the one who do all the hard works, coming up with solutions and policies but someone who doesn't do much can just 'check' and 'watch' and get all the credits, it will be hard for me to continue doing it. In this aspect, kudos to the PAP. Now what if WP comes into power? Then they no longer can 'check' and 'watch'. They have to do it, like what PAP is doing now. If they are as capable as the incumbent, I don't even bother who will form the government, as a political party, I just feel if you want my vote, it is not enough to play the roles of check' and 'watch'.
Since alternative political views have been suppressed until very recently with control of the mainstream media, lawsuits and redrawing of electoral boundaries, we can hardly blame the opposition for its lack of experience in governance. -
HVR:
But you missed out the following.........The way I see oppositions is they are not the same. WP seems more sincere and credible and rather upfront. They are saying they do not wish to seize power from PAP but just want to check the government, watch the government. They even admit PAP have good policies. They want to be in parliament so that they can continue to 'check' and 'watch' government.
To me, this is dangerous for Singapore. From what they said, I took it that they know they can't ran Singapore and they are happy with their 'checking' and 'watching' roles. I am fine with it even though I think if I am the one who do all the hard works, coming up with solutions and policies but someone who doesn't do much can just 'check' and 'watch' and get all the credits, it will be hard for me to continue doing it. In this aspect, kudos to the PAP. Now what if WP comes into power? Then they no longer can 'check' and 'watch'. They have to do it, like what PAP is doing now. If they are as capable as the incumbent, I don't even bother who will form the government, as a political party, I just feel if you want my vote, it is not enough to play the roles of check' and 'watch'.
By LTK and has been said on numerous occasions:-
\"WP must be ready one day to be an alternative choice for the people, especially if the ruling party should become incompetent or corrupt\".
By Chen Show Mao at the PE by-election rally:
\"It will take time for an Opposition party to grow into the role of being a credible alternative government. We must start now. Just because this task is challenging does'nt mean we won't do it. Because it takes time, we should start now\".
The Opposition do have ambitions other than providing \"check and balance\". They do come out with alternatives which they obviously will have no chance to see through being the minority in the parliament. And often these alternatives have been put down by the ruling party without any bother to even take a peep. Judging by the flow of credible people to the Opposition before the 2011 GE and the growing voices from the social media and cyberspace for which control is difficult and much harder to suppress, we could well see a better distribution of seats in parliament; the ruling party aware and is countering while, at the same time, adjusting. -
Rational_Parent:
Fair enough. To Singapore and its people, what's important is regardless who form the government, they must show they are capable and can do the job. While WP is doing a good job, they cannot keep emphasis their 'check' and 'watch' roles. They must also do a lot more to convince voters that they do have plans and solutions. For example, how to raise TFR? If they have some plans, they can file a motion in parliament and garner supports. If the policy is good, wide eyes Singaporeans can see and tell it, objection by incumbent or not. Don't forget we have Walton Woon who, as a NMP, pushed and successfully have the law of Maintenance of Parents Act read and passed in parliament and become part of our statutes now. In another word, they must rise to the next level, don't just 'watch' and 'check', it doesn't take a genius to do it.
But you missed out the following.........HVR:
The way I see oppositions is they are not the same. WP seems more sincere and credible and rather upfront. They are saying they do not wish to seize power from PAP but just want to check the government, watch the government. They even admit PAP have good policies. They want to be in parliament so that they can continue to 'check' and 'watch' government.
To me, this is dangerous for Singapore. From what they said, I took it that they know they can't ran Singapore and they are happy with their 'checking' and 'watching' roles. I am fine with it even though I think if I am the one who do all the hard works, coming up with solutions and policies but someone who doesn't do much can just 'check' and 'watch' and get all the credits, it will be hard for me to continue doing it. In this aspect, kudos to the PAP. Now what if WP comes into power? Then they no longer can 'check' and 'watch'. They have to do it, like what PAP is doing now. If they are as capable as the incumbent, I don't even bother who will form the government, as a political party, I just feel if you want my vote, it is not enough to play the roles of check' and 'watch'.
By LTK and has been said on numerous occasions:-
\"WP must be ready one day to be an alternative choice for the people, especially if the ruling party should become incompetent or corrupt\".
By Chen Show Mao at the PE by-election rally:
\"It will take time for an Opposition party to grow into the role of being a credible alternative government. We must start now. Just because this task is challenging does'nt mean we won't do it. Because it takes time, we should start now\".
The Opposition do have ambitions other than providing \"check and balance\". They do come out with alternatives which they obviously will have no chance to see through being the minority in the parliament. And often these alternatives have been put down by the ruling party without any bother to even take a peep. Judging by the flow of credible people to the Opposition before the 2011 GE and the growing voices from the social media and cyberspace for which control is difficult and much harder to suppress, we could well see a better distribution of seats in parliament; the ruling party aware and is countering while, at the same time, adjusting. -
a smart student does not go to a school, and declares that he knows everything and can teach better than the teacher.
he learns and watches, see the flaws and learn from them. see the skills and learn from them.
an apprentice does not declare himself better than the predecessor until the time is right for him to prove himself, least it is construed as arrogance… and we have had loads of arrogance in the past already with many pretenders within the school, we dont need any more liao. -
HVR:
Fair enough. To Singapore and its people, what's important is regardless who form the government, they must show they are capable and can do the job. While WP is doing a good job, they cannot keep emphasis their 'check' and 'watch' roles. They must also do a lot more to convince voters that they do have plans and solutions. For example, how to raise TFR? If they have some plans, they can file a motion in parliament and garner supports. If the policy is good, wide eyes Singaporeans can see and tell it, objection by incumbent or not. Don't forget we have Walton Woon who, as a NMP, pushed and successfully have the law of Maintenance of Parents Act read and passed in parliament and become part of our statutes now. In another word, they must rise to the next level, don't just 'watch' and 'check', it doesn't take a genius to do it.[/quote]But the government formed by the ruling party also came out with flawed policies where \"wide eyes Singaporeans can see and tell\" - example \"The Graduate Mother Scheme\". Worst still, it was forced down \"wide eyes Singaporeans\" throats and it had to take an election to correct. The \"Stop at two\" policy was also flawed such that we now have to get in \"foreign talents\" to correct our population imbalance. Some poor mothers even went for tubal ligation surgery because of the disadvantage to the third and subsequent child and regretted their actions.
But you missed out the following.........Rational_Parent:
[quote=\"HVR\"]The way I see oppositions is they are not the same. WP seems more sincere and credible and rather upfront. They are saying they do not wish to seize power from PAP but just want to check the government, watch the government. They even admit PAP have good policies. They want to be in parliament so that they can continue to 'check' and 'watch' government.
To me, this is dangerous for Singapore. From what they said, I took it that they know they can't ran Singapore and they are happy with their 'checking' and 'watching' roles. I am fine with it even though I think if I am the one who do all the hard works, coming up with solutions and policies but someone who doesn't do much can just 'check' and 'watch' and get all the credits, it will be hard for me to continue doing it. In this aspect, kudos to the PAP. Now what if WP comes into power? Then they no longer can 'check' and 'watch'. They have to do it, like what PAP is doing now. If they are as capable as the incumbent, I don't even bother who will form the government, as a political party, I just feel if you want my vote, it is not enough to play the roles of check' and 'watch'.
By LTK and has been said on numerous occasions:-
\"WP must be ready one day to be an alternative choice for the people, especially if the ruling party should become incompetent or corrupt\".
By Chen Show Mao at the PE by-election rally:
\"It will take time for an Opposition party to grow into the role of being a credible alternative government. We must start now. Just because this task is challenging does'nt mean we won't do it. Because it takes time, we should start now\".
The Opposition do have ambitions other than providing \"check and balance\". They do come out with alternatives which they obviously will have no chance to see through being the minority in the parliament. And often these alternatives have been put down by the ruling party without any bother to even take a peep. Judging by the flow of credible people to the Opposition before the 2011 GE and the growing voices from the social media and cyberspace for which control is difficult and much harder to suppress, we could well see a better distribution of seats in parliament; the ruling party aware and is countering while, at the same time, adjusting.
Times have changed. \"Wide eyes Singaporeans\" do not just want to see and tell, they also want check and balance and for the government to listen. As the old adage goes \"Prevention is better than cure\". Some policies of the past have been damaging in my view and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know it. Unless someone can assured \"wide eyes Singaporeans\" that there'll be no more bad policies, you can't really stop some of them from rooting for \"Check and watch\". -
HVR:
I agree it is not exactly ideal. But then AIM came along and remind me that the alternative could well be even more dangerous for Singapore. So, how?The way I see oppositions is they are not the same. WP seems more sincere and credible and rather upfront. They are saying they do not wish to seize power from PAP but just want to check the government, watch the government. They even admit PAP have good policies. They want to be in parliament so that they can continue to 'check' and 'watch' government.
To me, this is dangerous for Singapore. From what they said, I took it that they know they can't ran Singapore and they are happy with their 'checking' and 'watching' roles. I am fine with it even though I think if I am the one who do all the hard works, coming up with solutions and policies but someone who doesn't do much can just 'check' and 'watch' and get all the credits, it will be hard for me to continue doing it. In this aspect, kudos to the PAP. Now what if WP comes into power? Then they no longer can 'check' and 'watch'. They have to do it, like what PAP is doing now. If they are as capable as the incumbent, I don't even bother who will form the government, as a political party, I just feel if you want my vote, it is not enough to play the roles of check' and 'watch'.
Anyways, we are still a long time away from WP saying they are ready to form a government. I think WP will find the going a lot tougher if they ever become big enough to capture, say 1/3 of Parliament. -
Certainly there were flaw policies. It is almost impossible to get it right 100% of the time. I am sure there will be more flaw policies in future, regardless who is the incumbent. When this happened, I want to judge the implementation of the flaw policies by the intention. If the intention was to benefit majority of Singaporeans but the effect prove otherwise, then take remedy actions and move on. To expect zero mistake or perfect policies is simply unrealistic.
If I am convinced someone can do the job and is sincere, he or she will get my vote. I am not convinced WP has the resources and capabilities to form government now. Their leaderships admitted as much that they had to concentrate in aljunied and did not continue their work at punggol east for 1 year. Now this had me worried if somehow, they sweep into power what is going to happen to Singapore?
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login