Are you ready for 7 million people on tiny Singapore?
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I have to acknowledge that the Govt. took a very bold step to put before the public a view of 2030 which now has many Singaporeans concerned. What the Govt. did was right although the delivery of the message could have been better done as irrational fear seems to have hijacked some aspects of the White Paper. Also the speed at which the White Paper was released and debated left little time for the people and the Opposition to digest and suggest viable alternatives or at least measures to mitigate or avoid the dangerous scenario that the White Paper had presented.
That the debate took on an emotive tone was not surprising and actually welcomed as it showed that we Singaporeans were not just concerned about GDP growth or the 5Cs etc. but placed great value on a Singaporean core that would be able to have a good quality of life whilst at the same time acknowledging the need for FTs to help us sustain that good quality of life.
I think and hope that the White Paper has shaken the lethargy out of a larger number of Singaporeans. We must realize that our future is not certain and not just because of what happens outside Singapore that we cannot control but because of what happens WITHIN Singapore that we have some control over.
The Govt. has tried various measures in the past to address the TFR and frankly has failed because of the reality of what Singapore is and how we as Singaporeans have become conditioned to our unique Singaporean way of life.
BUT that has to now change.Singaporeans have been told in no uncertain terms by the White Paper that we are shrinking and will continue to shrink as a people. That we Singaporeans have to deal with this NOW before the decline in the Singaporean population becomes irreversible. We do not have much time. 17 years to 2030 is not far away.
I think the WP concentrating only on having to cut FT numbers and bringing more non-working Singaporeans back into the workforce was completely and absolutely wrong. The Govt. sticking to the same failed Baby Bonus policy was completely and absolutely wrong.
To put it bluntly we need more Ah Boys and Ah Girls. That is the bottomline. The policies have to be built around this objective and if it means a slower growth rate to restructure the economy to achieve this, then so be it. We do not need a Swiss standard of living. I am sure we are happy with our own standard of living if we can own our own home, give a fair chance to every Singaporean child to succeed in Singapore regardless of race, language or religion and that when every Singaporean child grows up and grows old, it is to have and enjoy a good quality of life in this life’s journey. -
Just realized that PAP MPs can’t vote against his/her own party if the Whip is not lifted by PM!
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Survey said Cost of living was No.1 factor for Punggol East vote swing
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cost-of-living-was-no-1-factor-for-punggol-east-vote-swing--survey-181457181.html
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Nearly 4 in 10 voters who cast their ballot at the recent Punggol East by-election said the cost of living was the top reason that determined their choice, says a new survey.
Conducted by independent local agency Blackbox Research, the survey also found the second most important reason for vote swing was attributed to “the government not listening to ordinary Singaporeans”.
Some 21 per cent swing voters aged under 40 identified this as the top factor in deciding their vote.
Workers’ Party candidate Lee Li Lian won the recent by-election by a landslide 54.5 per cent of the vote, beating her opponent Koh Poh Koon from the ruling People’s Action Party by a 10.8 per cent margin.
Lee’s vote increased by some 13 per cent from the 2011 general elections, when she previously contested in the same ward, losing out to PAP's candidate then, Michael Palmer.
Conducted over a three-day period last week, the phone survey interviewed 150 Punggol East residents who said they had switched votes in between the recent by-election and the 2011 General Election.
Commenting on the findings, Blackbox managing director David Black said, “It’s clear that younger voters in Punggol East felt emboldened and don’t believe they will lose out by opting against the status quo\".
\"As the Chinese saying goes, ‘their wings have hardened’ and if this phenomenon is repeated elsewhere, it could represent a real challenge for the Government in the run-up to the next General Election,\" he said.
Punggol East is largely made up of a young, middle-class electorate. Approximately 1 in 4 Punggol East residents are aged between 22 to 35.
No disadvantage in having opposition MP: survey
Other key reasons for the vote swing included housing affordability and public transport issues.
While education and childcare were important factors for voters aged under 40, a “stronger opposition presence in Parliament” was an important factor for women – four times a more likely reason than that of men.
Young voters were also far more receptive to having an opposition member of Parliament represent their ward.
73 per cent of voters under 40 felt so, as opposed to 48 per cent of voters above 40.
When the survey measured the impact of the by-election’s catalyst as a vote changer, results showed that Michael Palmer’s resignation as a factor only accounted for 1 per cent of the vote swing. -
JannettLee:
Just realized that PAP MPs can't vote against his/her own party if the Whip is not lifted by PM!
Why would this be relevant? The White Paper is the Govt. position on the challenges faced by Singapore and how the Govt. intends to tackle it. How can a PAP MP vote against how the Govt intends to govern? That is not logical as then if that is the case then the MP has to resign from the PAP. -
Just relax:
Just realized that to vote no just be absent. Perhaps the White Paper is not the position of all MPs. See the relevance?JannettLee:
Just realized that PAP MPs can't vote against his/her own party if the Whip is not lifted by PM!
Why would this be relevant? The White Paper is the Govt. position on the challenges faced by Singapore and how the Govt. intends to tackle it. How can a PAP MP vote against how the Govt intends to govern? That is not logical as then if that is the case then the MP has to resign from the PAP.
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Benefits of good growth of GDP are not cascaded down to many Singaporean but everyone got hit by the high costs of living/inflation.
I believed GST is one of the main problem. Whoever is running a business in Singapore will know that 7% GST is added for every changing-hand and hence there are a few times (changing hands) of 7% GST are compounded and factored into the costs and they price their goods accordingly. Consumer would have to foot the bill. Though they can claim back the GST by not adding the GST into the price, but the administration of claiming GST has found to be very cumbersome and some has given up to claim back GST and some really don’t know that they can claim back. Some middleman worried that they may not be able to claim back GST and still charge GST anyway (aiya, you know Asean!) and this GST has also created an opportunity for some businessman to take advantage to use GST as one factor to formulate their price and then transfer the burden to consumer. -
Just relax:
Hello, I was wondering why some PAP MPs are not favorable about the white paper but still vote for it. Only found that they can't vote against it. Not that I reject this white paper as I had already declared that I had self-interest. In general, not specified to this White paper policy, why can't a PAP MP vote against how the Govt intends to govern if they strongly feel that the Govt is heading to the wrong way?JannettLee:
Just realized that PAP MPs can't vote against his/her own party if the Whip is not lifted by PM!
Why would this be relevant? The White Paper is the Govt. position on the challenges faced by Singapore and how the Govt. intends to tackle it. How can a PAP MP vote against how the Govt intends to govern? That is not logical as then if that is the case then the MP has to resign from the PAP.
It will be very interesting if PM has lifted the Whip! Just wonder what will it turn out? -
sinoboy:
Just realized that to vote no just be absent. Perhaps the White Paper is not the position of all MPs. See the relevance?Just relax:
[quote=\"JannettLee\"]Just realized that PAP MPs can't vote against his/her own party if the Whip is not lifted by PM!
Why would this be relevant? The White Paper is the Govt. position on the challenges faced by Singapore and how the Govt. intends to tackle it. How can a PAP MP vote against how the Govt intends to govern? That is not logical as then if that is the case then the MP has to resign from the PAP.[/quote] 
:evil:
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sinoboy:
Just realized that to vote no just be absent. Perhaps the White Paper is not the position of all MPs. See the relevance?Just relax:
[quote=\"JannettLee\"]Just realized that PAP MPs can't vote against his/her own party if the Whip is not lifted by PM!
Why would this be relevant? The White Paper is the Govt. position on the challenges faced by Singapore and how the Govt. intends to tackle it. How can a PAP MP vote against how the Govt intends to govern? That is not logical as then if that is the case then the MP has to resign from the PAP.[/quote]Not turning up to vote means nothing to me if I do not know your views. The MP who did not vote may have had a doctor's appt, urgent surgery, urgent work etc. What am I supposed to make of the absence :? :scratchhead:
I hope Singaporeans are not so shallow to think like that :xedfingers: -
JannettLee:
Hello, I was wondering why some PAP MPs are not favorable about the white paper but still vote for it. Only found that they can't against it. Not that I reject this white paper as I had already declared that I had self-interest. In general, not specified to this White paper policy, why can't a PAP MP vote against how the Govt intends to govern if they strongly feel that the Govt is heading to the wrong way.[/quote]It is because Singapore has a Westminster type of government, where it is the collective responsibility of the party in power as to how it governs. You can disagree on a particular policy and if the Whip is lifted you can vote against a particular policy but where you have a vote on how to govern you cannot vote against such a collective position because that is why you are an MP in such a party. You agree with the collective position of your party of how your party is governing the country.Just relax:
[quote=\"JannettLee\"]Just realized that PAP MPs can't vote against his/her own party if the Whip is not lifted by PM!
Why would this be relevant? The White Paper is the Govt. position on the challenges faced by Singapore and how the Govt. intends to tackle it. How can a PAP MP vote against how the Govt intends to govern? That is not logical as then if that is the case then the MP has to resign from the PAP.
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