Category: Politik

Daniel Goh: NCMP Is Form Of National Service, A Privilege

I was first notified of the NCMP motion passing when a good friend texted me, while I was washing dishes after dinner, “congratulations duckweed Goh!” I had a good laugh, though this is serious business through and through. Thank you all for the messages since, sorry I have not been able to reply (been busy whole night Skyp-ing with an academic conference happening in Ottawa). There are some of you who would like me to take up the NCMP seat, and then some of you who don’t want me to, on principle and in response to what you see as ugly ruling party behaviour (vector lah, don’t take it to heart). I’ll be doing the former and this is my main reason for the decision.

Mr Low is right: NCMPs are essentially duckweeds. He is using a Chinese flower metaphor in a very natural way, the significance and nuances of which many of us, Anglophones, don’t understand. Very crudely, it means NCMPs are like pretty flowers that sink no roots, floating about and contradicting the values of harmony and community. Objectively, this is true in the long run, and I am with the WP MPs and the party opposing the NCMP scheme. But for me, personally, at this point in my life, and as I see it, at this point in Singapore’s history, the principle of national service trumps the political principle of opposing the NCMP scheme. If my country sees fit that I contribute as duckweed, then it is my honour to be duckweed Goh. It is no insult; it is a privilege.

In any case, as a good man emailed me to tell me, for Anglophones such as us, duckweeds are not altogether negative, as they are seen as resilient and prolific plants valued as livestock feed, for water purification and for alternative biofuel. That is, to feed, to clarify and to drive the greater good in our shared commons. And so I hope and will strive, wish me Godspeed.

Source: Daniel Goh 吴佩松

January 30, 2016
PAP-Proposed Amendment To NCMP Bill Tabled By WP Passed, WP Abstained From Voting

Parliament yesterday approved a motion tabled by the Workers’ Party (WP) to transfer its Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) seat offered to losing Punggol East candidate Lee Li Lian to Associate Professor Daniel Goh — but not before a heated debate, lasting almost two hours, and with amendments made to the original motion by the Government Whip and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing.

A clause was inserted to the motion to state that Parliament “regrets that Ms Lee Li Lian, having stood as a Workers’ Party candidate and received the highest vote share among all losing opposition candidates, has now decided to give up her NCMP seat to another candidate from her party with a lower vote share, contrary to the expressed will of the voters. And that the WP supports this political manoeuvre to take full advantage of the NCMP seat, even as its secretary-general criticises NCMPs as just duckweed on the water of the pond”.

The amended motion was passed by Parliament, despite the objections to the additional clause by the eight WP MPs — including its two incumbent NCMPs Mr Leon Perera and Mr Dennis Tan. All the WP MPs abstained from the final vote on the amended motion.

During the debate on the motion, the PAP and the WP locked horns on the spirit of the NCMP scheme and had strong words for each other.

The PAP MPs — Mr Chan, Punggol East MP Charles Chong and Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah — charged that the WP was trying to game the system despite openly criticising the NCMP scheme. They also took aim at WP chief Low Thia Khiang’s comments on Wednesday — in response to changes to the NCMP scheme — where he likened an NCMP to “duckweed” as he or she does not have roots in a constituency, unlike an elected MP.

In response, Mr Low — who was joined in the debate by Mr Perera, Hougang MP Png Eng Huat and Aljunied GRC MP Sylvia Lim — called the ruling party a “hypocrite” for downplaying fundamental differences between elected MPs and NCMPs.

In proposing the amendment, Mr Chan said the motion “must reflect the truth”. “My party (PAP) will support the filling of the last NCMP seat according to the rules … We have recognised that the WP has continued to criticise the system, but yet deliberately made use of it to the hilt for their political advantage,” Mr Chan said.

Referring to comments made by Ms Lee in turning down the NCMP seat — Ms Lee had said she wanted to give this chance to her WP colleagues — Mr Chan said: “The honour and privilege to join this House is for service to our nation. It is not for us to showcase ourselves. It is not for us to showcase our party talents. If we do that, we come in with the wrong end in mind.”

Mr Chong, who edged Ms Lee out in last September’s polls, called for a review of the NCMP scheme to ensure that it is not abused. It is not intended for opposition parties to “pick and choose” which best losers to enter Parliament, he said.

Objecting to the amendment tabled by Mr Chan, Mr Low said there is “no basis” to say the motion was a political manoeuvre. “It is provided under the law that since Lee Li Lian has not taken up the seat, Parliament can decide to fill the seat, and I have moved the motion to allow Parliament to decide.”

All four WP MPs who spoke pointed out that Parliament had moved to fill a vacancy left by WP candidate M P D Nair back in 1984. The seat, which was offered to Mr Tan Chee Kien of the Singapore United Front, was ultimately left vacant after Mr Tan also turned it down.

While the party remains opposed to the NCMP scheme in principle, said Mr Low, it recognises that having one more seat in Parliament can contribute to the debate and “possibly better policy outcomes”. “There is no contradiction, make no mistake about it. That is the spirit of the WP in wanting to work the system by respecting the law,” he said.

Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan said he was surprised by the PAP’s “tactically shrewd” move to let the WP fill the NCMP seat. “What they have done … is they facilitated WP having its complement of three NCMP seats, but they also took the opportunity to show up the WP for their inconsistent stance on and instrumental use of the NCMP scheme,” he said, adding that the WP would be shooting themselves in the foot if they voted against the amended motion.

National University of Singapore political scientist Bilveer Singh noted that historically, the WP has in principle objected to the scheme and yet, it has produced the most number of NCMPs. The amendment sought by the PAP was “to signal to the public that the WP is not upfront on the issue”. However, Associate Professor Singh doubted that the matter will be a major dent on the WP. “Eventually what matters is what the three NCMPs of the WP do in Parliament … as the WP’s pouring of cold water on the scheme is a more-than-30-years-old story,” he said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

January 30, 2016
Maarof Salleh: Don’t Be Taken In By Rahayu Mahzam, Nothing Will Change

When MP Rahayu Mahzan again raised the tudung issue in her maiden parliamentary speech, I cannot but be a bit more cynical in asking whether this is again a new ‘sandiwara’, and not a serious effort, in trying to persuade the national leadership to review its position on the subject.

The fact is the subject has been there long before Rahayu been recruited into politics, with so many dialogues and debates. But the position of the government has remained unchanged.

Like some others, I too feel such an unchanged position cannot but raise other related questions. Whether we (the national leadership and the Malay Muslim community) really understood the issue and did not react wrongly out of the misunderstanding or misperceptions of the issue? Whether those responsible for the task to explain and clarify on the issue have really done their work without fear and favour? If every possible explanation have been made why there have been no change in the leadership position in this issue?

While Rahayu’s re-raising the issue is refreshing, it is the sentiment of many that it will be yet another sandiwara in which the issue will pop up now and then, but no happy ending can be expected.

Source: Maarof Salleh

January 29, 2016
Walid J. Abdullah: Kudos To Rahayu Mahzam For Raising Tudung Issue But Time Will Tell If She Deserves Community’s Trust

There have been a couple of contrasting reactions towards MP Rahayu Mahzam’s maiden speech in Parliament, in which she urged the government to reconsider its policy on the hijab.

(On a side note, it is interesting to note that MP Faisal Manap has mentioned the same thing before, but rarely gets the same media coverage, and of course, if he did bring up such issues, he would be ‘politicizing religion’, but let’s leave that aside for now.)

The first reaction was to celebrate her courage and bold attitude, raising the issue in her very first speech. Indeed, it is perhaps unprecedented for a Muslim MP to do so.

The second, however, was a more cynical one. Some question whether this was a political show that would amount to no real change.

To be sure, one can definitely understand why the second reaction surfaced: the issue has been raised numerous times before under various conditions. And it always seemed like there was always an excuse to dismiss the requests (‘you were too loud’, ‘you were not loud enough’, ‘there are other important issues’, ‘we must not disrupt harmony’ etc etc etc.) Even senior members of the community like Cikgu Maarof Salleh expressed cynicism at the speech.

For me personally, i prefer to see it in a more positive light. I believe each MP should be judged based on what he/she has said/done, and not merely on the party he/she belongs to. And no one MP will always be flawless or completely hopeless (well, i hope not!): they will have good moments that should be celebrated, and lesser ones that we as citizens can and should call them out for.

As for MP Rahayu herself, she is new and has done nothing so far that warrants our mistrust, so I believe her words should be commended.

Time will tell how much the new MPs truly represent the people and voice their concerns – not just the individual MP’s thoughts – in Parliament. For now, i say, kudos to her.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

January 29, 2016
Yaacob Ibrahim: Informal Religious Groups Formed By Foreign Workers Should Work With Mosques, MUIS

Informal religious groups formed by foreign workers here should step forward to engage with mosques and the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) so that they could better tap the resources available, said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs, yesterday.

In light of the arrests of 27 radicalised Bangladeshi workers in Singapore, the spotlight has turned on radicalised teachings that could easily be spread through informal religious study groups conducted by the foreign workers themselves, as mosques here lack the resources and manpower to reach out to them.

TODAY had earlier reported that mosques in the Little India and Bugis areas that are frequently visited by the foreign workers do not have religious classes that specifically catered to them.

“We know that some of the foreign groups in Singapore do have their own members of their community who are actually guiding them,” said Dr Yaacob, who is also the Minister for Communications and Information.

“The most important thing is that whoever is playing that role, please engage MUIS, because we want to make sure that whatever they are teaching is aligned with our teachings, with the way we practise Islam here in Singapore,” he said on the sidelines of a graduation ceremony for students from Egypt’s Al-Azhar University at the Muis Academy.

Dr Yaacob said there is a need for some graduates to stand up and publicly rebut the radical ideologies which some members of the community may have. “(What) is needed (is) for someone to come out specifically to break down someone’s radical arguments and why they are wrong and (in) which areas they are wrong and then hope that they can also find the errors of the radical ideologies, not (only) from a religious perspective, but (also) from a humanistic sociological analysis,” he said.

Meanwhile, speaking in Parliament yesterday, Associate Professor Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade GRC) asked if the Government is able to do more in terms of educational publicity in reaching out to religious groups which may not be formally organised.

“Some of them may inadvertently not realise that they’re being taught some of (these) variants of the (religion),” she added.

In response, Dr Yaacob said the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS) — which was set up to enhance the standing of religious teachers here and serves as a reliable source of reference for the Singapore Muslim Community — is in place for religious teachers.

He urged members of the community to refer to the list on the MUIS website to find the appropriate religious teachers for their classes.

“So, we are not against informal groups … but the most important thing is they select the teachers from the ARS and if they can do that, I think it would be good.”

Meanwhile, Mr Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC) asked if there is a protocol or standard operating procedure for the approval of visit passes for overseas religious leaders.

He cited a recent incident where a visit by a “particular preacher”, which he did not name, was denied by the authorities here.

Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam said the protocol is “very straightforward and transparent”. For example, if the preacher’s teachings are “contrary to our values”, he will be denied entry to Singapore, Mr Shanmugam added.

Dr Yaacob, speaking to the media at the Muis Academy, said he believes more could be done to integrate the foreign workers into the fabric of society here. “We must continue to engage the foreign community here to make sure the resources within the Malay-Muslim community are also available to them,” he said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

January 29, 2016