Category: Politik

New Citizen Samir Neji Don’t Deserve To Stand For Elections, He Is Not True Blue Singaporean

Bukit Batok Independent Candidate Samir Neji is a FRAUD and should withdraw his candidacy.

As a resident and voter of Bukit Batok, I call on Mr Samir Neji to stop making a mockery of Singapore’s electoral process and withdraw his candidacy to give voters a chance to chose between two credible parties instead – parties that are run by Singaporeans for Singaporeans.

In the meantime, I am considering filing a police report over this matter

Bt Batok SMC now faces a three-cornered fight created by an independent candidate who sneaked in out of no where. Samir Neji comes from Kerala and has lived in Singapore for 15 years, making him a new citizen( his 15 years of stay here has not been verified yet though) . That aside, what is disturbing is the fact that he has absolutely no visible or verifiable grassroots or local civic involvement in Singapore to begin with. Absolutely NOTHING ! – and yet here he is standing as candidate to be an MP in parliament ! All that is known about him is that he owns a business and has a family here, but even his business ( Anaplan Asia Pte Ltd ) does not have a website and numerous calls to his office has been unanswered.

For the record, he came in very late on nomination day, just about 30 minutes before filing closed and without meeting the basic requirement of having four assentors with him. Nomination rules require that each nominee should have a proposer, a seconder and four assentors, whose names must appear in the register of electors for the constituency that the candidate seeks election in. It then transpired that supporters from one of the parties contesting in the same SMC, namely the PAP came forward to make up the requisite four assentors, thus ushering him into the election.

Surely, a candidate who takes his candidacy seriously would have read and understood the nomination rules. To come so ill-prepared and to have Assentors from another political party is akin to making a mockery of the electoral process .

Here is a new citizen, trying to springboard straight into parliament with a blank record as far as civic and grassroots involvement is concerned. This is in stark contrast to the incumbent party, the PAP and the opposition party (SDP in this case), both of which has worked the ground, has a manifesto on how to improve Singaporeans’ life as well as ample information about the party that is publicly accessible. Samir Salim Neji has absolutely NONE of this .

Singaporeans should be voting in candidates who will be their representatives and voice in parliament. By that token, the candidate must understand the aspirations, needs and psyche of Singaporeans. Samir Neji is a fraud and has no proven qualities to be an MP of Bukit Batok.

One facebook comment regarding this issue puts this in its proper perspective: ” Sonia Gandhi was not allowed to be PM as she was not born in India, but this joke is happening here . I am feeling so disgusted ”

From Facebook also : ” I thought only those born in that country can stand for elections. Alberto Fujimura was born in Peru and hence became their president but not him. ( Samir ) He did not serve NS and does not know the history of SG. Its make a mockery of our politics.”

Another facebook comment : ” But there are other dicey stuff emerging. ( about Samir Neji) .. by checking through LinkedIn it appears he’s the nightmare PAP created through their crap immigration policies. Found that the top posts in Anaplan Singapore are all Indians from his kampong.. all with qualifications from lousy source. So basically he’s hiring his own kind. Thats always the main strategy to game the system. If the core consists of true blue Singaporeans we would have called his bluff early … so must gang up with country mates. So country mates also use high position to apply for PR and citizenship. PAP allows foreigers to con us in our own country. He ( Samir Neji ) has not integrated,.. ”

As a resident and voter of Bukit Batok, I call on Mr Samir Neji to stop making a mockery of Singapore’s electoral process and withdraw his candidacy to give voters a chance to chose between two credible parties instead – parties that are run by Singaporeans for Singaporeans.

In the meantime, I am considering filing a police report over this matter.

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

September 3, 2015
SDP: Vivian Balakrishnan Should Examine PAP’s Own Policies

Dr Chee Soon Juan transcript:

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan characterised the SDP’s alternative policies as one of “tax and spend” and that they will lead the country to bankruptcy. He did not, however, cite any specific policy but merely said that the SDP had copied policies from “other parts of the world”.

Dr Balakrishnan should be looking at his own party’s record on such practices.

Experts cite the low interest rates of the CPF (even though the government claims its ROI is high) as an implicit tax. In addition, the slew of taxes, fees, and levies open up for the PAP government large streams of revenue.

All this has resulted in our large reserves which are handled by the GIC and Temasek Holdings. In 2008, the two sovereign wealth funds admitted that thay had lost between $120 billion to $140 billion in failed investments in Western banks such as Merril Lynch, Citigroup and UBS.

If it had not been for the intervention of the US government in the form of bailout out money under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), these banks would have collapsed, and our reserves would have been irretrievably lost.

Given such a record, Dr Balakrishnan should be looking at his own party’s track record when he talks about policies of tax and spend.

On a related noted, the criticism from Dr Balakrishnan is reminiscent of the one he made in the 2011 GE about the SDP’s proposal to raise taxes for top earners (those in the top 1 percent) closer to the 30-percent mark.

He said then: “If you had to choose between the opposition parties who would be the most middle-class unfriendly of them, (the SDP) would certainly be in that shortlist.”

In 2015, however, Finance Minister Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam said that the Government would raise taxes for the top 5 percent earners. It seems that Mr Tharman did exactly what Dr Balakrishnan attacked the SDP for.

This is not the only instance that the PAP has at first criticised the SDP ideas only to adopt them later. Other examples are:

Minimum wage
SDP proposes: Minimum wage in 2001.
PAP criticises: Minister Lim Swee Say criticises that Minimum Wage will erode Singapore’s competitiveness.
PAP copies: Government introduces the Progressive Wage Model where some low-income workers are paid a minimum wage of $1,000.

Universal healthcare
SDP proposes: Individual healthcare risks are pooled.
PAP criticises: Mr Lee Kuan Yew said: “…nobody derails the idea of having individual accounts for CPF and Medisave. Whatever you earn, it’s yours.”
PAP copies: Medishield Life now says that “everyone shares in the national risk pool”.

Singaporeans first policy
SDP proposes: Employers must try to hire Singaporeans first before considering employing foreigners.
PAP criticises: Senior Minister of State Amy Khor said that such a policy will not work.
PAP copies: MOM introduced the Fair Compensation Framework which “require employers to consider Singaporeans fairly before hiring Employment Pass holders.”

Dr Paul Ananth Tambyah transcript:
Minister Vivian Balakrishnan made some rather perplexing statements yesterday

http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/ge2015-sdp-policies-will-set-spore-on-the-road-to-greece-says-vivian-balakrishnan
First of all, he alleged that the SDP had copied policy prescriptions that had failed elsewhere. He does not provide any evidence to support these assertions and in fact, his assertion contradicts the World Health Organization which ranked the French Healthcare system which is probably closest to the SDP’s National Healthcare Plan as the best performing healthcare system in the world (http://www.who.int/healthinfo/paper30.pdf). The SDP healthcare system is benchmarked against the best healthcare systems in the world unlike the Greek social support system which has ignored the advice of international experts.

Second, according to the ST report, he selectively attacks parts of the SDP economic policy specifically raising taxes on the top earners and increasing social spending. Oddly enough, those are precisely the features of the 2015 budget proposed by Finance Minister Tharman (http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-budget-2015-personal-income-tax-for-top-5-of-earners-to-be-raised-says-tharman). I do not think that Minister Balakrishnan seriously believes that Minister Tharman is setting Singapore on the road to Greece. The SDP economic policy goes further than Minister Tharman’s budget proposals which we welcome – we also advocate a minimum wage, retrenchment insurance, and increasing transparency and accountability in social services including housing and healthcare.

Finally, it appears that the Minister has an incomplete understanding of the Greek crisis. The Greeks actually spend below the OECD average on healthcare (http://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Briefing-Note-GREECE-2014.pdf) and have levels of social spending far below the Nordic countries or even Germany. The reason for the Greek crisis is thought to be primarily a profligate approach to spending. This is quite different from the SDP proposals which are well thought out and balanced. We do not believe in uncontrolled overspending. In order to implement our policies, we need to be elected to parliament so as to help make those policies a reality for the good of Singaporeans.

Source: http://yoursdp.org

September 3, 2015
Chee Soon Juan: Waiting For Tonight

I’ve been waiting for tonight when I will finally get the chance to address my fellow Singaporeans again after 15 long years. I’ve been invited to speak all over the world but I would trade all those events for the opportunity to address my fellow citizens in a heartbeat. The biggest insult was when they got a foreigner (I was told he was from Israel on a special assignment to the SPF) to prevent me from just getting on stage to greet my own people in my own country.

Come tonight to our Opening Rally at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium. It’s been a long journey but we’re not looking back. The next mile starts tonight. Bring your family, tell all your friends – tell them that I have something important I want to share with them.

Source: Chee Soon Juan

September 3, 2015
5 Things About The First Night Of Rallies

Two rallies on Wednesday (Sept 2) night wrapped up the first full day of campaigning for the Sept 11 general election.

The People’s Action Party held a Tanjong Pagar GRC and Radin Mas rally at Delta Sports Complex, and the Workers’ Party turned up for a Hougang rally in the area.

Here are 5 things about the two rallies.

1. BIG TURNOUT AT THE WORKERS’ PARTY RALLY

The crowd at the WP rally at Hougang Central on Sept 2, 2015. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

The crowd at the WP rally at Hougang Central on Sept 2, 2015. ST PHOTO: YEO KAI WEN

As expected and as seen in the last few general elections, the WP rally in a field in Central Hougang attracted people in the thousands. They started gathering at about 6.15pm and by the end of the evening, the field was packed to overflowing.

After the rally was over, access to Hougang MRT station nearby was closed for a short while to control the human traffic on the platforms.

Workers’ Party supporters at Hougang MRT station after rally 2

But the crowd was generally well-behaved. In fact, people were spotted picking up litter from the field after the rally was over.

People pick up rubbish after Workers’ Party rally at Hougang Central

2. TURNOUT AT PAP RALLY SMALLER

Supporters of PAP Tanjong Pagar candidate Melvin Yong

Over in Tiong Bahru, the crowds were smaller and more measured, but things perked up when a vocal section of supporters for former senior police officer Melvin Yong – a Tanjong Pagar GRC candidate – turned up.

Outgoing Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew and former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Lim Hwee Hua were also spotted among the crowd.

Mr Chan Chun Sing greeting supporters at a PAP rally on Sept 2, 2015. ST PHOTO: JOANNA SEOW

Asked by reporters later if he felt discouraged that the turnout was smaller than that of the WP rally, anchor GRC candidate Chan Chun Sing had this reply: “No, no, we don’t let such things get into the way we serve our residents. Our focus is very simple. We take care of the residents and I think the residents will take care of the results.”

3. SPEECHES – WHO SPOKE AT THE PAP RALLY?

PM Lee (third right) and eight others spoke at the rally. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

Nine people including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who wrapped up the event.

Mr Chan was a lively presence, speaking fluidly in Malay and Chinese before launching into an impassioned English speech. Mentioning how he was laughed and mocked at times, he said in Mandarin: “I can’t bear to give up on my country or Tanjong Pagar!”

PAP’s Chan Chun Sing speaking in Mandarin at election rally

The other GRC candidates spoke about the causes they were passionate about. For instance, Ms Indranee Rajah on education (she also spoke briefly in Cantonese), Ms Joan Pereira on care for the elderly, and Dr Chia Shi-Lu on healthcare. Guest speaker Sidek Saniff touched on how the Malay community was never left behind while paying tribute to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Two issues – housing and healthcare – were on PM Lee’s agenda.

But he also spoke about the standard of the opposition towards the end of his speech, emphasising how politicians cannot afford to “cover up” or “play taiji” and delay problems, in a veiled reference to the ongoing Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) saga.

4. AND AT THE WP RALLY?

Mr Low was joined by 13 other speakers at the WP rally. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

The slate of 14 speakers was designed to show off both the WP’s new faces and put the spotlight on familiar ones.

Newcomers such as Cheryl Denise Loh (Nee Soon GRC) and Dr Daniel Goh (East Coast GRC) got airtime to talk about the causes they believe in as well. They also reiterated the party line about the opposition as a necessary check to the PAP and empowering Singaporeans in Parliament.

WP veterans Png Eng Huat and Low Thia Khiang were the big guns, coming on only towards the end after the younger ones had paved the way. They came out blazing with their speeches in Hokkien (Mr Png) and Teochew (Mr Low). While English speeches from the candidates in general tended to be more circumspect, the dialect speeches were earthier and more direct.

Rounding off the night was chairman Sylvia Lim, who, like the other WP seniors, addressed the AHPETC issue. She debunked four myths that she said the PAP had been spreading about the town council.

Workers’ Party Sylvia Lim: I’m the AHPETC chairman and I’m proud of it

5. MEMORABLE QUOTES?

PM Lee speaking at a PAP rally on Sept 2, 2015. ONG WEE JIN

“If people do something wrong but don’t fix it, and say ‘well, I haven’t been sent to jail’, then standards for politics is too low.”

– PM LEE HSIEN LOONG, WRAPPING UP HIS SPEECH

“In politics, your heart must be right. You cannot afford to be selfish, you cannot afford to cover up or play taiji, delaying problems.”

– PM LEE HSIEN LOONG

“Please don’t insult my residents. Do you think they are here to be bribed? Is this an election or an auction?”

– MR CHAN CHUN SING ON OPPOSITION PARTIES PROMISING RESIDENTS $300 A MONTH

“If there are any residents of Aljunied here, ‘kee chiew’!”

– MR MUHAMAD FAISAL ABDUL MANAP, WP CANDIDATE FOR ALJUNIED GRC, AT THE START OF HIS RALLY SPEECH. KEE CHIEW MEANS RAISE YOUR HAND IN HOKKIEN AND WAS A REFERENCE TO HOW MR CHAN CHUN SING HAD TRIED TO RALLY A CROWD USING THIS PHRASE WHEN HE FIRST ENTERED POLITICS

“You are the shareholders of this country. You tell the government what to do. Not the other way around.”

– MR DENNIS TAN, WP CANDIDATE FOR FENGSHAN

“The PAP government is not a government of the future but a ghost from the past.”

– MR PNG ENG HUAT, WP CANDIDATE FOR HOUGANG, IN HOKKIEN

Source: www.straitstimes.com

September 3, 2015
Rosalyn Lee: Good That PAP Not Populist, Does Not Foster Loser Mindset

Responding to Calvin Cheng’s comment that WP has dangerous socialist ideas like minimum wage, this is what local celebrity Rosalyn Lee has to say:

***

The Workers’ Party finally stand for something. lol!

im now fully convinced that they are nothing more than dangerous populists who would say/do anything to win the votes of the common people, without giving a hoot about the crippling consequences.

there are plenty of jobs available, its up to you to take it. heck, even collecting rubbish is a decent gig. i dont ever want us to stoop to becoming a state that takes care of the unemployed! it encourages complacency. cuz i mean, why bother to find work when you can collect benefits? and then what will happen to singapore if more people adopt that loser mindset? wahlaueh. pls lah!

Source: Rosalyn Lee (Official)

September 3, 2015