Category: Politik

Shamsul Kamar Named In PAP Team For Aljunied GRC

The People’s Action Party (PAP) on Friday (Aug 28) officially announced its lineup for Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) for the General Election (GE).

PAP members Yeo Guat Kwang, Chua Eng Leong, Victor Lye, K Muralidharan Pillai and Shamsul Kamar will attempt to win back the GRC from the Workers’ Party.

At the 2011 polls, the WP took 54.72 per cent of the votes in Aljunied GRC against a PAP team led by former Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo. It marked the first time a GRC had been won by an Opposition party since the introduction of the GRC system in 1988.

The WP has already announced that its 2011 lineup of Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang, Chairman Sylvia Lim, Mr Chen Show Mao, Mr Faisal Manap and Mr Pritam Singh will defend Aljunied GRC this year.

The five PAP candidates for Aljunied GRC are:

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, 54, Assistant Secretary-General of National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)

Mr Yeo served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Cheng San GRC from 1997 to 2001 and Aljunied GRC from 2001 to 2011 before moving to Ang Mo Kio GRC. He was tipped to retire from politics this year, but at the PAP’s unveiling of its Ang Mo Kio candidates for the GE, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong instead announced that Mr Yeo would be fielded in another constituency.

“It’s so good to be home. I served here for years,” Mr Yeo said, on his return to Aljunied GRC.

“I’m a PAP man – I’m a man who serves with passion and purpose. I remind myself to be practical, pragmatic, get to the root of the problem and help,” he said.

He has been championing labour issues since he entered politics in 1997, Mr Yeo said. “We do our best to help them (workers) enhance their employability and to increase opportunities for all.”

Mr Chua Eng Leong, 44, private banker

Mr Chua is the chairman of the PAP’s Eunos branch. His father is the late former Cabinet Minister Chua Sian Chin, who passed away last year.

He joined PAP in 2011 because he was concerned about the future of young Singaporeans, he said. “Why the PAP? I was born PAP – it’s about Passion, Ability and Purposeful service.”

“Politics is just another name for service to the nation,” he said, adding “we can only be effective if we listen. Voters want to know we care”.

Mr Lye, who has two children, said that one of the programmes he plans to champion for is youth at risk. “This is a special group … All youths should get opportunities to do well in life,” he said.

More should also be done for young families, he said. “We need to pay more attention to (these) families, catering for more childcare, infantcare and eldercare facilities.”

Mr Victor Lye, 52, Chief Executive of Shenton Insurance

Mr Lye is the chairman of the PAP’s Bedok Reservoir-Punggol branch. He is also chairman of the National Council against Drug Abuse, and sits on the board of directors at the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.

An Aljunied resident, Mr Lye has been involved in grassroots work in the constituency since 1999, and has been the PAP’s Aljunied branch chairman since 2012.

Currently the CEO of a medical insurance company, Mr Lye said he enjoys turning businesses around. “My experience in the private sector helps me understand problems faced by Singaporeans … helps me empathise with others.”

When the PAP lost the 2011 General Election to the opposition Workers’ Party, he decided to stay on. “After 2011, it would have been easy to walk away. But we are here to serve and that hasn’t changed. Where few dare to tread, it’s more meaningful because I finally know where my heart is,” he said.

“I believe in ground-up leadership. We need to connect better with our people.”

Mr K Muralidharan Pillai, 47, lawyer

Mr Muralidharan is chairman of the PAP’s Paya Lebar branch. Before embarking on a legal career, he was Assistant Superintendent in the Singapore Police Force.

Mr Muralidharan, who also spoke in Tamil, Mandarin and Malay during the press conference for the unveiling, said he was honoured that the PAP decided to field him as a candidate, despite being the son of a former political detainee.

“If elected, my focus would be on social mobility. We all don’t want a permanent underclass to emerge in Singapore. The Government has done a lot for social mobility, the challenge is for families to grasp the opportunities,” he said.

“This isn’t a career enhancement move,” he said. “I don’t know how long my political career will be – it could be 10 days … I’m not fazed by the odds. I will fight this election with all my heart.”

Mr Shamsul Kamar, 43, former head of department, Spectra Secondary School

Mr Shamsul took over as chairman of the PAP’s Kaki Bukit Branch just this month, although he was a grassroots leader there from 2006 to 2011.

The former head of department in Spectra Secondary School, Mr Shamsul said he taught students from the Normal (Technical) stream. These kids are “underdogs”, he said, “not academically inclined but creative”.

If elected, he will ensure that students like these are able to complete their education. “Education is one of the most effective social levellers,” he said.

Another issue close to his heart is underprivileged families, he said. “Despite the support available to them, many still need a leg up. We can do a lot more.”

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

August 28, 2015
Elitism Quotes By PAP

Small collection of quotes by PAP Ministers etc. on the “aristocracy mentality.” Thanks to readers for contributing some of these 🙂

1. “Without a natural aristocracy. . .society will lose out.”
— Lee Hsien Loong, 2015

2. “I don’t respond to anything on The Real Singapore, which is a Facebook page and website written by morons, commented on by morons, and read and shared by morons.”
— Calvin Cheng, 2014

3. “The problem today is that PAP is a bit too elitist. . .they don’t feel for the people; overall, there is a lack of empathy.”
— Ngiam Tong Dow, 2013

4. “Maybe it made lesser mortals envious and they thought maybe he was a little bit boastful.”
— Charles Chong, MP (on senior civil servant Tan Yong Soon’s S$46,000 five-week courseat a prestigious French cooking school)

5. “I feel my own angst riding with the common people. But I suppose it’s good to get the feel from the ground every now and then, to connect with the peasantry.”
— PAP Supporter and former Law Society employee, Nicholas-Seth Leong on his second MRT trip in 2012

6. “Please, get out of my elite uncaring face.”
— Wee Shu Min, scholar-daughter of former MP Wee Siew Kim

7. “Remember your place in society before you engage in political debate… Debate cannot generate into a free-for-all where no distinction is made between the senior and junior party… You must make distinctions – What is high, what is low, what is above, what is below, and then within this, we can have a debate, we can have a discussion… people should not take on those in authority as ‘equals’.”
— Former Foreign Minister George Yeo (1994)

8. “They (top civil servants) get paid more, they’re highly educated, and they have bigger egos, bigger than any government employees I’ve met anywhere else in the world. It’s not good or bad, but they consider themselves superior to almost any government employee in the world.”
— Renowned executive coach Marshall Goldsmith on civil servants’ ego in Singapore (2011)

9. “$600,000 a year is peanuts.”
— Mrs. Goh Chok Tong (2004)

10. “We are our own check. The integrity of our leaders, of our MPs. That’s where the check comes from.”
— Goh Chok Tong, 26 August 2015

11. “I didn’t ask for it. That was the rate for the job, that’s what I accepted. You don’t like the rate, I can’t help it.”
— President Nathan who doesn’t feel he needs to defend his high salary which was criticised extensively online. (The Sunday Times, 7 Aug 2011)

12. “I don’t think that there should be a cap on the number of directorship that a person can hold.”
— PAP MP John Chen who held 8 directorships

13. “It’s not for the money because some of the companies pay me as little as $10,000 a year.”
— PAP MP Wang Kai Yuen who held 11 directorships

14. “One evening, I drove to Little India and it was pitch dark but not because there was no light, but because there were too many Indians around.”
— Former PAP MP Mr Choo Wee Khiang, in a speech in Parliament in 1992

15. “Smaller Medisave means you’re lazy and work less.”
— Khaw Boon Wan (2013)

16. “There’s no ladder to climb when the top rung is reserved for people with a certain name.”
— Forbes (2009)

17. “The elite’s privileged position in decision-making and exclusive formulation of organisational policies will only serve to reflect the elite’s self-interests instead of that of the masses.”
— Classical elite theorist Robert Michels, via Soh Yi Da

18. “Our funds are accountable to the government. I would not believe that transparencyis everything.”
— PM Lee Hsien Loong, The Telegraph UK

19. “As an anti-PAP retired civil servant, I can tell you that all the PAP media events are staged with great care. Every photo opportunity is meticulously planned. As a former government press officer told me, we must manipulate the message.”
— TRE Comment

20. “We are same — same but different.”
— Lim Swee Say via Teo Chee Hean (2015)

21. “The reality as societies developed is that leaders often come from the same social circles, educational backgrounds and even family trees.”
— Lee Kuan Yew, 2011

22. We decide what is right. Never mind what the people think.”
— Lee Kuan Yew, 1987

23. “In short, the elite.”
— Lee Kuan Yew, 1966

Source: https://jesscscott.wordpress.com

August 28, 2015
Daniel Goh: WP Candidates Don’t Need To be Introduced In Coffeshops Because The Heartland Is Our Everyday Reality

A reporter asked the introduced candidates what we thought of the PAP introducing their candidates in coffeeshops and other heartland venues while WP was doing this at the party HQ. Dylan and Choong Yong answered, but before I could, an AFP reporter abruptly interjected with a question he thought was more important, and Redzwan and I didn’t answer the question.

No matter, but the question left me thinking. My answer would have been, with a bit of extra hindsight time, “So what? I live in heartland spaces every day; I get introduced as a candidate at the HQ because it is a special event. My normal reality is the heartland, the heartland is not a special event for me. My life is the heartland, the heartland is not my symbolic gesture.”

So this is what I did after the press conference. Choong Yong generously gave me a lift back and went to the coffee shop across from my HDB block to work. I went back, said hello to my neighbour who was doing some DIY work in the corridor, changed to tee-shirt and berms, played a game of Zingo! with my son, and shared what happened with the wife. My mum was on her way back from work, and I know my son would want to do gardening with grandma to maintain the potted plants outside, so I took the chance to head to the bank at Nex mall to get a cashier’s order for the election deposit.

Along the way at the void deck I said hello and spoke briefly to the “guardian angel” uncle who sits at the stone table in the mornings and evenings to watch the crowds. At the traffic lights, two schoolboys were playing catching around me, and I glared at one of them because he almost crashed into me with his cup of soft drink. In Nex, I politely declined promoters trying to sell me something and negotiated some kan cheong aunties at the escalators. Got my cashier’s order, and while walking back through the bus interchange I saw my phone notifications had went crazy due to the buzz about my candidate introduction on social media.

But the irony is no one recognised me in the heartland, because I fade into it with my unclely tee-shirt and berms. And there is nothing special about the heartland, just the banality of everyday life which we cherish for its persistence. I rarely take selfies but I thought I should just do one to register a moment. It would have been extremely uncomfortable for me if I was introduced as a candidate at the coffeeshop or some other heartland spaces, because it would be symbolic tokenism that appropriates our living space for my own political profit.

Source: Daniel Goh 吴佩松

August 28, 2015
Firuz Khan Unveiled As Workers’ Party Candidate

The Workers’ Party unveiled four more potential candidates for the 2015 General Election on Thursday (Aug 27).

The new faces presented at the press conference were Mr Luke Koh, Ms Cheryl Loh, Mr Firuz Khan and Mr Terence Tan. Also at the WP headquarters for the event were party Chairman Sylvia Lim and Mr Png Eng Huat.

Mr Terence Tan, 44, a litigation lawyer and entrepreneur, said: “I’ve been walking with Mr Yee Jenn Jong in Joo Chiat and the surrounding areas since 2013. I’ve witnessed WP’s genuine commitment to serve Singaporeans and benefit Singaporeans’ lives. It was while volunteering with WP that I witnessed true servant leadership.”

He added: “I believe there is much desire for responsible, reasonable and rational checks and balances for the Government. An Opposition that does not oppose purely for the sake of it.

“I really do believe that the Government has focused on too much short-term economic gain instead of long-term gain for us.”

He said he found that things were “not the same” when he came back to Singapore following a decade overseas.

“Singaporeans are less optimistic, they can’t make the CPF Minimum Sum … we need to have reasonable debate in Parliament so the Government can refocus its policies. We need to remind the Government: Please put Singaporeans at the forefront of their policies.”

Ms Cheryl Loh, 31, a sales consultant with a document management company, said her focus was on education: “The young are the future of Singapore, and I feel no young person in Singapore should be deprived of an education because of their family background.”

“The Workers’ Party has been around for more than five decades, which speaks volumes for our credibility. We are here to stay. We are here for a purpose: To better the lives of Singaporeans,” added Ms Loh.

“We are here to provide a voice for fellow Singaporeans in Parliament.

“If elected, I will come up with events so that the community will get together, I can talk to them, and understand their concerns and issues.”

Mr Firuz Khan, 48, a manager at a chocolate manufacturer, said he joined the WP in 2006.

“I had always wanted to help my countrymen. My journey to politics started when I returned from my studies in the UK in 1996, and noticed things were different. I look forward to contributing more for the people of Singapore,” said Mr Khan.

Mr Khan – a volunteer at the Paya Lebar division of Aljunied GRC, was also the principal of Pertapis Children’s Home from 1999 to 2001, as well as a member of the Singapore Malay Teachers’ Cooperative.

Mr Luke Koh, 41, managing partner of a private investment business, has been helping out at the grassroots level with both party Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang and Faisal Manap.

“Why vote for the WP? David Marshall dedicated his life to freeing Singapore from British rule. He founded the WP more than 50 years ago. He loved Singapore, and I too love Singapore,” said Mr Koh.

He said the campaigns of decades past to get people to stop at two children, as well as the Graduate Mothers scheme have led to an “ageing crisis” in Singapore.

“Singapore needs more WP Members of Parliament to prevent another crisis in the next 20 to 30 years.”

THE VOTE AS BARGAINING POWER

Said Chairman Sylvia Lim on the party’s “Empower your future” slogan, unveiled on Wednesday: “We have always seen the vote as a bargaining power citizens have with the government, so people can express their views on the performance of the government.

“We do see the vote as instrumental to the people being empowered to bring the country to the right direction.

“Because of the more complex environment, even the Government admits that it doesn’t have the answers to everything. The Government monitors votes very carefully, so people are empowered in our negotiations with the Government.”

The party has declared that it will contest 28 seats – 5 more than the 23 candidates it fielded in 2011 – but has said they will only announce the constituencies the candidates will contest on Nomination Day on Sep 1.

As the incumbent, the Workers’ Party is expected to defend its seat in Aljunied GRC, Hougang SMC and Punggol East SMC. WP chairman Sylvia Lim earlier said that all the same teams will defend their constituencies.

On Wednesday, the party unveiled four potential candidates: NUS Associate Professor of sociology Daniel Goh, engineer Redzwan Hafidz Abdul Razak, Ruckus Wireless Singapore software engineer Koh Choong Yong and banker Dylan Ng.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

August 28, 2015
Noraini Yunus Diumum Antara Calon Reform Party Di West Coast GRC

Parti Reform (RP) hari ini mengumumkan senarai calonnya untuk Kawasan Undi Perwakilan Berkumpulan (GRC) West Coast dan Kawasan Undi Perseorangan (SMC) Radin Mas bagi Pilihan Raya Umum akan datang.

Pasukan empat anggota RP yang akan bertanding di GRC itu termasuk calon Melayu/Islam, Cik Noraini Yunus, 47 tahun, eksekutif perkhidmatan pelanggan yang juga bekas anggota Parti Perpaduan Nasional (NSP) dan Parti Progresif Demokratik (DPP).

Barisan calon RP untuk GRC West Coast dan SMC Radin Mas. (Gambar: Elizabeth Goh)

Pasukan tersebut diterajui ketua parti, Encik Kenneth Jeyaretnam, 56 tahun, ahli politik sepenuh masa, dan turut disertai Encik Andy Zhu, 32 tahun, ejen hartanah dan pengerusi parti; serta Encik Darren Soh, 45 tahun, yang juga seorang ejen hartanah.

Anggota RP, Kumar Appavoo, 46 tahun, pula akan bertanding di SMC Radin Mas. Encik Appavoo, pengarah syarikat gas dan minyak, ialah sebahagian daripada pasukan RP yang bertanding di GRC West Coast pada 2011.

MAHU TUMPUKAN PADA ISU-ISU MELAYU

Dalam sidang media pagi tadi, Cik Noraini berkata tumpuannya ialah isu-isu yang dihadapi masyarakat Melayu/Islam. Beliau juga melahirkan harapan untuk menjadi Anggota Parlimen pembangkang wanita Melayu pertama di Parlimen, dan mahu mengetengahkan isu-isu peka.

“Saya datang daripada keluarga Melayu, keluarga berkolar biru, dan dulu saya menyertai ayah saya di lawatan-lawatan bertemu penduduk semasa beliau menyertai Barisan Sosialis (parti politik Singapura yang sudah dibubarkan),” ujar beliau.

Mengenai langkahnya melompat parti dari NSP ke DPP dan kini RP, Cik Noraini berkata: “Jika anda melihat saya berpindah dari satu parti ke parti yang lain, ia adalah kerana saya percaya kita boleh berkhidmat di bawah parti-parti berlainan.” Beliau menyifatkan langkahnya ‘lompat parti’ itu sebagai satu “kembara” yang semula jadi.

Cik Noraini menambah bahawa “ramai orang takutkan sekularisme, sedangkan Singapura adalah satu negara sekularisme, dan dengan itu banyak lagi perkara seperti pelajaran, matematik dan sebagainya, mereka takuti, mereka fobia. “

“Jadi saya tetap tidak berganjak dengan prinsip saya untuk menegakkan sekularisme yang tidak menakutkan, yang tidak memomokkan sesiapa tapi dapat membantu kita maju bersama-sama masyarakat lain.”

JEYARETNAM: AKAN DESAK PERUBAHAN PADA DASAR-DASAR PAP

Encik Jeyaretnam pula berkata jika dilantik, beliau akan mendesak supaya beberapa perubahan dilakukan pada dasar-dasar yang dilaksanakan Parti Tindakan Rakyat (PAP). Beliau memberi contoh pelan kebangsaan bernilai $3 bilion untuk membantu warga emas kekal aktif, yang diumumkan semalam.

“Ia akan dilaksanakan sepanjang 5 tahun, jadi ia bernilai kurang S$600 juta setahun. Kami mahu memastikan pencen untuk usia lanjut disediakan kepada semua warga emas setiap bulan – $500 sebulan, iaitu sejumlah $3 bilion setahun,” ujar beliau.

RP, katanya, akan turut menyarankan agar batas ditetapkan pada jumlah pekerja asing yang masuk ke Singapura.

“Kami tidak rasa sistem pekerja asing sekarang ini memberikan manfaat. Gaji boleh sahaja dikurangkan, sementera pemerintah masih menggalak firma-firma di sini untuk menggantikan pekerja Singapura dengan pekerja asing. Kami ingin menghentikannya,” kata Encik Jeyaretnam.

Kata beliau, manifesto penuh partinya masih sedang diusahakan dan akan dikeluarkan tidak lama lagi.

Pada pilihan raya 2011, pasukan PAP menang GRC West Coast dan menewaskan pasukan RP yang diterajui Encik Jeyaretnam dengan memperolehi 66.57 peratus undi.

PAP sudah mengumumkan barisan calonnya yang akan bertanding di GRC itu, iaitu Encik Lim Hng Kiang, Cik Foo Mee Har, Encik S Iswaran dan Encik Patrick Tay.

Dalam pilihan raya lalu, calon PAP, Sam Tan juga memenangi SMC Radin Mas dengan memperolehi 67.1 peratus undi dan menewaskan calon NSP, Yip Yew Weng. PAP sudah mengumumkan bahawa Encik Tan akan mempertahankan kerusi parlimennya dalam Pilihan Raya Umum pada 11 September ini.

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

August 28, 2015