Category: Politik

The Opposition State Of Play: Who’s Running Where In General Elections?

A week after the Opposition first met to lay claim and discuss the constituencies they would contest at the upcoming General Election, it appears the parties have managed to strike a compromise to avoid multi-corner fights in all but one of the 29 electoral divisions.

Following announcements on Monday (Aug 10) by Singaporeans First and the National Solidarity Party, it appears that only the single seat of Potong Pasir – the smallest constituency on the political landscape – may see a three-cornered contest – and only because of an independent candidate, who has said he would throw his hat into the ring.

On Monday, NSP said it would no longer field candidates to contest Marine Parade GRC and MacPherson SMC – two constituencies that the Workers’ Party had staked claim to earlier. In a surprising turn of events, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) said it would allow the NSP to run in Sembawang GRC, even though the SDP had contested the constituency in the 2011 General Election.

Not long after, SingFirst announced that it would step aside in Ang Mo Kio GRC to allow the Reform Party to go head-to-head with the People’s Action Party team led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

These were the last points of contention between the established Opposition parties following their two meetings on Aug 3 and 6.

The parties had also agreed to avoid multi-corner fights at the 13 single seats. However, former NSP Secretary-General Tan Lam Siong has said he may contest Potong Pasir as an independent candidate.

Current Singapore People’s Party Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Lina Chiam has indicated she will contest the ward, which was helmed by her husband Chiam See Tong for 27 years. Mrs Chiam lost the 2011 ballot by just 114 votes.

WHO’S RUNNING WHERE?

There is no surprise that the Workers’ Party – which currently has 7 elected members in Parliament, as well as two NCMPs – is the Opposition party set to contest the most seats: 28. This is 5 more than the 23 candidates it fielded in 2011.

Three other parties – SDP, NSP and RP – look set to field 11 candidates each.

The SDP is eyeing Holland-Bukit Timah and Marsiling-Yew Tee GRCs, as well as three SMCs: Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang and Yuhua. The NSP said it will contest Tampines and Sembawang GRCs as well as Pioneer SMC. Meanwhile, RP will look to field teams in Ang Mo Kio and West Coast GRCs as well as a candidate in Radin Mas SMC.

SingFirst has indicated it will field 10 candidates in two five-member GRCs – Jurong and Tanjong Pagar.

The SPP, headed by Mr Chiam See Tong, and the Democratic Progressive Party – headed by Mr Benjamin Pwee, who ran under the SPP banner in 2011 – will collectively challenge for eight seats. SPP will field candidates in Potong Pasir, Mountbatten and Hong Kah North, while a joint team will be fielded for the 5-member Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. It is not yet known under which party banner the GRC team will be fielded.

Helmed by Secretary-General Desmond Lim, the Singapore Democratic Alliance will again field a six-man slate in Pasir Ris-Punggol, where it took 35.21 per cent of the vote in 2011. The People’s Power Party – started by Mr Goh Meng Seng, another former NSP Secretary-General – will field the smallest team of all the Opposition parties, contesting in the 4-member Chua Chu Kang GRC.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

August 11, 2015
Zulfikar Shariff: Muslims Must Let Islam, Not Political Affiliations, Be Foundation Of Decisions

Yesterday I asked how a Muslim PAP supporter will choose if weakening the PAP is beneficial to Islam. Will they support weakening their party for Islam’s sake?

The only response from someone who rejected the question based his discussion on the minority position of Muslims in Singapore. The response was based on standing as a candidate in an SMC.

Political action should not be restricted to standing as candidates or being in a political party. Anyone who participates in society is a political actor. Your relationship with society, with the state, your public (and at times private) interactions are political. We are political beings, whether we believe in a political system, support a party or actively participate in an election.

To simply restrict political action to being a candidate is to ignore a large portion of our socio-political interactions.

We need to free ourselves from the confines that LKY and GCT tried to impose on us.

Let us look at another argument that needs to be refined.

Muslims have over the years, argued that we are the swing votes. While we do not have the numerical ability to stand on a platform based on our religious values, the belief is that we can be kingmakers.

But let us not deceive ourselves on our own importance. We are about 15% of the population. There are guesstimates as to how many Muslims support the PAP. Some claim the majority of Muslims will always vote for the PAP while others argue its a minority.

For ease of discussions, let us assume it to be 50%.

The PAP won a 60% majority in the last elections. The 30%+ who rejected them included half of the Muslim community.

Even if we vote en bloc, the PAP nationally, will not be affected. If every Muslim in Singapore vote for opposition, the PAP would still get 50%+ of the votes. And if all of us vote for the PAP, they would still get 60%+.

We are not kingmakers.

But this does not fully discuss the possibilities. While we may not be kingmakers, we can have an effect in several constituencies.

The PAP won 51% at the Joo Chiat SMC. It has now been absorbed into Marine Parade GRC (57% in 2011).

A swing of Muslim votes in this GRC can result in a shift.

There are several other constituencies that were won with very slim majorities (less than 5%).Similarly, the WP won Aljunied with less than 5% majority.

If we truly want to expand our political options, look beyond party lines.

The PAP obviously will not want Muslims to be politically effective. They would prefer our participation to be based on the system they defined. This has now been normalised such that opposition parties may similarly demand the rejection of religious values in a population’s political decisions.

As though their religious or non-religious beliefs do not inform and dictate their own values and decisions.

If we truly care about Islam, let us think beyond party lines. We have been indoctrinated into thinking our interests should not matter. As though Islam should have no part in our decisions on politics.

Islam defines us. Every decision, every action, should be based on Islam.

Let us return Islam to the forefront of all our decisions.

Source: Zulfikar Shariff

August 7, 2015
TOC Ordered To Take Down Article

Socio-political blog The Online Citizen (TOC) has been ordered to take down an article again.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) issued a take-down notice to the site for an article titled, “Severe consequences for a PAP majority with its underground city for 10m population”.

It was written by a “concerned Singaporean” and published last Monday (Jul 31).

This is the second time in about seven months that the AGC is citing the Protection from Harassment Act against TOC, according to a post on the site yesterday (Aug 5), written by executive editor Terry Xu.

The post had the headline “AGC threatens to use anti-harassment act on TOC – again”.

In a letter received by TOC on Wednesday afternoon, the AGC said the author of the article made a “patently false statement, namely that monies raised from the issuance of Singapore Savings Bonds will be used to finance the construction of an underground city for a population of 10 million”.

This letter was reproduced in full on the TOC site.

In the letter, the AGC said there was no plan to build a city or residential developments underground to accommodate a “10 million population”.

Underground space has been developed for infrastructure such as MRT rail lines, utilities and storage spaces, it said.

“This is intended in fact to prioritise and maximise surface land to create a good environment which meet the needs of our people and their families for work, live and play.”

The AGC also noted that TOC did not check with the Ministry of National Development before publishing the article, and requested that TOC either remove the false statement in the article or include an AGC notice as a preface to the article.

It added that if TOC did not comply with the request by 6pm Wednesday (Aug 5), it would take out an application under Section 15 of the Protection from Harassment Act to obtain a court order restraining further publication of the statement.

As of Wednesday night, the AGC notice was found at the top of the article which AGC had issue with.

TOC was recently issued a take-down notice for publishing a letter from teen blogger Amos Yee’s lawyer Alfred Dodwell, which was deemed in contempt of court.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

August 6, 2015
Low Thia Khiang To Contest In Aljunied GRC

The Secretary-General of the Opposition Workers’ Party (WP) Low Thia Khiang has confirmed he will defend his seat in Aljunied GRC for the upcoming General Election.

“I appreciate very much the residents of Aljunied who have given us a chance to serve, who have responded to the call to move Singapore towards a First World Parliament,” he told reporters before his Meet The People session in Hougang on Wednesday (Aug 5).

He said he is “happy” to see that the Government today is “more responsive”. “There are many policy U-turns being made for the benefit of the people and I want to continue to serve residents of Aljunied GRC and I’m grateful for their support,” Mr Low added.

Aljunied GRC is the only Opposition-run GRC in Singapore. In 2011, the WP won 54.7 per cent of the votes in the General Election, versus the ruling People’s Action Party’s 45.3 per cent. The WP team there includes party chairman Sylvia Lim, and MPs Chen Show Mao, Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap and Pritam Singh.

Mr Low added that it is difficult for the party to move. “Where else can we move? Our base is here. We don’t have the resources to go as far as the West or all over Singapore,” Mr Low stated.

“We make good use of our resources to provide a choice to Singaporeans and to build up a credible Opposition over time.”

When asked if the upcoming election will see the current WP team of Aljunied MPs intact, he said: “We will give you more information about the candidates and all that so let’s be patient about it. But I will stay.”

He added that the WP would still like to avoid three-cornered fights if possible as it is a “waste of resources”.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

August 6, 2015
Tan Lam Siong: Respect For 100 Year Old Grandma Who Still Collects Cardbox Boxes

I saw her struggly to push her trolley of cardboards up the ramp at block 113 of Potong Pasir and moved to help her. In a jiff, she was rummaging through the dustbin behind the pillar in the void deck.

I squatted next to her as she was about to empty the contents of a paper box. I asked why she was collecting cardboxes. Her reply was that she needed to support herself. She lives alone in Punggol but collects cardboxes and old clothes from Lorong 8 Toa Payoh to Potong Pasir every day from morning 6am to night 9pm. When I asked her for her age, I could not believe her answer. She is 99 and turning 100 next April. She is undoubtedly the oldest collector of carboards in Singapore.

Her eyesight and hearing are still good but her body is permanently arched as a result of constantly bending down to collect cardboards. She has been doing this for many, many years. Her 3 children have left her and are no longer in touch with her. She has a grandson, abandoned by his parents and cared by her since young, who is in national service.

She makes about $20 a day, and sells about 150 kg of cardboards for a meagre $9. She is not receiving any financial help from the government as she finds it troublesome. She shares a one-room flat with a flatmate and pays her half share of the monthly rent which works out to about $200.

I shuddered at the thought that someone who is almost 100 years old, has to be collecting cardboards for a living and has not received any public assistance. My heart sank at the sight of her wrinkled hands and rugged fingers.

I asked for her permission to wheel her trolley around to get a feel of the weight of her trolley which was fully laden. When I pushed it back to her and asked where she will be wheeling it to, her answer startled me. She was going to wheel it to Lorong 8 in Toa Payoh and said that it will take her half an hour to do so.

Life has been really harsh to this grand old dame but she displays a resilience that puts everyone to shame. When she turns 100 in April, let’s celebrate with her. Granny Chung Siew Ching. Meanwhile, if you get to see her around Lorong 8 Toa Payoh and Potong Pasir, do buy her drink and food. Thank you.

Source: http://tanlamsiong.blogspot.sg

August 6, 2015