Category: Politik

Shamsul Kamar Takes Over Kahar Hassan In Kaki Bukit

SINGAPORE: The new chairman of the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Kaki Bukit Branch will be Mr Shamsul Kamar, currently the head of department for student management at Spectra Secondary School. He will take over from Mr Kahar Hassan, who stepped down on Friday (Jul 31).

Former PAP Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister Lim Boon Heng announced this after a meeting with grassroots leaders at the Thye Hua Kwan Family Service Centre at Bedok North on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Lim told reporters after the meeting that the decision to move Mr Kahar was “not because he’s done anything criminal or there’s a scandal”.

“There’s nothing of the sort. In fact, he has worked very hard in the past 16 months in Kaki Bukit and given the assurance to the residents here that even though it is in Opposition hands, the PAP still looks after the residents in Kaki Bukit.”

The area is in Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC), which is under The Workers’ Party.

The Thye Hua Kwan Family Service Centre at Bedok North where a closed-door meeting between the PAP’s Kaki Bukit Branch members and grassroots leaders was held (Photo: Loke Kok Fai)

Mr Lim explained that for the upcoming General Election, the PAP will deploy who it believes would be able to deliver the “best possible performance” on the ground, and that Mr Kahar could be “placed in a better role somewhere else”.

The party has been “introducing people to work on the ground to test how they relate to the residents and how they relate with the activists”, Mr Lim said. “This is the basic, fundamental reason PAP has made the change.”

He added that the decision as to who the party will be fielding in Aljunied GRC is not set in stone, and that it might be changed closer to the election date.

Mr Kahar, an SMRT deputy director, was present at Saturday’s meeting to hand over the reins.

As for Mr Shamsul, he has tendered his resignation with the Ministry of Education and is serving out his notice period, which expires on Aug 21. He was spotted at the closed-door meeting wearing a white polo t-shirt, but left shortly after it ended and did not take questions from the media.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

August 2, 2015
Election On 12 Sep? Last Day Of Hungry Ghost Month

FENGSHUI MASTERS: BAD LUCK?

The chatter on everyone’s lips seems to be: Will the General Election be held on Sept 12?

While nothing has been announced so far, “The Date” has been widely suggested and discussed in text messages and social media.

Even veteran MP Inderjit Singh agreed that Sept 12 looks likely in a Straits Times report earlier this month.

The date is the last Saturday of the week-long school holidays, which frees schools to be used as polling stations and teachers to be tapped to man these stations.

It is also the last day of the Hungry Ghost month.

For those who are superstitious or who believe in fengshui, the date may not be a good day to hold an election.

Master David Tong, 40, told The New Paper: “Sept 12, according to the Tong Shu (the Chinese almanac), is a bad day. It’s a Month Breaker day. Hence, it is a bad day to carry out any important activities.”

A Month Breaker day is a day where the energies of that day are in conflict with the energies of the month.

DIFFICULT TIME

Master Kevin Foong held a similar view.

He said: “If election is truly in the September period, the energy suggested by the planetary movement (based on astrology) or Chinese metaphysics based on the lunar calendar both suggest it is going to be a difficult time for the Government to fully convince the voters in their favour.

“The Government has a high chance of retaining control, but may have certain districts having unexpected results.”

Understandably, those who are superstitious may not want to plan important activities during the Hungry Ghost month and risk upsetting the souls of the dead, who are said to roam the earth during this time.

But one fengshui master told TNP that there is nothing to worry about.

Master Goh Guan Leong said: “The rumoured date of Sept 12 is very interesting. It is basically a day of Metal and Wood elements, with the strength of Metal being overwhelmingly strong and in favour of the incumbent party.”

In past general elections which coincided with the Hungry Ghost month – 1972, 1988, 1991 – the People’s Action Party (PAP) performed fairly well.

In 1972, PAP won all 65 seats. In 1988, it gained 80 out of 81 seats while in 1991, PAP won 77 of the 81 seats.

Sept 12, according to the Tong Shu (the Chinese almanac), is a bad day. It’s a Month Breaker day. Hence, it is a bad day to carry out any important activities.

– Fengshui master David Tong, 40,

POLITICAL OBSERVERS: Good mood?

Judging ground sentiment is more important when calling for a general election, said political observers.

Dr Gillian Koh, senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, said it was natural for the ruling party to want to learn the extent to which government policy has made the “ground sweet”.

She said: “In a way, the public may not care what the policy is called. They care that their lives are better.

“The politicians will also want to see if the social mood is a positive one.”

Associate law professor Eugene Tan of the Singapore Management University agreed.

Aside from judging ground sentiment, being able “to show a good report card” to the electorate is also important, he said.

Other considerations include whether the party calling the date has its people, talent and manpower ready.

Said Dr Koh: “So it won’t just be about the mood of the voters. It’s also about the mood of the rank and file of the party. The candidates themselves have to be ready as well.”

Nevertheless, despite the hype about Sept 12, Prof Tan does not think that the General Election will fall in September.

He said there may be “competition for the use of open fields” if campaigning clashes with getai events.

Candidates would also be busy at getai events as special guests.

The former nominated MP suggested November or December as better months.

“This would then give the longest lead-up time. So any accusations of unfairness and lack of time would be severely diluted,” he said.

Source: www.tnp.sg

August 1, 2015
2011 Walkover ‘A Very Big Disadvantage’ For PAP Candidates

Only one constituency – Tanjong Pagar – went uncontested in the 2011 General Election. The lack of a contest there is “a very big disadvantage” for the incumbent Members of Parliament there, says Dr Chia Shi-Lu.

The consultant orthopaedic surgeon was assured of a seat in Parliament on Nomination Day four years ago when a Singapore Democratic Alliance team intending to contest the Group Representation Constituency filed their nomination papers after the deadline.

The People’s Action Party went on to win 60.1 per cent of the votes in the 26 other constituencies islandwide, following an intensive campaign period which ultimately saw it lose a GRC for the first time in history.

This time round, the incumbents at Tanjong Pagar could have two things working against them, said Dr Chia: Not having been in the thick of the hustings, and the risk of complacency.

“This is a very big challenge, a very big disadvantage for us,” said Dr Chia, speaking to Channel NewsAsia on the sidelines of the Global Youth Leaders’ Summit, held at Bishan Park Secondary School on Thursday (Jul 30). “Because of this we actually have to work harder.”

WILL THE TEAM CHANGE?

The MP in charge of the Queenstown ward said that their preparation for the upcoming General Election, which will have to be held by early 2017 but which observers expect to take place in the near future, started even before Polling Day, 2011.

“We started working in Apr 2011. Even though we didn’t have an election at that time, we did our campaigning,” he said.

Part of the reason was to keep themselves on their toes, to ensure the PAP team remained relevant to the electorate.

“If the incumbent has been there for many years, sometimes it may not always work to their advantage because people are used to them and they keep on doing the same thing. It may have worked in the past but it may not work in the future,” he said.

Change, therefore, is a necessary constant.

In 2011, the Tanjong Pagar PAP team only had two candidates remaining from their 2006 campaign (also a walkover): Mr Lee Kuan Yew, a stalwart there since the pre-Independence 1955 Legislative Assembly General Elections, and Ms Indranee Rajah.

This time round, a rumoured possibility is that Dr Lily Neo will move over from Tanjong Pagar to neighbouring Jalan Besar GRC, where she served as MP from 2001 to 2011.

Dr Chia said of the MP of the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng ward, which will sit in Jalan Besar GRC following recommendations from the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee: “The area she looks after hasn’t changed. In fact it has gone back to 2006 so I don’t think it’s that much of a change. I think there’s not much of a surprise there. Of course as colleagues we are sad to have her move to another GRC because we have done so many events together.”

THE LEE KUAN YEW LEGACY

One man’s shadow looms large in Tanjong Pagar – that of founding Prime Minister Lee, who passed away in March this year.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu (centre) greets members of the public who came to pay respects to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew at Tanjong Pagar Community Club on Mar 24, 2015. (File photo: TODAY)

And Dr Chia – who was awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Postgraduate Scholarship in 2003, allowing him to pursue his doctoral degree in England – said the team there still acts with Mr Lee’s principles in mind.

“When I first joined politics and was nominated and came into Tanjong Pagar, the first thing he told me is: Whatever you do, you just do your job well and look after the residents. Do what you are here to do and look after the residents to the best of your ability,” said Dr Chia.

“It’s kind of direct and typical of his style.

“We still go according to the principles of Mr Lee – we will do what we have always been doing.

“He has always maintained that his greatest legacy is what continues after he’s gone, not when he’s around. Now that he’s not around, things should just go on; we should work as we have worked before. But when you look at what he has achieved with his team – everything should not be just maintained, but should be better than when he was here.”

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

July 31, 2015
Osman Sulaiman: Are Polyclinic Consultation Fees Inflated To Make Government Look Good With Sizeable Subsidies?

This is my dad’s medical bill from the polyclinic. I was quite happy when i saw that the bill is heavily subsidised. But after a second look, I realised that the charges for consultation is ridiculous.

The consultation fee for a neighbourhood private doctor is usually between $20-$30. Public polyclinic is supposed to be cheaper than private clinics. How in the world can a public medical service be much expensive?

It’s either the authorities are inflating the consultation fee and then makes it look like the gov is heavily subsidizing our medical cost or our doctors working at polyclinics are being paid super scale salary that rival the private sectors. I know the latter isn’t true.

But if the subsidies are a true reflection of the amount incurred, then what is stopping our gov to also subsidize private clinics so as to assuage the waiting time at the polyclinics? Tsk.

Source: Osman Sulaiman

July 31, 2015
Getting Used To A New Face As Singapore PM

The GE is coming and as in any general election, a new man or woman could be thrown up as the new Prime Minister. This is normal and common in any democracy except in Singapore. Here the PM is like a life time tenure and would go to the PAP’s candidate. In this GE the PM in the aftermath would be Hsien Loong. There is hardly any doubt about this. Many things would change but the PM of Singapore after the GE would not change.

Let’s put aside this reality and go on a trip to wonderland and let’s say a miracle happens and a new party or coalition is swept to power. And Singaporeans would have to live with a new face as the new Prime Minister. Who would that face be, Low Thia Khiang, Sylvia Lim, Chen Show Mao, Chee Soon Juan or Tan Jee Say? Try to imagine that one of them would be the new Prime Minister. The feeling is quite strange.

Strange it might be, but would anyone picture Jokowi, a businessman, not an elite or a general, an unassuming man being the President of Indonesia? Jokowi has been the President of Indonesia for more than a year and is looking more and more like a President. And who says you need to have experience in politics and an apprenticeship to become a President or a head of govt?

In a democracy every citizen is good enough to be the President or Prime Minister. Singaporeans must get use to a new face as the Prime Minister sooner or later. Maybe not in this election, but it will come. Look at Low Thia Khiang and get use to his face as the PM. Or look at Jee Say or Chee Soon Juan, get accustom to their faces and get use to it that their faces could be the face of a PM. Imagine them in formal business suits and ties and looking dignified as the Prime Minister. I am not talking about the money type of dignity, but the dignity of the Office of the Prime Minister, the Head of the govt of a country.

It is just a matter of getting use to it. Get the idea? In a democracy you don’t need to be from the nobility or aristocracy to be the Prime Minister. There is no need to look noble and rich, just look like a Prime Minister will do. And the strange thing is that it will grow on the person in the Office.

Source: http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com.au

July 31, 2015