It is amusing to see supporters of the ruling party start campaigning for their party before the actual candidate does so. As expected, they have brought up the bogeyman of a poorly-run town council if Dr Chee Soon Juan becomes the Member of Parliament for Bukit Batok. Of course, these claims do not have to be rational, but they are spouted anyway. The assumption that a ward would suddenly become a slum – especially a Single Member Constituency, which is much easier to manage than a GRC – when an opposition member takes over is, to be honest, quite laughable. Moreover, they (purposely) ignore other factors that could, if not should, be considered by voters: such as alternative representation in Parliament, having more checks against the ruling party, quality of candidate (which can be measured in many ways), and so on.
But i digress.
SDP has said that Dr Chee will be contesting in the by-election. Many observers have said that they would rather see A/Prof Paul Tambyah as the candidate instead, and i have to agree. For a very simple reason: the party has always opposed the GRC, and this is an opportunity to show that the GRC system is not needed, as minority candidates would be elected regardless (i do not necessarily subscribe to this view though).
I remember watching a video of a debate between Mr Chiam See Tong and Encik Jufrie Mahmood, against senior PAP members including former Prime Ministers Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong, on the GRC. Encik Jufrie basically asserted that the system is not necessary, and that the ruling party should have the prerogative to place minority candidates in SMCs. Opposition parties would then have to field minority candidates in those wards as well. This obviously does not have to be entrenched in law, but could take the form of some sort of a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ between the ruling and opposition parties.
Now that PAP has announced it will field an Indian candidate, to bolster SDP’s calls for the abolition of the GRC system, i think it is only right that they too field a minority candidate. This would show that the party indeed believes in minority representation, without the aid of a GRC. Whatever the results of the by-election, the party could then truly boast that it was true to its democratic principles of both electoral fairness and representation. Otherwise, its calls would ring hollow, and the party would actually demonstrate that it just as opportunistic as any other political entity.
The way i see it, the ball is really in SDP’s court.
Source: Walid J. Abdullah
