Rilek1Corner

Tag: Chee Soon Juan

  • Chee Soon Juan: We’ll Run Constructive And Positive Campaign

    Chee Soon Juan: We’ll Run Constructive And Positive Campaign

    The flags and red balloons are ready. An army of tiny teddy bears, declaring “I Love SDP” on their T-shirts, is raring to go.

    The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) plans to run a “constructive” and “positive” campaign in this general election, says its secretary-general Chee Soon Juan.

    “We are not going to call names. We are not going to say PAP is bad, opposition is good,” he told The Straits Times in an exclusive interview. “We want to see change and you will see that from us. We’re going to be constructive, we’re going to be positive.”

    The SDP will champion a series of alternative plans on issues like housing, retirement savings and healthcare that it had laid out systematically in the run-up to the elections.

    “We want to appeal to (Singaporeans) that it is important to have not just an opposition – because you can have opposition there all the time throwing stones, being obstructive and so on – but having a competent opposition, a constructive opposition, a compassionate opposition,” he said, in reference to his party’s motto.

    This year will be the first time that Dr Chee is taking part in well over a decade. He was disqualified from the 2006 and 2011 general elections, on account of his bankruptcy after being sued for defamation by former prime ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong.

    In 2012, his bankruptcy status was annulled after both men agreed to his offer of $30,000 as settlement.

    “What’s past is the past,” he said. “What’s important is our country’s future. I don’t hold grudges against the PAP,” he said.

    The 53-year-old former psychology lecturer, who has been with the party since 1992, has spent his years on the political backbench fine-tuning the party’s campaign operations. He declared: “Of all the elections I have been in, this is the one that we’ve been most prepared.”

    SDP launched its election campaign in January and followed that up the following month by presenting a paper entitled “A New Economic Vision” to reduce income inequality and increase innovation.

    One of the paper’s recommendations is to let retirees who want to receive their Central Provident Fund savings in instalments to opt into that arrangement, rather than for it to be mandatory as it is now.

    Another is to implement a minimum wage starting from $7 an hour, and then setting up a wage commission that would review the sum periodically.

    To lower the cost of housing, it proposes removing land cost from prices of Housing Board flats under a scheme which would bar these flats from being resold on the open market.

    The party is fielding 11 candidates this year, in Holland-Bukit Timah and Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs), as well as Bukit Panjang, Bukit Batok and Yuhua Single-Member Constituencies (SMCs).

    In the 2011 polls, it contested in Sembawang and Holland-Bukit Timah GRCs, as well as Bukit Panjang and Yuhua, winning 36.8 per cent of votes across all the wards.

    SDP caught public attention in 2011 by fielding investment adviser and former senior civil servant Tan Jee Say as well as retired army colonel Ang Yong Guan. Both have since left to start the Singaporeans First party.

    This time round, one of the SDP’s most high-profile candidates is Dr Paul Tambyah, a full professor at the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • SDP Chief, Chee Soon Juan, Calls For Clearer Campaign Rule

    SDP Chief, Chee Soon Juan, Calls For Clearer Campaign Rule

    Clearer campaign rules could have been put out earlier to ensure a level playing field for political parties, said Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan yesterday as the party introduced two new candidates at its headquarters.

    Referring to new conditions introduced by the Singapore Police Force for the upcoming General Election (GE), Dr Chee, who spoke to reporters after the SDP introduced Ms Jaslyn Go and Professor Paul Ananth Tambyah as candidates, said the party would have no problem complying with them.

    One of the two new permit conditions bar the concealment of faces on stage during election rallies. The other prohibits Central Executive Committee members and candidates of each political party from speaking at the rallies of other parties.

    Party chief Chee Soon Juan said the SDP has no intention of doing so, but other opposition parties may have wanted to speak at one another’s rallies. He also said the party had printed posters for the elections, but new requirements were issued that it now has to address, without going into detail.

    The SDP also wanted to have decal advertisements on a rented private bus to transport candidates during the nine days of campaigning, but it has dropped the idea of a “campaign bus” after the lack of clarity on the applications needed and a shortage of time. “These are things that (are) just not helpful at all to conduct truly free and fair elections,” Dr Chee said.

    Prof Tambyah and Ms Go were introduced by SDP chairman Jeffrey George. Both candidates have been active before the 2011 GE, although Prof Tambyah joined as a member only in the past fortnight after leaving human rights group Maruah. Ms Go, who runs a construction company with her husband, joined the party in 2007.

    Prof Tambyah, 50, has been active with the party for a decade and spoke at the SDP’s rally in Boat Quay in 2011. He said he could not contest then as his father died that year. Ms Go, 43, said she was not ready in 2011 and has since walked the ground to understand concerns of the public. Representing the party at conferences and events has also helped build her confidence, said the mother of two, who was an emcee at the SDP’s rallies in 2011.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • SDP Asking Elections Department To Clarify Rules For Coming GE

    SDP Asking Elections Department To Clarify Rules For Coming GE

    The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has written to the Elections Department seeking clarification on several elections rules, especially those on the use of promotional material and access to counting centres .

    The letter from SDP chairman Jeffrey George, which was released to media on Friday, said the party was seeking “clear, concise and written rules that will be practised by all Returning Officers”. The letter goes on to outline incidents in previous elections where the party said there was confusion over procedures its polling agents and counting agents were required to follow.

    “In short, the multiple standards of operations by the Elections Officials at the various Polling and the Counting centres resulted in us not being able to fully utilise our resources and ground supporters/ volunteers,” wrote Mr George.

    The SDP is also asking if it can play party music during campaign rallies and also if it can have a decorated campaign bus.

    “We have the intention to advertise via bus wrapping advertisement on a Private Hire Bus for the nine days of electoral campaigning starting from Nomination Day for the upcoming General Election,” said the letter.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Chee Soon Juan: When The Reserves Go, The Economy Tanks And Everyone Goes With It

    Chee Soon Juan: When The Reserves Go, The Economy Tanks And Everyone Goes With It

    Dr Chee Soon Juan casted doubt on the PAP government’s ability to guard Singapore’s financial reserves during their house visits on Sunday, 16 August. Dr Chee contended, “Our message to [the voters] is that what we need is to make sure our reserves are being monitored [by a strong opposition].”

    The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) conducted their afternoon door-to-door visits at Bukit Timah. SDP activated more than 30 members and volunteers in cars and bicycles to cover a wide area of landed properties.

    While acknowledging the different concerns those staying in this area may have, Dr Chee noted everyone will suffer together when the government “does not know what is going on” with the financial market. This is because of a lack of opposition presence in parliament.

    Dr Chee cited the 2008 global financial crisis triggered by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. “Between GIC and Temasek Holdings, we lost close to $120bn -$140bn,” he said.

    He continued, “This is where I worry. In spite of the fact there were so many warning signals of the subprime crisis that was developing ahead, the government did not know what was going on and continued to plow in money to banks like Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, Bank of America, [and] Merrill Lynch.”

    Dr Chee contended the opposition’s role is “to question and make sure every one of our investments in the Sovereign Wealth Funds is transparent and well-managed.”

    Emphasizing the common destiny of Singaporeans of all income groups, Dr Chee encouraged the voters of Holland-Bukit Timah to support the SDP. “This is not about income. When the reserves go, the economy tanks. Everyone goes along with it.”

    Ms Chong Wai Fung

    Dr Chee also took the opportunity to introduce Ms Chong Wai Fung to the media despite being coy about whether she is running for office.

    Ms Chong is currently the treasurer of SDP and heads the Women Democrats. She is a healthcare research analyst and holds two master’s degrees in Clinical Epidemiology and Business Administration.

    Ms Chong noted that due to her job, she needs to be careful when commenting on healthcare issues publicly. Nevertheless, she had spoken at the “Free My CPF” rally and also actively champions women’s rights and issues.

    Coverage in the mainstream media

    Speaking exclusively to The Online Citizen, Dr Chee urged the mainstream media to report on its extensive policies because it is what the residents need to know. Dr Chee expressed his disappointment with the mainstream media’s lack of coverage on SDP’s proposals and alternative policy papers.

    Rather than being solely focused on which areas the parties are contesting and which candidates might be fielded, the media should spend more time talking about reasons why each party should be voted.

    Since 2011, the SDP has published annual shadow budgets, and presented several alternative policy papers on issues like population, housing, the economy, healthcare, and education. However, little of these were highlighted by the mainstream media.

     

    Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

  • Chee Soon Juan: Will Lee Hsien Loong Be The Leader That Singapore Needs

    Chee Soon Juan: Will Lee Hsien Loong Be The Leader That Singapore Needs

    Observers will undoubtedly note that Mr Lee Hsien Loong’s decision to call for a general election two years ahead of time is a clever one. How can it not be? The celebration of our 50th National Day, itself a significant milestone, allows the Government to hand out goodwill packages in various guises that will usher in the feel good factor for the PAP.

    Add to this a system awash with anti-democratic practices – the continued use of the print and broadcast media to constantly churn out welcome news for his administration, the redrawing of electoral boundaries behind closed doors, the introduction of the GRC system in the 1980s to hobble opposition efforts, the crackdown on the online media, the employment of HDB upgrading as punishment or reward, the dishing out of financial packages just before elections, the use of state-funded organisations for political purposes, the imposition of impossibly short campaign periods – and it is not difficult to see how the next polls will again end up in overall victory for the PAP.

    It is a system that does not, indeed cannot, admit of democratic progress.

    As I said, it may be politically clever to craft such a system. But cleverness is not what Singapore needs right now – especially at this stage of our country’s development. There is not any doubt that Mr Lee’s continued adoption of such tactics will help his party secure another five years in power, as it has done so for the last 50. But he should be reminded that, in the fullness of time, such an approach has not been looked kindly upon.

    The PAP may insist, as it is wont to do, that its mandate to govern is derived from the majority of voters in regularly held elections. But it is also aware, I am certain, of the difference between elections held in undemocratic systems and genuinely free and fair elections held in democratic ones.

    Strongman-type systems led by autocrats like Suharto and Ferdinand Marcos held regular elections to legitimise their rule and, for a time, few questioned their right to govern. Whether their legacies endured the stringent test of time is another matter.

    In undemocratic states, it is not the majority’s opinion at the polls that rulers should be worried about. It is the minority, rather, the one which watches – and gets increasingly agitated at – how the system is being manipulated to buttress the status quo at which rulers should cast their nervous glance. For is there ever any doubt that it is this segment of the population that brings about change? History is replete with instances where a significant minority calls for, works towards and, ultimately, brings about political reform. These movements are especially potent when frustration and resentment with the ruling clique’s intransigence crosses the threshold.

    At home, anger at the current political situation is palpable and some have resorted to action (seehere). If the PAP is content to label this group of citizens as the ‘noisy minority’, then it should re-read the preceding paragraph. For these people, the prospect of being unable to bring about political change through the ballot box only makes the PAP’s claim of legitimate power sound dangerously vacuous.

    It will be undoubtedly (autocratic) politics-as-usual after the next election. The country will continue to hum along. But this is predicated on the assumption that circumstances in and around Singapore remain unmolested.

    It is, however, a big assumption. Socio-economic developments within our shores point to a future fraught with difficulty and uncertainty: An expensive city with limited opportunity especially for the youth, an ageing population with retirees having little or no income, an economy with wide income disparity, a crowded city set to become even more congested, and a people increasingly feeling alienated from their country of birth.

    Developments farther afield are not more encouraging. Economic uncertainty in Europe and China will not leave Singapore unscathed. The spat over claims on some islands in the South China Sea by China and her neighbours in the region is another flash point.

    When a crisis envelops Singapore, as one will sooner or later, how will the people react? More important, will Singaporeans continue to accept placidly the PAP’s undemocratic rule especially if they feel that the situation is caused, or at least exacerbated, by the party in the first place?

    On the bright side, the problem is not intractable. The Prime Minister is in a unique position rarely accorded to people. He stands at a political crossroads: He can open up the system in Singapore and seal his legacy as an enlightened statesman, or he can continue the ugly spectacle of winning elections through undemocratic means.

    I can think of two other persons who were in a similar position but who took their countries on very dissimilar paths: Taiwan’s Chiang Ching Kuo and Syria’s Bashir Al-Assad. Both became their countries’ leaders following their fathers’ rule: Chiang Kai-shek and Hafez Al-Assad. While the younger Chiang opened the door by instituting political reforms (albeit in a limited manner) for Taiwan to develop into a vibrant democracy that it is today, Bashir Al-Assad continued with his father’s dictatorial rule which eventually met with sustained rebellion and reduced his country to rubble.

    It is said that politicians think about the next elections, leaders think about the next generation. Will Mr Lee be the leader that Singapore needs?

     

    Source: www.cheesoonjuan.com