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Tag: Daniel Goh

  • Daniel Goh: Syonan Gallery Controversy A Good Exercise In Appreciating History

    Daniel Goh: Syonan Gallery Controversy A Good Exercise In Appreciating History

    Excellent resolution to the controversy. Both the inappropriate “Syonan” and the pretentious “Gallery” dropped. I think we would have been poorer without this controversy, so all’s well that ends well. I am reminded of what Shanice Lishan Foh said in the comments of my previous post on the misnaming, “hey this make us all think about our history”. I can’t agree more.

    Shanice Lishan Foh: Finally more people are looking at the Old Ford factory! How many years have gone by and we have forgotten about this place ?

    Tell your kids :
    We were name Syonan-to during the Japanese occupation because the Japanese name us like trophies… those 3 years 8 months were painful….

    The British surrendered to Japanese forces on 15th February 1942 at the Old Ford factory…..we were helpless…

    Are we going to let someone name us differently again ? NO !!
    We will defend our country and homes ourselves !
    Majulah Singapore !

    *it is thought-provoking…
    I read many comments… I was at 1st thinking why such an insensitive name ? Someone is going to be hurt real bad…
    and then someone said about the crooked letter ” O ” in the syonan signage , hey this make us all think about our history….

     

    Source: Daniel Goh 吴佩松

  • WP: Paralympians Should Receive Same Prize Awards As Able-Bodied Counterparts

    WP: Paralympians Should Receive Same Prize Awards As Able-Bodied Counterparts

    The Workers’ Party would like to congratulate our paralympians Yip Pin Xiu and Theresa Goh for clinching Singapore’s first gold medal and a bronze medal at the Rio Paralympic Games. Ms. Yip broke her own world record by more than two seconds.

    Our paralympians deserve the same respect and value as our able-bodied athletes. To compete at the pinnacle of one’s sport demands dedication, sacrifice, discipline, and an indomitable fighting spirit. Our paralympians embody these values and are an inspiration to all Singaporeans.

    Our paralympians demonstrate what we can achieve as an inclusive sporting nation. The smaller pool of competitors at the Games should not be reason to deny our paralympians the recognition and compensation that is due to them. It is only right that they should receive equal treatment as any Singaporean athlete who competes at the highest international levels.

    For their equally important and inspiring achievements, the Workers’ Party calls for our national para-swimmers to receive the same prize awards from the Singapore National Olympics Council as their able-bodied counterparts.

     

    Daniel Goh
    Chair, Media Team
    13 September 2016

     

    Source: The Worker’s Party

  • Daniel Goh: I Will Do My Best In Term As NCMP

    Daniel Goh: I Will Do My Best In Term As NCMP

    Dear everyone, thank you for the congratulatory well wishes. Media partners, sorry I can’t take interviews tonight, am out with family for pre-New Year festivities. It is my privilege to be elected as NCMP and to serve my country in Parliament.

    I don’t think I can sleep tonight; I know this is a grave responsibility and I will give it my best in the coming years. I love Singapore and want this nation to last for our children, to be a “shining red dot”, as our PM puts it, for generations to come.

    To my fellow Chinese Singaporeans, a Happy New Year ahead, may the Year of the Monkey bring your family abundant vitality and good health!

     

    Source: Daniel Goh 吴佩松

  • Leon Perera: WP Working Within Flawed System To Bring About Democratic Progress

    Leon Perera: WP Working Within Flawed System To Bring About Democratic Progress

    Just finished the debate in Parliament on filling the vacated NCMP seat. Most of the People’s Action Party members of the House were present for this particular debate. Over the past few days, when the House debated national issues and Parliamentary questions, the attendance often dipped to 30 or 40 (or less). Interesting priorities. Please read the text of the PAP’s amendment to our motion. It speaks volumes about their approach to politics and Parliamentary debate.

    I was asked me why I accepted the NCMP position if I opposed the NCMP scheme as bad for Singapore in the longer-term. I believe the NCMP scheme serves the PAP’s interests by enabling it to ask voters to vote only for the PAP to entrench the current one party hyper-majority in Parliament. It is fully elected Opposition MPs who assure political balance. But, as Mr Low Thia Khiang explained (amidst occasional laughter from the PAP MPs), we need to work within a flawed system, one that keeps getting changed and “refreshed” by the ruling party.

    Why do we do this? To do whatever we can to help build a democratic society. In the 1960s, the Barisan Sosialis left Parliament in protest at what they saw as unjust policies. We choose to stay and work within the system, in spite of its many unfair aspects and challenges. A democratic society has to be fought for, step by step and brick by brick.

     

    Source: Leon Perera

  • Daniel Goh: NCMP Is Form Of National Service, A Privilege

    Daniel Goh: NCMP Is Form Of National Service, A Privilege

    I was first notified of the NCMP motion passing when a good friend texted me, while I was washing dishes after dinner, “congratulations duckweed Goh!” I had a good laugh, though this is serious business through and through. Thank you all for the messages since, sorry I have not been able to reply (been busy whole night Skyp-ing with an academic conference happening in Ottawa). There are some of you who would like me to take up the NCMP seat, and then some of you who don’t want me to, on principle and in response to what you see as ugly ruling party behaviour (vector lah, don’t take it to heart). I’ll be doing the former and this is my main reason for the decision.

    Mr Low is right: NCMPs are essentially duckweeds. He is using a Chinese flower metaphor in a very natural way, the significance and nuances of which many of us, Anglophones, don’t understand. Very crudely, it means NCMPs are like pretty flowers that sink no roots, floating about and contradicting the values of harmony and community. Objectively, this is true in the long run, and I am with the WP MPs and the party opposing the NCMP scheme. But for me, personally, at this point in my life, and as I see it, at this point in Singapore’s history, the principle of national service trumps the political principle of opposing the NCMP scheme. If my country sees fit that I contribute as duckweed, then it is my honour to be duckweed Goh. It is no insult; it is a privilege.

    In any case, as a good man emailed me to tell me, for Anglophones such as us, duckweeds are not altogether negative, as they are seen as resilient and prolific plants valued as livestock feed, for water purification and for alternative biofuel. That is, to feed, to clarify and to drive the greater good in our shared commons. And so I hope and will strive, wish me Godspeed.

     

    Source: Daniel Goh 吴佩松