If Mdm Halimah runs for the Malay President, SDP will be ready to give the people of Marsiling and Yew Tee another chance to consider us to be in Parliament to voice the people’s concern now having seen the outcome of their vote 2 years on.
The PAP must play it fair, the minority representation by an MP must be replaced in a GRC by-election.
Lets do it people!!!
Source: Damanhuri Abas
My comments on PM’s proposed changes to the Elected President, GRC and NCMP schemes, are as follows:
1. Elected President-
a) Existing eligibility criteria are sufficiently tight and yet flexible to permit candidates from a broad background to come forth and contest, so no need to change criteria;
b) CPA (Council of Presidential Advisers) is not elected by the people and has no mandate or moral authority to have more powers vis-a-vis an elected President, it should remain an advisory body and not empowered to dilute the authority of an elected President;
c) the Government cannot force a minorities President on the people as it is the people who decide; a President imposed on the people rather than truly elected by the people has no moral authority to check the Government; there are many minorities who satisfy criteria to be candidates and Singaporeans will elect them if they are adjudged to be better than others.
2. GRC’s –
a) GRC’s should be scrapped and Parliament reverts to SMC’s for all seats;
b) minority representation, the purported objective of the GRC scheme, can be secured through a modified NCMP scheme for a minimum number of minorities MPs.
3. NCMP’s –
a) no impact with only minimum 12 opposition MPs including NCMP’s,
b) will only make a difference if number of NCMP’s is increased to ensure minimum of over one-third opposition MPs that can effectively check government with a veto.
Source: Tan Jee Say
The GRC concept has attained its goal of ensuring minority representation in parliament. In the sense there are roughly a proportionate representation of the SG population in parliament that belongs to the minority races.
But that’s where it ends.
For decades now, we see the phenomenon of minority candidates riding on the coattails of ministers n getting into parliament. Oftentimes not even having to go through the baptism of fire of the hustings during election, as they are part of uncontested wards.
Before election, they promise the world. They will fight for this n that rights. They will champion our causes. They will be our voices in parliament.
And when they finally get there, you see a completely different reality. They do not fight for our rights. When we start pushing for them, eg the hijab, we get the tiring response of they are doing ‘all they can’ behind closed doors. The community needs to be patient. There are other interests at stake.’ The good ol song and dance.
They have become effectively the MPs that champions rights. But not our rights. They serve with distinction. For the Prime Minister. And their party.
To an extent they no longer fulfill the functional role that they’ve been elected to do. They r there not to fight for our rights. They are there to explain govt policies to the community. Essentially they r there as the govt’s representatives to the people. Not our representatives to fight for our causes.
And it’s not just the backbencher MPs. The greatest fulfiller of this role is the Minister in Charge of Muslim affairs. Dr Yaacob has consistently shown when push comes to shove, he takes the position of the govt.
Not the community.
He should be renamed Minister in Charge of Explaining Government Policies to Muslims.
And then there’s the second Malay full Minister. Mr Masagos has also shown consistently he’s there to do the bidding of the govt. So he was used to make policy pronouncements that are beneficial to the govt. But are against the wishes of the community. Case in point joining the coalition to bomb Iraq and Syria. The community is against Islamic State. But there’s a HUGE difference between being against IS and being part of a coalition that bombs more Muslim countries. A vast majority in the MMC is against joining. Yet Minister Masagos toes the govt line. He explains govt polices, rather than champion our causes.
I could go on n on. But I think the point is made.
Our minority MPs represent the govt and their party.
Not us.
Then comes bro Damanhuri.
He has come across as a candidate who has the moral courage to speak his mind on issues close to the hearts of Malay Muslims in SG. His rhetoric captures our imagination. Beyond just speeches, he has an excellent trek record of service to the community.
So he comes across as genuine.
The real deal.
And he has redefined for us the role of minority representation in a GRC. The minority MP is there to voice the concerns and interests of the community. To champion our causes to the govt. And he hits the hammer on the head when he says we need to put such people in parliament. Else, we can shout till we’re hoarse outsider parliament. It will just be ignored. Worse still, token statements of
Reassurances given that they would ‘work behind close doors’ to solve the issues.
It is my fervent desire bro Daman gets elected. And I hope residents of MarsilingYT rise to the occasion.
In the longer term, I think Pandora’s box has been opened. I call it the ‘Damanhari effect’.
Henceforth, that will be the prototype of the archetypical minority MP.
One with outstanding credentials of service to the community. Not Juz hi academic ability but completely out of touch with the community. We have such people in parliament now.
Beyond a trek record of service, the moral courage to fight for our rights.
To be our champions in parliament.
Not there to merely explain policies to us
Source: Syed Danial
The new Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC will be anchored by two MPs – Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Mr Lawrence Wong and Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob.
This was announced by Mr Wong during a visit to the constituency on Thursday with Madam Halimah.
The minister, who is a first term MP, and Madam Halimah are slated to move from West Coast GRC and Jurong GRC respectively to the new constituency for the upcoming general election.
Mr Wong said he had asked Madam Halimah to join him in leading the new GRC because of her strong track record as an MP. “So I know how effective she is and I’ve much to learn from her,” he added.
Madam Halimah said they would be able to complement each other, adding that Mr Wong would bring with him his strengths and capabilities.
Although Mr Wong said the full line-up of MPs that the People’s Action Party (PAP) will be fielding in the four-member Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC will only be revealed later, he hinted that it will likely comprise Madam Halimah and himself, as well as MPs Alex Yam and Ong Teng Koon.
“So the only new faces are Madam Halimah and myself,” he said. “And there are two existing incumbent MPs, Alex Yam and Ong Teng Koon, so we hope this is likely to be the team for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.”
Both Mr Yam and Mr Ong have expressed interest in continuing to serve in their respective wards which have since been redrawn into the new GRC.
Over the past weeks, Mr Wong and Madam Halimah have been walking the ground, attending constituency events and making house visits in the area.
Madam Halimah said she has done “a fair amount of groundwork in Marsiling”, having visited about 20 blocks of flats.
The PAP team, added Mr Wong, will build on the work done by the incumbent MPs in their wards, which are currently part of Sembawang GRC and Chua Chu Kang GRC. “We will put forward our manifesto when it’s ready,” he said.
The GRC is now made up of three divisions – Marsiling, Yew Tee and Woodgrove – but it will have four MPs. This is because wards in the GRC have grown over the years, “so a fourth MP will help better serve residents there,” added Madam Halimah.
Resident Philip Ong welcomed the two new MPs to the constituency. “It looks like a good mix,” said the 48-year-old technician. “Madam Halimah can bring her wisdom and experience to help and Mr Wong is a minister who is in charge of youth issues.”
Housewife Normah Ahmad, 50, said: “It’s nice to see a Malay woman in the role of a leader too.”
Source: www.straitstimes.com
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