Rilek1Corner

Tag: MPs

  • No By-Elections; Strong Indication Of PAP’s Inability To Honour Championing Of Minority Representation

    No By-Elections; Strong Indication Of PAP’s Inability To Honour Championing Of Minority Representation

    Halimah Yacob resigned today from her seat of Marsiling (red) and as the 7th Speaker of Parliament.

    Thanks to a question raised by WP MP Pritam Singh in Parliament, we now know that the Prime Minister will not call for a by-election in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC (shaded below).

    This is very worrying on two fronts.

    Firstly, this 4-member GRC is, by law, one of the GRCs reserved for Malay minority candidates presumably because of its higher Malay population. With Halimah’s departure, the GRC will have no minority MPs at all. Many of us may not agree with the mechanics or even the basis of the GRC system and may wish to see it reformed. Nonetheless, not calling for a by-election to reinstate a minority Member would speak volumes about the PAP’s commitment to playing by its own rules in its own game that is the much-vaunted GRC system.

    Secondly, the PM’s intention to appoint a Grassroots Advisor in Marsiling ward, instead of calling for a by-election, raises very unsettling questions about how the Government recognises the legitimacy and authority of elected MPs. Does this mean that Government agencies will now accord Grassroots Advisors with as much recognition as elected MPs when residents attend Meet-the-People Sessions seeking help? Does this mean that these unelected Grassroots Advisors can take on other roles that presumably only MPs can undertake? If the answer to these questions is no, then without a by-election, Marsiling-Yew Tee residents are being short-changed. If the answer is yes, it would be even worse, for this would be an admission that the Government can appoint a PAP member to be the Grassroots Advisor for Marsiling with inordinate power and authority, without a single vote having been cast for that person by Singaporeans living there. This would be unsurprising given that PAP candidates who lose in Opposition wards are immediately appointed as the Grassroots Advisors for these wards after each General Election.

    Unsurprising, but inherently unfair to voters.

    Given that we are less than half-way through the term of the present Parliament, not calling for a by-election in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC would be an affront to parliamentary democracy in Singapore, and would be a strong indication of the PAP’s inability to honour its own supposed status of being a champion of minority representation.

    Instead, we are faced with a reserved Presidential Election which harms our social fabric more than it purports to help it, because it may just entrench the idea in people’s minds that minorities are unelectable by way of their own merits alone. How does this advance our progress as a nation?

    (To find out more about how the ward-level layer was made, visit my blog at: https://mappedmusings.wordpress.com/…/mapping-our-home-mapp…. Designed with Map Box.)

     

    Source: Yudhishthra Nathan

  • Commentary: MPs Running TCs Is A Terrible Idea. Skill Set Of Good TC Manager Entirely Different From That Of MP

    Commentary: MPs Running TCs Is A Terrible Idea. Skill Set Of Good TC Manager Entirely Different From That Of MP

    MPs running town councils is a terrible idea that largely only serves to effectively stifle opposition politics in Singapore by raising near impossible barriers to entry.

    The skill set of a good town council manager is entirely different from that of an MP. The council manager is a real estate manager of a massive public cum private housing estate and infrastructure. This requires specialist skills and experience and is rightfully the work of a well resourced public stat board like the HDB who used to manage all estates before MPs ran town councils or mayoralties.

    Singapore HDB and housing residents deserve the expertise and economies of scale possessed by HDB and public agencies in running their precincts rather than have such management and investment in needed infrastructure improvements be held hostage to shorter term political manoevering or lack of experience or resources over electioneering cycles.

    An MPs job on the other hand is to primarily question policies and legislation in parliament on behalf of the electorate. This requires a total different skill set and the substantial time and resources needed to do this effectively.

    He or she also to see that the needs of his constituents are met efficiently and adequately by relevant agencies not to be bogged down by the Augean task of managing huge hosing estates him or herself. Especially if they have to duplicate management systems that previous incumbents refuse to share.
    Not to mention the duplication of administrative resources by different electoral precincts.

    Finally and equally importantly, the provision of estate management services and allocation infrastructure is a public good and should never be used as a political tool.

    The bulk of most citizens net worth or life savings is in their home. To have its value held hostage to voting in a powerful incumbent government that controls the agencies responsible for such activities is both a breach of citizens rights as well as a recipe for authoritarian rule.

    And to make relatively inexperienced opposition MPs financially liable for any mismanagement in spite of best intentions is to effectively raise the bar for an opposition politician that would otherwise be effective in questioning policies way too high to be of any real benefit to citizens.

    The public is thus short changed both ways in terms of optimal public housing management as well as political representation.

    Please note that all this cuts institutionally both ways. If the PAP ever found itself in minority opposition again , it may never be able to return from the political wilderness beyond the impregnable walls of their own creation.

     

    Source: Lam Keong Yeoh

  • Flashback 1988: Definition of Malay Was Debated In Parliament (In The Context Of GRC System)

    Flashback 1988: Definition of Malay Was Debated In Parliament (In The Context Of GRC System)

    The issue on the definition of Malay was debated earlier in Parliament (in the context of the GRC system) back in 1988.

    It was an exchange involving Goh Chok Tong, Chiam See Tong and Ahmad Mattar.

     

    Part of the excerpt read;

    Can a Maori be a “Malay” Member of Parliament? Will the day come when five Europeans enter the Singapore Parliament as “Malay” MPs?

    Opposition MP Chiam See Tong posed these questions to his Select Committee colleagues as he questioned the revised definition of a Malay in the Team MP legislation.

    First Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong’s reply: Anyone who feels he is part of the Malay community and is accepted by the community as such can be a “Malay” MP.

    “If indeed five Europeans are accepted by members of the Malay community to be members of the community, they will be so put up by the community as candidates, because they are regarded as members of that community,” he said.

    The same goes for even a Maori, said Mr Goh.

     

    In another part;

    If the day came when five or seven such Europeans entered Parliament as “Malay” MPs, he asked, where was the minority representation the GRCs were meant to ensure?

    Dr Mattar told him that Malay candidates must first be cleared by the Malay Community Committee.

    “If the Malay community thinks that it is best represented by the Europeans, so be it. I do not think it will happen,” he said.

    Mr Sidek said that while the revised definition embraced other races, the real objectives was to avoid complaints from groups like the Banjaris or Achenese, who were not included in the original definition.

     

    Also;

    Mr Goh pointed out that the purpose of the GRCs was to ensure Malay representation in Parliament and the definition was crafted to include anyone who believes he is part of the community and is accepted as such by it.

    He said that if Europeans are accepted as members of the Malay community, they are free to stand as “Malay” candidates.

    “If the Malay community is happy, who are we to say they should not represent them? Because they are regarded by the Malay community as members of the Malay community.”

     

    Source: Abdul Rohim Sarip

  • Why Didn’t PAP Malay MPs And Ministers Defend Perkampungan Melayu Geylang Serai From Being Demolished?

    Why Didn’t PAP Malay MPs And Ministers Defend Perkampungan Melayu Geylang Serai From Being Demolished?

    The house where LKY has stayed during his lifetime has so much interest that his son wanted to preserve it. Just one man.

    Geylang Serai Perkampungan Melayu where the whole of the Malay Community gathers, conduct events, congregate, shops and walk, was demolished without any fun-fare. No secret committee set up. Nothing.

    Not one of our Malay MPs stood up to preserve it.They even agreed to demolish it to make way for a new building.

    We deserve the kind of leaders we vote for. The Malays are weak politically because we have emasculated leaders trying to score political points with the PAP at the expense of the community.

     

    Source: Khan Osman Sulaiman

  • Abdul Salim Harun: With Mdm Halimah Yacob’s Help, I Can Continue My Work

    Abdul Salim Harun: With Mdm Halimah Yacob’s Help, I Can Continue My Work

    Last night is the first time ever in my life, I step into a Meet the People Session, held by the MP of my area, Mdm Halimah Yacob.

    The purpose of my visit, is not to seek help or assistance, but instead, to clear and clarify some issues which have been bugging me for awhile, and also on the advice of a friend.

    I go to the MPS with good faith and open mind, and I’m happy that she’s willing to accommodate me as no matter what, I’m still her resident.

    Even though I did not manage to get the full information which I had wanted, I understand the position where she’s coming from.

    Now with the informations I have, the work has just begun…

     

    Source: Abdul Salim Harun