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Tag: NCMP

  • Former WP NCMP Concerned That Singaporeans Lack Ability To Cope In New Economy

    Former WP NCMP Concerned That Singaporeans Lack Ability To Cope In New Economy

    In telling the story his daughter had with a cleaner former Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Yee Jenn Jong pointed out that the government’s aim to create many pathways to success beyond exam grades remains challenging.

    The cleaner at a preschool lamented that her son who is a student at a polytechnic was working part-time and hence not concentrating properly in his studies. Mr Yee’s daughter had to convince the cleaner that her son was picking up valuable skills which a classroom education will not be able to give him. Mr Yee said that the cleaner’s concern is typical of the average Singaporean parents.

    “We have been conditioned that the pathway to success in life is to score in exams. When you are studying, do not waste time on other things, even if these are useful skills to have or can help one to develop their character. If you are a student, just study. In many parents’ minds, grades are what matters.”

    The ex-NCMP also recounted the conversation he had with a “former high-flying government servant turned entrepreneur”, about Singaporeans being exams-smart but lacking the ability to cope in the new economy – an economy which requires innovation, creativity, resilience and many skills that one cannot train through the books.

    “When I mentioned about us consistently scoring tops in PISA assessments, he remarked that our education advantage like those measured through PISA often disappear in tertiary studies when one has to go beyond knowledge.”

    Mr Yee said that his former civil servant friend also shared his concern about high-flyers taking very safe paths. His friend worries that if Singapore continues to head this way, it will end up doing very safe things to meet short term KPIs, and not do things that are necessary for essential disruptive changes.

     

    Source: www.theindependent.sg

  • SDP: Elected Presidency Reforms A Distraction From Real Democratic Reforms

    SDP: Elected Presidency Reforms A Distraction From Real Democratic Reforms

    In 1993 when the government introduced the Elected Presidency (EP) bill, it gave a grand vision of how system was evolving into a more democratic one where there would be greater checks and balance.

    Then prime minister Goh Chok Tong even said that “In introducing this Bill, the present Government, is in fact, clipping its own wings. Once the constitutional amendment is effected, this Government will have some of its powers checked.”

    The truth was not quite as noble. Instead, many saw the move as Mr Lee Kuan Yew ensuring that Mr Goh, as the new prime minister, would not run off with the horse, so to speak. Following the introduction of the scheme, the late Ong Teng Cheong then became Singapore’s president from 1993-1999.

    Mr Ong actually believed Mr Goh that the EP was formulated to clip the Government’s wings. During his tenure, President Ong famously asked for the state’s accounts to be made known to him, to which he was told that the information would take 52 man-years to compile. Towards the end of his term, Mr Ong publicly complained of his “long list of problems” with the Government. He also announced that he would not seek a second term.

    Which was just as well because PM Goh revealed that although Mr Ong had sought a second term, the Government could not support his bid. Mr S R Nathan was chosen instead.

    Before he left office, however, Mr Ong told the public that some cabinet ministers and civil servants had treated his office as a “nuisance” and that the government had indicated that it did not need his approval in using the reserves to fight the Asian financial crisis that occurred in 1997.

    The very public spat prompted Mr Lee Kuan Yew to step in, upbraiding everyone for harbouring illusions about the powers of the presidency. He slapped down Mr Goh’s statement about the government clipping its own wings: “No, if you’ve to clip the wings, then you are in for trouble, you cannot govern…I cannot remember it but I would not have used that phrase because the executive powers of the Government should not be clipped.”

    Then in 2004, Mr Lee Hsien Loong introduced legislation to bypass the president when it came to the transfer of reserves to GLCs and statutory boards (see here), making the EP even more meaningless.

    The government is in the midst of reviewing the Constitution to pave the way for a president from the minority race. Only the very naive will fail to see the move for what it is – to ensure that the PAP’s candidate ascends to the office. The EP scheme degenerates into a deeper and bigger political farce.

    It is clear that the PAP has absolutely no intention of allowing its powers to be scrutinised and checked by anyone. Together with schemes like the Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) and the Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP), the Elected Presidency serves only to create the illusion of democracy in Singapore.

    What we need is a genuine democratic system where all political parties can openly and fairly contest for seats in elections overseen by an independent elections commission, where the mass media is not monopolised by the PAP, and where the civil liberties of the people are not curtailed.

    Only then can we hope to check the government and truly protect our reserves.

     

    Source: http://yoursdp.org

  • 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