Tag: pritam singh

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

August 8, 2017
Pritam Singh: Football Association Of Singapore Needs Industry Transportation Roadmap, Plan To Help Players For Career After Football

A shorter night of house visits this evening meeting many friendly residents. Ran into two S-League footballers after house visits who were shooting the breeze at the void deck of Blk 619 with whom I had a wonderful conversation about post-S-League careers.

Jalil still plays for Tampines Rovers Football Club while Basit had four years with Hougang United Football Club (HGFC) and now works for Singapore Airlines.

It is well known that every well-meaning soccer fan in Singapore has an opinion about the game and the S-League.

The new team or any team in future at the Football Association of Singapore, who I wish all the success in the world, needs to consider post-playing careers for our professionals and create a system which rewards dedicated and disciplined players. In fact, like certain economic sectors, the Football Association of Singapore could do with an Industry Transformation Roadmap or ITM too! Ok, that’s my two cents about local football for today!

Source: Pritam Singh

July 27, 2017
Aljunied-Hougang Town Council Takes Legal Action Against WP Town Councillors Over Past Payment

Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC), which had appointed an independent panel to help recover improper payments, is taking several of its town councillors to court.

They include Workers’ Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang; the town council’s chairman, Mr Pritam Singh; and its vice-chairman, Ms Sylvia Lim.

The Straits Times understands that the legal action was initiated as part of the work of a panel tasked with looking into improper payments made by AHTC.

Ms Lim confirmed that the three WP MPs were served with a statement of claim against them by AHTC on Tuesday (July 25) evening.

“We will respond further shortly, after we have studied the claim,” she told ST.

The independent panel has the power to commence legal action on behalf of the town council for overpayments and payments without proper certification of work being done, among others. This can include mediation, arbitration and other court proceedings.

The panel’s other powers include making demands and coming to settlements on behalf of AHTC.

The Housing Board had asked AHTC to appoint a third party to recover the improper payments made from town council funds.

The independent panel appointed in February is chaired by senior counsel Philip Jeyaretnam, and comprises senior counsel N. Sreenivasan and KPMG managing partner Ong Pang Thye.

A pre-trial conference date of Aug 31 has been listed.

Besides this case, AHTC also filed another writ of summons in the High Court against FMSS last Friday.

This was in relation to an arbitration case over a financial dispute emerging from the lapses at the town council.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

July 26, 2017
Pritam Singh: In The Interest Of Fairness, Let Lee Wei Ling And Lee Hsien Yang Speak In Parliament Too

Some Singaporeans have asked about Parliamentary Select Committees. What are they?

Parliament hosts powers to appoint Select Committees of MPs to look at issues in depth, including calling for evidence and summoning witnesses if necessary. My WP colleagues and I have filed a number of parliamentary questions that relate to allegations of the Prime Minister abusing his powers in the matter of 38, Oxley Road. The Prime Minister has announced he will make a statement in Parliament and welcomes vigourous debate. There is one problem though. Unlike the Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Yang and those who support him will have no opportunity to clear the air on 3 July 2017.

In the interests of fairness, Mr Lee should be allowed to tell his story to Parliament too. A Select Committee would allow MPs the opportunity to call up any witness, including the Prime Minister or anyone else to get to the truth of the matter behind the allegations of abuse of power.

By way of a parliamentary question, I have asked the Prime Minister to support the setting up of a Select Committee to look into the serious allegations made against him. The use of Select Committees for such a purpose is nothing new. The PAP have used Select Committees to look into allegations made against the Government in the past.

On 21 Mar 1996, Parliament resolved to appoint a select committee to verify the Government’s healthcare expenditure, amongst other reasons, to verify statements made in the Singapore Democratic Party publication, The New Democrat and in a speech made by SDP MP Ling How Doong in Parliament where he said, “healthcare costs are not subsidised at all.”

One submission to this Select Committee defined the role of Select Committees perfectly:

“The public has every right to know the facts and to receive from the Government the fullest possible information….The Select Committee serves a useful and informative field of public education and members of the Select Committee would seek to produce agreed reports in the best interest of the public.”

In a voluminous report (hyperlinked below), the Select Committee on Healthcare Subsidies published all the questions MPs put to various witnesses who were asked to give evidence to the committee. But things did not stop there. In view of the replies given to the Select Committee by Mr Chee Soon Juan and other witnesses, then Minister of Health George Yeo filed a complaint of contempt of Parliament to the Committee of Privileges against several witnesses arising out of the Select Committee hearings. I remember watching clips of the Select Committee hearing on TV, with PAP MPs relentlessly questioning Chee Soon Juan.

Like many Singaporeans, no one knows how long the current episode is going to drag on for with new information and allegations coming out almost on a daily basis, and perhaps even after 3 July 2017.

The allegations of abuse of power by the Prime Minister need to be looked into. A Parliamentary session as a forum to hear only one side of the story will just not do. After all, it was the late Lee Kuan Yew who said:

“No government in this part of the world will open willingly when it need not open a problem like this and take it out, whether a Commission of Inquiry, debate in Parliament, Select Committee, or even a prosecution if a case could be made out.”

Useful links:

30 Sep 1996 – Report of the Select Committee on Verification of Healthcare Subsidy of Government Polyclinics and Public Hospitals: goo.gl/zgk6ie

22 Nov 1996 – Report of the Committee of Privileges: Complaint against Representors from the Singapore Democratic Party: goo.gl/xG6ER3

Source: Pritam Singh

June 23, 2017
WP Takes Backhanded Swipe At Minister Shanmugam’s Comments On Town Council Affairs

The Law and Home Affairs Minister, K Shanmugam, in speaking on the the investigation of the General Manager of Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC) by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) contrasted the approaches of PAP-run town council with the one run by Workers’ Party (WP). WP’s then-Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council, has been under scrutiny for its relationship between its former managing agent FM Solutions and Services (FMSS) and Essential Maintenance Service Unit (EMSU) contractor FM Solutions and Integrated Services (FMSI).

Mr Shanmugam alleged that unlike the PAP-run town council, the Workers’ Party-run town council has not been transparent with the general public.

The Workers’ Party in responding to Mr Shanmugam’s harsh criticisms of its town council management said that “since CPIB is investigating the AMKTC case, we should let due process take its course and not jump to conclusions.”

In its statement, WP pointed out that when their auditors released the report on AHTC in July 2016, “some people jumped prematurely on the possibility of fraud and fictitious payments without waiting for the results of the audit.”

Their auditor, KPMG, had said in the July 2016 report that the use of this “highly irregular shortcut” made it “practically impossible” to have effective oversight of these transactions.

They added: “Such large-scale use of this practice raises questions about the management of AHTC’s finance function. Consequently, it is easier for duplicate payments or fictitious payments to be made without being detected.”

Mr Shanmugam had then taken issue with the manner the WP announced the lapses highlighted by its auditors. In a Facebook post, the Minister said KPMG’s report underlined that “AHTC’s leadership has neither upheld nor enforced integrity and ethical values”.

“The rot is at the top,” he added. “This should come as no surprise. The High Court and the Court of Appeal have already criticised Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Pritam Singh for suppressing the truth (designed to mislead) both in Parliament and in Court. To them, the truth is a tradable commodity.”

Aljunied-Hougang Town Council subsequently ordered a 100% check on the $60m direct journal entry and dummy code issues.

WP’s unsigned statement today said, “when no fraud and fictitious payments were found, the speculators kept quiet.”

The statement further said: “Premature speculation, especially when done by influential people, may pervert the course of justice by shaping investigations. So let’s wait for the findings of the CPIB on the AMKTC case and let the law take its course.”

Source: http://theindependent.sg

January 7, 2017