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Tag: SFP

  • Osman Sulaiman: Opposition Party Leaders Should Not Curtail Freedom Of Speech

    Osman Sulaiman: Opposition Party Leaders Should Not Curtail Freedom Of Speech

    When I heard news that Lim Tean has resigned from NSP, I wasnt surprised of the reasons for his resignation.

    Curtailment of his freedom of speech is one of it. And we are talking about freedom of speech where it’s done in a responsible manner. Not the Amos Yee or Charlie Hebdo kind of free speech.

    Often times, it’s the alternative parties that espouses freedom of speech but in reality, fall short of implementing it within its own organization.

    I encountered many times where alternative parties feel uneasy when its members are vocal about issues they feel strongly about.

    Issues like LGBT, Tudung issue, discrimination, religion, 377A, article 154 etc.

    Party members are always reminded to ‘tone’ down, or a messenger will come to relay message not to get too vocal or get involved in any protest speeches.

    This effectively curb or placed an OB marker on a person to be mindful not to engage in anything the party leaders deemed unsuitable.

    But of course not all of the alternative parties hold such unwritten rules. It depends on the leader at helm.

    For instance, we have leaders from the Reform Party (RP), Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), People’s Power Party (PPP) and Singapore First Party (SFP) who allow its member to participate freely in a democratic society.

    It give members the freedom to have differing opinions from the party’s stand.

    Some may argue that members need to toe along the party lines to achieve unity within the organization but by doing so, it instead create artificial harmony within its rank.

    These parties are then no better than the PAP, the very one they hope to replace.

    My advice to political leaders with ambition to rule Singapore, deal with these sensitive issues and not fetter your members from discussing matters that are crucial to the development of the country. If you are to be a leader, you will need to solve problems, not suppressing it.

    In this aspect, Im proud to be a part of The Reform Party where its leadership never once tried to curtail my freedom of speech as long as it is done in a responsible manner.

    I wish Lim Tean all the best. It is better to move away than to be in a party and gets zipped up. That can spell the end of democracy.

     

    Source: Khan Osman Sulaiman

  • Fahmi Rais: Having A Voice To Communicate With Malay Community A Priority

    Fahmi Rais: Having A Voice To Communicate With Malay Community A Priority

    Singaporeans First’s (SingFirst) candidate Fahmi Rais, the only Malay among all the candidates contesting Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency (GRC), said a voice for his community is important, especially if the Government wants to have its policies communicated to this group.

    Noting that Tanjong Pagar has not had a Malay Member of Parliament (MP) since becoming a GRC in 1991, Mr Fahmi said: “I’ve come across so many Malays during my walkabouts and many of them are from the lower-income bracket and they may not be very educated, so how is the communication process trickling down to them, I wonder.”

    The ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) slate for Tanjong Pagar GRC for the Sept 11 elections does not include a Malay candidate. The 48-year-old media consultant said the main issue that has come up during his interactions with Malay residents is that of employment.

    The lower-income group is hit particularly hard by the influx of foreign labour as they have to compete directly with them for jobs. This worsens the income gap between the Malay community and others, he added.

    If elected, Mr Fahmi said he will make tackling issues concerning the community a priority.

    Mr Fahmi is contesting in Tanjong Pagar GRC along with SingFirst’s secretary-general Tan Jee Say, party chairman Ang Yong Guan, market risk manager Chirag Desai and sales executive Melvyn Chiu.

    The party plans to hold its first rally tomorrow (Sept 3) at Jurong Stadium.

     

    Source: http://www.todayonline.com

  • SingFirst’s Ang Yong Guan: Stepping Out Of The Grassroots

    SingFirst’s Ang Yong Guan: Stepping Out Of The Grassroots

    By Biddy Low

    Dr Ang Yong Guan is an animated man with a personable demeanour.

    As he gets more impassioned with his words, his hands gesticulate more fervently, earnestly punctuating the points he holds dear.

    We met up with the chairman of SingFirst for a chat, after a recent forum held by the party, which dealt with issues such as the Central Provident Fund (CPF).

    Dr Ang had served as the chairman of the Punggol Community Club Management Committee some years ago, assisting a PAP MP for more than 15 years – until he decided to step into politics around 2003 because he felt, in his words, “something was not quite right.”

    “They were heading in the wrong direction,” he said, referring to the government.

    He now wants to pave the way for others to step forth to serve in politics, and to remove the climate of fear which he says still prevails here.

    Dr Ang served as a psychiatrist with the Singapore Armed Forces for 17 years from 1986 to 2003 and retired from the SAF as a Colonel, holding the appointment as the head of Psychological Medicine Branch (currently known as Psychological Care Centre) at the Military Medicine Institute, HQMC.

    Apart from his impressive credentials in the military, Dr Ang was also the president of the Singapore Psychiatric Association (1997-1998); chairman of the Chapter of Psychiatrists, Academy of Medicine (2001- 2003); founder/chairman of Action Group for Mental Illness (since 2004); member of National Council on Problem Gambling (since 2005); and member of the Clinical Advisory Committee for Chronic Disease Management Programme (since 2009).

    Dr Ang was awarded the Public Service Medal in 1995 for community work, and the Public Administration Medal in 1996 for military services.

    He is currently in private practice at Paragon Medical.

    In the video below, we speak to Dr Ang – who contested in the last elections under the Singapore Democratic Party’s banner – on his views about the CPF and the government’s foreign labour policy, his personal ethos that led him into opposition politics and whether his party’s name carries xenophobic connotations.

     

     

    Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

  • Opposition Party Chiefs Slam Half-Truths Leaked From Meeting

    Opposition Party Chiefs Slam Half-Truths Leaked From Meeting

    Some Opposition party chiefs expressed unhappiness over a perceived breach of confidentiality following a meeting on Monday (Aug 3) attended by representatives of 11 parties, calling it an attempt to “destroy Opposition unity”.

    The aim of the first round of horse-trading talks was to discuss the possibility of avoiding multi-corner fights at the upcoming General Election.

    On Wednesday, People’s Power Party (PPP) chief Goh Meng Seng shared a TODAY report on his Facebook page, calling the purported leak a “despicable underhand tactic”.

    According to the report, sources who attended the meeting said that there was a “heated” disagreement between the Workers’ Party (WP) and the National Solidarity Party (NSP) over Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC), Jalan Besar GRC and the MacPherson Single Member Constituency (SMC).

    The sources declined to be identified as the parties had agreed on keeping the discussions confidential, according to the TODAY report.

    “As a participant of the meeting, I openly condemn such leaks of half-truths (as) a deliberate way of smearing NSP,” said Mr Goh. “This is not helpful for achieving opposition unity at all. This is a despicable underhand tactic that we should not condone.”

    Mr Goh is the former Secretary-General of the NSP, having run for elections under the party banner in 2011.

    Later on Wednesday, the NSP’s official Facebook page shared a screenshot of Mr Goh’s post and echoed his sentiments.

    “The ‘source’ who leaked these ‘half-truths’ is not doing anybody good and aims to split Opposition unity,” said the party, which urged the public to not “jump into conclusions yet, based on hear-say and rumours” until after the second round of discussions on Thursday.

    A day earlier, Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam also took to Facebook to slam anonymous sources in a Straits Times article, who raised similar allegations of conflict between the WP and NSP.

    “What was the point of us all agreeing to keep the meeting’s discussions confidential when someone has leaked the whole caboodle to the press?” he asked.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • SingFirst’s Latest Plans Create Crowded Field In 3 GRCs

    SingFirst’s Latest Plans Create Crowded Field In 3 GRCs

    Following the talks among the opposition parties on Monday, the Singaporeans First (SingFirst) party said yesterday it has made substantial changes to its plans, potentially giving rise to more complicated negotiations at the second round of horse-trading talks tomorrow.

    Of the four Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) it had expressed an interest in, it will relinquish Marine Parade and Pasir Ris-Punggol. But it is now casting its eyes on three new constituencies, SingFirst secretary-general Tan Jee Say told TODAY.

    “We are discussing about Jurong, West Coast and Holland-Bukit Timah … We will probably not end up with all, but we’re now negotiating,” he said.

    Tanjong Pagar GRC, one of its original targets, is off the negotiating table too, said Mr Tan, although he will listen to an idea mooted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to send a joint team there. Tampines is the remaining GRC SingFirst had staked its claim on, alongside the National Solidarity Party (NSP) — the People’s Power Party has since backed out.

    With these changes, SingFirst has, for the moment, cleared a multi-way fight in one constituency, but created a crowded field in three others.

    Its exit sets the stage for the Singapore Democratic Alliance to go head-to-head with the incumbent People’s Action Party in Pasir Ris-Punggol. Marine Parade, however, is still being claimed by the Workers’ Party and the NSP. For the new GRCs SingFirst is aiming for: The NSP has staked its claim on Jurong, the Reform Party (RP) on West Coast, and the Singapore Democratic Party on Holland-Bukit Timah.

    Asked about the likelihood that SingFirst and DPP would field a joint team in Tanjong Pagar GRC, Mr Tan said it was an initiative from DPP that has yet to come up with a proposal.

    “It’s always good to consider somebody’s offer … but we have a complete team (for the GRC) … so we have to see what they have in mind,” he said.

    Meanwhile, RP chairman Andy Zhu said the party will stand its ground in wards it had contested in the 2011 General Election, such as Ang Mo Kio and West Coast GRCs, as well as the Radin Mas single seat. RP is also interested in Jurong GRC, which has absorbed the Clementi ward it had fought in.

    Mr Zhu said the party will not hold bilateral meetings ahead of tomorrow’s meeting of opposition parties, so any resolution of issues or compromises to be struck will only be discussed then.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com