Tag: Singapore democratic Party

SDP Goes On First Walkabout In Sembawang GRC and Bukit Panjang SMC

The opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) today (Jan 25) conducted its first walkabout since it launched its preparations for the next General Election, due to be held by January 2017.

The walkabout kicked off at the Marsiling Food Centre, with about 50 members and volunteers taking part. They covered several markets and food centres around Marsiling, Fajar and Bangkit, which lie within the boundaries of Sembawang GRC and Bukit Panjang SMC.

Leading the walkabout was SDP Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan and his sister Chee Siok Chin. Dr Chee has said he plans to run in the upcoming election, after sitting out the previous two because of bankruptcy. Also present was SDP Vice-Chairman John Tan, who ran in the 2011 General Election.

“We want to continue to be able to tell people that they need a voice in the Parliament – a voice that will help them articulate their concerns and their worries,” said Dr Chee.

SDP also handed out copies of its newsletter, The New Democrat, which highlights its alternative vision for the Central Provident Fund system.

Dr Chee said he does not think starting SDP’s preparations early will result in them losing momentum. “We are not doing this for ourselves,” he said. “It is a cause and causes are timeless. There is no time frame to it.”

Despite the loss of star candidates after the last General Election in 2011, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) remains confident it will be able to put forward a strong team for the next election, said party chief Chee Soon Juan.

Speaking to reporters after a walkabout at Marsiling Food Centre yesterday, Dr Chee was coy about new faces in his party. “For sure, this is going to be something to watch. We’re going to be able to put up a very good slate of candidates. We’ve got new people coming in,” he said. “People are getting excited about our message and … they want to be a part of this. We feel very good and very confident at this stage.”

In attendance at the walkabout were about 50 members and volunteers, who distributed the party’s newsletter The New Democrat and spoke with residents at several food centres and markets in Marsiling, Fajar and Bangkit. These places fall within Sembawang GRC and the single-seat Bukit Panjang — two constituencies in which the SDP contested during the 2011 GE and plans to stand in again.

Since 2011, the SDP has lost several high-profile members, among them Mr Tan Jee Say and Dr Ang Yong Guan, who set up their own political party, Singaporeans First. Ms Michelle Lee, who contested in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC under the SDP banner, has been seen at Workers’ Party events, while Dr Vincent Wijeysingha resigned in 2013 to focus on civil activism.

The party has also announced that it would release an economic policy paper next month and a party manifesto in May. It also plans to introduce potential candidates in October.

Source: www.todayonline.com

January 26, 2015
Chee Soon Juan In Wall Street Journal: A New Vision For Singapore

Singapore has made great economic strides over the 50 years since independence. With a GDP per capita of $55,000, the island state is, by this measure at least, the most prosperous country in the world. Yet rather than being proud of their country’s achievement, measures of social harmony and happiness indicate that Singaporeans are far from pleased with the status quo.

Looking behind the numbers, it seems that Singapore’s economic success has wrought havoc on less measurable, but no less important, aspects of life: Freedom, compassion and equality. It is the degradation of these values that has contributed significantly to Singaporeans’ disenchantment with the current system.

Even before the Reagan-Thatcher era of neoliberal economics, Singapore adopted a market-driven approach in which even value systems and social life were commodified. When the government wanted fewer births in the 1970s, it paid women to undergo tubal ligation. When it changed its mind and wanted more births, it gave tax incentives to couples to have more babies. When it wanted the children to demonstrate strong character, it rewarded their desirable traits with cash.

Monetizing things that we shouldn’t—especially under circumstances where societal values are involved—leads to harmful outcomes. It causes citizens to abrogate moral responsibility and devolve decision-making to market norms set by the elite few.

We need to fundamentally rethink how we pursue wealth and, more importantly, to what end. We need to ask that all-important question that Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel so trenchantly posed: What price do we pay when we cede our values to market mechanisms?

Unfortunately, without democracy Singaporeans cannot have a national debate on the future direction of our country. Talk about political freedom and the rights of the people is eclipsed by government threats that democracy undermines GDP growth.

And yet Singapore is in danger of being left behind. A survey of countries around the world reveals a distinct shift towards more democratic forms of governance. Many such political transitions have yielded greater, not less, prosperity. Adaptation to change is necessary for societies to keep themselves relevant in the global community. Singapore is no exception.

The island republic needs an alternative vision, one that will confidently usher Singapore into the next phase of development: Privately owned small and medium-sized enterprises, instead of state-owned conglomerates, need to be the prime drivers of growth; the wage structure should ensure that the working poor don’t see their real incomes shrink even as the number of billionaires rise; the elderly should not have to work menial jobs just to feed themselves; the media must be free from state control; and, most importantly, the political system needs to change to allow truly free and fair elections, where the political freedoms of Singaporeans are respected.

Singapore is at a crossroads. How the country moves forward will depend on the choices that the people and their leaders make today. The incentives that those in power build into the system will determine whether the country progresses or stagnates. To that end, the ability of Singaporeans to question authority and to build a capacity for collective reasoning and debate is essential.

It is shameful that we live in a state where market values guided by an authoritarian system trump moral ones guided by a democratic process. The danger is that we become blinded by the things we want and ignore the things we really need. Ultimately a nation’s success is not measured by the size of its GDP but by the number of minds it unfetters, the number of young lives it gives hope to and the number of poor it empowers. It is this kind of wealth, the kind that really matters, that Singapore must accumulate.

Now more than ever, we need a genuine conversation about Singapore’s future. Indeed, we need a bold new vision for the country.
* Written by Chee Soon Juan, Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party.

Source: http://online.wsj.com

December 6, 2014
Malay Race Being Discriminated When Apply for SG Citizenship

As promised this is the real-life story which I feel all true blue Singaporeans should know. Compare it with the ease with which PR and citizenship are dished out to foreigners, especially from the PRC, the PAP’s favourite hunting ground for immigrants to make Singapore more Chinese than it already is. And naturally Yang Yin’s case comes to mind.

This insulting tale which I’m about to tell I believe is not an isolated one. Many others may have been suffering – and still suffering – in silence.

Yaacob (not his real name) is the youngest in a family of 6 children – 5 boys and a girl. He is in his thirties and was born, bred and schooled in Singapore. He works and contributes to the economy as a forklift operator.His elderly parents and all his elder siblings are full citizens with pink ICs. Through some unexplained circumstances Yaacob is the only one holding a blue IC.

The fault could have been caused by an inadvertent mistake of his father, a simple folk, or that of the officer at the NRO.

Having faced all the inconveniences of a blue IC holder and missing out on all the rights and privileges of a citizen through no fault of his, Yaacob finally decided seek help. He did not say whether he had gone to see any MP because he might have thought that as a blue IC holder he would not be entertained. Incidentally he lives in Ang Mo Kio and the principal MP there is none other than the PM himself.

He went straight to the Immigration/National Registration Office at Kallang, armed with copies of his parents’ and siblings’ birth certificates and ICs.
After a lengthy wait he was interviewed by an officer. But instead of assisting him the officer, a Chinese, threw insults at him by telling him:

1. Though he might be born in Singapore it does not necessarily mean that he can become a citizen.
2. The issuing of pink ICs to his parents and siblings was a mistake, and this killer statement …..
3. His parents could have got married after he was born!

He was then asked to bring his school records and told to leave and wait for a letter from the authorities. He is still waiting.

Yang Yin forged a degree, joined the RC, allegedly cheated and stole from an elderly Singaporean, lied about his association with local organisations, took photographs with the MP and the PM and rumoured to have donated large sums of money to the PAP grassroots, etc and he got his PR. No question need to be asked nor a background check necessary.

Yaacob on the other hand is only making his contributions as a forklift operator but born, bred and schooled in Singapore. What is he getting? INSULTS! CAN YOU TAKE THIS?

To the PAP skin colour and money talk! Others don’t matter.

Authored by Mohamed Jufrie Bin Mahmood*

*Mohamed Jufrie Bin Mahmood is a politician from Singapore. He was a prominent opposition political figure in the country in the 1980s and 1990s, when he stood in elections as a candidate for both the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and the Workers’ Party. He served as the Chairman of the SDP from 2011 to 2013.

September 29, 2014
SDP Mohd Isa Memorial Service 8 March 2014

The SDP will hold a memorial service for Mohd Isa who passed away in January this year. The service will honour the memory of a long-time leader of the party who toiled quietly behind the scenes to bring democracy to our country.

The service will allow colleagues and friends to remember Isa and to say a proper goodbye to a cherished member of the SDP family.

The occasion will also be used to launch the Mohd Isa Bursary Award where, as the name suggests, we will award bursaries to students who come from poorer family backgrounds.

It is the SDP’s belief that education can, and must, be used to level up society. Students who are needy are often at a disadvantage when it comes to the schools they attend and the resources that are available to them for their education. The SDP will do our part to make our society more equal, starting by assisting poorer students with financial awards.

As a more comprehensive strategy to help in this leveling up, the SDP will be publishing our alternative education policy in the near future. Our present education system is skewed towards the elite which has created an unhealthy state of affairs in this country.

In the paper, the party will present concrete proposals to remedy this problem as well as prepare our future generations to not just to survive but excel in a rapidly changing global community.

The award is appropriately named after Isa who has always emphasised the importance of making our education system a means for the poorer sections of our population to compete fairly.

Details of the award will be announced at the memorial service which is open to members of the public. Join us to honour a father, friend, and forever-proud Singapore Democrat.

Event: Mohd Isa Memorial Service
Date: 8 March 2014, Saturday
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Chinese Success Media, Bras Basah Complex (location map)
All are welcome.

Source: Singapore Democratic Party

Also read:

Dalam Kenangan – Mohd Isa bin Abdul Aziz

March 7, 2014