Tag: Singaporeans

How About Political Reform For Singapore?

The National Day Rally is going to be held this coming 23rd August. I have no doubt for sure that perhaps in the week after or so, parliament will be dissolved and we will begin to see political parties campaigning to win the hearts of the voters to put them into parliament for the next 5 years.

All parties have been working hard at looking for new candidates whom they feel can best represent the party and the people they seek to serve at the respective wards that they are contesting for.

And as how the last elections has shown, Singaporeans are less interested in the affairs of the Town Council but are more concerned at what happens at the national level. Elections, is no longer just about municipal issues but national issues.

More than just that, we need the right candidates who can represent the people at the national level.

If anything, I believe that we need to have a political reform in terms of how elections are held. It should no longer be about representing wards alone. It should be about representing the people. What we need is a parliament that works like council members, elected not by wards but by the entire nation or by the community that they seek to represent.

For example, to have a good representation in parliament, we should perhaps try to work on this:

ALL Singapore Malays vote for a selected number of Malay Candidates who have been nominated by their organisations or have chosen to step forward to represent the community.

For instance, AMP, MUIS, MENDAKI, PERGAS, PERTAPIS, etc.. each nominates one member from their organisation whom they feel can best represent the Malay community. If these guys accept the nomination, then they go on to campaign to win votes of the Malay community for the available number of seats and these guys will represent the Malay-Muslim Community.

Let’s say there are 14 seats available for the Malay-Muslim Community and there are 30 guys contending for the seat. Voters can mark the ‘X’ on 14 of these names/faces who they want to represent them.

This way, no candidate shall be subjected to party politics and will truly represent the people and they can represent the people best because there will be diversity in terms of opinions and alliances. These guys, are then the Malay Members of Parliament.

For those individuals who are not nominated, they can campaign as well to win votes. Campaigning can be managed by the Election Department who will organise the ‘Campaign Tours’ to the different neighbourhoods to allow candidates opportunities to speak. Each candidate given a specific amount of time for their speeches. This puts additional pressure on candidates to be concise with what they want to campaign for and not beat around the bush.

Now, after they win and what about the choice for a Minister of Malay Muslim Affairs. The candidates representing the Malay Muslim community can discuss amongst themselves as council members and elect a person whom they feel best fits the job.

What about Town Councils?

Leave the Town Council management to private firms who have no political affiliation or interest. Town Council managers will have to submit their bids and proposals on how they wish to improve the town to the Ministry for National Development who can issue tenders.

In assessing the suitability of the Town Council to be issued or recontracted, MND can have a KPI or checklist or even conduct household surveys to assess performance of each Town Council. Town Councils that fail to meet a certain percentage gives a good red flag that they are perhaps undeserving of a contract extension.

And what then of the People’s Association and it’s CC Advisers?

Leave that to the staff and passionate volunteers of People’s Association. In doing so, we can eradicate party lobbying where volunteers feel obliged/indebted to help/vote their Advisers/MPs or are interested to volunteer because they’d like to be able to receive benefits (whatever that may be).

I know I’ve only mentioned an example for the Malay-Muslim community but this can be replicated for the rest of the communities and causes as well because at the end of the day, we really want to vote for someone who knows the community really well, is committed to serving the community WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOUR, FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY (Borrowed this from the Singapore Police Force pledge).

I certainly do not want to vote for someone whom I know eventually is bounded by party politics and has their hands and mouth tied from speaking up, when that is exactly what they should be doing.

Source: https://abdillahzamzuri.wordpress.com

August 18, 2015
Chee Soon Juan: When The Reserves Go, The Economy Tanks And Everyone Goes With It

Dr Chee Soon Juan casted doubt on the PAP government’s ability to guard Singapore’s financial reserves during their house visits on Sunday, 16 August. Dr Chee contended, “Our message to [the voters] is that what we need is to make sure our reserves are being monitored [by a strong opposition].”

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) conducted their afternoon door-to-door visits at Bukit Timah. SDP activated more than 30 members and volunteers in cars and bicycles to cover a wide area of landed properties.

While acknowledging the different concerns those staying in this area may have, Dr Chee noted everyone will suffer together when the government “does not know what is going on” with the financial market. This is because of a lack of opposition presence in parliament.

Dr Chee cited the 2008 global financial crisis triggered by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. “Between GIC and Temasek Holdings, we lost close to $120bn -$140bn,” he said.

He continued, “This is where I worry. In spite of the fact there were so many warning signals of the subprime crisis that was developing ahead, the government did not know what was going on and continued to plow in money to banks like Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, Bank of America, [and] Merrill Lynch.”

Dr Chee contended the opposition’s role is “to question and make sure every one of our investments in the Sovereign Wealth Funds is transparent and well-managed.”

Emphasizing the common destiny of Singaporeans of all income groups, Dr Chee encouraged the voters of Holland-Bukit Timah to support the SDP. “This is not about income. When the reserves go, the economy tanks. Everyone goes along with it.”

Ms Chong Wai Fung

Dr Chee also took the opportunity to introduce Ms Chong Wai Fung to the media despite being coy about whether she is running for office.

Ms Chong is currently the treasurer of SDP and heads the Women Democrats. She is a healthcare research analyst and holds two master’s degrees in Clinical Epidemiology and Business Administration.

Ms Chong noted that due to her job, she needs to be careful when commenting on healthcare issues publicly. Nevertheless, she had spoken at the “Free My CPF” rally and also actively champions women’s rights and issues.

Coverage in the mainstream media

Speaking exclusively to The Online Citizen, Dr Chee urged the mainstream media to report on its extensive policies because it is what the residents need to know. Dr Chee expressed his disappointment with the mainstream media’s lack of coverage on SDP’s proposals and alternative policy papers.

Rather than being solely focused on which areas the parties are contesting and which candidates might be fielded, the media should spend more time talking about reasons why each party should be voted.

Since 2011, the SDP has published annual shadow budgets, and presented several alternative policy papers on issues like population, housing, the economy, healthcare, and education. However, little of these were highlighted by the mainstream media.

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

August 18, 2015
Chinese-Muslim RSN Regular Allegedly Subjected To Mental Torture Through Racist Abuse, RSN And MINDEF Must Investigate

Admin,

Come across this ig post from a girl

instagram.com/p/6Z7AlsNxqO/

From what she say, her boyfriend is a chinese-muslim convert who is facing a lot of racist bullying on the ship he posted to as a navy regular.

The regular like lost because of the bullying. you read for yourself. guarantee darah up when u read.

I got to a point where enough is enough. How would you feel when your other half complains to you every single day, about the same thing over and over again? I kept on repeating “just endure for five years”. It’s easy for me to say as I’m not in his shoes.

My boyfriend is a regular from the Republic Of Singapore Navy (RSN).

The only Muslim onboard the ship. By being the only Muslim, he is often being discriminated for “betraying” his own race. Instead of calling him by his name, which is stated clearly on his name tag, several people onboard calls him “Muslim, Terrorist, ISIS, Malay, Mat or Kiao Tor (a derogatory term for Malays) etc”.

This has been ongoing for almost half a year since he was posted onboard the ship.

It started when a high ranking officer onboard the ship calls him by his religion instead of his own name.

There is a saying, “If the upper beams is not straight, the lower ones will go aslant”. To out in simpler words, if a leader sets a bad example, it will be followed by his subordinates and true enough, many of the lower ranking crews has started calling my boyfriend by racial or religious remarks.

To top that up, some have even made fun of his religion or made the effort to convince him to go against his religion. E.g – Just eat the pork la, Allah won’t see, Allah won’t know, Allah off day today. -.-? Drinking and eating in front of his face with the intention to disturb him while he’s fasting during ramadhan. Telling him that he is a real Muslim because he’s not circumcised yet. Thus, he’s able to drink,eat pork and all. – Muslims all terrorists, are you gonna bomb the ship? – Malay people are all poor. – Malay people like to steal.

There are other things that he mentioned and complained to me about.But, however, I’m unable to recall every single one of them. These are the few points which I could remember.

The Navy and Mindef must investigate this and punish all the people who bully this Muslim convert, how can they anyhow call him a terrorist and ask him to eat pork? so what he not yet circumcise?

Muis and Minister Yaacob must also give stern warning to everyone, any racist in Singapore will not be free. Navy already not so many Malays or Muslims but after this you think people still want to sign on?

Diver

[Reader Contribution]

August 18, 2015
Man Tried To Take My Child Away When Shopping At I12 Katong Mall

Today at I12 Katong Mall, while my husband finished up his meal at BaliThai I was walking around the 2nd level trying to put SH to sleep in her pram. I went in and out of BaliThai and while M was paying the bill I browsed through some tshirts hanging at the racks of this shop called MegaFash.

For a minute my hands were off the pram as I used both of my hands to check out a shirt, and from the corner of my eye I noticed a man walking near my pram but away from it first and then made a turn behind my back, walked towards my pram placed both his hands on the handle bar and casually walked away.

Immediately I screamed HEY!!. He was very startled and his first reaction was to tell me off for my apparent over reaction.

He began behaving very aggressively accusing me of unnecessarily shouting at him and quickly brought his wife from the other side and told me why would he take my child when he has his own. There are more details to this incident which I will not state here – too long.

But dear friends who are parents, this dude is a buff Malay guy, wearing a white shirt and shorts. Very vulgar in language and aggressive in nature.

His ‘wife’ looked foreign.

I will make a police report on this incident because what happened was highly suspicious and the sequence of events and how it occured was just not very normal.

Please be careful, Alhamdullilah nothing bad happened. If you would like to know more details, PM me and warn other parents.

Still scarred and shocked that such a thing happened to us in Singapore. Not a safe place anymore it seems.

Source: S

August 17, 2015
Radin Mas Residents: Reform Party In For Tough Fight

The Reform Party (RP) seeks the support of residents in Radin Mas so its candidate can speak up on issues relating to Central Provident Fund savings in Parliament.

Its secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam went on a walkabout in the single-member constituency yesterday.

It contains the old Anson ward that his father, the late opposition leader J. B. Jeyaretnam, represented in Parliament after winning the Anson by-election in 1981.

The RP team has been walking the ground in Radin Mas since 2010 but did not contest there in 2011 to avoid a three-cornered fight with the National Solidarity Party.

Hawker Philip Tan, 58, who has been selling fishball noodles at Block 163, Bukit Merah Central, for about 35 years, felt it would be a tough fight for the RP as “the PAP is deeply rooted here”.

Mr Tan said: “The current MP Sam Tan has done a lot for the hawkers. For example, he fought for lower rental for first-generation hawkers like me.”

Resident Annie Tan, 40, said: “The issues raised by the RP concern most Singaporeans. But it is not easy for an opposition party to be elected into Parliament.”

Joining the RP on its walkabout yesterday was lawyer M. Ravi, who said he is reconsidering his decision not to run in the upcoming general election after feedback from the public.

Mr Ravi and blogger Roy Ngerng have been joining the RP’s walkabouts in recent weeks, but both were also spotted at the Singapore Democratic Party’s 35th-anniversary dinner last Saturday.

Mr Ngerng was absent yesterday. When asked about Mr Ngerng’s application to join the party, Mr Jeyaretnam replied: “It’s always difficult to make the transition from blogging to being a politician.”

Source: www.straitstimes.com

August 17, 2015