Tag: SMC

No Outright Opposition Claims For Four Out Of 29 Constituencies

Ahead of a meeting scheduled for Friday (Jul 30) in which Opposition hopefuls will seek to avoid three-corner fights, the Opposition parties have already declared they will contest 25 of the 29 constituencies laid out for the coming General Election.

Only four – Holland-Bukit Timah, Jurong and Sembawang GRCs as well as Bukit Panjang SMC – have not been laid claim to. Of the four, three were contested in the 2011 GE by the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), while one saw the National Solidarity Party (NSP) take on the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).

Dr Chee Soon Juan’s SDP last contested in Holland Bukit-Timah, Sembawang and Bukit Panjang in 2011. But so far, since the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee report was released on Friday (Jul 24), the SDP has only said that they are “considering contesting in the same areas as it did in the last election”.

In 2011, an SDP team which included future presidential candidate Tan Jee Say and civil activist Vincent Wijeysingha ran against Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s PAP team in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC. The Opposition team garnered 39.92 per cent of the vote.

In Sembawang GRC, an SDP team led by academic James Gomez secured 36.1 per cent of the vote against Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan and his PAP team.

Film-maker Alec Tok was the SDP representative against the PAP’s Teo Ho Pin at Bukit Panjang SMC four years ago. He took a third (33.73 per cent) of the vote.

Similarly, the NSP have not yet laid claim to contesting Jurong’s five-member GRC, where it won 33.04 per cent of the vote in 2011 against a PAP team anchored by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

On Tuesday, NSP Acting Secretary-General Hazel Poa told Channel NewsAsia that the party can only confirm that it is looking at areas it contested in 2011, but added that a clearer picture would emerge after a meeting this Friday the party has called between Opposition parties.

The Workers’ Party, the party which has the largest share of seats in Parliament after the ruling PAP, on Sunday declared its intention to field candidates in 10 constituencies – 5 GRCs, 5 SMCs – in the coming GE. This will see the WP contest a total of 28 out of the 89 available seats.

“I think we still want to try and avoid any three-corner fights if possible,” said WP chairman Sylvia Lim, confirming that her party will attend the Friday meeting.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

July 28, 2015
Opposition Cries Foul, Calls For More Lead Time Before Polls

Despite the prospects of a major redrawing of electoral boundaries and the short reaction time should the General Election (GE) be called as early as September, opposition parties said yesterday (July 13) they were confident their preparations would not be derailed.

Nevertheless, some of them cried foul that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had kept the formation of the electoral boundaries review committee under wraps for the last two months, and called on him to ensure that there is sufficient time lag between the release of the committee’s report and the dissolution of Parliament.

On its website, the Singapore Democratic Party called on Mr Lee to “ensure that at least two months are given from the time of the announcement of the new boundaries to the dissolution of Parliament”.

“It is shocking that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong chose not to announce the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee when he appointed it two months ago,” it said.

Mr Goh Meng Seng, founder of newly registered People’s Power Party, added: “It’s not fair to us … After the report is out, at least give about two to three months, then we can have a good showing.”

The Republic’s first two Prime Ministers, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong, had opted not to announce the formation of the committee. Apart from the latest instance, PM Lee, who took office in 2004, had also made public the setting up of the committee in the last two GEs in 2006 and 2011.

Responding to TODAY’s queries after yesterday’s Parliament session, Workers’ Party (WP) Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Yee Jenn Jong said his party believes the process of setting up the committee should be “automatic and transparent”.

“It will make (for) a fairer democratic system if the review of electoral boundaries is based on a known timeline, independent of when elections will be held,” he said.

WP also reiterated its call for a period of at least six to 12 months between any changes to the electoral boundaries and Nomination Day.

National Solidarity Party president Sebastian Teo said that should the GE be held in September, as some analysts had predicted, opposition parties would be at a disadvantage.

“We will have a shorter time to plan which areas to focus on and to study the formations of the Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs),” said Mr Teo, adding that his party had begun outreach efforts since the end of last year.

Singaporeans First chairman Ang Yong Guan noted that any drastic changes to the electoral boundaries could also hurt the People’s Action Party.

“All the goodwill and effort made by the existing MP will also be lost,” he said, adding that “we are always mindful that the GRCs may change, it’s never cast in stone”.

Similarly, Democratic Progressive Party secretary-general Benjamin Pwee said his party would take the changes in its stride, and redeploy its candidates accordingly.

“As long as the number of GRCs do not change significantly, we are not likely to see drastic changes to the boundaries,” he said.

Singapore Democratic Alliance chairman Desmond Lim said his party members would continue working the ground at Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC. If the constituency’s size is reduced, the party would adjust accordingly, he said.

Reform Party chairman Andy Zhu noted that any redrawing of the boundaries would not severely jeopardise his party’s plan.

On the outcome of the committee’s report, the party is adopting a wait-and-see attitude, he said.

The opposition parties reiterated their call to abolish the GRC system, which has been in place since the 1988 GE. Mr Pwee said: “What we would like to see, is fewer GRCs, and more SMCs, where electoral candidates get voted into Parliament on the basis of their own individual credibility.”

Dr Ang said the GRC system allows weaker candidates to ride on the coattails of stronger team members.

A one-to-one contest is more ideal, as voters can better assess the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate, he said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

July 14, 2015
Jeanette Chong-Aruldoss Sets Eyes Again On Mountbatten

Mrs Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss, 51, a lawyer, sets her eyes again on the Mountbatten Single Member Constituency (SMC) for the upcoming General Election with the blessing of her new political party.

A former secretary general of the National Solidarity Party (NSP), Mrs Chong-Aruldoss lost a bid to become NSP president in party polls held in January this year.

She subsequently left the party along with a several other members and applied to join the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) in March, helmed by veteran politician Chiam See Tong.

Mrs Chong-Aruldoss confirms that she will be contesting in the SMC in the upcoming polls which must be held by January 2017.

She said, “Yes, I am keen to make another bid to be elected as MP for Mountbatten. In the course of campaigning during the last GE, I established friendships with residents and got to know some local issues of concern to the residents there. I believe that I will be of more help to residents – and be a better candidate – if I were to have a deeper understanding of issues and closer ties with residents.

“For this reason, even after GE 2011, I have continued to and have been regularly walking the ground at Mountbatten. It has been my aim to build on the relationships which I have already established and to deepen my understanding of the issues of concern.”

Her personal campaign team has also been formed for the purpose of the upcoming election, which does not tax on the limited manpower and resources of SPP. It is said that the team has been visiting the SMC every Wednesday.

In General Elections 2011, Mrs Chong-Aruldoss contested against People’s Action Party candidate, Mr Lim Biow Chuan, under the NSP’s banner for the first time in the newly formed Mountbatten ward.

She received 41.38 per cent of the vote, which is slightly above the national average for opposition candidates.

However, Mrs Chong-Aruldoss is uncertain if the efforts of her campaigning team would bear fruit in the coming election due to Singapore’s constant changing electoral boundaries.

“Of course, all potential opposition candidates including myself, are under the heel of boundary changes. History has seen boundaries change significantly from one general election to another. What if Mountbatten is no longer a single member constituency? I don’t know.”

Despite the uncertainity she faces in the upcoming election, Mrs Chong-Aruldoss said, “For now, I will continue to walk the grounds of Mountbatten to see how best I may be able to serve its constituents, if elected.”

Apart from Singapore People’s Party which is set to contest the SMC if it is not subsumed into other constituencies or removed altogether at the next boundary changes, the NSP itself seems to have also set its eyes on contesting the ward.

This would set up a possible three-corner fight in the SMC.

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

July 3, 2015
Dr. Fined $2000 For Administering Chemo Drug Wrongly

A young doctor who administered a chemotherapy drug the wrong way, putting the patient at risk of “severe neurological damage”, has been fined S$2,000 by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC).

Dr Garuna Murthee Kavitha, 32, had given the drug intrathecally, or into the membrane of the spinal cord, when she should have fed it intravenously to the patient.

The error stemmed from the ward sending the wrong medicine, which Dr Kavitha did not check, the SMC’s disciplinary tribunal heard on April 21. She pleaded guilty to the charge.

In mitigation, the lawyer acting for Dr Kavitha, who was practising as a Medical Officer at Singapore General Hospital, said the error was unintentional and stressed that she had disclosed the error immediately.

She also never shied away from accepting responsibility and was a very young doctor who had learnt from this incident, her lawyer added. In contrast, previous similar cases saw more senior doctors being involved, while the errors took longer to detect before the patient was informed, and even medical records had been tampered with.

Testimonials from Dr Kavitha’s superiors and colleagues, as well as feedback from the family of another patient were also submitted during the hearing.

While it noted the “strong” testimonials attested to Dr Kavitha’s work ethic and integrity, as well as her Best Medical Officer award by SingHealth in 2013, the SMC’s disciplinary tribunal said a censure alone was inappropriate. It would not “reflect the seriousness of the conduct, nor would it deter such lapses or preserve public confidence in the medical profession”, it added.

The disciplinary tribunal also censured Dr Kavitha and asked her for a written undertaking that she would not repeat the same conduct, as well as for her to bear the costs and expenses of the inquiry.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 10, 2015
SDP Considering Contesting A GRC In Upcoming General Elections

At the next General Election, which is due by January 2017, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) plans to contest the same four constituencies that it contested at the last GE in 2011.

But the opposition party, which does not have any seats in the current Parliament, has not ruled out contesting one more Group Representation Constituency (GRC) – possibly Tanjong Pagar. In 2011, the SDP contested two single seats – Yuhua and Bukit Panjang – as well as two GRCs – Sembawang and Holland-Bukit Timah GRC. It did not win any of the seats.

The party’s Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan revealed the SDP’s plans as the party launched its election campaign on Saturday (Jan 10). When asked if he would contest the next election, Dr Chee said it has been a long time since he stood for election and it would be an “interesting contest this time around”. However, he added that it was “premature” to say where he would contest.

Launching its party slogan, “Your Voice in Parliament”, the SDP said it will introduce its potential candidates at a pre-election rally in Hong Lim Park in October. The party also plans to release an economic policy paper in February and its manifesto in May. It also plans to unveil a town council management manifesto in June, which will spell out how the party plans to manage estates if it was to win in any of the constituencies it is contesting.

Besides saying it would focus on the same constituencies it had contested in the previous GE, the SDP also said it intended to campaign on several policy ideas it had raised earlier.

These included advocating the abolishment of Medisave, Medifund and MediShield schemes in favour of a National Health Investment Fund, and the introduction of a non-open market scheme for public housing which would see new flats being sold at a price which does not factor in the cost of land.

The party is also advocating the scrapping of the PSLE, a point system for foreigners to qualify to work in Singapore and abolishing the CPF’s Minimum Sum scheme.

Mr Chee expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming elections: “I’m excited about the prospect of leading the SDP into the next elections, excited about the opportunity of presenting our alternative vision to the people of Singapore, and excited that right now, we have the opportunity to effect change and take Singapore up a different path. One that is democratic, dynamic, just, equal and compassionate.”

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

January 11, 2015