Rilek1Corner

Tag: WP

  • FAS An Example Of Why Politicians Must Not Interfere With Everything In Singapore

    FAS An Example Of Why Politicians Must Not Interfere With Everything In Singapore

    In the last General Elections, Workers’ Party chairman and MP for Aljunied GRC Sylvia Lim spoke up about how the People’s Action Party “infiltrates every aspect of life” in Singapore, even in our sports associations.

    She said during a fiery rally: “The PAP wants Singaporeans to be dependent on them. But there is more than enough talent in the private sector to drive things,” Ms Lim said in her speech in Jalan Besar. “In fact, Singapore may be able to achieve better results if the PAP would get out of certain areas.”

    One of the best examples she cited was the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which was headed by political appointees like Zainudin Nordin, who are not surprisingly from the PAP. It is clear to everyone that the standard of Singapore football is not doing well.

    The WP has already pointed out the problem before this FAS-AFF scandal!

    Read her speech here.

    “… the WP differs from the PAP because we do not think that the government should infiltrate every aspect of life. The PAP obviously thinks that they should control everything.

    The PAP places government representatives in all areas of Singapore life, including sports, business and professional groups.

    The PAP wants Singaporeans to be dependent on them. But there is more than enough talent in the private sector to drive things. In fact, Singapore may be able to achieve better results if the PAP would get out of certain areas.

    Let’s take sports. Since we are in Jalan Besar GRC, let’s talk about football!

    In the early days of Singapore’s nationhood, the Singapore football team was a force to be reckoned with on the international stage. Can you imagine that in 1966, Singapore was 4th in the Asian Games, behind only Burma, Iran and Japan? 4th in the whole of Asia, not just South East Asia!

    In the 1970s, the whole nation was rivetted behind our “Boys in Blue” in their quest to win the Malaysia Cup. Everyone had football fever, not just the usual soccer fans, but even grandmothers and housewives too. I remember as a young child, diligently cutting out newspaper articles and pictures of our footballers, and keeping my own scrap book. We fought so hard and mightily, and had bitter disappointments. But finally, in 1977, Singapore beat Penang 3-2 to become Malaysia Cup champions. And I am so proud that the man who headed home the winning goal is here with us tonight, as my personal driver!

    In those days, the Football Association of Singapore was headed by people who were not politicians. They were passionate about the game, and relied on their own networks to bring in coaches and technical expertise. They even poured in their own money at times to achieve their dreams.

    Where is Singapore soccer today?

    According to the rankings by football’s world governing body, FIFA, Singapore dropped from no. 70 in the world in 1993 to a new low this year of 157. We are classified by FIFA as one of the “worst movers” down the rankings. What went wrong?

    The FAS Constitution states that all council members shall first be appointed by a government minister before being confirmed by election. For the last 20 years, the Minister has placed a PAP MP in charge of the football association. Looking at how our rankings have nose-dived over the last 20 years, is this policy working? The Sports Minister should be committing hara kiri!

    I am not belittling the efforts of our current footballers and coaches. It’s the structure I’m questioning.

    Now FIFA has been critically looking at the structure of FAS, as it believes officials of football associations should be freely elected. Just 2 days ago, on September 1st, FIFA told our FAS to put their internal elections on hold over possible government interference.

    It is embarrassing that it takes an international body to highlight a problem that has been simmering for so long. It is time for Singaporeans to take charge of what we care about. Let our passion take us to greatness. We have done it before, and we can do it again!

    Power has made the PAP more and more arrogant. They think they can tell us who should represent us – not just in Parliament, but also in sports, and even in business groups and the professions. They want to control every aspect of life. If we become totally dependent on the PAP, how can Singapore be a dynamic nation?

    This election, we must bring the power back to the people. Send a strong message to the PAP that Singaporeans want to be free from their arrogance, their control, and their threats.

    Empower Your Future! On September 11, Vote for the Workers’ Party!”

     

    Rilek1Corner

    Source: https://www.allsingaporestuff.com

     

  • Ahmad Osman: Calvin Cheng Not Fit To Comment On Tudung Issue

    Ahmad Osman: Calvin Cheng Not Fit To Comment On Tudung Issue

    I have refrained myself from commenting on this issue, but I can’t let it continue after coming across this particular post by NMP Calvin Cheng.

    Before I begin I would like to apologize to any parties which may feel offended by my post, and to all Muslim ladies who might just have had enough mansplaining on this entire tudung issue, but at the same time, I am not here to please everyone but simply to right what I feel is wrong.

    This individual right here started off on the wrong foot, talking about the history of politics in Singapore and comparing it to Malaysia for no reason whatsoever. The reality is that the issue we are facing is unique to our own country, and there should never have been any reason to compare our political system with that of our neighbours. And that too, was flawed. You might be well versed in the political history of Singapore, but please keep your mouth shut on the history of politics of other countries, for it seems like you are just taking advantage of this situation to paint our neighbours in a negative light. Silence would then be your best bet for things you obviously have no clue in.

    If the GRC system was supposedly set up to ensure minority representation, why is it that Mr Cheng here is repeatedly against minority MPs championing minority causes? Doesn’t that go totally against the intent of the GRC that he so clearly stated? So if a Malay MP is not allowed to question the parliament regarding the tudung issue, would it be more acceptable for lets say, a Chinese MP to bring up the same issue?

    Mind you, Mr Cheng, this isn’t the first time that Malay MPs have brought up this issue in parliament, and for the past few years a number of Malay MPs from PAP have brought up this issue as well. Why then are they not considered to be divisive or sowing discord? However, when the same issue is raised by a Malay opposition MP, the tables were quickly turned against him to shut him up. Are you telling me our politicians have stooped that low today?

    Yes, Faisal Manap represents people of all races and religions in Aljunied GRC, and I am pretty sure he remembers that, for the simple fact that he brought up a lot of issues in parliament on the very same day, yet unfortunately, only this issue was highlighted by the state controlled media. Mr Cheng, if parliament isn’t the place to discuss such issues, then where else? Where have the so called closed door discussions brought us to? Has there been any changes, any progress? It only makes the most sense to bring up such a large scale issue in front of all government members to discuss it with diplomacy, however, in doing so Faisal Manap was labeled as sowing discord instead.

    I’ll end off with two quotes for you. Last year, the very same Masagos was recorded saying “All matters pertaining to any religion are often discussed in the Cabinet and we do look at ways to lead society to be more open, more accepting.” A year before that, PM Lee mentioned, “we discuss things more openly now, even sensitive matters, we discuss openly in mixed groups and we speak candidly with one another from the heart.”

    I guess you are the one who has forgotten how Singapore’s political system and multi-religious society functions. Coming from someone who has advocated the killing of terrorists, their families and all their children, really, you are the least fit individual to even talk about this issue. You should remember that.

     

    Source: Ahmad Bin Osman

  • Ismail Kassim: Tudung Issue Is Also A Matter Of Human Rights

    Ismail Kassim: Tudung Issue Is Also A Matter Of Human Rights

    Yes, why not? Tudung is not a religious issue. When those who put on are barred from certain occupations it becomes a human right issue; the right of all to equal treatment before the law and the right of employment in all sectors without any discrimination.

    It is not just what issues are raised, but also the manner in which they are brought up. What is equally important is also how should Government should react when such issues are raised.

    Faisal brought it up with admirable restraint, but the reaction from the Minister was, to say the least, inconsistent with the spirit and norms of democracy. It bordered on arrogance and bullying.

    Like the Minister, you too picked on Faisal, the safest target, the most vulnerable.

    I am sure whatever he did in Parliament had the blessings of the Workers Party and its leaders.

    Why not blame the WP also for not distributing the work load in a way more consistent with the norms of our multiracial society.

     

    Source: Ismail Kassim

  • Calvin Cheng: Bringing Up Tudung Issue In Parliament Is Divisive Because We Do Not Practice Communal Politics

    Calvin Cheng: Bringing Up Tudung Issue In Parliament Is Divisive Because We Do Not Practice Communal Politics

    Some people have been arguing that Parliament should be the right place to bring up the tudung issue.

    I would like to remind readers about the political history of Singapore: unfortunately, this would also entail a comparison to the Federation of Malaysia, from where we were ejected in 1965.

    Malaysia’s political system consists of political parties that purport to represent a certain race, who then come together to form an alliance. The ruling coalition, the BN, consists of UMNO which represents the Malays, the MCA which represents the Chinese, and the MIC which represents the Indians. There are also smaller political political parties in the ruling coalition, but most of them purport to represent a race, or a religion. The opposition coalition is also broadly the same, but with the exit of PAS, the alliance is broken.

    Malaysia thus practices communal politics.

    Singapore is precisely the opposite.

    The PAP is a multi-racial, multi-religious political party that represents the diverse interests of all Singaporeans. Our major opposition political parties are also the same. The GRC system is set up to ensure minority representation, but all MPs were elected by a diverse electorate.

    We thus do not have Malay MPs championing Malay causes, Chinese MPs championing Chinese causes and so on. Unlike the Malaysian Parliament, our Parliament is not structured this way. Bringing up narrow communal causes in Parliament is thus divisive precisely because our political system, and our Parliament, was designed to ensure that we do not practice communal politics. We elected our MPs to represent us, regardless of our race or religion, not because of it.

    Workers Party MP Faisal Manap was elected by the multi-racial electorate of Aljunied GRC. He was not elected only by the Malays or Muslims. He represents people of all races and all religions in Aljunied GRC.

    He should remember that.

     

    Source: Calvin Cheng

  • Why Have GRCs If Minority MPs Can’t Speak Up On Minority Issues?

    Why Have GRCs If Minority MPs Can’t Speak Up On Minority Issues?

    This week, when WP MP Muhammad Faisal spoke up against the ban on the wearing of tudung in certain occupations here, PAP Minister Masagos Zulkifli rebuked him for “subtly and frequently needling” the Malay community with this issue.

    Minister Masagos said that Parliament is not the the platform to discuss such issues. He further implied that MP Faisal is sowing discord and disrupting Singapore’s racial and religious harmony.

    According to the Election Dept, which comes directly under the purview of PM Lee, the GRC system was “established in 1988 to ensure that the minority racial communities in Singapore will always be represented in Parliament”.

    WP MP Faisal was the minority GRC candidate elected by Aljunied residents to ensure that their Malay community will be represented in Parliament.

    So, when MP Faisal is talking about issues related to the Malay community, how is he sowing discord? And why can’t he bring minority issues up in Parliament?

    How is he supposed to “represent” minority racial communities in Parliament? By keeping his mouth shut and not talking about any minority issues in Parliament?

    That being the case, why are we having GRCs in the first place?

     

    Source: www.theindependent.sg