Incumbent MP Chiam deserve respect
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old news, but again i feel this is something to read abt
29 October 2005
I refer to the criticism levelled on Mr.Chiam See Tong, MP for Potong Pasir, by Mr. Chan Mia Lee in his letter, “Chiam should focus on bonding with residents”.
Let me first state that I am not a resident of Potong Pasir. Neither do I know Mr. Chiam personally, nor am I an opposition supporter. As a matter of fact, I have always voted for PAP candidate. But I have great respect for Mr. Chiam. Here is a man who has risen again all odds to win a seat to represent Potong Pasir. As an opposition MP, he has been an honourable Member of Parliament. He does not oppose for opposition sake.
For him to be re-elected in Potong Pasir for five consecutive terms says a lot about the level of support he enjoys from his constituents.
But here is also a Member of Parliament who is not the adviser to grassroots organisation in his own backyard. Instead, Mr. Sitoh Yih Pin, who has repeatedly failed to wrest the constituency from him, is the adviser.
In every PAP ward, the elected representative is the adviser to the grassroots organisation. Why is this not the case in Potong Pasir?
Grassroots organizations are not part of any political party. Neither should they have any political affiliation. If that is the case, why is Mr. Chiam not the adviser to the grassroots organizations in his ward?
I do not think Mr. Chiam is paranoid and insecure just because a crooner sang praises of his rival at a National Day Dinner.
A National Day dinner is not a political-party event. The crooner has no business to be singing praises of Mr. Sitoh and urging the diners to vote for him.
This is outright disrespectful to the incumbent MP. Imagine if the same incident were to take place in the Prime Minister ward. Would the Prime Minister laugh off the incident?
More likely than not, the crooner would be hauled up for interfering into local politics. The organiser would also be hauled up for turning the dinner into politics event with a permit.
Representing a constituency as a MP is a serious undertaking. It is not a beauty parade or a karaoke contest.
Did Mr. Sitoh apply any permit to hold a political rally during the dinner? If not, would he have broken the law when the crooner urged the diners to vote for him?
Under election rules, shouldÂ’nt there should be no campaigning outside of the election period? Should the police not investigate the matter and take appropriate action against the organiser and the crooner?
Mr. Chiam has repeatedly shown that he is a gentleman, even though he is an opposition member. Even Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong praised him for his gentlemanliness and said good things about him.
Why canÂ’t Mr. Sitoh and his supporters reciprocate by respecting Mr. Chiam as the incumbent MP Sure, fight him if you must be in the next election and may the better man win. But, until then, Mr. Chiam is the elected representative of Potong Pasir and deserves the respect and support that should be accorded to every MP.
In disrespecting an honourable Member of Parliament, Mr. Sitoh and his supporters are showing disrespect to Parliament.
Patrick Tan Siong Kuan
The Straits Times (Home15 Forum)
29 Oct 2005
law applies to PAP members when its against opposition?
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in singapore the law need not apply to u even if u're not a member of the ruling party itself. u just need to be connected somehow. for eg. whitehorses can get away with manslaughter.
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on a side note, the party which Chiam See Tong belongs to is the SPP( Singapore People's Party). Its interesting to hear some of the opposition parliamentary speechs. You might want to check it out, see Chiam See Tong views in the parliament and whether his speeches are being respected or being treated like rubbish.
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This is really old news.
The only pity is that back when he was SDP chairman, he brought in a firebrand in Chee SJ who turned judas and ousted him from the very party he founded.
That must have been the low point in his political career. -
Was reading up on some past elections facts at :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Democratic_Party
It was founded in 1980 by Mr Chiam See Tong, a British-educated lawyer who had contested several by-elections and elections as an independent since the mid 1970s. The party had originally wanted to contest the Anson constituency by-election in 1981 but for the sake of opposition unity, gave way to the Worker's Party candidate J.B. Jeyaretnam. It paid off, as the opposition won their first seat for the first time since Singapore's independence. The party's success continued in the 1984 General Elections, as their former leader and secretary general Chiam See Tong won the party's first and only seat at Potong Pasir which since then has been won by the opposition in following elections. Chiam's election victory was all the more significant as it showed voters repudiated the People's Action Party's (PAP) arrogant and aloof style of campaigning, in which the ruling party at one time urged voters not to vote for Chiam because his O-level results were poorer than those of the PAP candidate.
Anybody can confirm whether the above is true?
If true, who was the one who made the remark against Chiam?
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Originally posted by ObviousMan:
Hi,
Was reading up on some past elections facts at :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Democratic_Party
Chiam's election victory was all the more significant as it showed voters repudiated the People's Action Party's (PAP) arrogant and aloof style of campaigning, in which the ruling party at one time urged voters not to vote for Chiam because his O-level results were poorer than those of the PAP candidate.
[b]Anybody can confirm whether the above is true?
If true, who was the one who made the remark against Chiam?
[/b]
The above is true.
The answer to your question: Lee Kuan Yew himself
Regards -
That esp has showed he couldn't just manage his SDP properly... Ending up ruined by someone elseOriginally posted by BillyBong:This is really old news.
The only pity is that back when he was SDP chairman, he brought in a firebrand in Chee SJ who turned judas and ousted him from the very party he founded.
That must have been the low point in his political career. -
well....it is never easy to find a good successor.Originally posted by sbst275:That esp has showed he couldn't just manage his SDP properly... Ending up ruined by someone else -
He brought in somebody who was as keen as he was in fighting against the arrogant ruling party, he trusted him and hoped that he could fight along you and be his successor. But CSJ turned against him and ousted him.Originally posted by sbst275:That esp has showed he couldn't just manage his SDP properly... Ending up ruined by someone else
Chiam led SDP in winning and holding on to a seat in the parliament.
Under CSJ, SDP has not won anything in any election, except a name for himself as a clown.
Chiam certainly din lose SDP because he din manage properly, he was betrayed by the person he supported, bitten by the dog whom he fed. -
Mind what you said with the arrogant ruling party wordsOriginally posted by sgdiehard:He brought in somebody who was as keen as he was in fighting against the arrogant ruling party, he trusted him and hoped that he could fight along you and be his successor. But CSJ turned against him and ousted him.
Chiam led SDP in winning and holding on to a seat in the parliament.
Under CSJ, SDP has not won anything in any election, except a name for himself as a clown.
Chiam certainly din lose SDP because he din manage properly, he was betrayed by the person he supported, bitten by the dog whom he fed.
Mind you, you can say whatever you like against them, but if not for them, would you have today? -
In my opinion, the ruling party is arrogant.Originally posted by sbst275:Mind what you said with the arrogant ruling party words
Mind you, you can say whatever you like against them, but if not for them, would you have today?
I will have what I have today regardless of who the ruling party is. -
Actually, he was hopeful. He brought in rookie Chee at a time when his party had consolidated 4 seats, a shock for the ruling party.Originally posted by sbst275:That esp has showed he couldn't just manage his SDP properly... Ending up ruined by someone else
Chee had the qualifications and the spirit and Chiam believed he could be the man to change the fortunes of the SDP.
Well, he was blindsided badly; didn't realise that his supposed protege would turn judas and oust him from his own party.
Opposition fortunes sure changed alright. -
if Chee had tempered his sharp mind with calmer and logical words, the SDP might have garnered a few more seats then..maybe 7 or 10?Originally posted by BillyBong:Actually, he was hopeful. He brought in rookie Chee at a time when his party had consolidated 4 seats, a shock for the ruling party.
Chee had the qualifications and the spirit and Chiam believed he could be the man to change the fortunes of the SDP.
Well, he was blindsided badly; didn't realise that his supposed protege would turn judas and oust him from his own party.
Opposition fortunes sure changed alright. -
I shan't be botheredOriginally posted by sgdiehard:In my opinion, the ruling party is arrogant.
I will have what I have today regardless of who the ruling party is.
You wun be here speaking if not for them
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Well, if 1 party ends up into diff hands, fortune would change totally...Originally posted by BillyBong:Actually, he was hopeful. He brought in rookie Chee at a time when his party had consolidated 4 seats, a shock for the ruling party.
Chee had the qualifications and the spirit and Chiam believed he could be the man to change the fortunes of the SDP.
Well, he was blindsided badly; didn't realise that his supposed protege would turn judas and oust him from his own party.
Opposition fortunes sure changed alright.
Well if he can change to dealing with more of bread and butter issue, there might be more opposition into the parliment -
ShockingOriginally posted by SGLoyalist:Hi,
The above is true.
The answer to your question: Lee Kuan Yew himself
Regards
!
But you got to hand it to Chiam for retaining Potong Pasir for so long, goes to show that he has real substance even though PAP put all sorts of hurdles on him. -
To be fair, PAP was good in the past.Originally posted by sbst275:I shan't be bothered
You wun be here speaking if not for them
When Singapore was nothing, the so-called elites worked hand in hand with the people to raise living standards for the entire nation. That was throughly the golden age of Singapore.
But now, the elites form a separate class by themselves and looks to their own profits. In the case of Potong Pasir, it seems that upgrading for the estate will be done immediately once PAP is elected there, but will not be done if Chiam continues to be elected.
It simply implies that the queue for upgrading is skewed. It is not based on the needs of the estate but by who the MP is. Instead of serving the real needs of the people, politicians get into petty feuds.
And the timing of these so-called upgrading projects concide with election years. To put it crudely, they are good only in throwing money at a problem.
If this is not arrogrance, i do not know what it is.
I think it is a big mistake to assume that everyone is materialistic and residents of Potong Pasir clearly showed who they prefer by their votes. -
Actually, who is to be blamed? It is clearly not the party itselfOriginally posted by ObviousMan:To be fair, PAP was good in the past.
When Singapore was nothing, the so-called elites worked hand in hand with the people to raise living standards for the entire nation. That was throughly the golden age of Singapore.
But now, the elites form a separate class by themselves and looks to their own profits. In the case of Potong Pasir, it seems that upgrading for the estate will be done immediately once PAP is elected there, but will not be done if Chiam continues to be elected.
It simply implies that the queue for upgrading is skewed. It is not based on the needs of the estate but by who the MP is. Instead of serving the real needs of the people, politicians get into petty feuds.
And the timing of these so-called upgrading projects concide with election years. To put it crudely, they are good only in throwing money at a problem.
If this is not arrogrance, i do not know what it is.
I think it is a big mistake to assume that everyone is materialistic and residents of Potong Pasir clearly showed who they prefer by their votes.
It is those newer generation that just became complacency -
I am here because my parents gave birth to me here. What have the PAP got to do with that?Originally posted by sbst275:I shan't be bothered
You wun be here speaking if not for them
If I were born in Malaysia and grow up in KL, we would just be living a different life. People in hong kong, shanghai, taiwan, KL, Jakarta...all live without PAP and many of them are living good life, better than many of us here. It is just that they grew up with much less dependent or control on their government.
Without PAP, Singaporean would live a different life, may be poorer for most, but it is not that without PAP your parents would not have given birth to you, or you would have died after birth.
Now that kind of assumption is ARROGANCE.