THIS LETTER SAYS ALL.....
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May 13, 2006
GENERAL ELECTION 2006
Don't be unfair - with funds and news coverage
FOR me, three things stand out about the general election last Saturday which I feel need to be addressed.
Firstly, love it or hate it, the People's Action Party (PAP) has built Singapore into the nation we are today. That is undeniable. We have gained international recognition, have economic progress which is the envy of many nations, good security and amenities, and a competent and incorrupt government.
We could easily have gone the other way but we were set straight by our leaders. We owe them much. The PAP has just won the election and I look forward to it continuing its good work for the people.
Secondly, there is the issue of the disbursement of public funds, which should be for the good of all citizens. I have great difficulty in accepting that Singaporeans are being treated differently because of their differing political affiliation. I cannot, in all conscience, see an old woman struggling up a flight of steps in Potong Pasir while an able-bodied boy walks merrily in a sheltered walkway in Marine Parade, and affirm that all citizens are treated fairly and equally in Singapore.
The PAP has won the election and will form the Government. While it can reward its supporters as it pleases, the moment it becomes the Government it assumes a higher responsibility and has to work for the benefit of all the people, not just its winning constituencies.
The Potong Pasir and Hougang predicament cannot be allowed to continue. I hope the Government sees its total responsibility in this light and works for the benefit of all its people.
We have seen the repercussions of using carrots and denying certain constituencies access to public funds. If this trend continues, 2011 promises to be a bigger testimony to this failed and unfair political strategy.
Lastly, my remarks relate to the mass media. Both the press and TV have done a disservice to the people. Their blatant one-sidedness and suck-up mentality led me (and many others, I am sure) to search for alternative views, and this I found in abundance on the Internet.
As expected, these alternative voices were very parochial, extremely biased and often purveyed matters which were simply untrue. Readers accepting these points of view could easily have been misled.
If only the press and TV had been fairer, giving all sides equal coverage, we would all have had balanced views of the issues and, hopefully, have made the right decisions.
The mass media has definitely not lived up to its responsibility of helping in nation-building, at least in this instance.
Errol Pereira -
i dont think the upgrading strategy has failed. How can 82 out of 84 seats be a failure?
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The PAP's 'upgrading strategy' to win back Hougang and Potong Pasir had failed, which explains for them maintaining the status quo of 82 seats - and not being able to win that prestigeous TWO Constituencies with the Opposition Parties.Originally posted by kilua:i dont think the upgrading strategy has failed. How can 82 out of 84 seats be a failure?
The FAILURE is in the 'upgrading strategy' devised by SM GCT, who was tasked to win back these two Opposition Wards.
The FAILURE is not referring to overall PAP campaign. -
i don't think the "upgrading strategy" or whatever was devised by lau goh.. you could see in his body language that he was uncomfortable with it this GE...
the party (read it as lau lee) probably made him do it.. heck! even the sorry gomez affair.. the day before, he was saying "let's move on" and the next, he was shown (uncomfortably) attacking gomez...
there is more to the whole GE than meets the eye..Originally posted by Atobe:
The PAP's 'upgrading strategy' to win back Hougang and Potong Pasir had failed, which explains for them maintaining the status quo of 82 seats - and not being able to win that prestigeous TWO Constituencies with the Opposition Parties.
The FAILURE is in the 'upgrading strategy' devised by SM GCT, who was tasked to win back these two Opposition Wards.
The FAILURE is not referring to overall PAP campaign. -
I think in Malaysia this is called money politic, using oneÂ’s own money to buy votes, quietly.Originally posted by the Bear:i don't think the "upgrading strategy" or whatever was devised by lau goh.. you could see in his body language that he was uncomfortable with it this GE...
the party (read it as lau lee) probably made him do it.. heck! even the sorry gomez affair.. the day before, he was saying "let's move on" and the next, he was shown (uncomfortably) attacking gomez...
there is more to the whole GE than meets the eye..
Using public fund to buy vote, openly, shows that we are a very open society, very transparent and really first class.
Agree, many of the actions taken are devised by the troop of scholars and PhDs, so called men of high caliber and leadership quality. So what do we expect from the same troop of scholars and PhDs who will devise where we shall move, where the investment to be stacked? Will we be in deep trouble looking at the way the leaders are being led by the scholars and PhDs? -
kilua 13 May 2006 · 09:01 AM
i dont think the upgrading strategy has failed. How can 82 out of 84 seats be a failure?
82 out of 84 seats, by any standard of Government, is not a failure.
However there is NO DOUBT at all that the upgrading strategy has failed.
The Govt did not manage to win back the two most hotly contested seats that used upgrading (few hundred millions ???) as the bait. Instead, the margins swing further away, to their dismay.