WP's A team in Aljunied has gone AWOL: PMStraits Times, The (Singapore)
Home
Nov 12, 2007
Author: Peh Shing Huei
PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday took to task the Workers' Party (WP) candidates at Aljunied GRC for disappearing after last year's General Elections.
'Our (People's Action Party) five men are working hard, but the opposition's five have scattered like monkeys when the tree fell,' he said in Mandarin, using a Chinese proverb.
'One of them has ran to Sweden, the other has left the WP. They called it their A team, I say it is A for AWOL,' he added to much laughter at a dialogue at the annual PAP convention.
Mr Lee, who is secretary-general of the PAP, was responding to veteran party member Png Wee Chor, who made an impassioned plea that the PAP bolster its strength at Aljunied GRC ahead of the next polls.
The 68-year-old wanted to know how the party leaders were going to counter the WP's declaration last Sunday that it aims to win a GRC in the next elections, and its argument that failure would mean the end of the opposition here.
In last year's General Election, the WP team that fought in Aljunied GRC scored the highest number of votes among opposition parties in a Group Representation Constituency.
Led by party chairman Sylvia Lim, they took 43.9 per cent of the valid votes, losing to the PAP team led by Foreign Minister George Yeo.
But after the polls, the WP's Mr James Gomez left to work in Sweden and Mr Goh Meng Seng resigned from the party.
Another team member, Mr Tan Wui-Hua, is also working overseas now. The fifth person was businessman Mohammed Rahizan Yaacob.
While Mr Png - one of three dialogue participants who referred to the Aljunied battle - was full of praise for Mr Yeo, he added that the Minister was too busy and hardly had time to meet the residents.
Can the party send to Aljunied a Teochew-speaking heavyweight minister who is preparing to retire?' he asked in Chinese, to laughter.
Mr Lee, who replied in Mandarin, said that even when Mr Yeo travels, he makes time to see the residents, at times meeting them the day he returns home.
He urged Singaporeans to take their vote seriously. 'Think carefully if you want to vote some opposition into the Parliament so you can have some excitement,' he said.
'If they go Awol after that, it won't be easy to solve everyone's problems. Election is a serious matter... and your vote would decide Singapore's fate. Don't treat it as a joke.'
Also looking ahead was Ms Tan Bee Lan, a branch secretary in Aljunied. She wanted the party to keep the same team to battle the WP again.
She said the last contest was 'unchallenging' and the WP avoided local issues. Instead, it canvassed for sympathy over the Gomez issue.
Mr Gomez had claimed during campaigning that he had submitted his minority candidate form, but video footage released later showed he had not.
The PAP focused its firepower on him, turning the issue into a major electoral talking point.
Party chairman Lim Boon Heng said he knows the PAP MPs' work rate in Aljunied is 'above average' compared to other MPs.
'So I think the results will show that people know the MPs care for them. So I'm not too concerned about the next election at Aljunied. Maybe for those of you who think you're safe, you should work harder,' he added.
[email protected]Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BETTER KIASU THAN 'YA YA''If you read the articles in...the travel magazines or even in the serious newspapers in America, in Britain, The Economist had a piece recently about how we are doing and how we are tackling the income gap. I think they know Singapore is changing and keeping abreast of the times. So it's not bad. But I think it's also not bad to be kiasu because if you are 'ya ya' , you will get into serious trouble.'
- PM LEE, assuring a PAP activist that Singapore's image is sound with those who matter and that it is better to be kiasu ('afraid to lose' in Hokkien) than to be 'ya ya' ('arrogant' in Singlish)
DO MORE FOR ELDERLY AT WORK'The acceptance of the elderly in the workforce and their ability to stay on the job and enjoy their work is an area where more can be done...What the young and old want in the workplace are really the same - reward and recognition.'
- MP JESSICA TAN (East Coast GRC), 41, on how employers need to handle young and old employees, to keep both groups happy
LIKE SELLING ICE TO ESKIMOS'What we need at the end of the day is clarity and not just facts and figures. There is also a need to have a good sales pitch that will be able to convince us that paying for an annuity is the way to go. A sales pitch that will convince even the Eskimos to buy ice.'
- PAP POLICY FORUM VICE-CHAIRMAN SATWANT SINGH, 43, on the need for leaders who know ground sentiments well so they can sell tough policies
EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY'We will accept that there will always be income disparity, but... we must not let this reality drive a wedge between our people. We are not trying to make everyone economically equal but what we are trying to do is to make everyone feel equal. We cannot guarantee equality of conditions, but we must be able to guarantee equality of opportunity.'
- CENTRAL SINGAPORE DISTRICT MAYOR ZAINUDIN NORDIN, 44, on the need to ensure social mobility to tackle the widening income gap
SAY NO TO SHORT-SIGHTED IDEAS'We must not easily fall prey to the short-sighted proposals made by the opposition, who push for either protectionism or welfarism. We are Singaporeans who have dignity and integrity.'
- YOUNG PAP (ULU PANDAN) MEMBER TIN PEI LING, 23, on the need to take a long-term view in solving the income gap