Punggol East By-Election -- WP Lee Li Lian
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Originally posted by ditzy:
I think its you who needs to let go.
yes...think of all the good he had done too....and also 善有善报，�有�报，�是没报，时辰未到 -
Koh said 'no' to PM at first Published on Jan 23, 2013 By Leonard Lim Soon after Punggol East MP Michael Palmer quit politics last month, Dr Koh Poh Koon received a call to go to the Istana to meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He knew what was on the agenda: Would he stand as the People's Action Party's candidate in the single-seat constituency? Dr Koh, who had been invited to a PAP tea session in the middle of last year, quickly consulted friends and family. Many told him not to take the plunge into politics.
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Originally posted by ^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~:
this has become a circus show
indeed, this BE is a circus.
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internal strife in teletubbie lala camp? 8O www.youtube.com.sg/watch?v=7qCCSCznO-I
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‘Singapore clearly in mid-life crisis'
By P N Balji | SingaporeScene
Is Singapore facing her mid-life crisis? (Yahoo! photo)COMMENT
Nearly two years after the May 2011 watershed elections -- when the ruling party's popularity dipped to a historic low of 60.1 per cent and three office holders were voted out -- Singapore's leaders have yet to come to grips with the angst sweeping the nation.
Two recent events show how the government is being blindsided. First, a blemish on the country's proud 26-year record of having no strikes. Bus drivers from China refused to go to work; what made it worse was that their employer and the government never saw it coming.
The drivers had already been complaining about the living conditions in their dormitories and their lower wages when compared to those of drivers from Malaysia. Yet, nothing much was done to defuse the issue and no real efforts were made by the National Trades Union Congress to unionise these foreign workers.
The Singapore establishment, including the companies, was lulled into believing that strikes happen only in foreign countries and lost the art of reading the pulse of its workers.
Second, a seemingly innocuous statement by the Workers' Party on why it did not perform well in an audit of town councils snowballed into issues of transparency, conflict of interest and the involvement of a company owned by the ruling People's Action Party in business. With the online media keeping the contract between PAP town councils and Action Information Management on the boil, the controversy became so heated that finally the Prime Minister was forced to call for a review.
Then came the resignation of the Speaker of Parliament because of an extra-marital scandal. And the government's crown-jewel achievement, stellar economic growth, is now under strain with the economy just escaping a technical recession.
Slow growth, even volatility in GDP, is becoming a norm. The investment lifeline is taking a hit with MNCs giving Singapore only a seventh ranking in the Asia Business Outlook Survey by the Economist Corporate Network with many of the multinationals complaining loudly that the government's tightening of the screws on immigration is depriving them of the cheap labour they have been enjoying for a long time.
The government is tackling skyrocketing prices of properties, overcrowded trains and buses, stresses in the high-achieving school system. But something always crops up to curtail the momentum.
Put the screws on immigration and the small and medium enterprises and big foreign companies are shouting at the top of their voices. Cool the property market by trying to make it more affordable for younger Singaporeans and others are complaining that their investments are in danger of losing their shine.
Against this difficult backdrop, the ruling party is going into a contest with the Workers' Party and two others in a Jan 26 by-election at Punggol East, a single seat vacated by the PAP's affable Michael Palmer, who succumbed to an affair with a grassroots worker.
This is the second by-election in eight months, the earlier one being called after the Workers' Party'sYaw Shin Leong was sacked for not coming clean on his adultery. The Opposition party won that contest quite easily.
Deputy prime minister Teo Chee Hean said on Nomination Day that it will be a tough fight. And the prime minister, during a walkabout at the constituency over the weekend, said his candidate, colorectal surgeon Dr Koh Poh Koon, has the potential to become an office holder if he wins, implying that a rejection is tantamount to saying no to a heavyweight.
The government is not having an easy time finding political talent to form the backbone of the next generation of leaders. Ideally, the PAP should have picked somebody who had understudied Mr Palmer in Punggol East. But they had to go for Dr Koh, who has been doing grassroots work in a constituency called Telok Blangah since 2002 - a decision that has not gone down well with the community workers in Punggol East.
Winning elections, even in a Group Representation Constituency where a newbie used to ride on the coat-tails of a Minister, is no longer an absolute certainty for the ruling party as shown by its defeat in Aljunied in the 2011 poll.
With the hunt for political talent getting even more elusive, a cocooned establishment that has not learned to communicate effectively with a population that is tasting a new-found freedom unleashed by the internet, an economy that is moving in fits and starts and an opposition finding it easy to recruit strong candidates, Singapore is clearly in a mid-life crisis.
It has faced worse crises, like the race riots and the fight against the leftists in the 50s and 60s and economic downturns in the 80s and 90s.
They were solved by using the feared Internal Security Act and introducing bold economic reforms. Citizens went with these policies because they delivered the good life quickly. That good life is now not so visible for many.
What Singapore needs now is a system of responsible checks and balances, not from within the establishment but from without like the media, academia and think tanks.. That would have revealed the effects of a free-wheeling immigration policy on infrastructure, a more enlightened way of dealing with the internet media and long-standing policies that are still hobbled by a hard-nosed political ideology that says nothing is for free.
The 2011 elections saw the phrase "new normal" enter the pundit's vocabulary. That is passe now. The country is confronting a new abnormal.
P. N. Balji, a Singapore journalist for more than 35 years, is now a media consultant
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/singapore-mid-life-crisis-071307232.html
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Originally posted by SevenEleven:
internal strife in teletubbie lala camp?
:lol: No idea -
In other news, it appears that 7000 people attended WP's rally last night.
The numbers look good, but as we have previously established, not all of them are Punggol East voters. They may not even form the majority in last night's crowd.
Also, there are people who oppose the MIW but will die die still vote for them anyway. Oh well.
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Dr Teo Ho Pin rebuts Sylvia Lim over AIM issue January 23rd, 2013 | Author: Editorial Dr Teo Ho Pin At yesterday’s evening (22 Jan) WP rally, Ms Sylvia Lim spoke about the AIM issue. It then immediately triggered a response from Coordinating Chairman of PAP Town Councils, Dr Teo Ho Pin, later in the night. Dr Teo posted an immediate response on PAP’s Facebook rebutting Ms Lim. Dr Teo’s immediate action even prompted a HWZ netizen to say, “First time see my MP so hardworking.� On PAP’s Facebook, Dr Teo said, “I have already explained the circumstances behind the transaction.� “To reiterate, these are the facts…� He listed 3 points: a) AIM was awarded the contract after an open tender by PAP Town Councils, to centralise software to maintain the current IT system and help develop a new system b) The transaction brought benefits and savings to the Town Councils. AIM did not make any financial gains from the transaction. c) It was the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) which terminated the contract, and not AIM. Ms Lim herself has admitted that the AHTC’s arrears are high, and that this has nothing to do with AIM or the changeover of the IT system, and that the AHTC could do better. This is the key issue – the performance of the Town Councils, and how well they are managed by the WP. Dr Teo did not elaborate on the point of having an “unfair� clause inside the contract. Essentially, there is a clause 9.3 in the contract stating that the contract would be terminated if there are “material changes to the membership of the town council� (i.e, change of control of town council). The inclusion of this “unfair� clause inside the contract is akin to a person holding a gun at your head, waiting to “shoot� you anytime. This prompted AHTC to decide to develop its own systems. AHTC later informed AIM on 10 Jun 2011 that it would be developing its own systems: From Mr Jeffrey Chua, secretary (interim), to AIM, cc. Ms How Weng Fan, general manager: “We would like to inform you that Aljunied-Hougang Town Council is in the process of developing a Town Council Management System to support its operations effectively. We would like to thank AIM for the assistance rendered to us in preparing the migration of database to the new system. The new system is targeted to go live on 1 August 2011. While the new system goes live, we are planning to have the AIMS-TCMS (Financial Module) running concurrently till 31 August 2011, so as to ascertain the reliability of the new system. As such, we would like to put up a request to continue to use the AIMS-TCMS till 31 August 2011, for your favourable consideration please.� However, AHTC’s letter prompted AIM to send an official termination notice to AHTC on 22 Jun 2011 [Link]: “We hereby give notice in accordance with Clause 9.3 of the Conditions of the above Contract that, owing to material changes to the membership of the Town Council, we will cease to allow Aljunied Town Council the use of the intellectual property and system functions relating to the developed application software currently used by the Town Council after a period of at least one month from the date of this notice. The provision of the developed application software will therefore be terminated with effect from 1 August 2011.“ AIM’s official termination letter citing Clause 9.3 as the reason for terminating the contract confirms AHTC’s worst fear. .
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they will stick to that but simply put, would you give a contract worth thousands if not millions of dollars to a $2 company? if not, why did a bunch of "directors" from the MIW sitting in the $2 company change your mind?
if that is not using "influence" to benefit the $2 company, nothing is...
and i think CPIB would fail in their duty not to investigate this
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Originally posted by the Bear:
they will stick to that but simply put, would you give a contract worth thousands if not millions of dollars to a $2 company? if not, why did a bunch of "directors" from the MIW sitting in the $2 company change your mind?
if that is not using "influence" to benefit the $2 company, nothing is...
and i think CPIB would fail in their duty not to investigate this
their busy with all the oralgate -
SDA's Lim to champion opposition unity if elected MP
By Saifulbahri Ismail | Posted: 23 January 2013 1103 hrsSINGAPORE: Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) candidate for Punggol East, Mr Desmond Lim, wants to be a champion for opposition unity, if he is elected as a Member of Parliament.
Mr Lim on Wednesday disagreed with Workers' Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang's point that it may not be workable to have all opposition parties coming together.
At WP's by-election rally on Tuesday night, Mr Low had said the opposition is a complex camp with different leaders and political beliefs.
Mr Lim told reporters after his walkabout on Wednesday morning that the SDA is an example of how opposition unity can be achieved.
The alliance comprises the Singapore Justice Party and the Singapore Malay National Organisation.
However, Mr Lim acknowledged that it will be difficult - at this point - to achieve unity because there are parties which are not interested.
He said there need to be some common ground and compromises among the opposition parties.
The SDA chief cited the invitation by the Reform Party to speak at its rally on Thursday as an example of how opposition parties can work together.
Mr Lim said: "There's nothing to be surprised (at). He may have his reasons, but I thank him for his good gesture.
"However, because I'm running out of time, my main priority now is to focus on the election campaign, door-to-door visits. And I have replied to his email and said that I wished him all the best.
"Although we are competitors, I think we are friendly competitors. I think that should be the culture -- a gentleman's campaigning."
- CNA/alRP's Jeyaretnam on why he invited SDA's Lim to RP rally
Posted: 23 January 2013 1214 hrsSINGAPORE: Reform Party candidate for Punggol East, Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, said he invited Singapore Democratic Alliance candidate Desmond Lim to speak at his party's rally on Thursday, the last day of campaigning, as only two rally sites are available.
He likened the situation to one of "two stables for four horses".
Mr Jeyaretnam said this should not prevent anyone from putting his ideas across.
Mr Lim has declined the offer due to a packed schedule.
Mr Jeyaretnam said the theme of his rally is "Promise for a brighter future for Singaporeans".
The Reform Party chief continued on the campaign trail on Wednesday from 7am, distributing flyers and meeting residents at Kangkar LRT station.
He said he hopes to see as many residents as possible at a feedback session at 7pm at the void deck of Block 123A, Rivervale Drive.
He was unable to meet residents at a similar session on Monday as he was unwell.
- CNA/al -
these two clowns are persistent aren't they?
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Originally posted by the Bear:
these two clowns are persistent aren't they?
PE is a circus 4 big clowns.
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Originally posted by the Bear:
these two clowns are persistent aren't they?
Opposition Unity? Can there ever be one? Get Real, in the battle of the Red Cliff, Sun Quan works together with Lui Bei because of Cao Cao strength. Even as they work together, the plotted against one another for their own interest. Yours truly, Armchair Political ANALyst - HH the o'wise guy -
Originally posted by SevenEleven:
Opposition Unity? Can there ever be one? Get Real, in the battle of the Red Cliff, Sun Quan works together with Lui Bei because of Cao Cao strength. Even as they work together, the plotted against one another for their own interest. Yours truly, Armchair Political ANALyst - HH the o'wise guyAncient history.
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people (i think rightly) said that KJ is throwing away the deposit to ensure the opposition remains fractured because if WP wins, it'll go on to become the dominant force in opposition politics, leaving his party way way WAY behind
when dealing with people like these assholes, we should never give them our vote as they are even more destructive than the MIW
as for DL, i think he's just barking insane
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beware of yr friendly party.
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maybe all these is got a higher 阴谋 one..............
=X
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Originally posted by Clivebenss:
beware of yr friendly party.
your enemy's enemy may not be your friend.. he may be an even worse enemy
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Originally posted by the Bear:
people (i think rightly) said that KJ is throwing away the deposit to ensure the opposition remains fractured because if WP wins, it'll go on to become the dominant force in opposition politics, leaving his party way way WAY behind
when dealing with people like these assholes, we should never give them our vote as they are even more destructive than the MIW
as for DL, i think he's just barking insane
I disagree, like what LKT said, each party have their own ideas and dreams. Today, because of the formible foe, everyone wishes that it would not spilt the vote to favour the incumbent. A real democracy is the freedom to stand for their belief. So it is finally up to you, the voters to decide the way you want it to go, in favour of the majorities. -
Originally posted by the Bear:
your enemy's enemy may not be your friend.. he may be an even worse enemy
very true.
WP is as self serving as PAP.
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Originally posted by SevenEleven:
I disagree, like what LKT said, each party have their own ideas and dreams. Today, because of the formible foe, everyone wishes that it would not spilt the vote to favour the incumbent. A real democracy is the freedom to stand for their belief. So it is finally up to you, the voters to decide the way you want it to go, in favour of the majorities.Beware of party first. Democracy is about the people.
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Originally posted by Clivebenss:
Beware of party first. Democracy is about the people.
beware of dafts in the ppl -
Originally posted by SevenEleven:
I disagree, like what LKT said, each party have their own ideas and dreams. Today, because of the formible foe, everyone wishes that it would not spilt the vote to favour the incumbent. A real democracy is the freedom to stand for their belief. So it is finally up to you, the voters to decide the way you want it to go, in favour of the majorities.each have their ideas and dreams.. they're free to pursue them...
however, another wise and pragmatic man once said: if at first you don't succeed, try try again.. then give up! no point being a damned fool about it..
we have here a couple of damned fools whose dreams are to be accepted by the people.. they have been soundly rejected many times already..
then you have CSJ, whose ideas and policies are rejected by the people so many times instead of taking it and thinking about it, he blames the people instead...
free to pursue them.. yes.. but it does not stop people from coming to the conclusion that KJ is a self-serving bastard (as are most if not all politicians) and this gambit of his may cost the nation dear if it succeeds
as for DL, he's barking mad if he can even imagine succeeding
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Originally posted by SevenEleven:
beware of dafts in the pplit's a matter of choice you can't change.
