So Which Opposition Party Should Contest in the Punggol East BE?

Last month in December 2012, I read with interest on the Punggol East case where their former MP and Speaker of Parliament, Michael Palmer resigned following his admission of a relationship with a member of the People's Association staff.

I thought, “Oh my, another By Election 2013 is on the table again. What an interesting political scenario we have here in Singapore with memories of the GE2011, PE2011, BE2012 still fresh in our minds.”

Then the first opposition side, the Worker’s Party called the Prime Minister for the By Election to be held as soon as possible, the same call was also echoed by Singapore Democratic Party & Reform Party.

Another thought came to my mind, “What makes WP so interested in the Punggol East By Election when they have always been very ‘silent’ in Parliament?”

Hmm...

On Worker’s Party

At GE2011 and BE2012 rallies, they roar as loud as a tiger but in Parliament; other than Mr Low Thia Kiang’s, “Cheaper, Better and Faster” debate which left Mr Lim Swee Say at loss of words (hope no offense intended to the minister), nothing entertaining came out of the debate since then.

Their star-catch Mr Chen Show Mao is of no show either. He has been neutral, high likely he agrees with the Ruling Party or I guess he has been ‘gagged’ under his own party whip. When he asked the Ruling party to ‘do more for its citizens’, this came to a point back at him: ‘What has he done for us so far after 18 months?’

Next, Pritam Singh. I recalled one of the article [here] where it reflected badly on his online engagement with a member of public especially with a well-known local blogger Andrew Loh.  They have since made up but still I wasn’t impressed with his opinion & replies with regards to the online social media. WP’s Pritam Singh got it wrong.

I, myself went online through blog and social media to create awareness and campaign against Xenophobia. Took a few goodie months to wake some people up & finally people are more aware of the difference between right or wrong. The men on top even came to know about what I am doing at that point of time & responded positively.  Xenophobia thus became a thing of past now. So what do you have to say about my example, Mr Pritam Singh?

I do not meet some people nor accept their invitations because I feel that the focus is on the topic itself which is of national concern, xenophobia will put Singapore's reputation in bad light. It is not about myself and it may become too personal. It would not make much difference. Still social media proved a point. It worked for me.

The interesting part here is about Aljinued-Hougang Town Council. After they received the handover from the former Aljunied Town Council in 2011, we heard nothing of their findings on how the previous team performed. 

Not even on the case of AIM where they knew of this private company being linked to PAP. After AHTC got a red mark, their chairman Ms Sylvia Lim came out with a lot of ‘ammunitions’ to fire.

Has she become too defensive on their poor TC management, trying to draw away public attention to PAP and their $2 shell company because she knew of the By Elections coming? Political sense.

Up to date, the Prime Minister Lee has called for AIM’s review. Let’s wait till then. No comments on this.

Overall, the fact goes to show that AHTC has failed to perform given a time-frame of 18 months & they have no right to call for a By Election & give Punggol East voters a choice. Excuse me, the public are not daft.

What is the point of having another WP MP in parliament when your party ran out of credible candidates? Is WP trying to build their presence in parliament warming up the bench every 5 years, leaving majority of the people who voted for you only to remain silent with nothing further to add? No comment? Is this your intent?

If we think the current national changes have something to do with Worker’s Party presence in Parliament, I am afraid we are mistaken. All long it has always been the people voice itself that prompt the ruling party to make changes. People’s voices are adopted, not WP’s.

On Singapore Democratic Party

Known to stage protests, abolish this ACT or abolish that ACT. Simi ACT also wanna abolish. Where is the balance? Their party members get into trouble with the laws as a result of their reckless actions in name of democracy or whatever civil obedience. You may say I do not know or understand democracy but this is not the kind of democracy I want to see. I am sure many share my sentiments. Can’t democracy be done peacefully with less drama & better impact aimed to improve for the ruling party’s consideration to reform?

Please do not become copycats of what others overseas have been doing. We are Singapore.

If SDP wants to win, they will have to learn how to play by the rules of the game in political scene. In soccer game where two teams have to abide by the rules set by FIFA. If you flout the rules, you get penalized.

   

On positive note, I give SDP credit where it is due. The SDP members have contributed well in other areas, not only on the online social media platform. Their team made several attempts to propose new policies knowing the pros and cons especially to the point where their policies would not be adopted. They never gave up trying. They have been through a lot, ups and downs. Trials and tribulations made their men and women.   

Their party has also attracted quite a number of professionals from private & public sectors. They worked & proposed policies change better than the Workers Party who merely reserved their seats to warm the benches in parliament. 

Take the case of Minister’s Salaries Reviews where WP held their proposal till the last parliament day & their proposal is not of much difference to the dismay of public.

SMRT's PRC worker's strike case, they are the last party to speak up. Ironically they spoke up first on the first sight of By Elections. An opportunist?

Conclusion

SDP deserves a chance to make their party presence felt. If the SDP intent to contest in Punggol East to provide another alternative voice for the people, they should make their announcement early to field Dr Paul Tambyah. Dr Tambyah himself is considered a heavy weight candidate with stellar resume in medical field. Everyone knows that a multi-corner fight is a disaster for the opposition. 

For opposition unity, it is best that Worker’s Party, Reform Party and Singapore Democratic Alliance back out of the contest. WP does not have a credible candidate to field, while RP and SDA lacks of resources. That leaves SDP the best opposition choice to contest.

Co-driver's Analogy

Mr Low Thia Kiang’s co-driver analogy has proven to be a failure for 18 months. The co-drivers are sleeping & snoring in parliament. In order to slap both the sleeping co-driver and the driver, we will put another credible co-driver to keep them on their toes!

Little Fish’s note:

I may have given my review & choice of opposition party to contest but it does not make me an opposition supporter. No links again to whatsoever parties. Thank you for reading.