TR EMERITUS

All the signs are pointing to a July general election. The People’s Action Party is showing real urgency by throwing punches that are aimed at knocking down the opposition. First punch: The PAP sees the timing as right. It’s now or never. COVID-19 circuit breaker measures have been eased and the PAP is saying let’s rally together, give us a strong mandate so we can continue to fight this thing together. It’s an unmistakable election rallying cry, it’s what the PAP is best at. Amidst a pandemic, it carries even more sting because the PAP knows that Singaporeans are shaken and their fears and insecurities can be exploited. Second punch: All the goodies and sweeteners are coming thick and fast. More money for Singaporeans will be credited this month. All kinds of schemes are being rolled out now to help the poor and marginalised, to save jobs and create jobs. The PAP is signalling that it is doing everything within its power to help ease the pain. Now that Singaporeans have some cash coming in, they feel that the PAP sympathises with their plight. The PAP all of a sudden becomes Santa Claus and Robin Hood rolled in one. Of course, people think short term, they think of here and now and not what happens after the elections. Third punch: In a COVID-19 election, the rules of campaigning will be distinctly different. How different nobody knows because although the opposition has been calling for clarity on GE campaigning rules, the PAP has not shown its hand. In a Facebook post earlier this week titled “Campaign rules need to be out way before writ of election,” Lee Hsien Yang warned that “all political parties are already prepared for e-campaigning, but you never know when a new curveball would be thrown given the recent advisories on cybersecurity and foreign interference.” He also cautioned that “for the first time, the political parties will also be campaigning in a Pofma environment.” When the campaigning rules are finally made known, there could well be shocks for the opposition and they would have very little time to make adjustments. This could be the biggest blow of all. Given the one-two-three punch from the PAP, can the opposition put up a creditable fight? Will Singaporeans give the underdogs a chance, seeing that they are being pummelled in a contest that is tilted so much in favour of one side?   Augustine Low      Read More →

I refer to the news that the government will build new dormitories and refit unused state properties as part of their plan to reduce the current density in worker dormitories. I support the government's decision, however, to effectively tackle the problems at the root level, merely building more dormitories is insufficient. So, what are the root problems? One of the obvious root problem is clearly the greed of dormitory operators. The more workers that they can squeeze into their rooms, the more will be their revenue. On papers, there are rules and licensing conditions but in reality, it can be quite a different situation. This is a again a case of "in theory, theory and practice are the same but in practice, they are not". Apart from minor lapses such as failure to maintain tidiness and cleanliness, I wonder how many dormitory operators were charged for cramped and overcrowding of their dormitories, for example, maximizing space by providing double decker beds or others for their residents over the past 5 years and if any effective punitive actions were taken by MOM, then why cramped and overcrowding conditions of worker dormitories continue to be a major problem until it was exposed due to C19 explosion in worker dormitories in the recent past? Two, Singapore has been importing migrant workers for decades and I have read that only in July last year, Labourtel Management and its director, Parvis Ahmad Mohamad Ghouse were the first to be prosecuted under Foreign Employee Dormitories Act (FEDA). I ask before this case and over the past 2 decades, how many dormitory operators have been prosecuted in court for overcrowding of their dormitories? One, two, >20 or zero? The obvious answer is because MOM which is the regulator has been soft and sleeping all those past years and if these 2 issues are not effectively tackled, ie, dormitory operators be adequately punished for flouting FEDA and useless pap manpower ministers, both past and present be punished and replaced, then the problems will just lie low during this C19 period but will almost be certain to continue going forward. Next, the refitting of unused state properties to help ease the density of dormitories. Many such unused state properties are near to resident heartlands. Singapore is indeed a very small place and the government has said that housing workers at unused properties is only a temporary measure of over the 2 to 3 years. I understand residents' concerns but I would like to urge all concerned parties to exercise maximum understanding and tolerance for the bigger good of our country. Think.   Simon Lim      Read More →

There is speculation that the General Election will be called in July. The country is just emerging from an unprecedented two-month lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The government is still trying to figure out how to handle this period. As Mr Chan Chun Sing has admitted, the Elections Department cannot even come up with rules governing the GE (and we are already in June) because it has to "work under the challenging constraint that there are many scenarios." He added that given the "evolving situation", rules set presently may become invalid by the time the GE is held. Such is the uncertainty that calling for a GE in July while the pandemic and its aftermath is still evolving would needlessly jeopardise the safety and health of Singaporeans. As such, the SDP cautions against rushing to hold elections during this tentative period. Ministers and government agencies need to focus all their attention and resources to ensure that another breakout of the virus does not occur as it did in some other countries. As the SDP had cautioned in March against the PAP's opportunistic rush to hold a GE whereby ministers started their election campaigns taking their eyes off the ball and causing a massive surge in infections, we again warn against the government making a similar mistake. We had said then that there will be a time to hold elections when the virus is under better control. We also mentioned that with the entire world taking meaningful steps to overcome the pandemic, the viral spread would be curtailed. Such an outcome would probably happen in the later part of this year. Our forecast is materialising. As the GE does not need to be held until April 2021, there is no need for it to be squeezed in July 2020. It can still be comfortably held in the last quarter of this year. This is, of course, assuming that the PAP prioritises the safety and public health of Singaporeans over its own narrow political interests. The PAP committed a grave error in March when it ignored the SDP's warning against preparing for an election which led to tens of thousands of infections and a lockdown which has caused enormous damage to our economy including business closures and job losses. The SDP again calls on the PAP to focus on getting the reopening of the economy right before recklessly calling the GE in July.   Singapore Democrats  Read More →