TR EMERITUS

OPINION Though the next general election is not due till 2012, there is already a mini election fever on the ground which is hotter than the impending Youth Olympic Games. The opposition has been increasing its walkabouts in the constituencies with the Reform Party making two visits within a week to Choa Chu Kang and Bishan. Opposition supporters on the internet have been galvanized into action too by spreading the message of change to fellow Singaporeans with the membership of the "Vote PAP out" Facebook doubling to almost 5,000 in less than three months. In the HDB heartlands, Singaporeans can be overheard cursing the PAP for bringing in so many foreigners in the neighborhood kopitiams and parks. Singapore's bloggers and netizens have stepped up their scrutiny and criticisms of the PAP too, forcing the YPAP to close down two of its Facebooks after it was "invaded" by anti-PAP supporters. The question on the minds of many Singaporeans now is: when will the next general election be held? With public disgruntlement and anger against the PAP at an all-time high, the opposition is expected to make significant gains in the next election including winning a coveted GRC if it gets its act right together. Though the PAP is likely to retain power, the next election is significant in the sense that a stronger opposition presence in Parliament is likely to encourage more Singaporeans to step forward to partake in the nation's political life, paving the way for the emergence of a two-party political system in the future. Given that the ground is fast "shifting" against it, the PAP is likely to call for an election this year to ride on the recovery of the economy. Three possible periods have been mooted which coincide with the school holidays: June, September and December. There are pros and cons in calling the elections early versus late. As the ground is not favorable to the PAP now, an early election may see them losing a few more seats including a GRC. One must remember that the PAP does not seek to win only the election, but to win all the seats as well so as to obliterate the opposition completely. During the 2006 general election, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong threatened to "fix" the opposition if more of them were to get elected into Parliament. Under such uncertain circumstances, the PAP will not dare to take the risk and call for an election soon, e.g. in June which will coincide with the YOG at the same time thereby distracting them from the electoral campaign. The three main issues which Singaporeans are obsessed with are: 1. Relentless influx of foreigners into Singapore. 2. Sky-rocketing HDB flat prices. 3. Stagnant wages which do not commensurate with the increasing cost of living. They are all inter-linked: According to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, the inflow of cheap foreign workers into Singapore over the last few years has depressed the wages of ordinary Singaporeans, increased the cost of living, especially that of public housing and led to an overall decrease in the standards of living. These problems are unable to dissipate with time as the PAP prepares itself to face a massive backlash from a restive electorate who is increasingly peeved with its authoritarian style of governance. While the older generation of Singaporeans may be persuaded by the knucle-duster style of "confrontational" politics propagated by PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew, young Singaporeans are absolutely aghast at the obsolete "top-down" approach adopted by the PAP to "engage" them. The post-65 generation of Singaporeans are angry with the PAP for allowing HDB flat prices to spiral out of control such that they are experiencing problems getting married and starting families of their own. The middle-aged Singaporeans are frustrated at their seemingly stagnant wages and the increased competition they faced from the foreigners the PAP is bringing in. As for the elderly Singaporeans, they work their socks off in the entire lives to build Singapore into what it is today only to realize that their CPFs are "locked" for eternality by the PAP. Despite the propaganda churned out daily by the state media to glorify the PAP, the reality on the ground is drastically different and it appears that Singapore is ready for the political tsunami which hit the shores of Malaysia in 2008. Though the ground is unfavorable to it now, it is not in the interest of the PAP to drag on calling the polls till next year as it will give the opposition ample time to prepare. In recent years, an increasing number of tertiary-educated professionals have joined the opposition thereby boosting its strength and credibility. About 70 percent of the candidates fielded by the opposition in the last election held either a degree or diploma and the percentage looks set to increase in the next election. The fledging Reform Party led by Cambridge-educated Kenneth Jeyaretnam has managed to recruit two former high-flying government scholars into its ranks and as well as a few young graduates. With more young Singaporeans joining the electorate next year, the PAP may even lose more votes and seats. Therefore, the PAP should be calling for the polls once the economy has more or less stabilized and the wage cuts of Singapore workers restored including a possible increase in the employer's CPF contributions. As such, the one-week holiday in September is a more probable period of time for the elections to be called. The next general election may be the last chance for Singaporeans to reclaim ownership of their nation after which they will surely be relegated to second-class citizens right down the pecking order behind the immigrants which the PAP is mass-importing right now to shore up its flagging support base. Let us not forget that the PAP cares more about its political survival and hegemony more than anything else and it will have no qualms sacrificing the interests of Singaporeans in order to preserve its "legacy".   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook discussion on this article here and invite your friends to do so as well to raise awareness among fellow Singaporeans.   Copyright © 2009 – 2010 The Temasek Review (If you are going to reproduce this article on your blog or forum, please provide a link back to ours)   Related articles: >> The scourge of personality-driven politics within the Singapore opposition >> Triggering the Singapore political tsunami with a highly motivated minority >> Singaporeans think highly of opposition’s chances in next general election >> What will happen to Singapore if the opposition wins the next general election >> Dr Ng Eng Hen welcomes greater contest from opposition >> Chee slammed again for introducing confrontational politics in Singapore >> Lim Hwee Hua: opposition “trying” to work the ground for next GE >> Let the next GE be a primer for Singapore’s own political tsunami >> Are opposition MPs becoming redundant in Singapore ? >> Why do we need so many strawberry PAP MPs in Parliament? >> PAP MPs complain of fast-pace of parliamentary debates >> Why PAP MPs are no more but a “wayang” >> A disaster in the making: PAP’s “instant tree” mentality >> Yes-men PAP MPs embarrassed themselves by saying instinctively “yes” to wrongly reduce budget  Read More →

YPAP member Mark Chow who has astonishingly managed to escape a jail term after being convicted of molesting a woman by touching her breasts, buttocks and calves earlier this month, now admits to another count of molest. He was only fined $6,000 for his crime, the Straits Times reported. District Judge Sarjit Singh said in his verdict the touch of the chest was a “fleeting” one, and a “stiff” fine would do. According to information posted on his blog, Mark is a YPAP member of Pasir Ris-Punggol South and was nominated for Spirit of Enterprise Awards. Mark’s YPAP membership was not reported in the press. The present case occurred in 2006 when Mark met up a 24 year old woman for an interview as the owner of a model agency. He told the woman that he had to "examine" her body as a "standard" protocol. When the woman stripped to her underwear inside a unisex toilet, Mark put his left hand into her bra and caressed her breast. Mark has since pleaded guilty to the molestation and two other criminal intimidation charges last year November when he threatened two IMH staff by pointing two pistol-like objects at them. It remains to be seen if Mark will be let off with only a slap on his wrist this time if his "touch" proved to be a "fleeting" one as well.   Please join our Facebook discussion on this article here and invite your friends to do so as well to raise awareness among fellow Singaporeans.   Related articles: >> Mark Chow escapes jail term >> Mark Chow convicted of molest  Read More →

Chosun Ilbo, 21 April 2010 A North Korean Army officer has testified that the North Korean military attacked the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan before it sank in the West Sea on March 26, the head of a South Korean activist group claimed Monday. Choi Sung-yong of the Family Assembly Abducted to North Korea said, "It seems that the Cheonan was sunk in a premeditated North Korean operation." Choi published a transcript of a telephone conversation with what he says is a senior North Korean Army officer. According to the transcript, the officer says, "Thirteen commandos who left from Cape Bipagot sank the Cheonan. Many people as well as military officers already know who attacked the ship." The officer claims the motive was revenge. "After the North lost the sea skirmish in November last year, Kim Jong-il gave an order to take revenge. He gave the order when he visited the naval fleet command in Nampo." The officer according to the transcript claims Gens. Kim Yong-chol and U Dong-chuk traveled between Pyongyang and Nampo frequently to visit the fleet command to work out an operational plan. "Navy Commander Jong Myong-do stayed in Nampo until the mission was accomplished," he added. Kim Yong-chol, the director of the Reconnaissance Bureau in charge of espionage operations against the South, has been consistently fingered by South Korean intelligence agents as the man behind the attack. U Dong-chuk, the senior deputy chief of the State Security Department and a member of the National Defense Commission, and Navy Commander Jong Myong-do were promoted to full generals on Kim Il-sung's 98th birthday last Thursday. They were two of the four lieutenant generals who were promoted the same day. Their promotions stoked suspicions here since U was promoted to a full general only a year after he was promoted to lieutenant general. Jong was promoted unexpectedly after his position became uncertain following North Korea's ignoble defeat in the sea skirmish last year. "Some of the 13 commandos who left Cape Bipagot before they sank the Cheonan are acquaintances of mine," the alleged officer claims according to the transcript. "It seems it was such an important mission that a semi-submersible which was made originally for a crew of three was remodeled for the mission." He claims the Cheonan's sinking lifted soldiers' morale and the 13 commandos "are being treated as heroes." "They apparently spent a lot of time practicing camouflage by sneaking around fleet of North Korean and Chinese fishing boats operating near Baeknyeong Island," the officer says. "It seems likely that a bigger event will occur in the future given that they are operating also in the East Sea, camouflaging themselves there." Commenting on North Korean broadcasts' denial of the North's involvement, the transcript has him saying, "It's natural for them to deny involvement, isn't it? We're tired since we've always been on emergency alert." Source: Chosun Ilbo  Read More →