TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent Despite the lukewarm response from fellow Singaporeans, Alex Tan remained unfazed by the low turnout at his maiden speech yesterday and promised to continue making speeches at Hong Lim Park on a weekly basis. About 20 people turned up at Hong Lim Park yesterday to listen to Alex's speech which touched on important national issues such as public housing, education and national service. (read Alex's speech here) Alex begain his speech by thanking those present for taking time off to come and listen to him: "Before I start, I would like to say a few words to my supporters. I really appreciate what each and everyone of you have done to bring a new definition to Singaporeans. You people are not apathetic and definitely not afraid." Though his speech was short and lacking in details, he managed to capture the attention of the crowd with his point-blank highlighting of the inherent discrepancies in the ruling party's policies which seem to discriminate against Singaporeans. He ended the session with a promise to continue speaking up for Singaporeans: "Back in Sept 2006, PM Lee proposed this slogan “No One will be Left Behind”. He lived up to his promise and the PRs and Foreigners are sure well taken care of. Here in 2010, I wish to change that slogan: No Singaporeans will be Left Behind. I wish to continue speaking up for Singaporeans. As such I will be having such similar speeches every Sunday at 5pm here in Hong Lim Park. Your grievances and bitterness will not be ignored. They will be discussed, debated and solutions will be offered. I thank you all for coming. Singapore for Singaporeans." His efforts were applauded by many netizens. Steven wrote on Temasek Review: "Kudos to Alex. we need more people like you to speakup for us. to us, the lower income, we will never have more then $100k in our CPF when we hit 55 years and all these money will be lock up under the retirement fund. to the rich, $100k is nothing as they will still have plenty of balance. All these happened because the Govt are afraid to support the old and needy. they can affort to gain billions and loose billions in their investment, but when it comes to taking care of its citizens, they say welfare is a dirty word. Don’t forget, these senior citizens are the one who brought you to where you are today." KNN agreed: "I must say that as a 22 year old guy, he pack alot of punches and I am glad that he is with Mr Chiam who is my most respected opposition elder.....Only when you all stand together, you have a better chance to survive, to continue, and to win, eventually. For now, Alex, if you are reading this, way to go." Brotherhood can identify with the issues brought up by Alex: "Alex Tan has made a speech that is well articulated and touches my heart with the mention of all the issues and problems we, the mere mortal flat lease holders and dwellers face. Singaporeans do have some savings but these are all to be spent if not already spent on overpriced items. Compared to many countries, singaporeans do have some wealth, but they can only afford overpriced flats so small and i heard its even smaller nowadays and more expensive. Is this progress?" Alex has bravely taken the first baby step for all Singaporeans and we must not forget the fact that he is doing so in his own personal capacity without any support from his party. (Singapore People's Party) If Alex continues to make speeches like such weekly at Hong Lim Park, the turnout will surely increase. Public awareness is generated slowly and gradually over time. We need more Alex Tans to step forward and speak out for Singaporeans and time is fast running out.  Read More →

Background: During a 10-minute speech made at Hong Lim Park, Alex Tan touched on a few important national issues close to the hearts of Singaporeans such as sky-rocketing HDB flat prices, competition with foreigners in jobs and education and lack of a social safety net for the elderly. Read the full transcript of Alex Tan's speech here.  Read More →

OPINION When we asked Alex Tan if he was disappointed with the low turnout at Hong Lim Park two days ago for his maiden speech to Singaporeans, he said he was glad that twenty Singaporeans took the effort to make the trip to listen to him. For all the criticisms hurled at Alex for his youth and inexperience, he has three important attributes which few Singaporeans had: courage, dedication and perserverance. It was Chinese New Year and he could well spend his time with his family and friends, but he chose to go to Hong Lim Park and speak about national issues concerning Singaporeans publicly. The lukewarm response from Singaporeans did not deter him and he promised to continue making speeches weekly at the same place from now onwards. There is no doubt that Alex still has a long way to go. His speech was short and succinct, if lacking in details and substance, but those who accused him for not offering concrete alternative solutions are missing the point altogether. It is not the job of Singaporeans or the opposition to offer solutions to help the ruling party given their severe limitations. Let us not forget that the PAP has the entire civil service at its disposal. It has scholars, academics and researchers working full-time to churn out reports, data and graphs for it. Alex Tan has none of these. The primary role of Alex is to highlight issues which are seldom discusssed openly in the press, to increase the awareness of Singaporeans and to galvanize them into action. For all his faux pauses, MM Lee is right on one count: Singaporeans are champion grumblers. We complain, lament and whine all the time to one another, but do we ever bother to take serious action to help ourselves? If Singaporeans do not organize themselves and stay united as a people, they will continue to remain as "sheep" being ride roughshod over by the ruling party again, again and again. Singaporeans keep complaining that there are no credible leaders in the opposition, but who will dare to step forward if they do not have the support of the people behind them? What Alex is doing is taking a very small step forward on the behalf of everybody and hopefully he can inspire other Alex Tans out there to follow his path as well. There are many Singaporeans who are not willing to come out in the open, but surely it is not too much to ask of you to lend support to brave individuals like Alex wanting to make a difference? We must not forget the fact that the PAP was an opposition party before and it took them a few years in office to demonstrate their ability to govern Singapore. Compared to the 1960s and now, we have a citizenry who is more aware, educated and knowledgeable - there is no reason why we cannot have a credible opposition to counter the PAP. It is unhealthy for a nation to have only one voice for nobody has the monopoly on the truth. Without people like Alex Tan highlighting issues close to our hearts publicly, Singaporeans will forever live under the illusion that all is well in paradise after being fed with the usual daily dose of propaganda from the state media. We need somebody to expose this fallacy once and for all. There is something really wrong with Singapore and the faster we realize it, the better it will be for everybody.  Read More →