TR EMERITUS

OPINION In a letter published in the Straits Times Forum on 13 October 2009, the press secretary to National Development Minister Mr Mah Bow Tan, Mr Lim Yuin Chien tried to explain why the LUP in Hougang was implemented by the PAP grassroots adviser Mr Eric Low instead of its elected MP Mr Low Thia Kiang. (read letter here) Let us dissect and rebut the reasons given by him one by one: 1. "These programmes have to be implemented through government channels. In the case of HDB upgrading, this channel is the advisers to grassroots organisations, who are appointed by the Government." LUP has to implemented through official and not party channels. The grassroots organizations should be non-partisan, apolitical organizations staffed by civil servants or civilians with no party affiliations. Mr Eric Low is neither an elected MP or a member of the government. He was appointed as a grassroots adviser by the PAP who is rejected by the residents of Hougang in the last general elections. A clear demarcation must be drawn between the party and the state. The government of Singapore is not the PAP. Only the cabinet is made up of PAP leaders while the bureaucracy as well as grassroots organizations are supposed to remain politically neutral. 2. Opposition MPs are not answerable to the Government, nor are they obliged to carry out and explain the Government’s policies. Opposition MPs are answerable to the residents who voted for them to be their representatives in Parliament. Therefore, the opposition MPs are obliged to carry out and explain the government's policies to their constituents. In all the PAP wards, the MPs automatically become the grassroots advisers. Why is there a discrimination here in non-PAP wards? The question we should ask here is whether one needs to be a PAP member in order to explain government's policies to the people. Mr Low Thia Kiang has already indicated his desire to liaise with the government to serve the people of Hougang and so HDB should implement LUP through him instead of adding one additional layer of bureaucracy through the PAP grassroots leader. 3. Funding for LUP is possible only because of the Government and the Budget surpluses it has generated through prudent policies. It is not right for the PAP government to claim credit for the budget surpluses. While their policies do play a contributory role, it is ultimately the hardworking and thrify people of Singapore who is responsible for our budget surpluses. The residents of Hougang and Potong Pasir pay taxes like the rest of Singapore. They should be given equal access to LUP too. It is the duty of the incumbent government of the day to ensure that all Singaporeans have a pleasant and comfortable place to live in regardless of their political affiliations. 4. Opposition MPs are not responsible for generating budget surpluses. There is therefore no basis for opposition MPs to lead the LUP – a national programme funded mainly by the Government. If opposition MPs are not responsible for generating budget surpluses, then in what ways are the two losing PAP candidates responsible? Hence, there is no basis for Mr Eric Low to lead the LUP too. Again, who is responsible for generating the budget surpluses? It is the people of Singapore and not the government who only plays a regulatory role in the process. The residents of Hougang have chosen to lend their support to Mr Low Thia Kiang not only to represent them in Parliament, but to manage their estate for them and therefore it is only right and legitimate for Mr Low Thia Kiang to lead the LUP. 5. The will of the people expressed in general elections is to elect a government for the country as a whole; and not to elect separate local governments for each constituency. Singapore MPs serve two roles - one, to be a voice for their constituents in Parliament and two, to manage the town councils which is a form of local government for each constituency. If the will of the people expressed in general elections is not to elect a local government at all, then Town Councils can be outsourced to private firms to run with no inkling at all to any political parties. Likewise in the PAP wards, the Town Councils are usually headed by the grassroots advisers which are the MPs. It is strange that HDB choose to liaise with PAP MPs while ignoring the presence of opposition MPs altogether. Has HDB been instructed to do so by the government? Since Mr Low is in charge of Hougang Town Council, isn't it easier for HDB work together with him directly instead of an outsider with no business in it? What if the opposition were to form the government one day? Will HDB reverse the process and opt to work with government-appointed grassroots advisers and not the PAP MPs? This LUP fiasco is only part of a systemic flaw which has grown to afflict our nation after decades of one-party rule: the blurring of the boundary between the party and the state. The PAP has used its incumbency to entrench itself in all levers of the state from the bureaucracy, police to grassroots organizations. As it control the purse-strings, it is in a position to curb the growth of the opposition by hampering its work at the grassroots level and punish Singaporeans who voted for them. The folly of such a "practice" whereby PAP losers are entrusted to explain and implement the government's policies on the ground is easily shown up in the unlikely event that the PAP is reduced to a minority government or voted out of power altogether. We will end up in a situation where the non-PAP MPs are mere figureheads in their constituencies while PAP losers continue to call the shots in running the estates. Is this the way the will of the people is being respected by the PAP? It is time that the government defined clearly the roles of the elected MPs vis-a-vis the appointed grassroots advisers. Since the MPs have won the support of the majority of the constituents, it follows naturally that they should be the grassroots advisers and not non-elected personnel being parachuted from outside by a political party. It is clear by now that unless the incumbent is voted out of office, it will be almost impossible for any alternative political parties to serve the people who voted for them without impediment or harrassment even in such a simple and straightforward task like explaining and implementing the LUP in a small constituency.   Related articles: >> LUP has to be implemented through government channels >> Low Thia Kiang strikes back at HDB and PA >> Lame reply by HDB and PA on why LUP are announced by PAP losers >> Mah Bow Tan:” I don’t expect non-PAP MPs to explain LUP” >> Eric Low rapped for stealing limelight of Low Thia Kiang >> Eric Low claimed credit for bringing LUP to Hougang  Read More →

From our Correspondent Just when the saga over the former Miss Singapore World Ris Low appears to be over, the new Miss Singapore World Pilar Arlando now comes under heavy fire from netizens for having "zero IQ"! Chinese tabloid Shin Min Daily carried a report on its front page yesterday with the headlines - "Second Runner-up's IQ is ZERO". Miss Ris Low was forced to relinquish her crown after it was revealed by the press that she was on probation for credit card fraud. The first runner-up, Miss Claire Lee was unable to represent Singapore in the Miss World pageant to be held in Africa end of the year due to a chronic back problem. Being the second runner-up, Miss Pilar Arlando is the organizers' choice to replace Miss Ris Low. This question was posed to Miss Pilar Arlando during the competition. It seems the reporter had asked her “When did the Merlion become extinct?”. And Pilar replied “1965″. Unfortunately, the media's latest move to keep the fiasco alive in the minds of Singaporeans to distract them from important national issues had backfired dramatically this time. Miss Arlando's interview was shown on RazorTV a few weeks ago and there was no furore from the media or blogosphere then. Sammyboy forumer merbenz wrote: "All this chinese tabloid bery slow reaction, that razorTV interview came out so long already, and only now they reported it, plus that Malaysia gambling king grand daughter's pic already out long long time ago, and they treat it like brand new happenings." Alamkat king added: "New Paper worst leh, their news always 2 weeks late than Wanbao, LOL shoutloud expressed his disgust at the endless media publicity: "Can the media give the whole thing a rest? I am getting sick of them pulling down every single candidate with their biased and nonsensical coverage." It appears that the state media is fast running out of options to keep its flagging readership up and has to resort to exploiting young innocent girls for news.  Read More →

From our Correspondent For the second time in a month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has reassured Singaporeans that the intake of foreigners will slow down. In his 45-minute speech at a labour movement conference, PM Lee said that Singapore can expect lower growth as the country slows its intake of foreigners, as there is a limit to what it can accommodate. This means companies will find it harder to get workers and grow: 'This is a trade-off which we cannot avoid.' He also said Singapore would gradually phase out less productive activities that rely on foreign workers, like the disk drive industry, and replace them with new ones. PM Lee also identified broadly the critical steps that needed to be taken for Singapore's post-recession economy. 'We have to pursue higher productivity and build better capability, and move workers from less competitive businesses into newer, expanding ones. We have to foster restructuring, not try to hold it back,' he said. Singapore's population has reached the 5 million mark, contributely largely by the influx of foreigners. The Singapore government has adopted a liberal immigration policy to boost the island's flagging population over the years much to the chagrin of local citizens. Despite increasing resentment and disgruntlement on the ground, the government is adamant that Singapore will need to recruit more foreigners in the long run to keep its export-orientated economy afloat. In the past, only skilled foreigners are invited to take up PRs. Nowadays, even semi-skilled workers can obtain PRs easily as evident from the experience of a PRC Chinese teacher Zhang Yuanyuan who got a PR within 2 months of application. PRs form 40 per cent of the buyers of resale HDB flats, pushing prices up to a record high, thereby squeezing ordinary Singaporeans out of the public housing market. With no opposition in Parliament or an alternative center of power in the civilian population, it will be an uphill task for Singaporeans to change their government's pro-foreigner policy.  Read More →