TR EMERITUS

PAP activists in Fengshan, part of East Coast GRC (Photo: Petir) PAP published an article, 'Fengshan gears up for next GE', in the July issue of its party magazine, Petir. In the article, it talked about a team of PAP young and old activists at Fengshan, committed and passionate in serving the 36,000 residents in the ward. Fengshan is part of East Coast GRC which has 5 wards: Bedok - Lim Swee Say Fengshan - Raymond Lim Kampong Chai Chee - Lee Yi Shyan Siglap - Maliki Osman Changi-Simei - Jessica Tan In 2006 GE, PAP garnered 63.9% (66,931 votes) while WP obtained 36.1% (37,873 votes) in East Coast GRC. By 2011 GE, there was a 9.1% swing against PAP in East Coast GRC, resulting in PAP garnering only 54.8% (59,992 votes) while WP getting an improved 45.2% (49,429 votes). PAP had a much reduced majority of 10,563 votes in 2011 GE compared to 29,058 in 2006. The article wrote, "When the (PAP) Fengshan team looks across the road that is Bedok North Avenue 3, a five-minute walk from the branch HQ, they gaze upon the Aljunied GRC which was won by the Workers' Party during the last general election in 2011." It acknowledged that East Coast was the GRC with the slimmest victory margin for PAP. Comparing with 2006 GE, PAP activist Ms Diana Pang said, "It was more intense in 2011, in the sense that the opposition supporters were very much more hostile towards us." It's not known if Ms Pang bothered to sit down and think why opposition supporters were hostile towards them at the time or perhaps, even now. Fellow PAP activist Mr Gopala Krishnan was more sanguine. He reasoned, "In a normal society, there will always be a certain block of people who are anti-government." Another PAP activist, Nicholas Tan said: "When I was studying in the UK, I realised how blessed I was to be living in Singapore, a place where government policies are not populist measures put in place by different governments and where citizen safety and welfare are taken care of. I feel that many youths have a dim view of our government. Their votes are motivated by a desire for change or just because they don’t like the other side. I want to do something for my country." Did it occur to Mr Tan that it would be even more hypocritical to vote for the side even if one doesn't like that side? The article revealed that the PAP Fengshan team now adopts the strategy of "deeper and more personal engagement" to court voters. They called it the "IBM approach" - Interactive, Bottoms up, avoid Mega events. They now would meet smaller groups of residents in smaller-scale events, to "better hear feedback at a more personable level". For example, apart from organising a large Town Hall session to explain the Pioneer Generation Package, they also organised group sessions for residents from no more than three to four HDB blocks, and those from private estates. As a result, the number of events, dialogues and meetings has more than doubled post-2011. That translates to the team members spending more time at their PAP branch. Ms Pang, for example, said that she heads down to help out at various community and party activities, sometimes up to 4 to 5 times a week after work, as well as on weekends. The PAP Fengshan team feels that people are responding to the government's efforts to listen to them. "Based on what residents are saying, things have improved by leaps and bounds," said Mr Gopala. "Criticism over the housing issue has come down a fair bit, and they can see what the government is doing to improve transport and medical services." But based on a recent survey by Blackbox Research ('Survey: Majority of SGs not happy with CPF returns'), of the 21 issues, 14 scored lower in June last month compared to the scores at the start of the year. That is, for these 14 issues, more Singaporeans are unhappy with the Government’s handling now as compared to the beginning of the year: Crime levels Moral standards Racial relations/integration Education system Environment Health insurance/protection Civil rights/liberties/free speech Care for elderly CPF Gap between rich and poor Population management Housing affordability Motor vehicle prices/COE Cost of living Satisfaction with the Government drops the most (6 percent points or more compared to the start of the year) for the following issues: Care for elderly CPF Population management Housing affordability Cost of living Mr Gopala said that WP activists are only coming by "occasionally" to distribute their party newsletter at the neighbourhood markets. He said, "They show their presence, some residents are curious. But we have not observed a stepping up of frequency or intensity." He added, "Everybody says East Coast GRC is the next target but we are not fearful. Every five years, we go in to do battle. On a daily basis, we are not sitting down and taking things for granted. What matters is that at the end of the day, we continue to do our best for the residents." In any case, the PAP Fengshan activists appear to be grassroots leaders in East Coast GRC as well. Ms Diana Pang was reported to be also the Chairman of the PA's Feng Shan Women Executive Committee [Link]. Mr Gopala Krishnan is a grassroots leader and solemnizer in East Coast GRC. He is also a BBM holder [Link] and sits in the Executive Committee of East Coast Town Council [Link]. Ms Cheryl Chan Wei Ling is the Chairperson of Fengshan CCMC and a PBM holder [Link]. She sits in the Finance Committee of East Coast Town Council [Link]. More than a third of the East Coast GRC's voters live in private housing, which is almost double the national figure. In the last few years, the GRC has undergone extensive upgrading, especially the stretch at Bedok MRT. Will PAP win again in East Coast GRC in the next GE? What do you think?    Read More →

The need for FWs in the construction industry and some harsh vocations is recognized by the govt and the citizens. No one is complaining about hiring foreigners to take up jobs that citizens shunned. Hiring of foreign workers in these jobs has become a necessity and not a choice. On the other hand there are many jobs that Singaporeans would want to do, not highly skilled but could provide them with decent income. These jobs do not need ‘foreign talents’ to compete with the citizens. The profession of taxi driving is an area of last resort, the fall-back position of many PMEs to earn a decent living. This has been in a way protected for citizens. Is there a change that foreigners are now allowed to be taxi drivers? Foreigners turned citizens to become taxi drivers cannot be of any talent, and cannot be of better than Singaporeans to replace Singaporeans. It would be dreadful and shocking that one day foreigners are preferred to Singaporeans to be taxi drivers because they are more talented. Would that day come? There are foreigners, citizens and PRs, engaging in many professions that Singaporeans are quite happy to be in without the need to be terribly talented and highly qualified. Entry barrier to these trades are fairly low, eg insurance agents, housing agents, recruitment agents and stock broking agents. Should the govt allow free access to these trades by foreigners? What kind of expertise and extra talents or contributions would foreigners bring in to add value to these professions? There is really no need to allow foreigners to be in these trades. What is the point of having PhDs and masters graduates to be in these trades to compete with the citizens? When would the govt have a change of heart, a change of policies to protect some trades for the citizens? When would the prostitute mind-set be changed? Opening these trades to foreigners, even new citizens, is a threat to the quality of life of Singaporeans and cannot be allowed if the interests of the citizens is to be protected. Opening our economy and country cannot be a blank cheque to open up everything, and stripping off our panties. Some vital parts must be protected from uninvited intrusion to retain some dignity and self-respect. No entry signs must be erected in some areas. There are things that are sensitive in nature, critical and important to the average citizens and cannot be given away freely without affecting their lives. The govt has no obligations to provide good jobs and vocations to foreigners, but owe a big responsibility to make life better for the citizens. Or am I wrong, that this govt owes the citizens of the world good jobs and a good life, not to its citizens? When would the policy makers descend from the high clouds to understand what is going on at ground level?   Chua Chin Leng aka redbean * The writer blogs at http://mysingaporenew.blogspot.com    Read More →

Minister Lawrence Wong: "Literature is a key aspect of a civilisation’s culture and identity". Three judges of this year’s Singapore Literature Prize have resigned to protest against National Library Board’s (NLB) to withdraw several children book titles from libraries in Singapore. They were removed for not "pro-family". In a statement issued today (16 Jul), Mr T Sasitharan, head of the Intercultural Theatre Institute, author Romen Bose and Yale-NUS professor Robin Hemley “condemned in the strongest terms” the decision to remove and destroy the books. The statement said: "We condemn in the strongest terms NLB's decision to remove and destroy these books, given that it is responsible for the dissemination of information rather than its destruction. The fact that the board has not even considered restricting access to the publications but has moved directly to pulping them is very disconcerting." “We cannot in good conscience continue as judges for the Singapore Literature Prize (Non-fiction Category) 2014 given the close links and associations that exist between the National Book Development Council and the National Library Board." The statement also said that “censorship that has no place in any free and democratic society”. It added that NLB's action is bigoted and sets a "very worrying precedent”. The 3 also criticised NLB of “unbecoming of an institution entrusted to protect and preserve learning and literature”. The Singapore Literature Prize is a biennial writing competition open to Singapore citizens and PRs whose works of fiction (novels or short stories), poetry, and non-fiction have been published in Singapore or abroad. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Mr Lawrence Wong, said of the competition [Link]: “Literature is a key aspect of a civilisation’s culture and identity. Growing Singapore literature and content is thus critical not only in building clarity of thought and expression, but also in developing our unique identity and capturing our memories, values and ideas. As the national literary award, the Singapore Literature Prize plays a key role in honouring our best writers. This year, we worked closely with the Book Council to make changes to the Prize, after taking into consideration feedback from the public. The changes are in line with our aim of recognising and promoting Singapore’s literary talent, and encouraging more Singaporeans to appreciate original content.” The Singapore Literature Prize is organised by the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS). The Council was registered as a non-profit society on 19 December 1968 and formally inaugurated on 13 February 1969 by then the Ministry for Culture, Mr Jek Yeun Thong, with 12 members representing government and non-government educational, cultural, publishing, printing, library and bookselling associations and institutions. Its place of business was designated as National Library. "Thus the Council was born with official government blessing and given government support through ad hoc grants for specific projects," NBDCS' website said [Link]. Last week, 5 writers have also announced that they are pulling out of activities involving NLB to protest against the removal of the children’s books from public libraries. One of the them declined to be a keynote speaker for the National Schools Literature Festival and another resigned from the steering committee of the Singapore Writers Festival. Others refused to participate as panelists in some of the NLB's events ('Writers pull out of NLB-linked events in protest').  Read More →