If there is indeed somebody in the current Parliament who can take the helm, he/she and the party have certainly done a good job of hiding the fact. The PAP has always been justly proud of its record of planned leadership succession. By its own high standards, the PAP – and Singapore – risks a leadership crisis unless there is a significant injection of heavyweight talent at another by-election well before 2016.
Singapore also needs to insure itself against the possibility that the PAP will ultimately fail to deliver, and this is why structural reform – not just changes in style or substance – are important. Without the right institutional safeguards, the PAP's problems will automatically become Singapore's problems. If the party goes down, there is a high chance that, in desperation, it will clutch at whatever levers are within reach, including national institutions that should represent the public interest, not party interests.
In the Hougang campaign, the WP highlighted three such problem areas. There is the Elections Department, which currently answers to the Prime Minister's Office when it should be an independent authority. The People's Association, a key nation-building institution that should bring Singaporeans together, can be abused in a way that divides people along party lines. And, finally, Singapore Press Holdings and MediaCorp operate under close government supervision, undermining their credibility in the coverage of controversial political issues.
- http://www.cheriangeorge.net/1/post/2012/05/hougang2012.html
Singapore also needs to insure itself against the possibility that the PAP will ultimately fail to deliver, and this is why structural reform – not just changes in style or substance – are important. Without the right institutional safeguards, the PAP's problems will automatically become Singapore's problems. If the party goes down, there is a high chance that, in desperation, it will clutch at whatever levers are within reach, including national institutions that should represent the public interest, not party interests.
In the Hougang campaign, the WP highlighted three such problem areas. There is the Elections Department, which currently answers to the Prime Minister's Office when it should be an independent authority. The People's Association, a key nation-building institution that should bring Singaporeans together, can be abused in a way that divides people along party lines. And, finally, Singapore Press Holdings and MediaCorp operate under close government supervision, undermining their credibility in the coverage of controversial political issues.
- http://www.cheriangeorge.net/1/post/2012/05/hougang2012.html
