With 81 of 87 parliamentary seats, PAP is already overwhelmingly represented in parliament. It has already scored an A* with 93% representation. It doesn't need Dr Koh's win to give it more power.
To voters of Punggol East, your vote is indeed an important one.
You had given the PAP camp your vote in GE2011, resulting in the win of the ward by Michael Palmer. But Michael Palmer had failed you in many ways. The delay in the upgrading of Sengkang’s Rivervale Plaza and his one-year affair with Laura Ong come to mind. While you were worrying about your next bill, he was probably having a jolly good time in bed. Your trust in an incumbent PAP MP was unashamedly violated.
Had WP not won Aljunied, there would not have been a ministerial salary review and our ministers would still be drawing out-of-the-world salaries. Worse, they might have justified for another increase last year!
Post GE2011, the PAP has shown to take some steps towards fixing some of the problems (e.g. overcrowding in trains) it had created through its past policies. But these are very minor tweaks and aren't enough. If there's no pressure from another party, and a strong one at that, complacency can set in.
A friend shared with me that the park he used to frequent was neglected for years. Then suddenly new amenities were added and the park spruced up. Then one day, a few weeks after the new features were completed, he saw an entourage with a minister and it hit. And why did the minister visit the park? Because the general elections were near then!
See, if the minister had not visited, the park would likely stay unchanged for many more years. Whoever was managing the park had neither the incentive nor the motivation to make it better. And this is an undesirable situation.
But I'm digressing.
The point is that there needs to be a balance of voices in parliament. Even the government knew it would benefit from not one but two casinos, as competition can lead to several advantages. If the PAP becomes complacment with an overwhelming majority, it will have little or no incentive to make your lives better.
To voters of Punggol East, your vote is indeed an important one.
You had given the PAP camp your vote in GE2011, resulting in the win of the ward by Michael Palmer. But Michael Palmer had failed you in many ways. The delay in the upgrading of Sengkang’s Rivervale Plaza and his one-year affair with Laura Ong come to mind. While you were worrying about your next bill, he was probably having a jolly good time in bed. Your trust in an incumbent PAP MP was unashamedly violated.
Had WP not won Aljunied, there would not have been a ministerial salary review and our ministers would still be drawing out-of-the-world salaries. Worse, they might have justified for another increase last year!
Post GE2011, the PAP has shown to take some steps towards fixing some of the problems (e.g. overcrowding in trains) it had created through its past policies. But these are very minor tweaks and aren't enough. If there's no pressure from another party, and a strong one at that, complacency can set in.
A friend shared with me that the park he used to frequent was neglected for years. Then suddenly new amenities were added and the park spruced up. Then one day, a few weeks after the new features were completed, he saw an entourage with a minister and it hit. And why did the minister visit the park? Because the general elections were near then!
See, if the minister had not visited, the park would likely stay unchanged for many more years. Whoever was managing the park had neither the incentive nor the motivation to make it better. And this is an undesirable situation.
But I'm digressing.
The point is that there needs to be a balance of voices in parliament. Even the government knew it would benefit from not one but two casinos, as competition can lead to several advantages. If the PAP becomes complacment with an overwhelming majority, it will have little or no incentive to make your lives better.
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