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This was written by a WP member & a volunteer in Aljunied.
http://www.angmohlian.com/the-idealist/wp-doing-nothing/
Wow, I’ve really just had it with smart asses accusing the Workers’ Party of doing nothing, so yes, this is going to be a long rant.
Have a look within the Workers’ Party. 6 MPs, 2 NCMPs, include all those who ran for elections, members and volunteers and we are looking at say 100 – 200 people (please don’t take this number literally, I am very bad at Math). What has the Workers’ Party done since GE2011?
1. Ran for GE2011, won 1 GRC, 1 SMC and got 2 NCMPs into parliament.
2. Took over management of Aljunied Town Council
3. Managed both Aljunied and Hougang Town Councils (merged into Aljunied-Hougang Town Council)
4. Hougang By-Elections
5. Regular Activities:
a. Weekly Meet the People Sessions
b. Weekly house visits
c. Weekly Hammer Sales
d. Welfare distributions
e. Parliament sittings
f. Temple dinners
g. Wakes
5. 2011 events:
a. National Day
b. Hari Raya
c. Mid-Autumn
d. Deepavali
e. Christmas
6. 2011 tours:
a. Tangkak (Malaysia) Durian Trip
b. China Tour (8 days)
7. 2012 events:
a. Chinese New Year
b. National Day
c. Mid-Autumn
d. Hari Raya
e. Deepavali
f. Christmas
g. Bricks in Blue (early 2013)
8. 2012 tours:
a. 1 Day Malaysia Durian tour
b. Chinese New Year 1-Day JB Trip
c. Local Tour
e. 2D1N Malacca Tour
8. Grassroots activities/events (not a complete list)
a. Bi-monthly Health Talk
b. Movie Night
c. Parry Trail Walk
d. Tai-Chi
e. Walk to Bond
f. Dance to Bond
g. Zone Parties
h. Bukit Brown Cemetery Guided Tour
Bear in mind that this list is non-exhaustive.
Seriously? WP has done NOTHING?
Yes, some may say that PAP has to manage the same and more. But the PAP has the PA, RCs and various other supposedly-independent organisations to support both their parliament and grassroots work. Others look at opposition parties like SDP, who have produced two policy papers.
But they neither do they have grassroots activities to run.
The very same MPs and NCMPs in parliament are also involved in all these grassroots activities, while having to battle hurdles and petty politicking from the incumbent. Mr. Low Thia Khiang has weekly Meet the People sessions, faithfully turns up for weekly Hammer sales and all divisional grassroots activities, runs a political party, a GRC and still personally attends every temple dinner and wakes within his division. The volunteers and members you see helping out during GE and BE are the same volunteers at the weekly Meet the People sessions and various other activities listed above.
And yet, WP has done nothing.
Look, this is not a complaint and I don’t blame those who are unaware of the amount of work the party has to do because we get very little media publicity. Neither do I think that WP has done a flawless job in the past year. There is much WP needs to learn and grow, and everyone in the party does as much as possible, considering a rather hostile media, a civil service completely governed by the incumbent for the past 47 years and not-so-independent grassroots organisations.
Let’s try to look beyond parliament and into the work WP has done managing the estates, town councils and as Members of Parliament.
I shared this on my Facebook page earlier, and I think it’s worth another mention.
“They have also approached the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for help but to no avail so far. “The Manpower Ministry says if the company doesn’t want to pay us, there is nothing it can do,” one of the workers says. The rest nodded their heads in agreement…
In 2010, for example, there were a reported 4,000 pay-related complaints by foreign workers lodged with the ministry, but only four employers were prosecuted for failure to pay salaries.” (Source: Yahoo!)
The sad truth about Singapore is the ministries and unions don’t work for the people, but for the corporations. The government because the people trust that they are the best people to look out for our interests, but are they really? SG of NTUC supports retrenchment, supports the public shaming and demonisation of Laura Ong, wants cheaper better and faster, and is against minimum wage with the exception of ministerial pay. Our government consistently emphasises a rhetoric of fear, that Singapore will crumble under pressure if we are not consistently cheaper, better and faster than our neighbours. This government has us believe that Singaporean citizens should rely on NO ONE but themselves, and cannot expect their government to take care of their needs. Pro- ruling party supporters even mock the opposition, saying that the opposition simply isn’t capable enough to deal with the petty politicking of the ruling party.
Each and every person voted in to office is first and foremost a Member of Parliament, a representative of the division/SMC/GRC of their charge, and the most basic requirement of that Member of Parliament is to represent the voices of the people who voted them in.
Have a look at our MPs. Do they represent your voices? Have they spoken up for you? Have they addressed your needs? Have they defended your cause?
There is a lot of flak going on about the Workers’ Party’s performance in parliament. Yes, we can do better. It may be hard to accept a defense from a member of the party, but at the very least, as a member of the party and as a volunteer in the Aljunied GRC, I can safely say that every single one of our MPs have at the very least fulfilled this most basic requirement of being an elected Member of Parliament. They have voiced out their residents’ concerns, they have not opposed for the sake of opposing or argued for the sake of scoring political points. They have responded to national issues in a rational and fair manner. You may not hear any fancy rhetoric or flamboyant speeches, neither have you read eloquent policy papers, but they have done their best with what little resource they have and will continue to work at getting better. And that is more than I can say of most other MPs and opposition parties. No doubt there are many fine MPs within the ruling party and brilliant minds among other opposition parties, and their efforts are laudable. But also remember that the ruling party had a 47-year head start and other opposition parties do not have SMCs, GRCs and town councils to manage.
Skills are easy to teach, heart is not so easy to catch. I’d rather vote someone whom I can trust to speak up and defend me, than someone who can’t even be bothered to fight for my rights as an employee.
Let’s not kill the enthusiasm of our members and volunteers, remember that everyone is doing their best and that it would be much easier to do so with some understanding, support and encouragement.
http://www.angmohlian.com/the-idealist/wp-doing-nothing/
Wow, I’ve really just had it with smart asses accusing the Workers’ Party of doing nothing, so yes, this is going to be a long rant.
Have a look within the Workers’ Party. 6 MPs, 2 NCMPs, include all those who ran for elections, members and volunteers and we are looking at say 100 – 200 people (please don’t take this number literally, I am very bad at Math). What has the Workers’ Party done since GE2011?
1. Ran for GE2011, won 1 GRC, 1 SMC and got 2 NCMPs into parliament.
2. Took over management of Aljunied Town Council
3. Managed both Aljunied and Hougang Town Councils (merged into Aljunied-Hougang Town Council)
4. Hougang By-Elections
5. Regular Activities:
a. Weekly Meet the People Sessions
b. Weekly house visits
c. Weekly Hammer Sales
d. Welfare distributions
e. Parliament sittings
f. Temple dinners
g. Wakes
5. 2011 events:
a. National Day
b. Hari Raya
c. Mid-Autumn
d. Deepavali
e. Christmas
6. 2011 tours:
a. Tangkak (Malaysia) Durian Trip
b. China Tour (8 days)
7. 2012 events:
a. Chinese New Year
b. National Day
c. Mid-Autumn
d. Hari Raya
e. Deepavali
f. Christmas
g. Bricks in Blue (early 2013)
8. 2012 tours:
a. 1 Day Malaysia Durian tour
b. Chinese New Year 1-Day JB Trip
c. Local Tour
e. 2D1N Malacca Tour
8. Grassroots activities/events (not a complete list)
a. Bi-monthly Health Talk
b. Movie Night
c. Parry Trail Walk
d. Tai-Chi
e. Walk to Bond
f. Dance to Bond
g. Zone Parties
h. Bukit Brown Cemetery Guided Tour
Bear in mind that this list is non-exhaustive.
Seriously? WP has done NOTHING?
Yes, some may say that PAP has to manage the same and more. But the PAP has the PA, RCs and various other supposedly-independent organisations to support both their parliament and grassroots work. Others look at opposition parties like SDP, who have produced two policy papers.
But they neither do they have grassroots activities to run.
The very same MPs and NCMPs in parliament are also involved in all these grassroots activities, while having to battle hurdles and petty politicking from the incumbent. Mr. Low Thia Khiang has weekly Meet the People sessions, faithfully turns up for weekly Hammer sales and all divisional grassroots activities, runs a political party, a GRC and still personally attends every temple dinner and wakes within his division. The volunteers and members you see helping out during GE and BE are the same volunteers at the weekly Meet the People sessions and various other activities listed above.
And yet, WP has done nothing.
Look, this is not a complaint and I don’t blame those who are unaware of the amount of work the party has to do because we get very little media publicity. Neither do I think that WP has done a flawless job in the past year. There is much WP needs to learn and grow, and everyone in the party does as much as possible, considering a rather hostile media, a civil service completely governed by the incumbent for the past 47 years and not-so-independent grassroots organisations.
Let’s try to look beyond parliament and into the work WP has done managing the estates, town councils and as Members of Parliament.
I shared this on my Facebook page earlier, and I think it’s worth another mention.
“They have also approached the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for help but to no avail so far. “The Manpower Ministry says if the company doesn’t want to pay us, there is nothing it can do,” one of the workers says. The rest nodded their heads in agreement…
In 2010, for example, there were a reported 4,000 pay-related complaints by foreign workers lodged with the ministry, but only four employers were prosecuted for failure to pay salaries.” (Source: Yahoo!)
The sad truth about Singapore is the ministries and unions don’t work for the people, but for the corporations. The government because the people trust that they are the best people to look out for our interests, but are they really? SG of NTUC supports retrenchment, supports the public shaming and demonisation of Laura Ong, wants cheaper better and faster, and is against minimum wage with the exception of ministerial pay. Our government consistently emphasises a rhetoric of fear, that Singapore will crumble under pressure if we are not consistently cheaper, better and faster than our neighbours. This government has us believe that Singaporean citizens should rely on NO ONE but themselves, and cannot expect their government to take care of their needs. Pro- ruling party supporters even mock the opposition, saying that the opposition simply isn’t capable enough to deal with the petty politicking of the ruling party.
Each and every person voted in to office is first and foremost a Member of Parliament, a representative of the division/SMC/GRC of their charge, and the most basic requirement of that Member of Parliament is to represent the voices of the people who voted them in.
Have a look at our MPs. Do they represent your voices? Have they spoken up for you? Have they addressed your needs? Have they defended your cause?
There is a lot of flak going on about the Workers’ Party’s performance in parliament. Yes, we can do better. It may be hard to accept a defense from a member of the party, but at the very least, as a member of the party and as a volunteer in the Aljunied GRC, I can safely say that every single one of our MPs have at the very least fulfilled this most basic requirement of being an elected Member of Parliament. They have voiced out their residents’ concerns, they have not opposed for the sake of opposing or argued for the sake of scoring political points. They have responded to national issues in a rational and fair manner. You may not hear any fancy rhetoric or flamboyant speeches, neither have you read eloquent policy papers, but they have done their best with what little resource they have and will continue to work at getting better. And that is more than I can say of most other MPs and opposition parties. No doubt there are many fine MPs within the ruling party and brilliant minds among other opposition parties, and their efforts are laudable. But also remember that the ruling party had a 47-year head start and other opposition parties do not have SMCs, GRCs and town councils to manage.
Skills are easy to teach, heart is not so easy to catch. I’d rather vote someone whom I can trust to speak up and defend me, than someone who can’t even be bothered to fight for my rights as an employee.
Let’s not kill the enthusiasm of our members and volunteers, remember that everyone is doing their best and that it would be much easier to do so with some understanding, support and encouragement.
