WP 'gearing up to form govt'

[Rakyat]

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="789"><tbody><tr><td><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="789"><tbody><tr><td class="newstitle" width="500">Singapore News</td> <td align="right" valign="bottom" width="329"> <table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="282"> <tbody><tr> <td width="25">
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</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="789"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="5"> </td> <td colspan="2" valign="top" width="784"> By Leong Wee Keat, TODAY | Posted: 09 July 2011 0745 hrs
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SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party (WP) is working towards forming the government, its first-term Member of Parliament (MP) Pritam Singh said on Friday.

However, Mr Singh reiterated the decision of which party forms the government "will be made by the people of Singapore".

Said Mr Singh: "There are 87 seats in Parliament. How many do we have right now? We've got six ... we will not be ready to form a government till we got 44 good candidates, who are elected by the people."

He added: "So, is that something we are working toward? Well, I think the short answer is yes. But at the end of the day, with respect to that decision, it will not be made by the Workers' Party, it will be made by the people of Singapore."

Mr Singh, who was speaking on a panel at the Institute of Policy Studies forum alongside National Solidarity Party secretary-general Hazel Poa and People's Action Party (PAP) first-term MP Vikram Nair, also mooted the possibility of a coalition government.

Said Mr Singh: "It may be a case in future whereby the PAP only wins 36 (seats) and we may have to form a coalition government. There is only a finite number of individual parties they want to work with. So it's not a case of either PAP government or opposition government."

At another panel discussion, on whether there would be a "new normal" for Singapore politics here, political scientist Lam Peng Er said the 2011 General Election was "an evolution towards a normal democracy in Singapore".

Agreeing, professor Chua Beng Huat said he felt the government's investments in education and former minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew's retirement from the Cabinet would aid Singapore's move towards a more democratic political culture.

Dr Lam and Prof Chua noted the widening social inequality would be a "tricky challenge" and a political issue that the PAP will need to tackle in the coming years.

While he noted the PAP is tackling hot-button issues such as housing and ministerial salaries, Dr Lam wondered whether the ruling party will "re-examine its economic model of development" and be more open and transparent in policy-making.

Professor Kishore Mahbubani wondered if there was a "new abnormal" - the people's anger, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's apology during the hustings and the government's "anxiety about the future".

Prof Chua was not surprised about the anger and cited the debate on ministerial salaries.

"This was decided in 1990 and we are still angry with it," he added.

On the apology, prof Chua felt it should have been seen as normal.

"The reason why we think it is abnormal is because the first generation, particularly in that manner, would not apologise for anything," he said. "From now on, it will happen a lot more because we are normalising."

- TODAY/wk
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[Rakyat]

Pritam Singh discusses party renewal at IPS Post-election Forum


by WP on Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 12:20am

By Angela Oon

The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) held a Post-Election Forum at Orchard Hotel yesterday, during which it unveiled the results of a wide-ranging post-election survey conducted by a team headed by its senior research fellow, Dr Gillian Koh. Mr Pritam Singh, MP for Aljunied GRC, represented the Workers’ Party at the forum.

Mr Singh spoke on the topic of party renewal, pointing out that the concept of “renewal” encompasses many aspects, one of the most important of which is the recruitment of new blood – since renewal is driven mainly by individuals.

According to Mr Singh, the Workers’ Party believes at a fundamental level that every Singaporean can join in and make a difference in public discourse. Leadership should not be elitist and there is nothing ideological about the idea that public servants are in fact servants of the people.

Hence, in accepting members and choosing election candidates, the WP places great emphasis on character and motivation. New members are assessed on their ability to interact with the public and most importantly, on their commitment to working the ground.

Mr Singh also highlighted the importance of those who are not front-end party members, but work quietly at the back end away from the limelight; they are the unsung heroes who join the party with no other aim and or ambition but to contribute towards building a more democratic, equal and just Singapore.

At the end of the day, "party renewal means nothing if it means bringing poor prospects into our ranks", said Mr Singh. "For renewal is a meaningless word if the Worker’s Party evolves into a party that does not have the pulse of ordinary Singaporeans."

 

[Cestbon]

Is not easy for Opposition in Singapore become government it will take at least another 3 election.
Now they only manage to get 6 MP seat.

 

[scroobal]

This guy is good. When posed the question about forming Govt he explained in detail and in structured form what ingredients must be present and what bridges has to be crossed for a opposition party with 6 seats to form Govt.

He also pointed out the importance of back room staff. And more importantly how poor candidates will not do.

It's interesting how they picked Hazel and Pritam.

 

[Forvendet]

This guy is good. When posed the question about forming Govt he explained in detail and in structured form what ingredients must be present and what bridges has to be crossed for a opposition party with 6 seats to form Govt.

He also pointed out the importance of back room staff. And more importantly how poor candidates will not do.

It's interesting how they picked Hazel and Pritam.

They probably sent out many invites; Hazel and Pritam responded.

 

[kukubird58]

They probably sent out many invites; Hazel and Pritam responded.

hahaha....i was also invited but declined.

 

[Forvendet]

hahaha....i was also invited but declined.

I thought you declined the presidential invite...

 

[kukubird58]

I thought you declined the presidential invite...

hahaha...u r right...
lately i had so many invites but prefer to stay out of the limelight.
a kukubird is always a kukubird.

 

[Forvendet]

hahaha...u r right...
lately i had so many invites but prefer to stay out of the limelight.
a kukubird is always a kukubird.

You'd better stay out of the police floodlight, searching for a bird...