A free contest of ideas to presure opposition parties to improve

[OverTheCounter]

There must be a free contest of ideas in the political arena. Without a free contest of ideas, assumptions go unchallenged, bad policies continue unchecked, and good alternative ideas do not surface.

Through a free and unfettered contest of ideas and ideology, Singapore’s opposition parties can also challenge each other to up their games and take on the PAP more effectively and aggressively.
Although the Worker’s Party (WP) tore down the GRC fortress in the 2011 general elections and gained a footing in Parliament, its performance then has been lackluster.

Mr Pritam Singh has been criticized for not being clear about what he meant by a future coalition with the ruling PAP, WP MPs have been caught plagiarizing the work of others, and their Parliamentary debate on ministerial salaries has been roundly ribbed by both sides of the political aisle.

Clearly there is a need for WP to improve, even as it tries to expand into other constituencies and enlarge its Parliamentary force through electoral contests.

That is why it is so important for a free contest of ideas and political beliefs to take place and for all citizens to participate actively in shaping the national dialogue.

Without a free contest of ideas, Singaporeans may be led to think that there are only two parties, PAP and WP, and only two possible ideological platforms — right wing or centrist.

Without a free contest or ideas, good alternative solutions to national issues that neither the PAP or WP can devise would forever lie buried.

As an opposition supporter, I would not look to PM Lee’s initiative in starting a so-called “national conversation”, as it smacks of PR management, front-running, opinion rigging, and ultimately, propaganda, rather than a genuine attempt at dialogue.

Opposition parties must take matters into their own hands by aggressively contesting constituencies and using all available channels of communications, whether traditional or otherwise, to convey their message and their ideological platforms.
[h=2]Is Alex Au doing the work of 6 WP MPs?[/h]Recently, activist blogger Alex Au had to apologize to PM Lee for allegedly defaming the latter in his blog postings on the AIM saga.

But Alex Au has not given up on the issue. He has continue to comment on the AIM fiasco even after his apology. He has made it clear that his apology was only pertaining to certain remarks made about PM Lee, and that it should not detract from the AIM issue itself.

Alex Au has articulated the case very well, as have other bloggers. Has Alex Au and these other bloggers been doing the work of 6 WP MPs and not getting any remuneration in the process?

It is now up to WP to take the AIM saga up in Parliament and ask hard-hitting questions like those which Alex Au has asked. Protected by Parliamentary immunity, WP MPs have no reason to succumb to a climate of fear as long as what they say is justified and correct.

That WP aggressively take up the AIM saga is all the more important, because WP has always made town council management and grassroots work the hallmark of its electoral approach. The AIM saga sits squarely at the heart of WP’s electoral strategy of winning votes through groundwork and through the grassroots.

It is now up to WP to show it can deliver, and prove that it can stand up and stand tall amongst a free contest of ideas from other opposition parties.

 

[wwabbit]

I don't see why this should be seen as an Alex Au vs Worker's Party thing. It is clear they are all working towards the same goal, and the roles they play in this saga complements each other.

Anyway, it is all too early to judge the Worker's Party. Let's wait until after the the parliamentary seating on the 14th to see how this plays out.

 

[mei mei]

There must be a free contest of ideas in the political arena. Without a free contest of ideas, assumptions go unchallenged, bad policies continue unchecked, and good alternative ideas do not surface.

Well said, looking forward to see other political parties contest in Punggol East. This should put PAP and WP on their toes.

 

[scroobal]

No issues on the free contest of ideas. That is until the day of the nominations. Voters would expect a level of maturity to come from both SDP and WP. If on nomination day, as in the Anson By Election of 1981, if an understanding is not reached by both parties, the voters will eventually punish one of them. As this is first past the post model, the split in the BE will be damaging, but the price will be paid during GE2016.

The line of communication must remain open, readings from the ground updated daily etc while both parties air their party platform, manifesto, views, debate on the issues during the run-up. It will be good for the voters to see where both are coming from.

 

[ray_of_hope]

Alex Au, who was a Counting Agent for SDP at the last GE, should be its candidate in the BE.

 

[skponggol]

.....

A free contest on ideas pressured the Opposition parties in Hong Kong to improve.


In HK LegCo 2012 election, there was a 3-cornered fight among:
1. the pro-Beijing parties bloc
2. HK’s Democratic Party, which has been compromising to the Chicoms just as Vichy WP has been kowtowing to PAP
3. the free and genuine Opposition who advocated a relentless robust and vocal supervision of the government.


The results showed that HK people had strongly rejected and punished the Vichy Opposition, and voted for the genuine Opposition to speak up for them.


Instead of a zero-sum contest between the HK’ Vichy Opposition and Free Opposition, they had enlarged the Opposition pie and attracted more voters turnout to join their causes.


In order to survive, HK’s Democratic Party starts to re-examine its policy and political approach.

Similarly, it is now up to HK’s Democratic Party to show it can deliver, and prove that it can stand up and stand tall amongst a free contest of ideas from other opposition parties.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=848ahqoDFVU
“For the first time, HK has a very clear legislative division…..the government now has to fight and negotiate.”


The different Opposition parties in the new HK LegCo will now have to contest among each other to see who can slap the government harder, faster and maybe cheaper. And its parliament becomes more vibrant and functional than ever.

....

 

[yellowarse]

Alex Au, who was a Counting Agent for SDP at the last GE, should be its candidate in the BE.

Alex Au sees himself more as an activist than a politician. Besides, his strong gay rights advocacy will definitely put many conservative opposition voters off. Not the best choice for a BE.

 

[tanwahp]

No issues on the free contest of ideas. That is until the day of the nominations. Voters would expect a level of maturity to come from both SDP and WP. If on nomination day, as in the Anson By Election of 1981, if an understanding is not reached by both parties, the voters will eventually punish one of them. As this is first past the post model, the split in the BE will be damaging, but the price will be paid during GE2016.

The line of communication must remain open, readings from the ground updated daily etc while both parties air their party platform, manifesto, views, debate on the issues during the run-up. It will be good for the voters to see where both are coming from.

I can't see any reason why any party will be willing to give up the contest.

WP has to contest by default for the sake of its own reputation. I get the feeling that if it is contemplating giving up out of fatigue (since it has undergone two adventurous years), the idea of having PAP paint WP as a non-serious, one-time-off party in future elections is enough for them not to do it. Let's not kid ourselves; no critic of WP will praise WP for giving up the ward if we had a time machine turn back to 12 Dec 2012.

SDP wants to contest because it think it can fill whatever gap WP cannot and there is space for a third party. It is a fact that it prides itself as the opposition party with the most unique approach, the most important party not in parliament and the third place in political importance; all not totally without truth.

A three corner fight may not be mature. But the considerations from each's party's angle are mature.

If this was Bukit Panjang and Teo Ho Pin was the one resigning, it will have been clearer. SDP will of course contest and I seriously believe a high chance WP won't contest.

WP and SDP will never work together. They have never done so in the last 30 years and will never be.

 

[LordElrond]

It is silly to suggest that Alex Au is doing the work of 6 MPs. The matter surfaced in the first place because WP raised it. Anyone who thinks WP can go to the level of detail in the short time allocated in Parliment obviously have no clue about Parlimentary proceedings. Alex is a brave man and despite him having to apologise and retract statements more than once, his action does give PAP a black eye, but anyone who suggests a WP MP should have done what Alex Au did (ie put something on his blog, then later remove and apologise) is out of his mind!

 

[ray_of_hope]

Whatever it is I look forward to a multi-cornered fight in PE.
Such a fight will of course have a major bearing on the next GE.
It will make multi-cornered fights in many constituencies almost inevitable.

 

[Fook Seng]

If the seat is lost to PAP because of a MCF, it certainly will have a big impact in the next GE. We might not find a SMC in PE. I hope someone won't come out and curse himself for not voting tactically as in the last Presidential Election.

 

[scroobal]

Mature voters would not think any less of WP if they withdraw from the contest on the basis that another opposition party is fielding a better candidate. Better candidate means the ability to capture more voters or perform better in the polls. Contesting seats in politics has nothing to do with principles, the right to contest or the approach of letting the voters decide. Mature voters are fully away of the dangers of vote splitting and do expect responsible parties to negotiate and come to an agreement.

If WP clearly has a better candidate than SDP, mature voters would expect SDP to withdraw and vice versa. Where both candidates are considered equal and little separates them, then other factors come into play such as party track record, branding and investment on the ground. This is where WP has a clear advantage.

If it is VW, my sense is that we would prefer that WP gives away to allow someone who can do better in Parliament. Lets face it, with 8 people in Parliament, WP has had ample chance to make an impact.

I can't see any reason why any party will be willing to give up the contest.

WP has to contest by default for the sake of its own reputation. I get the feeling that if it is contemplating giving up out of fatigue (since it has undergone two adventurous years), the idea of having PAP paint WP as a non-serious, one-time-off party in future elections is enough for them not to do it. Let's not kid ourselves; no critic of WP will praise WP for giving up the ward if we had a time machine turn back to 12 Dec 2012.

SDP wants to contest because it think it can fill whatever gap WP cannot and there is space for a third party. It is a fact that it prides itself as the opposition party with the most unique approach, the most important party not in parliament and the third place in political importance; all not totally without truth.

A three corner fight may not be mature. But the considerations from each's party's angle are mature.

If this was Bukit Panjang and Teo Ho Pin was the one resigning, it will have been clearer. SDP will of course contest and I seriously believe a high chance WP won't contest.

WP and SDP will never work together. They have never done so in the last 30 years and will never be.

 

[Fook Seng]

Mature voters would not think any less of WP if they withdraw from the contest on the basis that another opposition party is fielding a better candidate.

How many mature voters are there?

 

[ray_of_hope]

readings from the ground updated daily etc

Voters in SG are generally inscrutable. They will accept your party literature with a smile. If you read that as a positive sign then that is a mistake as, in effect, it means nothing. This is unlike the US, UK or even Malaysia where voters are very in-your-face with where they lean politically

 

[tanwahp]

Mature voters would not think any less of WP if they withdraw from the contest on the basis that another opposition party is fielding a better candidate. Better candidate means the ability to capture more voters or perform better in the polls. Contesting seats in politics has nothing to do with principles, the right to contest or the approach of letting the voters decide. Mature voters are fully away of the dangers of vote splitting and do expect responsible parties to negotiate and come to an agreement.

I don't think it is the mature voters that is WP's consideration. They are a minority and will not think any less of WP if they decide to contest anyway. It is the WP support base, PAP support base and the third parties (SDP, NSP etc.) support base that WP has to consider.

WP supporters are not going to be happy if WP chooses to give up, although they won't turn into anti-WP folks overnight. An opportunity to sell the party branding will also be lost.

Of course the PAP support base (that WP has been trying to win over for years) may not be moved if PAP keeps quiet. But you won't expect them to. All PAP needs is to sell the message that WP is afraid of losing and that's why it has given up. It may affect how some PAP voters who can be won over perceive WP, and derail WP's results in PE in 2016.

The 3rd party support base, although the smallest, tends to heavily spread anti-WP messages that affect some PAP and WP supporters. But they are unlikely to be won over because like PAP's most hardcore supporters, they are hardcore on the other end. They will certainly not appreciate WP's gesture, which will be conveniently forgotten in a matter of days - all the more so if SDP loses. The same reason will be used to ask WP to give up more seats in 2016. If WP returns to PE in 2016 and SDP is still interested, WP will be painted as the devil that creates MCF.

Bottomline is, SDP is unlikely to win. WP is unlikely to win either. Pulling out or not only determines if SDP will lose its deposit.

 

[minuteman]

.....
“For the first time, HK has a very clear legislative division…..the government now has to fight and negotiate.”
....

before I post, I will like to say hi to all here..i think comparing HK people to SG is like apples to oranges..do not rely on Singaporeans to think like the people in HK..if we did..PAP will be a long forgotten memory...