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Sep 10, 2010
Walkover MPs? We walk the talk though, they say
<!-- by line --> By Li Xueying
http://www.straitstimes.com/Insight/Story/STIStory_576834.html
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --> <!-- story content : start --> THEY are what some cynics call the 'Walkover MPs'.
Of the five People's Action Party incumbents in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, only one - Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon - has been bloodied in an electoral bout.
Ask Dr Vivian Balakrishnan how it feels to be a Walkover MP, and he promptly replies: 'No fun. So we really do want to encourage someone to come.'
The Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister expects a '60 per cent to 70 per cent' chance of a contest in the next general election, 'simply because we have made it so easy', in reference to the recent changes to the electoral system that will shrink the sizes of group representation constituencies (GRC) and increase the number of single-seat wards.
Those who see it as a hint that the GRC may be downsized will be disappointed though. Says Dr Balakrishnan: 'All those are speculative. In the end, it's what people make of you, whether they trust you, feel that you're reliable and if you care.'
That was the refrain from the other MPs as well.
Never mind that the GRC has never been contested since it was formed in 2001 - they do not take their position there for granted, they say. Besides Dr Balakrishnan, its other MPs are labour chief Lim Swee Say, Mrs Yu-Foo, Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Christopher de Souza.
Mr Lim, the anchor minister for the GRC, entered politics in 1997. In his first term, he was fielded in the Buona Vista ward in Tanjong Pagar GRC under the wing of then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. In 2001, Holland-Bukit Panjang GRC was created, taking in Mr Lim's ward. That year, Dr Balakrishnan entered politics. Mr Liang and Mr de Souza are first-term MPs who joined in 2006.
The sole exception who has faced - and beaten down - competition is Mrs Yu-Foo, who fought four elections as MP for the Yuhua ward in Jurong. In 2006, she moved over to Bukit Timah after its veteran MP Wang Kai Yuen retired.
That they never got to cast a ballot is a fate that some residents here bemoan. Ms Wendy Thong, 53, an administrative manager, complains that she has never had the chance to exercise her vote in more than 10 years of living in Bukit Panjang.
Opposition parties contacted remain elusive about entering the fray in the next GE.
But the PAP MPs argue that although they sailed into power without a fight, it does not mean their political legitimacy is affected. After all, they cannot 'manufacture' electoral contests, they reason.
Says Mr de Souza: 'You look at the MM, he has had a walkover umpteen times. You look at the PM and the SM, they've had walkovers. Nobody's questioning their legitimacy to rightfully lead during their tenure. What I can do is work hard for my residents according to the best of my abilities. And then ask them to vote.'
Besides, he has spoken on issues that 'reflect the pulse, belief system and priorities of my residents' in Parliament. 'Those speeches have been taken very seriously by the Government,' he says.
Mr Lim stresses the lack of contenders does not mean the team is resting on its laurels. Contest or not, he has ensured his 40-year-old ward is fully upgraded, he says. 'I've always had walkovers but I've worked non-stop in getting upgrading for Buona Vista.'
In his view, 'upgrading (projects) are not chips' to be bartered for votes. 'It's not that I give you upgrading and then you vote for me. As an MP, it's not about coming here to win votes, but to serve,' he says.
Does that mean he departs from the PAP's stated electoral strategy of using upgrading as carrots?
Mr Lim says there is no 'direct conflict'. His line of argument: 'As a party, we believe that upgrading is one of the effective ways for us to serve the people. So long as we're in charge, we will find and create the resources for this upgrading programme.
'So when we pursue economic growth, the opposition says: 'Wah, look at this PAP, it cares only about GDP growth.' It's easy to throw a stone at us. But we have to keep the economy growing - it's a means to an end.'
Walkover MPs? We walk the talk though, they say
<!-- by line --> By Li Xueying
http://www.straitstimes.com/Insight/Story/STIStory_576834.html
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --> <!-- story content : start --> THEY are what some cynics call the 'Walkover MPs'.
Of the five People's Action Party incumbents in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, only one - Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon - has been bloodied in an electoral bout.
Ask Dr Vivian Balakrishnan how it feels to be a Walkover MP, and he promptly replies: 'No fun. So we really do want to encourage someone to come.'
The Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister expects a '60 per cent to 70 per cent' chance of a contest in the next general election, 'simply because we have made it so easy', in reference to the recent changes to the electoral system that will shrink the sizes of group representation constituencies (GRC) and increase the number of single-seat wards.
Those who see it as a hint that the GRC may be downsized will be disappointed though. Says Dr Balakrishnan: 'All those are speculative. In the end, it's what people make of you, whether they trust you, feel that you're reliable and if you care.'
That was the refrain from the other MPs as well.
Never mind that the GRC has never been contested since it was formed in 2001 - they do not take their position there for granted, they say. Besides Dr Balakrishnan, its other MPs are labour chief Lim Swee Say, Mrs Yu-Foo, Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Christopher de Souza.
Mr Lim, the anchor minister for the GRC, entered politics in 1997. In his first term, he was fielded in the Buona Vista ward in Tanjong Pagar GRC under the wing of then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. In 2001, Holland-Bukit Panjang GRC was created, taking in Mr Lim's ward. That year, Dr Balakrishnan entered politics. Mr Liang and Mr de Souza are first-term MPs who joined in 2006.
The sole exception who has faced - and beaten down - competition is Mrs Yu-Foo, who fought four elections as MP for the Yuhua ward in Jurong. In 2006, she moved over to Bukit Timah after its veteran MP Wang Kai Yuen retired.
That they never got to cast a ballot is a fate that some residents here bemoan. Ms Wendy Thong, 53, an administrative manager, complains that she has never had the chance to exercise her vote in more than 10 years of living in Bukit Panjang.
Opposition parties contacted remain elusive about entering the fray in the next GE.
But the PAP MPs argue that although they sailed into power without a fight, it does not mean their political legitimacy is affected. After all, they cannot 'manufacture' electoral contests, they reason.
Says Mr de Souza: 'You look at the MM, he has had a walkover umpteen times. You look at the PM and the SM, they've had walkovers. Nobody's questioning their legitimacy to rightfully lead during their tenure. What I can do is work hard for my residents according to the best of my abilities. And then ask them to vote.'
Besides, he has spoken on issues that 'reflect the pulse, belief system and priorities of my residents' in Parliament. 'Those speeches have been taken very seriously by the Government,' he says.
Mr Lim stresses the lack of contenders does not mean the team is resting on its laurels. Contest or not, he has ensured his 40-year-old ward is fully upgraded, he says. 'I've always had walkovers but I've worked non-stop in getting upgrading for Buona Vista.'
In his view, 'upgrading (projects) are not chips' to be bartered for votes. 'It's not that I give you upgrading and then you vote for me. As an MP, it's not about coming here to win votes, but to serve,' he says.
Does that mean he departs from the PAP's stated electoral strategy of using upgrading as carrots?
Mr Lim says there is no 'direct conflict'. His line of argument: 'As a party, we believe that upgrading is one of the effective ways for us to serve the people. So long as we're in charge, we will find and create the resources for this upgrading programme.
'So when we pursue economic growth, the opposition says: 'Wah, look at this PAP, it cares only about GDP growth.' It's easy to throw a stone at us. But we have to keep the economy growing - it's a means to an end.'
