http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/06/04/the-formation-of-a-2-party-state/
The formation of a 2 party state
June 4th, 2011 | Author: Contributions
The latest shuffling of the Cabinet and leadership appointments that has taken place by the PAP have shown that the establishment recognize the need for a change in existing policies and their modus operandi. Clearly, this is a case of too-little-too-late as rectifications and help will not deliver to the afflicted overnight. PAP is now in fire-fighting mode, doing as much as possible in the shortest possible time because 5 years may not be enough to savage the situation so badly damaged by the incompetence of the previous administration. However, whether if the PAP have been successful in putting out the fire or not, the PAP will always be in a lose-lose position. Should the PAP stuck to their old ways ravaging the lives of Singaporeans, GE2016 will not be in their favor. Interestingly, should the PAP changed and start treating Singaporeans right, voters will start to think about the benefits of a strong Opposition presence, or the Workers’ Party presence to be exact. It is all about losing for the PAP, except that the former might result them becoming an Opposition. Their performance in the coming 4 years is all about how much do they want to lose in GE2016? GE2011 has inadvertently paved the way of a 2 party system, and subsequent GEs may most probably realize it.
With the promises of Ministerial-calibre candidates the likes of Chen Show Mao and Sylvia Lim, it is only a matter of time before WP inch their way, seat by seat, into becoming the only dominant Opposition party in Parliament in the foreseeable future.
Cabinet boo-boos
Besides having a strong opponent that of WP working on the offenses, PAP do not seems to be able to defend well either. While the Cabinet shuffling have been welcomed by many, there are also unexplained moves which stamped suspicions that PAP hasn’t changed its spots at all. Most under-performing ministers have been given the sack except for the 2 notoriously incompetent figures – Vivian Balakrishnan and Lim Swee Say, who remains as Ministers. I always thought that their callous and at times childish comments have resulted in a political harakiri. Perhaps the PM stand by their comments after all.
Also, could the PAP explain how did a political newbie, who has been in the army all his life, qualify to become a MCYS and MICA Minister? The other political noob with a similar soldiering profile, Tan Chuan Jin, has been made Minister of State in Manpower and National Development, for no fathomable reason. It is no surprise why rumor mongers recently targeted baseless allegations about Chan Chun Sing’s relationship with Lee Kuan Yew – asking for it, if you ask me. These 2 political kids have no prior experience in dealing with welfare, information, manpower and national development, so why are we Singaporeans paying millions to these interns? How is the PAP able to stop losing more seats when they can’t even set up a decent defensive parameter against the Opposition? There have also been signs of overloading for 2 existing ministers, especially Tharman Shamugaratnam and K Shanmugam, who have undertaken several important portfolios that was traditionally appointed one minister per ministry. Tharman Superman is now Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Minister of Manpower, while K Shanmugam is Minister of Law and Foreign Affairs(preceded by sacrificial lamb George Yeo). Their 3in1 and 2in1 portfolios might overstress their capabilities and result in more screw-ups, with Singaporeans bearing the brunt.
Being the dominant party with over 45 years of political leadership experience and a huge mechanism backing it, politics in Singapore is always to the PAP advantage. It is always easier for the PAP to defend as compared to the Opposition’s uphill task to attack. PAP simply just need to keep its mouth shut, not pass any stupid callous comments the likes of Lim Swee Say and Lim Wei Kiat, work on the ground harder, propagandize harder and there you go another 5 years for you. Sadly, the PAP doesn’t have a strong leader to enforce party discipline on MPs and Ministers who spoke like little prime ministers in their constituency. With such a weak defensive mechanism, it is only a matter of time the Opposition break into them. Singapore’s Opposition is not strong- there is no doubt about that; we do not have charismatic leaders who can deliver a speech impromptu without a script or able to unite Singaporeans from different camps. Opposition’s current attacks against the PAP, is like throwing 82 darts blind-folded, randomly hoping one will hit the target board eventually somehow.
Opposition Alliance?
Many Singaporeans have been calling for the Alliance of all Opposition parties, thinking that their combined talent pool will be able to form a strong alternative against the PAP. I used to be part of this group advocating for different Opposition Parties to work together on a common front. How wrong was I, this is simply unachievable and my new belief is cemented when even Mr Chiam himself who advocated such concept ended up pulling his party out of the Alliance he created. The idea of a broad-based inter-independent parties Alliance conceived by 27 year Opposition MP failed during the SPP-SDA saga, and now with his retirement, the idea of an Alliance is tried and proven unworkable.
Merger is impossible as every political party promotes conflicting ideologies, directions and agendas for Singapore. Besides the exterior packaging of it, there are also unscrupulous small-minded individuals fighting over Secretary General, Chairman positions and stupid empty appointments the likes of Youth Chiefs and Organizing Secretary – banes to any organization.
GE2011 shows that there can only be one accepted Opposition Party voted in to represent Singaporeans. Many Opposition supporters and members join the Opposition because they believe they are doing whats best for the country. While we do recognize that the political party affiliations and ideologies may differ, has anyone of us forgotten what was the initial motivation that prompted us into this path of hard knocks? I would like to ask TR readers several questions I posted to YPAP members in the past:
Does serving which political party matter? Does the status of being a supporter, volunteer, member, cadre member, CEC member or candidate matter? Have we become party-centric fanatics(like many PAP supporters) who couldn’t differentiate party’s interests from country’s? Who are we really serving? A specific Party or Singapore?
The idea of a united Opposition front could have formulated a strong offensive against the PAP, but they are too fragmented. Why talk about unrealistic manifestos when they don’t even have a single MP seat? Right now, every Singaporean who wishes to see Change have 5 years to prepare. Whether if we like it or not, WP is the only possible force that could bring about Change to Singapore. The fastest possible and soonest way to Change is to propose a focused-approach helping only one Opposition party prop up their popularity. I sincerely hope all Opposition supporters and members will join the party as a volunteer and build a 2 party state.
Mahjullah Singapura
.
Alex Tan Zhixiang
The formation of a 2 party state
June 4th, 2011 | Author: Contributions
The latest shuffling of the Cabinet and leadership appointments that has taken place by the PAP have shown that the establishment recognize the need for a change in existing policies and their modus operandi. Clearly, this is a case of too-little-too-late as rectifications and help will not deliver to the afflicted overnight. PAP is now in fire-fighting mode, doing as much as possible in the shortest possible time because 5 years may not be enough to savage the situation so badly damaged by the incompetence of the previous administration. However, whether if the PAP have been successful in putting out the fire or not, the PAP will always be in a lose-lose position. Should the PAP stuck to their old ways ravaging the lives of Singaporeans, GE2016 will not be in their favor. Interestingly, should the PAP changed and start treating Singaporeans right, voters will start to think about the benefits of a strong Opposition presence, or the Workers’ Party presence to be exact. It is all about losing for the PAP, except that the former might result them becoming an Opposition. Their performance in the coming 4 years is all about how much do they want to lose in GE2016? GE2011 has inadvertently paved the way of a 2 party system, and subsequent GEs may most probably realize it.
With the promises of Ministerial-calibre candidates the likes of Chen Show Mao and Sylvia Lim, it is only a matter of time before WP inch their way, seat by seat, into becoming the only dominant Opposition party in Parliament in the foreseeable future.
Cabinet boo-boos
Besides having a strong opponent that of WP working on the offenses, PAP do not seems to be able to defend well either. While the Cabinet shuffling have been welcomed by many, there are also unexplained moves which stamped suspicions that PAP hasn’t changed its spots at all. Most under-performing ministers have been given the sack except for the 2 notoriously incompetent figures – Vivian Balakrishnan and Lim Swee Say, who remains as Ministers. I always thought that their callous and at times childish comments have resulted in a political harakiri. Perhaps the PM stand by their comments after all.
Also, could the PAP explain how did a political newbie, who has been in the army all his life, qualify to become a MCYS and MICA Minister? The other political noob with a similar soldiering profile, Tan Chuan Jin, has been made Minister of State in Manpower and National Development, for no fathomable reason. It is no surprise why rumor mongers recently targeted baseless allegations about Chan Chun Sing’s relationship with Lee Kuan Yew – asking for it, if you ask me. These 2 political kids have no prior experience in dealing with welfare, information, manpower and national development, so why are we Singaporeans paying millions to these interns? How is the PAP able to stop losing more seats when they can’t even set up a decent defensive parameter against the Opposition? There have also been signs of overloading for 2 existing ministers, especially Tharman Shamugaratnam and K Shanmugam, who have undertaken several important portfolios that was traditionally appointed one minister per ministry. Tharman Superman is now Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Minister of Manpower, while K Shanmugam is Minister of Law and Foreign Affairs(preceded by sacrificial lamb George Yeo). Their 3in1 and 2in1 portfolios might overstress their capabilities and result in more screw-ups, with Singaporeans bearing the brunt.
Being the dominant party with over 45 years of political leadership experience and a huge mechanism backing it, politics in Singapore is always to the PAP advantage. It is always easier for the PAP to defend as compared to the Opposition’s uphill task to attack. PAP simply just need to keep its mouth shut, not pass any stupid callous comments the likes of Lim Swee Say and Lim Wei Kiat, work on the ground harder, propagandize harder and there you go another 5 years for you. Sadly, the PAP doesn’t have a strong leader to enforce party discipline on MPs and Ministers who spoke like little prime ministers in their constituency. With such a weak defensive mechanism, it is only a matter of time the Opposition break into them. Singapore’s Opposition is not strong- there is no doubt about that; we do not have charismatic leaders who can deliver a speech impromptu without a script or able to unite Singaporeans from different camps. Opposition’s current attacks against the PAP, is like throwing 82 darts blind-folded, randomly hoping one will hit the target board eventually somehow.
Opposition Alliance?
Many Singaporeans have been calling for the Alliance of all Opposition parties, thinking that their combined talent pool will be able to form a strong alternative against the PAP. I used to be part of this group advocating for different Opposition Parties to work together on a common front. How wrong was I, this is simply unachievable and my new belief is cemented when even Mr Chiam himself who advocated such concept ended up pulling his party out of the Alliance he created. The idea of a broad-based inter-independent parties Alliance conceived by 27 year Opposition MP failed during the SPP-SDA saga, and now with his retirement, the idea of an Alliance is tried and proven unworkable.
Merger is impossible as every political party promotes conflicting ideologies, directions and agendas for Singapore. Besides the exterior packaging of it, there are also unscrupulous small-minded individuals fighting over Secretary General, Chairman positions and stupid empty appointments the likes of Youth Chiefs and Organizing Secretary – banes to any organization.
GE2011 shows that there can only be one accepted Opposition Party voted in to represent Singaporeans. Many Opposition supporters and members join the Opposition because they believe they are doing whats best for the country. While we do recognize that the political party affiliations and ideologies may differ, has anyone of us forgotten what was the initial motivation that prompted us into this path of hard knocks? I would like to ask TR readers several questions I posted to YPAP members in the past:
Does serving which political party matter? Does the status of being a supporter, volunteer, member, cadre member, CEC member or candidate matter? Have we become party-centric fanatics(like many PAP supporters) who couldn’t differentiate party’s interests from country’s? Who are we really serving? A specific Party or Singapore?
The idea of a united Opposition front could have formulated a strong offensive against the PAP, but they are too fragmented. Why talk about unrealistic manifestos when they don’t even have a single MP seat? Right now, every Singaporean who wishes to see Change have 5 years to prepare. Whether if we like it or not, WP is the only possible force that could bring about Change to Singapore. The fastest possible and soonest way to Change is to propose a focused-approach helping only one Opposition party prop up their popularity. I sincerely hope all Opposition supporters and members will join the party as a volunteer and build a 2 party state.
Mahjullah Singapura
.
Alex Tan Zhixiang
