Why the new MDA rules won't hurt the PAP

[AntiPAPunk]

Maybe LKY was right when he said that Singaporeans need to be trained like dogs, and have their personal lives scrutinised. Sure, he wanted the PAP to be all-powerful, but perhaps he also felt that the people were too stupid to be governed any other way?

Well he certainly can't do that to me cos i don't like to be told what to do, how i should manage my own life, what news to read and what kind of media i can access.

Take his party useless mo-lan-yong Internet Brigade here (i suspect u are one too), they have been desperately trying to get rid of me and playing endless mind games. Mind games are my favorite. EPIC FAILED from 2008 to present day.

Go ahead and ruin this forum. I am not trying to save it and will instead use it to my advantage and i only care about my own interests here.

 

[Narong Wongwan]

Sinkies only bother about car/property prices, cheap travel packages, where's the next sale, try the latest restaurant, gossip about celebrities, when the next jack neo movie. 60.1% beyond redemption liao.

 

[scroobal]

Singaporeans are not daft. They know exactly what human rights means as well as the institution of democracy. I seldom see or hear Singaporeans praising the govt or the PAP except for the party faithful and even then some of them are there for their own ends.

What they are looking for credible alternatives. They are certainly not looking for another Ling How Doong who made an utter fool of himself after he was elected in 1991. And he was promptly booted.

There are now 7 opposition MPS and 2 Opposition NCMPs in Parliament. 1 GE and 2 BE forays in 3 years, something not exactly expected. As long as someone credible or promising comes forward there is a fighting chance. Just look at half the PAP MPs who have such poor appeal. It is not a hard hill to climb.

No smart Singaporean is going to jump from a slowly leaking boat until he find a better one. There is time. No need to kill yourself to prove a point.

 

[Lestat]

The electorate is NOT READY for true plural politics, and they are NOT READY to start thinking about the fundamentals of our system, our country, and our structures. In fact, they would rather not think. The problem with Singaporeans is that everyone likes to ask HOW, but no one ever asks WHY.

We as a nation is simply not politically mature enough to think beyond our comfort zone. Makes me wonder why we still call ourselves first world country...

 

[steffychun]

Singaporeans are not daft. They know exactly what human rights means as well as the institution of democracy. I seldom see or hear Singaporeans praising the govt or the PAP except for the party faithful and even then some of them are there for their own ends.

What they are looking for credible alternatives. They are certainly not looking for another Ling How Doong who made an utter fool of himself after he was elected in 1991. And he was promptly booted.

There are now 7 opposition MPS and 2 Opposition NCMPs in Parliament. 1 GE and 2 BE forays in 3 years, something not exactly expected. As long as someone credible or promising comes forward there is a fighting chance. Just look at half the PAP MPs who have such poor appeal. It is not a hard hill to climb.

No smart Singaporean is going to jump from a slowly leaking boat until he find a better one. There is time. No need to kill yourself to prove a point.

Yes they all believe Goplan Nair too

 

[ray_of_hope]

Basically Peasant Brandon is saying local Asiatic peasants are crass low brows and will not 'cry father and cry mother' over Ruler Loong's latest 'baboonic' attempts to regulate the Internet.

The Arty Farty bozos, usually the Jane Austen fans, bapoks and other wannabes will be braying for justice but due to their high and mighty England language, find no supporters among the Asiatics.

Hate to say it, but probably true. This is the main reason why the Brits wrote the Magna Carta around 1200 while the Chinks only removed the Manchu despot in 1911.

Yup, from the list of names mentioned as opposing the new rule, and when you throw yawningbread into the mix, you will easily realise why the vast majority of mainstream Sporns will not give a toss about this issue. Only those who place themselves on the margins would make a huge fuss about a non-issue.

 

[laksaboy]

Most Sinkies are like farm animals. They only get upset when they don't get fed. Never mind if the farmer plans to slaughter them afterwards.

After all, farm animals are only concerned with 'bread and butter' issues too.

 

[streetsmart73]

Sinkies only bother about car/property prices, cheap travel packages, where's the next sale, try the latest restaurant, gossip about celebrities, when the next jack neo movie. 60.1% beyond redemption liao.

just dafter sheep hoh

 

[CPT (NS) BRANDON]

Yup, from the list of names mentioned as opposing the new rule, and when you throw yawningbread into the mix, you will easily realise why the vast majority of mainstream Sporns will not give a toss about this issue. Only those who place themselves on the margins would make a huge fuss about a non-issue.

The real problem is with voter education. Since people are not taught about constitutional rights, legal rights, political systems etc in school, the question is what can be done to raise the general level of political awareness and maturity. To educate them on why media freedom is important, why Parliament's role is important, and why judicial independence is important. Issues like that. The Americans, Brits etc learn about such things at a very young age. Hence, even those who are not university-educated at least understand the BASICS of how a country is run, what their basic rights are, and what their government can and cannot do (not only technically but also morally).

I don't see these "marginal" or "peripheral" activists in Singapore doing a single thing to educate the masses or to raise awareness. All these demonstrations, protests, blogging etc about marginal issues like gay rights, death penalty, freedom of assembly and so on -- this only serves to ALIENATE them from the masses because it makes them seem like groups with narrow interests.

The WP is also not doing anything to educate Singaporeans because they are simply focusing on municipal / bread and butter issues to win VOTES, they are not interested in raising people's political awareness.

As for the PAP, it is obvious that they would not engage in self-sabotage by educating people about such issues.

 

[Leongsam]

The real problem is with voter education. Since people are not taught about constitutional rights, legal rights, political systems etc in school, the question is what can be done to raise the general level of political awareness and maturity.

It won't make a damned difference what sinkies are taught in school. Offer a Chinaman or an Ah Neh some $$$$ and they'll sell all their "rights" to the highest bidder in a flash.

 

[CPT (NS) BRANDON]

If LKY got balls, then teach the young what is called political and constitutional rights in school. Instill the freedom of speech and voice out the opinion freely.

I can tell you that if people were to begin to understand the meaning of political and constitutional rights, this would be a far bigger blow to the PAP than any Mas Selamat escape, any HDB price increase, any AIM scandal, any anti-immigrant protests or even any GST increase, even if its to 50%. That is the one thing that the PAP is afraid of the most. As long as people are kept ignorant, no single issue will really threaten the PAP's grip on people's minds.

You see, if people were suddenly politically mature, alot of uncomfortable questions would be asked and turned into national issues for public debate, such as:

- Countless cover-ups by the MSM to re-frame and re-position potentially scandalous issues for the government
- The selection criteria for MPs and ministers, and why so many of them are children/relatives of ex-MPs and ministers
- Why so many PAP MPs are selected from the civil service ranks, casting doubts on the independence of the civil service (this would be a HUGE issue in Taiwan or HK)
- The reason why GLCs have such a huge dominance (65%) within the Singapore economy, and why there is so little competition in some sectors e.g. utilities, transport, logistics, real estate - in many countries people would not tolerate such a high level of government involvement in business
- Whether or not the education system truly prepares people for real jobs in the real world when it is so exam-oriented
- Whether or not NS actually helps in national defence when it is managed so inefficiently
- Whether it is ethical for governments to share everyone's data - when you go and apply for a government job they can automatically access all your results and grades even all the back to PSLE, as well as your NS records, as well as your personal financial records -- in the UK for instance, the Tony Blair government wanted to implement a national NRIC system but they had to backtrack and scrap the plan due to massive public opposition over privacy concerns

ALL OF THESE are not even questioned right now, it is just accepted as a part of normal life in Singapore.

Instead, people only care about the surface issues, which are actually quite miniscule in terms of their holistic importance to our well-being as a country.

Instead of complaining about increasing GST from 7% to 10% (for example), I would be more concerned about the government having the power to increase GST as they please without any sort of public consultation or debate, because they would have the ability to make many more such GST increases in the future beyond the current exercise.

Similarly, I would not be so concerned about the constant changes of CPF rules, and increases of the CPF minimum sum. I would be more concerned about the structure of the CPF Board, how it makes its decisions, and where it derives its authority from -- as well as making sure that they don't have the power to arbitrarily increase the minimum sum and raise the retirement age indefinitely as and when they like. But Singaporeans don't see it that way. They just question the specific decision. They don't question the broader context, of how they were ABLE to make and implement such decisions in the first place.

 

[CPT (NS) BRANDON]

It won't make a damned difference what sinkies are taught in school. Offer a Chinaman or an Ah Neh some $$$$ and they'll sell all their "rights" to the highest bidder in a flash.

Really? You think it is a racial issue?

If that's the case, why are the Taiwanese so politically aware, including the less-educated ones?

Why does India have a far greater respect for rule of law and constitutional law? I don't imagine the Indian government implementing internet media licensing regulations for instance.

 

[WongMengMeng]

It won't make a damned difference what sinkies are taught in school. Offer a Chinaman or an Ah Neh some $$$$ and they'll sell all their "rights" to the highest bidder in a flash.

Chinamen and Ah Nehs were probably taught that being practical and pragmatic is more important. They might have been given the kind of prep talk shown below when they were kids. Having said that, not all countries populated by Ah Nehs and Chinamen are undemocratic.

[video=youtube;XUSiCEx3e-0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUSiCEx3e-0[/video]

 

[steffychun]

I see people claiming that the new MDA licensing rules will create a furore similar to the Population White Paper.

Here's why it will not happen:

1) The majority of Singaporeans feel that issues like media freedom (especially internet media freedom) has got no direct link with their day-to-day lives. Overpopulation is something you can feel every day when you experience traffic jams, crowded MRTs and jam-packed shopping malls. When you go out for a meal and the service staff is from the Philippines or China, it is something very obvious that you can see. With regards to media freedom, people already more or less know and accept that the Singapore media is censored and government-controlled. It's not an issue they care about, just like they don't care about issues like the death penalty, or gay marriages, or reforming the judicial system.

2) The majority of Singaporeans do not even rely on the internet for news. They are quite happy reading ST and watching CNA.

3) The people who are complaining are the 'civil society activists' group. You will see people like M Ravi, Joshua Chiang, Andrew Loh, Choo Zheng Xi, Rachel Zeng, Kirsten Han etc making a lot of noise. As far as politicians are concerned, only the liberal ideologues like Dr Chee, Dr Wijeysingha, James Gomez and Ravi Philemon will publicly oppose.. and maybe some of the NSP folks like Nicole Seah or Hazel Poa. You will not hear any of the Workers Party MPs raising this issue at all, and even if they do, it will be with the finer technical details of implementation (e.g. asking for clarifications of safeguards) and not with the law itself.

4) Much of the unhappiness on the internet is based on the fact that there was no Parliament debate before introducing this law. However, most Singaporeans do not realise the role of Parliament in the governance of the country, at least not its legislative function. Most people assume that their MP's job is to look after their estate and ensure that their lifts are upgraded and playgrounds are well-maintained. The average Singaporean does not understand the roles and functions of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.

I am not trying to support the new MDA rules, nor am I saying they are right. I am just saying they don't matter to most people. So this issue is going to die down rather quickly. The liberal intelligentsia community has never really been able to influence the masses, certainly not in the manner that the WP and their 'grassroots' politicians have been able to do.

It does say something about the quality of our voters and our citizens (in terms of their level of awareness and knowledge) -- but then again, a third world electorate deserves a third world government, wouldn't you agree??? Maybe LKY was right when he said that Singaporeans need to be trained like dogs, and have their personal lives scrutinised. Sure, he wanted the PAP to be all-powerful, but perhaps he also felt that the people were too stupid to be governed any other way?

WP cares about issues beyond bread and butter. P Singh and othershave asked questioned on foreign affairs and to a lesser degree defence.

 

[CPT (NS) BRANDON]

WP cares about issues beyond bread and butter. P Singh and othershave asked questioned on foreign affairs and to a lesser degree defence.

They don't really ask questions, but rather they seek clarifications. They are too timid to seriously question the way Singapore is fundamentally run.

When JBJ was in charge of WP, he did just that, and the party became a target for the PAP. Lee Kuan Yew went out of his way to destroy the WP and very nearly did. I think LTK and the present leaders are too fixated about ensuring the WP's survival (or rather, preventing its destruction) to ask the questions that truly need to be asked. What they need to realise is that times have changed now. The PAP will not be able to destroy the WP, at least not in the same way as was done before. I would like to see the WP probe deeper into issues instead of just skirting around the surface. Seriously, their contribution to the ministerial pay debate and the Population White Paper debate was quite disappointing. It is time for them to be more aggressive, or NOTHING will change.

 

[Leckmichamarsch]

You could well be right but let's see.

Almost all stuff in TRE, TOC n the likes are anti PAP so it is no brainer who is the biggest beneficiary of the muzzle.......... as much as MDA wants to deny it, it is clear what their hidden agenda is. Also coming from someone who failed as a minister in charge of rain forecasting as shaman shit.... how to believe him? Pple like Raymond Lim, MB Tan, Wong KS, etc were axed for big goofs but this bum whose sons are not even sg citizen is still ard.......... is Allah really great?

 

[CPT (NS) BRANDON]

Almost all stuff in TRE, TOC n the likes are anti PAP so it is no brainer who is the biggest beneficiary of the muzzle.......... as much as MDA wants to deny it, it is clear what their hidden agenda is. Also coming from someone who failed as a minister in charge of rain forecasting as shaman shit.... how to believe him? Pple like Raymond Lim, MB Tan, Wong KS, etc were axed for big goofs but this bum whose sons are not even sg citizen is still ard.......... is Allah really great?

Mah Bow Tan was not fired. He "resigned', and now he runs the Singapore Duck Tours company.

 

[enterprise2]

Mah Bow Tan was not fired. He "resigned', and now he runs the Singapore Duck Tours company.

He should....look like one....walk like one too!!

 

[PrinceCharming]

I would like to see the WP probe deeper into issues instead of just skirting around the surface. Seriously, their contribution to the ministerial pay debate and the Population White Paper debate was quite disappointing. It is time for them to be more aggressive, or NOTHING will change.

Have you heard of Sun Tze's "Art Of War"?

My guess is WP is employing of the the strategies mentioned therein.

 

[CPT (NS) BRANDON]

LOL.

Well, either Low Thia Khiang is a master tactician, or he is just afraid to get himself into too much trouble.

I know which one is more believable!