Author: Grievous

Photos- Rallies on 5th May 2011

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Not much I can write on this post since I ain’t clear what’s restricted on cooling day. Just enjoy the pictures from the two rallies I was in on 5th May, 2011. Personally, I won’t be watching / listening to news on local TV / radio and I won’t be buying any newspapers either.

But on the 7th of May, I will vote with fear. Fear, that if I don’t vote wisely in this election, our votes will be so diluted by new citizens in 2016 that our voices will never be heard. Fear, that it will never be our Singapore again. Fear, that we will be the new aborigines in our land of birth.

I will vote with that fear. I will vote to try and take my country back.

~ * ~

Singapore Democratic Party Boat Quay Rally – 5th May, 2011

Reform Party Clementi Stadium Rally – 5th May, 2011

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Random Discourse – The Aljunied Dilemma

The Singapore Democratic Alliance [SDA] seemed to be rather low profile. I get quite a bit of buzz for the other parties on social media but not much from the SDA. In fact, I don’t recall seeing anything from the SDA at all. So I went all the way to Buangkok after work to check out the SDA Rally today.

I arrived around 7pm. It was raining as I came out of the station, and there was probably just about several hundred people at most near the exit sheltering from the rain. The rally has not start so I went by the party mechandise area to grab myself a souvenir.

The rally began around 7:15pm with the SDA candidates saying the national pledge. I wasn’t really paying attention because my friends haven’t arrived but I realised a handful of people had made it to the center of the field. So I used the phone camera on my Samsung Omnia7 to snap one photo of the people there. My friends arrived about 10mins later and I went with one of them into the field. I must give credit to the people who went into the field because there were puddles of water everywhere. I even noticed a lady with high heels standing in the field with her boyfriend and I think she’s going to have a hard time getting out later. Even so, it was a far cry from what I heard about yesterday’s Workers’ Party [WP] rally where people stood in the rain.

My friend and I gave up after 30 minutes when the turnout didn’t drastically improve, though I did notice small groups of people drifting towards the field as I leave, so I have nothing much to report on what was said. However, I may have left too early since I saw on TV the drama where Desmond Lim’s wife sobbed on stage. Allegedly, she broke down because she received a call from an alleged WP-supporter asking for Desmond Lim to withdraw from the contest.

Frankly, if their rally turnout is any indication at all, I personally fear for the results for all of the SDA’s candidates on the night of 7th May / morning of 8th May.

~ * ~

PM says sorry over mistakes, pledges to do better
By Yen Feng

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday apologised for the mistakes under his watch in the last five years and pledged to make adjustments to the system and do better.

He cited the escape of detained terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari and the massive Orchard Road floods as two slip-ups, and also acknowledged that the Government could have moved faster to address shortfalls in housing and public transport.

Speaking at a People’s Action Party lunchtime rally at Boat Quay next to UOB Plaza, PM Lee said he was sorry and he and his team were doing their best to fix the problems. He said the Government did not predict the sharp demand for flats after the recession in mid-2009. If they had, they would have ramped up the Housing Board building programmes faster, and saved many Singaporeans angst.

They would also have moved more aggressively to expand MRT networks to deal with growing population and traffic congestion.

‘When these problems vex you or disturb you or upset your lives, please bear with us. We’re trying our best on your behalf. And if we didn’t quite get it right, I am sorry but we will try and do better the next time,” he said.

The fact that Lee Hsien Loong finally gave us token assurance that he will do something about it after so long makes me wondered what spooked him. After all, the purported bad turnout at People’s Action Party [PAP] rallies should not be worrisome, since that simply meant a lot of people have already decided that whatever the PAP does is always in their best interest. The PAP supporters had simply stayed home and not turn up to hear what they already know. As to the great turnout at the opposition rallies, why should that even be worrisome? That is just some of us kaypo (nosy parkers) from all over Singapore congregating at one place to see a “5-year one time good show”. Neither should he be concerned with the massive amount of not-so-friendly social media material online (e.g. pro-opposition blog articles and videos). The impact these will have compared to the PAP dominated main stream media [msm] is truly insignificant. Even if it has an unimaginable greater reach than the msm, the “opposition supporters” that these material reached are just spread all over the little red dot and not concentrated in one GRC to be able threaten the elite PAP anyway.

So, if I am asked what to make of this news report – I’ll call it panic. Much like the panic selling that grips speculators when the market seems to turn against them. The PAP has won handily so often that it has lost its ability to handle the election heat. One can see that from the number of interviews Lee Hsien Loong’s father is giving a day, to the seemingly self-defeating comments Goh Chok Tong gave: “What mistake has he made? You can take a minister and criticise him for not delivering on perhaps housing and transport. “Like Wong Kan Seng you can say he let Mas Selamat escape.” It is almost like giving us an endorsement to vote out Mah Bow Tan and Wong Kan Seng, and if I am in Tampines or Bishan-Toa Payoh, I wouldn’t even hesitate for a minute to take it at face value.

Anyway, to me this apology is worth as much as the air that carries it. It is too little and too late. It is an apology that is born out of desperation. It is nothing more than attempt to play on our compassion. I will want to see some concrete action before I would even considered the apology sincere enough. Personally, I would like to see Lee Hsien Loong make some of his ministers eat the humble pie and unreservedly apologise. Not ifs, no buts! And please don’t cry like a little girl!! Just simply apologise! If they are still elected, they should never be appointed a minister again! Perhaps after that I will forgive them.

Now this really makes me wonder what is so important about is Aljunied GRC that the haughty PAP humbled itself before the people. Is George Yeo so important and indispensable? After all, if (and a big if) it happens, it will not be the first time the PAP has a candidate holding a ministerial position lost in an election. Seet Ai Mee who is also a minister lost in the 1991 General Elections too and in that election the PAP also lost 4 seats. Is the PAP who claims to have all the best talents in this country not able to field someone else to fill George Yeo’s position? I personally thought Chan Chun Sing would be a great candidate as foreign minister. His Lamfang Republic analogies are quite… entertaining. My friends and I never seem to get very far without talking about that these days.

I wished I am a voter in Aljunied GRC, since then I won’t stand by helplessly and watch other people decide on who to vote. If I was a Aljunied voter, I won’t feel any emotional dilemma in deciding who to vote for – especially if I was formerly in and around Kaki Bukit which used to be Marine Parade GRC. I don’t owe Aljunied Town Council or George Yeo anything. Even if I was originally an Aljunied voter before the boundaries are redrawn, I owed George Yeo nothing since I paid for everything that was provided. As they used to say, there is no free lunch in the world.

If I was an Aljunied voter I would be walking over to Hougang Single Member Constituency [SMC] to take a look whether the WP failed to provide the same services expected of a town council. In fact, I would even ask whether the Hougang voters have gotten more with less. I would see for myself has Hougang really turned into a real slum!

If I was an Aljunied voter I would be asking myself whether it is morally right that I expect my fellow citizens in Hougang and Potong Pasir SMC to vote in good candidates from the political minorities and ‘carry the cross’ for the past 20 over years. Why would their MPs – especially Mr Chiam See Tong – fought on had the PAP been flawless? I would wonder why even more strongly now that Lee Hsien Loong himself admit the PAP is not.

Alas, I am not an Aljunied voter. Words are cheap when I do not need to bear the burden. But I can only say to my fellow citizens in Potong Pasir and Hougang who has for at least two decades supported their non-PAP MPs:

I’m not gonna let you down. Just don’t give up on me.

National Solidarity Party Jurong West Stadium Rally – 1 May 2011

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Rally Souvenir

Frankly, this is the only rally I should go to. That is because Mr Steve Chia of the National Solidarity Party [NSP] is contesting in Pioneer Single Member Constituency [SMC], where I lived. I arrived around 7pm and quickly went to purchase my usual “rally souvenir” before I went about taking photos.

First, let me say some of the unpleasant stuff. In spite of the bad turnout at the People’s Action Party’s [PAP] rally at the same place a few days ago, I must say the PAP must have felt very confident in winning this area. The reason is because Mr Chia has come up to my block once, and the NSP’s volunteers have come up 2 times as well (once with a flyer, and the other with a booklet) while I have seen absolutely nothing from the PAP. The only presence of the PAP is just that irritating van going around with a loud hailer playing automated messages. Even though I felt that Mr Chia’s campaign is lukewarm, I felt Mr Cedric Foo to be completely indifferent to the voters here. However, my mother did say that there was once the door bell went on and on when she was in the showers and she can’t tell whether it was the PAP that came by. Well, it might as well be the SingTel salesman pushing Mio TV, since there wasn’t even a party flyer or a booklet on the metal gate to prove anything!

Next, I have heard some of the other NSP candidatse speak, and my personal opinion is that Mr Sebastian Teo should refrain from making statements that goes along the line of “come and sue me if these things are not true” or something to that effect. I understand the need to let the audience know one is speaking the truth, but there is certainly a better way to do it instead of playing with fire. As for the Malay candidate, I believe it would be better had she put in some emotions into her speech. While it is not entirely possible to engage the audience, there are times when one needs to arouse response from the audience. Her speech was monotonous and it was like reading off a script in an oral exam. I doubt that is going to touch the Malay base very much. On top of which, I didn’t really like some of the jokes cracked by the male MC for the night. It is not funny those in the audience who came in orange to support the NSP only to be told they are foot soldiers and those in pink are officers. Is there any difference from the PAP who expects us to follow their orders and march in line? There is definitely a better way to explain why there are different colors in the NSP’s uniforms.

Comparatively, I must say the NSP’s rally was rather uninspiring compared to the Singapore Democratic Party [SDP], Workers’ Party [WP] and the Singapore People’s Party [SPP]. Of course, I am not saying that having good speakers means having good candidates, but both the SDP and SPP have a key message of their own – i.e. heart ware and reinforcing our democracy respectively. Both of which touched the audience directly and in my opinion, not even the WP’s “First World Parliament” slogan could. The NSP needs a better slogan other than “Don’t give them Full Monopoly of Power” to rally the people to them.

Now, to the better parts. Mr Tony Tan’s speech was not inspiring but it was informative. It was about his opponent PAP MP Alvin Yeo suggesting in Parliament during the 2009 recession that the government should give tax breaks to those in the highest income bracket. Mr Tan want his opponent to explain why he put the ordinary Singaporean second. While that strikes a cord with some of us, I am not sure whether that will sink into the minds of the voters. Furthermore, I was expecting both him and his wife Hazel Poa to also touch on housing and I was a little disappointed that Hazel wasn’t present even more so than the fact Nicole Seah was sick and not present tonight.

Either way I wasn’t specifically interested in what the other candidates has to say. I am interested in what Mr Steve Chia has to say about what he has plans for the town because that would be the indication whether he is just out to ride on the negative sentiments or whether he intends to do something for my town. After all the initial reaction was that he has parachuted into Pioneer SMC. That’s not mentioning, the effect of one Member of Parliament [MP] is meager but how well he runs the town as chairman of the town council would have a major impact on my quality of living here.

Despite this being the first time I heard Mr Chia spoke in a rally, I can immediately tell he is more seasoned at this – because he interacted and roused the crowd when necessary. I am quite please Mr Chia spoke about resident patrols / vigilantes to fight the crime rate in the area, and also to ensure that foreign workers doesn’t mess up our public areas (such as urinating in stair wells or dark places). Furthermore, resident patrols can also go a long way to combat Tai-e-loan or ‘Ah Long’ (loan shark) activities. I recalled being told (though I can’t remember who told me that and why) there is a bicycle theft issue in Pioneer SMC even when it was part of West Coast Group Representation Constituency [GRC]. In fact, for months the frame of a disassembled bike remained chained to the bicycle parking space at the void deck of my block and it is still there today. If I remembered correctly, it has perhaps something to do with illegal immigrants or foreign workers loitering in the area as well. While I heard someone in the crowd said that this isn’t doable to his companions, I felt it was a far better idea that Mr Cedric Foo’s idea to install CCTVs in the entire town. CCTVs cost money to install and maintain and there is no need to guess who will foot the bill. That’s not mentioning that CCTV is a passive, not an active way to deter the non-criminal activities. On top of which I felt a residents patrol may also go some way in fostering a community spirit.

Mr Chia also spoke about the PAP’s plan to built a new mosque in Jurong West and questioned what will happened to the old mosque where the older Muslim community has strong ties to. I was a little alarmed and concerned when this matter was brought up, because religious issues are generally sensitive. I breathed a sigh of relief when it ended on a soft note without stirring strong emotions. Mr Chia also made the promise that he would attempt to meet residents as often as possible if elected, and would even meet them at their homes for the disabled.

I didn’t pay attention to what he said about national policies because by then I have been on my feet (either stationary or moving around taking photos) for almost 2 hours. 4 consecutive days of standing long hours in rallies has really taken a toll. Anyway I did catch the part that there is such a thing call a pension contract (if I heard it right) for some ministers. Mr Chia used that to bring up the point about our CPF and how the regulations for withdrawal keeps changing while nothing can be changed on such a contract. I left after Mr Chia finished speaking, before the rally ended.

By the way, I found this interesting link in my mailbox from a reader. The first thing I saw after I clicked the link is “Vote 2011: A Framework for Well Reasoned Choice in GE 2011”. Please check it out as it maybe useful for some voters to have a holistic view on the candidates and to make a informed decision on who to vote even though for this particular election I’ll more likely vote with my heart and not with my head.

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Singapore People’s Party Potong Pasir Rally – 30 April 2011

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Are you scared?

Someone from the incumbent party came by my friend’s place and delivered this to him by hand. He was a little shocked that it contains the names of both people living in the unit. He brought his concern up to me and I sent it to Miss Lee Lilian, the Workers’ Party [WP] candidate for Punggol East Single Member Constituency [SMC].

Lilian assured me that this is nothing to be worried about because every candidate can purchase this database (in the form of a CD) from the Elections Department once their candidacy is accepted. In fact, she also has a copy for Punggol East SMC.

Later that night, my mother told me that Steve Chia, the National Solidarity Party’s [NSP] candidate for Pioneer SMC came around in the afternoon. When she went to the door, she was a little surprised to be addressed by her own surname.

So, for those who are concerned – all these information came from a common database available not only to the incumbent party, but also to the minority party candidates. This is not a sign that the incumbent party has the ability to track down who voted against them when it is returned to power.

You have nothing to fear. Vote wisely.

Attending rallies is really tiring business. For every rally I stood for several hours and the only other time I had to stand so long was doing sentry duty during National Service [NS].

Today, I was at the Singapore People’s Party [SPP] rally at Potong Pasir. The turnout was again not as spectacular as that of the Workers’ Party [WP] but it was good in its own, as it covered at least 80 ~ 85% of the field where the rally is held.

Again I arrived late around 7:50pm so I end up standing on the far side to the left of the stage. I missed the speech by Jimmy Lee which a friend told me over SMS was very good. While I regret missing it, I managed to hear Wilfred Leung and Benjamin Pwee speak as well and they spoke well. Mr Chiam and his wife Lina Chiam arrived about 10 ~ 15 minutes after I arrived, and before Mr Leung starts to speak.

Mr Leung turned the incumbent’s tactics on itself, questioning where was Mr Matthias Yao and candidate Sitoh Ho Pin since the 2006 General Elections. Someone within the rally shouted that they have ‘gone on leave’ and Mr Leung then mentioned that the incumbent party only started showing up again in the past few days after 27th April. So much for that Mushroom ‘parable’ which Lui Tuck Yew delivered.

He also pointed out the fallacy that voting the SPP (or the other minority parties) will lower prices of properties in Potong Pasir or even Bishan-Toa Payoh. He gave an example, and the price was on par if not better than mine at Jurong West. I did not take his word for it and I looked it up on the HDB website for 4 room flats sold in Potong Pasir Ave 2 for Blk 101 ~ 147 between May 2010 ~ Apr 2011. I am surprised that I saw a Model-A 4-room at Blk 121 going at $517,000 in September last year in spite of the perception of it being a ‘slum’. It reminded me of something a WP candidate said the other day, “Don’t worry. The rubbish won’t stack all the way up to the third floor simply because you vote for us!”

Mr Benjamin Pwee was the next to speak, and he spoke about two main topics – listening, and security. Though these two speakers spoke on different matters, they reinforced each other. I couldn’t remember much of what Mr Pwee said about listening because I was moving around the edges of the field trying to grab myself a souvenir. By the time I got back, Mr Pwee was talking about “Total Defense” and explaining his interpretation on each of the components. If I did not remember wrongly, Mr Pwee said that minority party candidates are not business hostile, and explained their stand on minimum wages as part of their vision of “economic defense”. He also mentioned that exercising our rights to freely and boldly vote as a kind of “civil defense”. He further mentioned that as far as “psychological defense” is concerned, we are not only concerned with potential enemies beyond, but enemies within – our fear.

It wasn’t before long that Mr Chiam was invited to speak. As he stepped forward slowly, he received a standing ovation from everyone present and shouts of “Chiam See Tong!!” resonated throughout the field. Tears welled up in my eyes looking at a hunched Mr Chiam. He thanked everyone for coming, and apologised for not being able to provide us chairs so that we can be comfortable. Laughter broke out among the audience.


Today’s Souvenir

Mr Chiam then explained his decision to leave Potong Pasir – in his words to bring the Potoong Pasir Spirit into Bishan-Toa Payoh. It was not for his own personal glory but to further our democracy. He is sad that since 1991, the minority parties have not managed to progress beyond the 2 seats in Parliament. This is the first time I hear Mr Chiam speak, and his humor made me laugh in spite of the sadness I felt. This is an old man who clearly deserved a rest, and yet he is burning the very last bit of his life for something he believed in, for his love of country and his fellow countrymen. Respect filled my chest, even while I laughed away at the jokes Mr Chiam cracked. He reminded us how Lee Kuan Yew laughed about his “O” Level Results when he first stepped into politics. But he encouraged us not to be ashamed of it because our grades do not define us. We are late boomers and slow learners that is all and if he has only 5 “O” levels and yet become a lawyer, then all of us are capable of achieving greater things in spite of our grades.

There were a few occasions I couldn’t really figure out what he was saying. I wanted very much to stand beside Mr Chiam to hold him and to offer him encouragement whenever his speech slurred but can only reach out for him in spirit.

I left with one of my friends about 10 minutes after Mrs Lina Chiam start to speak, not because her speech was boring or uninspiring, but once again because I have no confidence in our public transport’s ability to take the load. The fact that this is an opposition ward would make it even worse. As I left with a heavy heart, I felt nothing but admiration for the 55% of voters who voted for Mr Chiam in the last election. They have done so in spite of the big stick that the People’s Action Party [PAP] has whacked them with in the past 27 years.

That, is more than a quarter of a century. 27 years ago I was just starting in secondary school. How am I to believe the PAP who claim it will leave nobody behind 5 years ago when it has deliberately leave people behind for 20 years already. Yet it still has the cheek to tell voters to go find out what the minority party Members of Parliament like Mr Chiam and Mr Low Thia Khiang has done for their constituencies!

No wonder I felt like nobody.

Singapore Democratic Party Jurong East Stadium Rally – April 29, 2011

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I rarely write admirably of the SDP or Dr Chee, because ever since Dr Chee took leadership of the Singapore Democratic Party’s [SDP], I held him responsible for causing a setback in our democratic progress for 15 years. Maybe it wasn’t justified but I am entitled to my opinion.

Thus, I went to the SDP rally at Jurong East Stadium without any expectations. I went because the least I can do for them is listen to what they have to say, and also to listen to Tan Jee Say and Dr Vincent Wijeyshinga in specific. I must say even though the turnout was not as spectacular and electrifying as that of Hougang last night, I am glad I was there – because I was there to witness the rebirth of a political party.

Let me explain what I meant by the SDP’s rebirth – because it was orderly and I didn’t see any SDP members pulling any crazy stunts. At the end of the rally, it was announced that someone has come from Sembawang to present Dr Chee Soon Juan a garland. I was half expecting a scuffle and yet another fiasco when I saw the SDP party flags waving. I thought Dr Chee will attempt to step up to the stage and create a scene. He didn’t and received the garland below the stage. I breathe a sigh of relief and later read on Facebook that when asked, a clearly mellowed Dr Chee had replied (and I paraphrase): “I am not allowed by the law to speak.”

One might consider his reply as a whimper, but to me it annouces the SDP’s return to the local political scene as a sensible party with a bang! My friends and I discussed over supper the reason of the SDP’s change in behaviour, and we speculated that they did a post-election evaluation and noticed there was at least 8% of spoilt votes in Sembawang Group Representation Constituency [GRC] in the last election. They probably also reviewed the response to their activism on the social media and realised just how much that damaged their image and their cause. All of these may have caused the SDP come to terms with the futility of that course of action and mature accordingly.


Danny the Democracy Bear

Anyway, again I was too distracted to pay a lot of attention to what the candidates said on stage, but I’ll bring up some of the points I have heard. If I remembered correctly, Tan Jee Say mentioned he was taken to task by People’s Action Party [PAP] leaders for suggesting to use 60-billion dollars from our reserves on a National Regeneration Plan. The PAP tried to have us understand that $60,000,000,000 is no small change. Indeed, it maybe no small change but could anyone really tell us just how much reserves is there is for us to decide just whether this is going to take a large chunk out of the reserves? In fact, does the PAP even know how much reserves there really is in the first place? I certainly recalled that even ex-President Ong asked and never got an answer. The PAP said that the reserves gave us comfort and confidence, but can you be confident when someone tells you there’s a safety rope around your waist so you can do a bungee jump now when you cannot even see or feel and touch that rope? Really, I would rather hug a larger version of Danny the Democracy Bear for comfort in my time of crisis.

It was the first time I heard Vincent Wijeyshinga spoke (if one does not count what I saw on video) and I must say it was a very rousing speech. I understand that many people would be asking what is the point of a rousing speech. Many would ask whether the speaker can deliver and to show them the beef.

Allow me to sidetrack a little… I noticed that some of the people got bored and walked out when Teo Soh Lung spoke. In fact, I even noticed people walking out of Chen Show Mao’s speech last night. It was not that what these speakers said have no grounds or good reasons. In fact, Teo Soh Lung was making a promise to her potential voters what she would do as a Member of Parliament [MP] – from donating half of her MP allowance to the party and community, and questioning her opponent on why our education policies have turned Singapore into a ‘tuition nation’.

My point here is, a rally speaker should not attempt to ‘reason’ with those present. Reasoning should be done with armchair warriors like me typing away on a keyboard, or in a forum where there is interaction between participants. But when speaking in a rally, a speaker rouses those who are present. I am not expect a Hitler but at least I expect an Obama. A rally speech should be so filled with political talk that when the speaker is done the people present get so fired up and inspired that they felt they are invincible and walk out of the rally ready to take down Godzilla with their bare hands.

Mr Low Thia Khiang and some of the Workers’ Party speakers were able to do that. Teo Soh Lung certainly couldn’t but Dr Vincent could. I find myself agreeing with many things he said and the crowded responded and rallied like never before. I can’t judge whether the SDP could deliver on their promises nor can I say whether there was any bite in what they said. But, I walked away remembering some of the things Dr Vincent said – like how the PAP talks about the value of money, but refused to talk about the YOG over-budget. Not to mention how a town council lost several million dollars of sinking funds in bad investments. If I am not wrong, he even threw in a joke saying that there are 6 zeros in million but when you lose that money you get 7 zeros. It took a while for me (yes, I am not that smart) to get the joke what the extra zero signifies. I walked away remembering all these, and it rekindled my anger over the lack of humility and accountability from the PAP.

Really, I am not expecting (and certainly do not like) any mudslinging or our politicians to play really dirty and be down right personal like those in Taiwan. But this was a rally speech I am expecting.

Keep up this good work, SDP! As a Singaporean, I welcome you back into the political scene.

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