TR EMERITUS

Even before the date of the next general election is announced, the Singapore People Party led by veteran opposition leader Mr Chiam See Tong is reportedly wrecked by intense infighting between Mr Chiam's wife Lina Loh and his protege Desmond Lim. The SPP held a party conference to elect 14 members to its Central Executive Committee last Sunday. According to media reports, Mr Lim tried to register 30 new members in order to ensure he has sufficient support to stay in the CEC. Ms Loh had apparently brought in 9 supporters in a bid to oust Mr Lim from the CEC. A fracas broke out between the two camps with supporters of Mr Lim taunting Ms Loh for being "too slow and old." The two had been at loggerheads since May after a failed attempt by the Reform Party to join the Singapore Democratic Alliance. As expected, the state media has given extensive coverage on SPP's internal problems to cast doubts on its credibility and ability to challenge the PAP. Many netizens have expressed their disappointment and frustration at the inability of the opposition to work together, even within the same party. With the election looming ahead, it is unlikely that Singapore's weak and fragmented opposition is able to make a dent on the PAP's political hegemony.   Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →

OPINION Background With the ruling PAP losing its support and allegiance among young Singaporeans, a seismic shift in Singapore's political landscape may occur as early within the next 10 years. The Reform Party should make use of the unique opportunity to posture itself as a government-in-waiting rather than an opposition party. Ideally, an united opposition coalition presents the best chance of toppling the PAP, but with the various opposition parties each harboring their own agenda and plans, this is unlikely to happen in the near future. We believe the fledging Reform Party has the potential to attract young Singaporeans into its ranks and pose a challenge to the PAP in the near future. Target group Given its limited resources right now, the Reform Party should target a particular segment of the population to build up its support base - young Singaporeans between the ages of 15 - 30 who will form an influential voting bloc in the future. Unlike their parents and grandparents, young Singaporeans have little affinity for the PAP and their political allegiance can be won by a party which truly understands their needs, concerns and aspirations. Message As such, the Reform Party should package itself as a party of the future whose vision is in line with young Singaporeans. What are young Singaporeans most concerned with? Getting a good tertiary education, a decent job upon graduation and owning a place of their own to start a family. With fresh graduates facing increased competition from foreigners and young couples encountering difficulties affording a roof over their heads, their votes are ready for the taking. The Reform Party should formulate a practical, feasible and attractive manifesto to meet the aspirations of young Singaporeans should it come into power one day. Image First impression always counts and nothing matters more in politics than public image. John F. Kennedy won the the 1960 Presidential election against Richard Nixon not because he was smarter, but because his looks won the hearts of the lady voters at the end of the day. The Reform Party should send all its candidates for the next and subsequent elections for personal grooming and public speaking courses. The candidates represent the Party and the electorate will identify them with it. While physical attraction is an asset, how a person grooms himself/herself and articulate his/her views publicly is of utmost importance as well. Given the PAP's penchant for picking middle-aged, dour and uninspiring candidates, the Reform Party should capitalize on youth power to present itself as a party for young Singaporeans which will give it an edge over the PAP. The Democratic Party of Japan won the 2009 Japanese elections largely because of its youthful image which saw many of its first-time candidates winning against experienced old guards of the Liberal Democratic Party. External wings The Islamist Hamas won the 2008 Palestinian elections against Fatah because of its impressive social service which won itself the goodwill and support of the people. The Reform Party should consider setting up various "external wings" to reach out to a wider segment of the population, such as volunteering and interest groups. The key is not to win converts, but to network with Singaporeans who are not interested in politics and get them into its ambit slowly and gradually. It should also collaborate in joint activities with NGOs and VWOs such as AWARE, SPCA, SAGE etc. to extend its reach to the larger society. Grassroots The PAP is able to win elections after elections because it has a formidable grassroots machinery. It is therefore imperative that the Reform Party should establish an informal grassroots committee at every constituency it is keen to contest. The "committee" need not be registered and can remain simply as a gathering of residents who are supporters of the Reform Party. They can then help to spread the party's message in the neighborhood and rope in new members into the party. Media Though SPH is under the direct control of the PAP, it may not be able to win the "hearts and minds" of all the journalists. The Reform Party should start cultivating close ties with young journalists from the major papers whose help may come in handy in the future. The PAP managed to tame the media by co-opting senior journalists into its ranks. The Reform Party may like to consider doing likewise as well.   Conclusion The political landscape of Singapore is likely to experience a radical change after the demise of PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew. Even the PAP itself may be split into two camps between the conservatives and the reformists. The Reform Party should set its sight further and plan well ahead instead of focusing on the next General Election alone. It should not think of itself as just another opposition party, but as an alternative government with an alternative vision for Singapore. If the Reform Party is able to win a few seats in the next general election, we expect many young Singaporeans to join its ranks like what happened to Malaysia's Parti Keadilan Rakyat in the aftermath of the 2008 election, thereby enabling it to mount a credible challenge to the PAP in subsequent elections. Though it is still early days, the Reform Party is a party on the rise while the PAP is one on the decline. So long the Reform Party get its tactics right, it should be able to make a dent on the PAP's hegemony in the near future.     Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →

Dear Dr Khor, I refer to your speech in parliament as reported by Straits Times on 21 Jul 2010. You referred to MM Lee's speech at the Singapore International Water Week which purported that the government was mindful not to allow heavy pollutive industries using old technology to be set up even in our 'early, deprived' days. It would be good if MM Lee can provide evidence and statistics to show how numerous both in numbers and in values those purportedly heavy but pollutive investment opportunities using old technology were then. Even if it were true that the government in our 'early' days took consideration of the environment, it doesn't imply that our government today has taken consideration of the social impacts of its policies. You said economic growth is key to improving lives. That is most true when operating from a low base but becomes less true when the base becomes very high. The law of diminishing returns tells us that growth from a low base reaps much benefit but as the base gets higher and higher, further growth becomes more and more difficult and its pursuit may do more harm than good. While the government does not directly hold down wages, by making low wage foreign workers so readily available, the government indirectly holds down the wages of those in direct competition with low wage foreign workers. Thus, one way or another, the government distorts the labour market to the extent that it allows or disallows the influx of foreign workers. While median incomes have grown by 20% over the last decade, housing prices have grown by even more, so much so that those who choose to set up a home now will find that their salary increases didn't keep up with the increase in housing prices so much so that they are now worse off now than they were a decade ago. The only obvious government effort to 'strenuously' redistribute wealth is its persistent, unerring increase of its own multi-million dollar salaries. Minister bonuses are tied to the GDP. If the government is serious about not letting indicators skew its behaviour, then it shouldn't reward itself handsomely with fat bonuses but should instead recognise the reality that many people have been adversely affected by the sharp rise in housing prices caused by its policies.     Ng Kok Lim  Read More →