团结党积极招募党员 打造“自力更生”形象
● 游润恬
每逢星期天，如果你到一些热闹的组屋区邻里中心走动，也许就会见到身穿橙色汗衫的一群人在那里走动。他们都是国民团结党的党员。
这个反对党自今年一月脱离新加坡民主联盟之后，便积极招募新党员及打造“自力更生”的新形象，还在三个月前招揽了工人党前中委吴明盛。
党主席张培源接受本报访问时说：“自从加入民联后，我们已有两次大选没突出自己的身份。现在我们脱离了民联，首要任务就是加强同民众的联系，让他们重新认识我们。”
这个政党论党员规模，实力仅次于工人党，但是始终没能建立起鲜明的形象。因此，它决定在党员于周末访问新镇邻里时高举本身的旗帜，而建立自身“品牌”的计划就是从党员访问选民时的穿着着手。
张培源说，从两个月前开始，党员走访选区时都一律穿上橙色短袖汗衫。
吴明盛如今已是团结党的中委，所肩负的责任是对外宣传，目标自然是打响党的招牌。
他受访时说，团结党最近也革新了党报，换了新的名称及设计。旧名称《团结报》（NSP News），现已由《国民之声》（North Star）取代。
据最新一期的《国民之声》所刊登的一篇文章解释，党报取新的英文名称“North Star”（北极星），就是要以这颗从地球上能看到的最耀眼的星星来代表团结党，并且以它在天上的固定位置来显示团结党可以为人们寻找方向。
文章指出，团结党的标志就是方向盘里常见的北极星图形，带有“为新加坡的政治发展提供所须的指示灯及方向”的意义，并以此象征我国政坛可以有更多元的声音和制衡机制，人民也应该有更多的参与。
团结党招募党员的工作也取得一定的成绩。据张培源透露，单是今年二月份就吸收了五名党员。当询及最新的进展时，他不愿透露详情，只是说：“我们正在同另外几个人洽谈，也有一些已离开我们的前党员可能会重新归队。”
考虑到东西部 设地区联络点
这个政党今年初把总部从牛车水迁到惹兰勿刹。在积极招募党员之际，它也准备扩大活动范围。
张培源透露目前正考虑在东部和西部各设一些“地区联络点”。它是委派居住在这些地区的党员担任这些联络点的基层联络人，不一定是租用地方设立党支部。
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
团结党积极招募党员 打造“自力更生”形象 -- Zao Bao
News report on Chinese newspapers ZaoBao, 18 June 2007 on NSP's transformation
Monday, June 18, 2007
North Star - Transformation of NSP
The National Solidarity Party has finally relaunched its party organ, renamed "North Star" instead of "NSP Newsletter". NSP has not only changed the name of its newsletter, we have also given it a brand new professional look.
This is part of the ongoing effort by NSP in trying to embark on a massive transformation of its political platform. I am proud to be part of this effort of transformation. In the months to come, there will be more changes, major as well as minor ones, to be made to the whole party platform. The following is one of the article published on the first issue of North Star:
North Star – Polaris of Singapore's Political Development
National Solidarity Party has come to a new phase in its effort of renewal. Under the new leadership and management of a relatively younger group of leaders, it has embarked on a series of reform, restructure and repositioning of the party.
We are relaunching NSP Newsletter as North Star to signify a major milestone of change in our party's development. Why North Star?
The best known star that one could possibly identify from Earth is Polaris, which is commonly known as the North Star. Its position will hardly shift according to the change of seasons. As such, it has been the most important star since ancient time that human beings have depended on for their navigation through land as well as sea during the night. It is the guiding light for those in darkness for centuries.
Our party's logo is actually the Polaris which appears in compasses. It symbolizes our commitment to provide the necessary guiding light and direction for Singapore's political development, from an era of total darkness towards a brighter future. Two decades ago, when NSP was inaugurated, Singapore was immersed in an era of total political darkness.
The People's Action Party has entrenched its monopoly of power for decades and it has used every means to protect its strong grip over its power. In comparison with the active participation of social-political activists of the 1950s as well as 1960s, the deafening silence of such political activism in the 1970s and 1980s was a sign of political regression. In spite of strong economic growth and development, our social, cultural as well as political developments were totally neglected.
It was under such circumstances, the National Solidarity Party was born. We have the aspiration of playing a constructive role in rebuilding our political system towards a more balanced, democratic and matured system that is truly inclusive in nature. We believe that a monopoly of power by a ruling party is unhealthy for the Nation in the long run. We believe that there must be checks and balances installed in the whole political system in order to safe guard the citizens' welfare and interests at all times. We believe that there should be more diversity of voices and cultivation of more citizenry participation in our nation building effort instead of being dictated by the ruling party alone.
What we have observed throughout the two decades is that the ruling party, People's Action Party, is not totally open to criticisms. It has used its dominance in parliament to implement changes to the constitution of Singapore to further entrench its monopoly of power. PAP has admitted that without the GRC system, it will not be able to prevent some of its seats from losing to the opposition. It has admitted that only with the GRC system, its new candidates will be able to get into parliament with the help of its heavy weight ministers. It has also used its dominance to redraw electoral boundaries to its maximum advantages. It has even used HDB upgrading as a form of pork barrel politics to win votes during elections., openly warning voters that their flats will not be upgraded if they do not vote for PAP during the election.
PAP has evolved from the iron fist, strong hand tactic authoritarianism to the seemingly “softer”, sophisticated technical authoritarianism. Such technique has successfully allowed the ruling party to sell unpopular policies such as the GST, increased pricing of HDB flats etc. However, this is still nothing lesser than a monopoly of power play.
In our view, all these political development under PAP's monopoly of power are not in the right direction towards a more open, mature and inclusive political system for Singapore. The initial aspiration of our party founders twenty years ago are still very much valid today. NSP should continue to play the role of the Polaris of Singapore's political development amidst the prolonged darkness of political monopoly of power.
We sincerely hope with the support of Singaporeans, our party could continue our long quest towards a better Singapore with a stronger entrenchment of democracy instead of the entrenchment of authoritarian rule. We also hope that with our North Star shining and guiding our political spirit of true democracy, Singapore will enjoy a progressive development in our political system whereby each and every Singaporean's welfare and interests will be taken care of.
If you are interested in getting a copy of the North Star, please get it from our weekly walkabout for $2.00 per copy.
Goh Meng Seng
Thursday, June 07, 2007
The UNPUBLISH NSP Press Release
Well, the title says it all! The local English papers did not carry the following NSP press release even though the Chinese Zaobao did put up a column at the bottom on one of its page.
Press Release - Responsibility and Social Repercussions of Escape of Ex-NKF Chairman Escape
Wed, Jun 06, 2007
The National Solidarity Party (NSP) shares the frustration of the public over the NKF issue which has dragged on for more than a year. The high public expectation in extracting justice ended in the incredible jaw-dropping development where Richard Yong, a key player in the NKF saga, fluidly escaped the gazes of the authorities, and fled Singapore while owing a huge sum of public money to NKF whilst being declared a bankrupt.
We are outraged over how “a matter of hours” of lapse by the authorities has practically brought down 4 decades of efforts in cultivating a public spirit of spontaneous charity. The social repercussions from a collapse of public trust in institutions meant to safeguard their social interests are simply immeasurable.
It is a total disaster when a defaulter of public funds slips through the tight law-enforcement net without undergoing the due punishment. Every such ‘success’ story emboldens more law-breakers to test the authorities, and impose further duress on the security of the nation.
The repulsive event further deteriorates what remaining sense of generosity there was in Singaporeans when the NKF incident first came to light. It also inevitably erodes public confidence in the ability of the relevant authorities to execute their duties diligently and responsibly.
The lapse is all the more lamentable considering that the defaulter had a few months earlier divested his private properties for a personal gain of $7.5million, and attempted to dodge the authorities by not reporting his whereabouts. Despite the cues, the authorities had not taken tighter precautions.
The frivolous approach of the authorities is inexplicable, considering how the authorities have the track record of freezing assets of defendants in sensitive legal cases even before their convictions.
The incident has made a complete mockery of the nation’s proclamation of good governance, further strengthening the case for the need of checks and balances, and more transparency in matters of grave social concerns.
On behalf of the indignant public, the NSP would like to know what measures the authorities are going to take to satisfactorily remedy the situation, and recoup the public’s hard-earned money donated through an innocent sense of trust. The authorities owe the public a thorough and convincing explanation for the “extraordinary” oversight.
Until the necessary justice is administered, public cynicism will gain in strength to threaten the precarious social coherence. Together with Singaporeans, the NSP is keen to see an acceptable closure to the saga, and nothing less will do.
Central Executive Council
National Solidarity Party
Press Release - Responsibility and Social Repercussions of Escape of Ex-NKF Chairman Escape
Wed, Jun 06, 2007
The National Solidarity Party (NSP) shares the frustration of the public over the NKF issue which has dragged on for more than a year. The high public expectation in extracting justice ended in the incredible jaw-dropping development where Richard Yong, a key player in the NKF saga, fluidly escaped the gazes of the authorities, and fled Singapore while owing a huge sum of public money to NKF whilst being declared a bankrupt.
We are outraged over how “a matter of hours” of lapse by the authorities has practically brought down 4 decades of efforts in cultivating a public spirit of spontaneous charity. The social repercussions from a collapse of public trust in institutions meant to safeguard their social interests are simply immeasurable.
It is a total disaster when a defaulter of public funds slips through the tight law-enforcement net without undergoing the due punishment. Every such ‘success’ story emboldens more law-breakers to test the authorities, and impose further duress on the security of the nation.
The repulsive event further deteriorates what remaining sense of generosity there was in Singaporeans when the NKF incident first came to light. It also inevitably erodes public confidence in the ability of the relevant authorities to execute their duties diligently and responsibly.
The lapse is all the more lamentable considering that the defaulter had a few months earlier divested his private properties for a personal gain of $7.5million, and attempted to dodge the authorities by not reporting his whereabouts. Despite the cues, the authorities had not taken tighter precautions.
The frivolous approach of the authorities is inexplicable, considering how the authorities have the track record of freezing assets of defendants in sensitive legal cases even before their convictions.
The incident has made a complete mockery of the nation’s proclamation of good governance, further strengthening the case for the need of checks and balances, and more transparency in matters of grave social concerns.
On behalf of the indignant public, the NSP would like to know what measures the authorities are going to take to satisfactorily remedy the situation, and recoup the public’s hard-earned money donated through an innocent sense of trust. The authorities owe the public a thorough and convincing explanation for the “extraordinary” oversight.
Until the necessary justice is administered, public cynicism will gain in strength to threaten the precarious social coherence. Together with Singaporeans, the NSP is keen to see an acceptable closure to the saga, and nothing less will do.
Central Executive Council
National Solidarity Party
Coming next --- CORE VALUES
I have been away for weeks in May to serve my country--- reservist training. Yes, this is the second time I have been called up for reservist training this year but I have no problem with that. I have been asked to "volunteer" for a third time this year but still considering about that. (Note: under the law, any NSmen could not be called up for more than 40 days in a year for reservist training unless he volunteers himself to do so.)
During this period of reservist training, lots of things happen:
1) Our soldiers died in the Taiwan air planes crash
2) NETS announces rate hike
3) Richard Yong, ex-NKF Chairman who is the key player in the charity's scandal reportedly "disappeared" right after he was declared a bankrupt
4) Mr. JB Jeyeratnam gets discharged from bankruptcy and announces plans to form the new political party Democratic Reform Party
All these happen during my reservist training period. I do have things to write about all these happenings but alas, most of the time I was too tired during this period.
I have an opportunity to question one of the most relevant officer involves in manpower about the compensation of those who died in the tour of NS duty. This is after reading what was reported in online news about our Defence Minister making remarks about "being realistic" in the compensations for the dead soldiers. Frankly speaking, I am very pissed off by such insensitive remarks and I think Singaporeans should tell the ministers to be "realistic" about their annual salary too!
Yes, no amount of money would be enough to compensate the loss of life; the loss of the love ones. However, it has bigger implications than the amount of money paid off. It affects morale of the men and women serving the country. I could really imagine how my men would say to me in future in camp training, "Sir, be realistic lah, if we work too hard, too siow on (on the ball), if something happens to us, the Defence Ministry will just tell us or our family members to be 'realistic' about compensation! Who will take care of our families? Better play safe, take it easy and not too seriously..."
As for the NETS rate hike, it is the most unbelievable "reasons" I have read so far! Well, I will leave it to the people to judge whether such reasons are justifiable or not. But it does bring back a subtle point I have been telling my course mates that as an economic trained individual, I HATE MONOPOLIES, be it in economics or politics. If we really have no choice but to be stuck with natural monopolies, then they must be regulated.
As for the "prolonged" NKF saga, what many people feared has finally come true: one of the key player of the scandal has fled the country after being ordered by the court to pay legal compensation amount to a million to NKF. The funny thing is this, since Richard Yong has sold his properties for $7.5 million, by right he would have the money to pay NKF the $1 million. He chose not to pay and wait to be declared bankrupt. And yet, he did a last minute stunt of fleeing the country on the day he is being declared bankrupt? It is so dramatic! Anyway, NSP has just released a press statement on this incredible incident.
Finally one good news. Long time political veteran fighter Mr. JB Jeyaratnam has been discharged from bankruptcy. He has announced plans to start a new party, called Democratic Reform Party. Congratulations to JBJ and his comrades!
This will roughly sums up the main issues happening during my period of reservist training. This period of time is also a good time for me to take leave from my political involvement for a while, so to have more time for reflecting on some more important issues. It just happens that the course I have attended during this period provided me with great amount of inspirations.
I will sum up my learnings and new insights in my next article, "CORE VALUES". This one will be an important piece of writing of the year.
Goh Meng Seng
During this period of reservist training, lots of things happen:
1) Our soldiers died in the Taiwan air planes crash
2) NETS announces rate hike
3) Richard Yong, ex-NKF Chairman who is the key player in the charity's scandal reportedly "disappeared" right after he was declared a bankrupt
4) Mr. JB Jeyeratnam gets discharged from bankruptcy and announces plans to form the new political party Democratic Reform Party
All these happen during my reservist training period. I do have things to write about all these happenings but alas, most of the time I was too tired during this period.
I have an opportunity to question one of the most relevant officer involves in manpower about the compensation of those who died in the tour of NS duty. This is after reading what was reported in online news about our Defence Minister making remarks about "being realistic" in the compensations for the dead soldiers. Frankly speaking, I am very pissed off by such insensitive remarks and I think Singaporeans should tell the ministers to be "realistic" about their annual salary too!
Yes, no amount of money would be enough to compensate the loss of life; the loss of the love ones. However, it has bigger implications than the amount of money paid off. It affects morale of the men and women serving the country. I could really imagine how my men would say to me in future in camp training, "Sir, be realistic lah, if we work too hard, too siow on (on the ball), if something happens to us, the Defence Ministry will just tell us or our family members to be 'realistic' about compensation! Who will take care of our families? Better play safe, take it easy and not too seriously..."
As for the NETS rate hike, it is the most unbelievable "reasons" I have read so far! Well, I will leave it to the people to judge whether such reasons are justifiable or not. But it does bring back a subtle point I have been telling my course mates that as an economic trained individual, I HATE MONOPOLIES, be it in economics or politics. If we really have no choice but to be stuck with natural monopolies, then they must be regulated.
As for the "prolonged" NKF saga, what many people feared has finally come true: one of the key player of the scandal has fled the country after being ordered by the court to pay legal compensation amount to a million to NKF. The funny thing is this, since Richard Yong has sold his properties for $7.5 million, by right he would have the money to pay NKF the $1 million. He chose not to pay and wait to be declared bankrupt. And yet, he did a last minute stunt of fleeing the country on the day he is being declared bankrupt? It is so dramatic! Anyway, NSP has just released a press statement on this incredible incident.
Finally one good news. Long time political veteran fighter Mr. JB Jeyaratnam has been discharged from bankruptcy. He has announced plans to start a new party, called Democratic Reform Party. Congratulations to JBJ and his comrades!
This will roughly sums up the main issues happening during my period of reservist training. This period of time is also a good time for me to take leave from my political involvement for a while, so to have more time for reflecting on some more important issues. It just happens that the course I have attended during this period provided me with great amount of inspirations.
I will sum up my learnings and new insights in my next article, "CORE VALUES". This one will be an important piece of writing of the year.
Goh Meng Seng
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