Today is the eve of Nomination Day for GE 2011. I have mixed feelings within me.
Looking back, this is the 10th anniversary of my involvement in partisan politics. However, if I look deeper to my consciousness, the seed of political activism has been planted into me 20 to 30 years back.
Reading MM Lee's comment on going back to fundamentals and not "rock the foundations" of this Nation really make me feel more righteous about my involvement in opposition politics. I have told reporters that it was PAP which has "rocked" the very foundation which this Nation was founded upon.
The TWO main pillars of our nation's Core Values are:
1) Social Justice and Equality
2) Meritocracy
The most important reason why I decided to take the plunge into opposition politics is because I realize that PAP has eroded these fundamental principles. The final push comes in GE 1997 whereby Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong made used of HDB upgrading as the carrot in pork barrel politics, threatening voters (especially Cheng San voters like me) that if we do not vote for PAP, we will not have HDB upgrading.
In this one master stroke, PAP has destroyed the sense of Social Justine and Equality as well as the Spirit of Meritocracy. Whether a HDB flat needs upgrading or not should depend on the MERITS like the age of the building, conditions of the infrastructure etc and not about who the voters vote for or anything else. I fear for my children and Singapore's future generations to live under an environment that is devoid of such basic Social Moral principles. This is why I have chosen to fight against PAP to reinstate such basic Fundamentals which we have depended on for success.
While I was still an undergraduate back in early 1990s, I was furious about Goh Chok Tong's plan of "Asset Enhancement Scheme". The Goh's Administration sold the idea of having our assets increase in value but it has not mentioned about the prices of new HDB flats would go up as well. As an undergraduate waiting to graduate, get married and start up a home, I was furious but NO ONE represented us. I have written articles about the ills of this scheme which will result in inter-generation wealth gap but all fallen on death ears.
This is why I am prepared to encourage young people in their 20s to stand for Elections. I have experienced such desperation as a youngster who could only just sit down an watch politicians selling away the future of my generation, helplessly. I believe youngsters should play a role in this parliamentary system because many policies made by the ruling party will have long term great impact on our youngsters in 10, 20 or even 30 years to come.
It was PAP who have changed the fundamentals of HDB as public housing. PAP has discarded its social obligation as the ruling party in providing cheap or even subsidized housing for Singaporeans. They have forcefully acquired our forefathers' land at dirt cheap price and they should carry the social obligation to provide cheap public housing for our future generations. Instead, they are more interested in keep growing the National Reserves by selling land at high profits for building HDB flats!
Yes, MM Lee, it is about going back to fundamentals. PAP should do a deep self reflection on what went wrong with its fundamental principles of governance. PAP has lost its socialist roots along the way and now, it has lost the political moral high ground to talk about fundamentals.
Goh Meng Seng
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
9 comments:
Well Said. Asset Enhance is a myth.
Most people do not benefit from it if you only own one property.
It only degrade the quality of life for most people. The resource ($) of each family to a certain extend is limited, if a big portion of it go into housing then something have to go. with lesser money in each person, our purchasing power is also affected, this will have some impact to the economics.
I am in your same age group and have also witnessed Cheng San on fire. It was a sad day for singaporeans there as well as outside. Seeing the opposition team being bullied and yet we all can't do anything. That election has awaken me, the PAP i knew was never the same again. I salute you for the courage to turn helplessness to strength, to make right the wrong and to illustrate to younger Singaporeans your political struggle and will.
Mr./Sir GMS,
Please kindly refer to the below hyer-link...
http://permaculture.org.au/2011/04/12/shock-doctrine-the-rise-of-disaster-capitalism/#comment-79424
It will assist you with an intial critical head start for the coming adverstities and trials ahead...
No use for the MIW...as they are already a part of the cabal with their "all the way private" self serving policies.
Good day all.
Mr Goh,
First of all, thank you for stepping out and speak for all Singaporeans. I have been following your progress since last election in 2006 and I have to congratulate you that you have done well all these years. Your leadership in NSP, your communications with other opposition parties and most important your communications with Singaporeans have grown significantly. Irregardless of what happened after this election, please continue with what you are doing now as I am sure you can help to contribute significantly in the future of Singapore. Thank You.
Best Regards
Eng Hock
Back to fundamentals.
What fundamentals is the MM talking about?
As an oldie myself, me had not heard him saying that as politicians, they needed to be paid well otherwise the people risked having corrupted rulers, in his earlier days.
As it is, only a few at the top level are paid out of the world remunerations. Is the MM saying the rest who are paid much less will be prone to corruption or suffer dissatisfactions in their works?
One question me likes to ask is whether HDB is making money from the citizens? From the pricing of HDB Properties including shop and market, it seems likely so.
Alternative Political Parties should help the citizens to have the Housing Board made more transparent. And kudos to Goh Meng Seng for pursuing the Matter.
patriot
Dear Tampines resident
Potong Pasir and Hougang residents have stood up and supported the opposition for so long because they strongly believe it is for the good of all singaporeans. Salute and thank them.
It is time, we, Tampines residents show our gratitude and vote for the opposition party, NSP on 7 May 2011.
If Mr Mah is voted out, in future the PAP will never ever dare to use the upgrading program to threaten voters again. Remember that !
Thank you Mr Goh for coming to Tampines GRC to contest. Giving us another alternative. You have won my vote and i am definitely support the opposition even if opposition not giving any upgrading, that upgrading is always a gimmic by PAP. i also hope that all Singaporean must open their eyes BIG BIG and act + vote wisely in this GE2011, CHEERS!!
There are two types of voters, active voters and passive voters.
Active voters attend election rallies and use the internet to express themselves. Most of them have already makeup their mind to vote the party they support. But these voters are the minority.
Majority are passive voters. They don’t attend rallies and prefer to stay at home to watch TV and read Straits Times/Lianhe Zoabao. Most of them are ignorant.
E.g. they have no ideas about:
1) how difficult is to get the parliament to approve the increase of $10 for the needy
2) how much are our ministers’ pay versus our national median pay
3) how much are HDB prices increase versus our national median pay increase from 2006 to 2010
4) ministers’ pay increase versus our national median pay increase from 2006 to 2010
5) number of months of bonus our ministers received versus the average Singaporean workers received from 2006 to 2010
6) our GDP increase versus our national median pay increase from 2006 to 2010
7)…….
These voters may vote for change if they are aware of the above.
Dear Meng Seng,
I never got a chance to really know you, despite making a fool of myself back in the same JC as you, and learning wisdom down the years.
While I do not walk the same road as you, I walk my strange path with same spirit.
I salute you as a human being doing what you feel and think is best.
Post a Comment