Politics of Negotiation

I shall now make a public clarification on the "half truth" which was deliberately leaked to smear NSP and destroy opposition unity.

In any negotiation,everybody will put up reasoning and persuasions to justify their positions or claims. Examples, hypothetical comparisons and illustrations will be used to make a point.

During the discussion of the Marine Parade GRC, an illustration of the undesirability of 3 corner fight was made using the example of Aljunied GRC, to make a point that 3 corner is totally unhelpful. Unfortunately this was quoted out of context and deliberately leaked to the media to make a big hoo-haa over it.

Subsequently, a secret ballot was called to show which side has a more convincing argument over Marine Parade. This voting has nothing to do with "small parties against WP" mentally but rather, was made in good spirit to register the perception of those in attendance on the matter, since it was the major deadlock of the meeting. This secret voting was non-binding but for the WP representatives to convey the opinion expressed by those who were present to their leaders.

It is with deep regret that such misinformation was exploited to make opposition as whole look very bad.

The truth is, we have made tremendously progress in good spirit with almost all opposition parties participating actively in making the necessary compromises so that our aim of eliminating multi-corner fights could be achieved. When you first see the mind-blogging charts of competing claims, don't panic or assumed that there is a massive disagreement. That is not true at all.

Every party needs to take a breather from the first meeting to discuss with their own CEC members to decide how to proceed from the negotiation. Each party knows exactly what transpired and how other parties think or what were their preferences and desires. It would take some time for everyone to digest and rethink on their own positions. Some might even call up each other for bilateral talks. This will help everyone to resolve the conflicting claims in the second meeting.

True enough, the second meeting was pretty smooth as compared to the first one, using only 1 hour to resolve all differences (save and except for WP who did not turn up) in contrast to the 3 hours used in the first meeting.

I have attended two such previous "Unity Meetings" (yes, TWO and you may wonder which two! ;) ) and I understand how it works. Thus, I was pretty confident that things could work out well. Unfortunately, the Main Stream Media has preyed on the first meeting to present "Opposition fighting each other", which we have denied repeatedly! The meetings were cordial, sometimes fun (yes, we did crack jokes from time to time) and most importantly encouraging with all of us clapping whenever any party relented on their claims to make ways for others!

I am very glad that it is within my expectation that most conflicting claims have been resolved (saved and except for WP because they did not send any representatives for second meeting) and all are well!

My sincere and heart felt thanks to ALL participants/leaders of opposition parties to make this possible. Special thanks to SDP for making the critical compromise which allows us to resolve many entangling conflicts in double quick time. Thanks to SingFirst which has shown great Wisdom in accepting good reasoning so much so that it would agree to give way in good faith.

Last but not least, special thanks to NSP which has made PPP's contest in CCK a clear shot without 3 corner fight.

I hope that with this clarifications, we can put all the bad press behind us and work together to fight against one common opponent, PAP.

Goh Meng Seng

A Public Apology to Tampines Voters

We had our first public walkabout this morning at Chua Chu Kang Lot One. I have made the official declaration that People's Power Party will contest in CCK GRC.

On top of that, I have made a PUBLIC APOLOGY to Tampines Voters:

My team and I have promised to return Tampines to contest right after GE2011.

Throughout the past few years, there were Tampines voters who have been asking about me and my team to go back and contest Tampines GRC. They have expressed their wish and expectation of us to continue our fight in Tampines.

However, we also know that NSP has been working very hard on the ground in Tampines. For each elections contest, a lot of time, efforts and money will be spent. It would not be right for us to get into this ground without any good reason. Furthermore, we also think that NSP's A team has very good candidates whom we think deserve to be sent into parliament.

Taking the example of Macpherson SMC. Some have speculated that I will be contesting in this SMC. I will never do that because I know the President of NSP, Sebastian Teo, had spent a lot of efforts on ground work there prior to GE2011 before it was redrawn into Marine Parade. He had done more than 3 rounds of door knocking there until it was considered a "danger zone" so much so that PAP government decided to redrawn it into Marine Parade.

In fact I decided to persuade and support Nicole Seah and her team to contest in Marine Parade in GE2011 because my confidence of getting a good result was based on the massive ground work Sebastian Teo had done in Macpherson. To be fair, the extraordinary result which Nicole Seah's team achieved in Marine Parade was partly due to the hard work Sebastian Teo has put in Macpherson.

It will be totally inappropriate for me to wrestle my way into contest in Macpherson. Similarly for Tampines GRC.

Thus, it is with deep regret that I and my team have to make this difficult decision to withdraw from the contest in Tampines GRC in the coming GE.

We hope that Voters in Tampines could forgive us for breaking our promise to return to Tampines this GE. We also hope that our supporters in Tampines will continue to support NSP's effort in the coming GE because we believe that we should send in good and deserving candidates into parliament.

Goh Meng Seng

My Responses to Media Enquiry on Mr Lee Hsien Loong's Criticisms of Opposition

My responses as follow:


Do you agree that the PAP should set the standard and the opposition held accountable to it?

Why should PAP be the player, the organizer who set the rules and standards as well as the referee or judge at the same time? Let the Voters be the judge and I believe they have their own standards set out for opposition parties as well as PAP. As the ruling party, whether it likes it or not, voters' expectation and standards will be set at very much higher level. Rightfully so because PAP has the power and resources to do what it is supposed to do as a ruling party.

2. Has the role of the opposition evolved post-2011? Is it perhaps too old to use the "check and balance" function as a platform to run a campaign on?

Whether the role of opposition has evolved in post-2011 depends very much on voters' expectation. But one interesting sign I have observed is the rising of civil activism which is non-partisan in nature. The non-partisan social-political activists have been leading the charge on social-political issues like the 6.9m Population White Paper issue as well the Return-Our-CPF protests. These activism may have unintentionally put pressure on political parties to step up to reclaim their rightful role as political opinion leader in articulating more coherent policy views rather than sitting on the sideline as passive political free-riders. If they fail to do so, they would be seen as ineffective even as an agent for effecting the "check and balance" function and it will be very unconvincing for them to sell this idea of "check and balance" function as their front running campaigning theme.

My view is that, "check and balance" is the inherent rightful role of any opposition party all around the world in any democracy. In Singapore's context, it is still a relevant campaigning theme as the result of the GRC system, the highly disproportionate number of opposition MPs in parliament vs the total percentage of votes opposition has garnered will always be a critical imbalance which Singaporeans need to address. This will inevitably falls on the urgent need to correct this insufficient and inadequacy of check and balance function in our system. However, the contrast cast by non-partisan social-political players have put serious doubts on opposition parties' effectiveness as a player to provide such function. If opposition parties don't buck up to show that they could lead the charge at the front of check and balance function, they might lose their legitimacy as the important component or element to effect the function of check and balance. Voters will be disillusioned by their passiveness in comparison.

3. As a check, how well do you think the major opposition in Parliament, the WP, has done?

No comment. I will leave it to voters to make the judgment. But as I have expressed in my answer to your previous question, all opposition parties including WP will have to buck up to play a more pro-active role as a check to the PAP government if they do not want to be considered irrelevant by voters.


4. What challenges do you see besetting a centrist party like the WP in the upcoming election?

IMHO, there are three challenges WP has to address in order to convince voters that it is still the BEST Choice of opposition parties to be voted into parliament:

a) WP has to address and provide immediate remedy to the erosion of its most important CORE COMPETENCY aka Political Capital in Town Council management.

b) WP has to demonstrate its ability to keep its promise to achieve its last GE aim of "First World Parliament". Up till now, the mediocre parliamentary performance of WP's MPs will inevitably make its past GE Manifesto of "First World Parliament" to come back and bite it. This is made worst by the contrast provided by those non-partisan social political activists.

c) Economics is always WP's weakest link in its policy deliberation but in Singapore's context, Economics precedes every other policy matters. WP will have to find ways to improve its economics learning and articulate its economic policy views more coherently and effectively.


5. Opposition parties like the SDP have responded by saying they do have alternative visions. Do you think the SDP's manifesto in particular is workable? Can all parties say they have alternative visions?

I do believe most political parties have their own alternative Visions, whether it is based on Democratic Values, Economics logic, Social Welfare perspective or otherwise. Apparently, PAP is more focused in its attack on opposition parties' Economic Visions.

On the surface, opposition parties may express their own Visions based on their core beliefs and values. However, it would not be fair for PAP to attack opposition parties' inability to deliberate on the finer details on such vision because they do not have the privilege of the ruling party in getting vital information as well as civil servants to help them in researching and formulating their full policy details.

I reserve my comments on SDP or any other opposition parties' manifesto as it will take a long debate to articulate the plausibility of their plans.


6. Mr Lee is framing the upcoming general election as a national one, not just a local one, and one that will be a "deadly serious fight." How do you think this message will wash with voters?

I would say that with due respect, Mr Lee is already a LATE COMER in realizing that past GE2011 as well as the two by-elections we had since 2011 were already fought on National issues instead of local ones. eg. HDB and transport issue in GE2011. I believe voters will not only vote according to what they feel about National issues but will also consider who are the candidates put forward by the various parties. I do not believe PAP will lose power totally, even though it may lose more seats.

Even if PAP is to lose over 50% of seats, it will still remain as the dominant party with the most seats because at this moment, all opposition parties won't be able to contest more than half of the seats alone, least all the seats. The Constitution will require the President to call upon the Dominant party to form the government, be it a coalition or a minority government.

Thus, I do not think voters in this era, with more knowledge of how politics work, would be intimidated by such exaggeration by Mr. Lee.


Goh Meng Seng

Who is GMS?

My View, My Story

There are a couple of attempts by my detractors who have tried to flame, troll or even defame me by writing on this topic "Who is GMS?" and I have basically ignored them. I am not some prominent guy like LKY who needs some other people to write a biography of him; neither am I someone who will be bothered by some strange fellows who are so "obsessed with me" with such intense hatred against me as if I have killed their whole family.

I am not someone who will feel at ease when there are people praising me for anything and would probably blush and feel "paiseh", not because I do not agree with them but rather I am not used to flattery at all. In fact, I would rather be the one who will stand up and "boast" about my own achievements (well, just telling it as a matter of fact) rather than listen to flattery from others because I know I would not claim credits that do not belong to me, neither would I be shy about what I believe in and what I have done to live or die with my belief.

Young Dreams

I am a simple man but unique in every ways. A simple man with little desires. When my peers were competing vigorously for BEST results in school, I am more interested in reading newspapers and current affairs. While my friends aspired to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, professions to achieve their "5Cs" dream of our time, I naively wanted to be President of Singapore, not because I love that pay of millions of dollars for doing virtually little things, but I mistakenly thought that by being the President of Singapore, I could change a lot of things, a lot of policies which I believe would make Singaporeans' lives far better than what PAP is doing. Of course, when I get older, I realize that I have to be the Prime Minister instead of the President just to achieve what I aspired to do.

First Taste of Elitism

The twist of fate came when I was in Hwa Chong Junior College. I nearly wanted to quit HCJC because I was beginning to feel uneasy and dislike the "elitist" nature of my environment. Believe me, I was just a little bit ignorant of getting myself into HCJC without knowing that it is some elitist JC in Singapore, because I thought only Raffles JC was the the elitist one. I wanted to leave HCJC after first 3 months to enroll in some polytechnic partly because I am socialist in nature and partly because I did not want to burden my parents too much financially if I follow the path towards University. But somehow, I stayed back, due to the "crisis" HCJC faced back then.

Economics - My Passion and Second Nature

My second twist of fate happened when I made the "unrealistic" or rather "irrational" choice of dropping the subject which my strength lies, Further Maths, to study a TOTALLY NEW subject Economics, just out of my curiosity. I could have breezed through effortlessly with Further Maths instead of slogging in Economics with numerous FAILS in my initial tests and even mid-term examination. I was even told by my Economics Tutor to drop the subject but for some reasons, amidst my numerous failing of my assessments, tests and even mid-term examinations, my curiosity in this subject of Economics has turned into immense interests.

No matter how bad I failed my tests, I "die die" won't give it up! I can be such an "irrational" man which will hold on to the subject, mission, vision or whatever, just because of my interests and passion in it; irregardless of how other people judge me, how many times I failed in the subject and how adverse the situation is for me. My perseverance has of course paid off eventually and Economics has become my second passion in life.

So basically for my entire HCJC life, I have spent almost 80% of my time reading and learning Economics, even on topics which were considered as "out of syllabus", although Maths and Physics were such an easier subjects to "score" if I have put in just a little more effort in them. I could pass and do well in these two subjects without spending much time and effort but I didn't work for the A-Star results. Instead, I spent more time in some "lousy subject" Economics just because of some "silly passion". Well, I never say die when it comes to my passion.

From then on, I have never looked back. Economics become my passion and "second nature". I just follow my heart and pursue my passion and I have never regretted it. When people were considering what types of good paying jobs by studying Economics and getting a good Honours degree out from it, I was rather detached. That wasn't my aim and vision. Economics to me, is linked to my other GREATER passion which has evolved much earlier in my childhood :- the vision of changing Singapore into a better place for everybody. And this, was passed down and inculcated into me by my late father, a taxi driver. Even as a taxi driver, he would read the newspapers and current affairs everyday, giving me his daily critics of the political-economical situation at that time. He was political, though not a politician by nature. And I have succeeded him in this old fashion "socialist" thinking right from young.

The Struggle Begins

This is the type of characters I have developed through my founding years, that made me just a little bit special, or rather, CRAZY enough to go into opposition politics, amidst the ERA of TERROR, not just FEAR of PAP. Yes, PAP has basically TERRORIZED everyone right from the start where they gained power till late 1990s. They have terrorized Singaporeans from taking part in opposition politics by playing hardball to their opponents, right from 1960s' Barisan Socialist people like Lim Chin Siong to the record breaking of ISA detainee Chia Thye Poh, to 1970s Tan Wah Piow, 1980s Francis Seow, JBJ and dubious label of "Marxist Plot" to 1990s Dr Chee Soon Chuan, JBJ and Tang Liang Hong etc.

I must admit, when I first decided to join Workers Party in 2001, there was FEAR in me but my strong sense of Social Justice and helping the weak to fight the bully, has helped me to overcome my FEAR altogether.

Buddhism My Guiding Light

I am not a Saint neither am I perfect in every sense as a human being. But I am a religious man. I guess if I have not enter opposition politics, I may most probably become a monk by now. I understand how PAP TERRORIZE opposition and that is why I have tried in every ways, in everything I do, in every decision I made, to keep myself "spotlessly clean" as far as possible. Although I used to joke about how I live like a monk but it is actually a true description of my life and living. Buddhism has thought me one simple rule, if you want to get out of sufferings, trouble and wrong doings, keep out of unwanted desires, hatred or strong negative emotions and most importantly, attachment.


Yes, I try to void myself of strong and unnecessary attachments. It only takes me 15 minutes to decide to resign from Workers Party. Some may say I was too rash, some may say I lack perseverance or even some have said I am a traitor with no loyalty etc. But as you can see from my pass, I am not someone who would just "run away" so easily even if I have failed numerous times. But when it is time to let go, I will do it in a swift manner with little hesitation.

My philosophy of life, relax lah, we are just a little chess piece in the time of historical being. Most importantly, we should be true to ourselves, true to our spirit, beliefs and our visions in life. If you want to understand why I make certain decisions and do certain things, you will have to first understand my beliefs and vision in life. Else, you will find so many people contradicting themselves in their attempts to discredit me, throwing up all sorts of funny accusations, speculations and poisons.

The Democratic Dream 

I am a simple man who just happens to take it very seriously to live and die with my beliefs. Not just religious ones, but social-political beliefs as well.

My political beliefs in Democracy, Social Justice, Freedom of Press and Expression, Fair play, transparency, public accountability, Spirit of Public Service, Checks and Balances based on Separation of Powers, Multiracial and Multiculturalism etc, aren't just beliefs in the mind or talk, but in actual practice.

For example, most political parties in Singapore, including both PAP and WP, or even SDP, have put up motherhood statements about their belief in "Democracy". Opposition parties like WP and SDP have talked more about "checks and balances", transparency, Freedom of Press and Expression etc, but in actual practice, do they really run their parties according to what they believed in? If they don't even run their parties according to what they believed in, how could you expect them to run the country according to what they claim they believe in?

Democracy is not just about having elections. Even dictatorial regimes have elections...eg.Communist China and North Korea. The basic fundamental tenet of Democracy is checks and balances through separation of powers. That's the crux of it.

Live and Die with My Values

When I had the chance to run NSP as its Secretary General, I have introduced reforms to its constitution to make it reflects the true spirit of Democratic principles. While there is a need of a system to guard against infiltration by hostile opponents, the common "cadre membership system" used by PAP, WP, SDP and NSP has inevitably put too much power unto the Central Executive Committee where all cadres will have to be nominated and promoted by the CEC members only. This will result in political patronage and entrench of powers of those in CEC. Some parties even have absurd lopsided power structure which gave its SG or Chairman/President too much power to veto any nomination altogether without the need to give good reasons or go through any voting process.

I have introduced reforms in NSP Constitution to allow the cadres or Congress Members the power to nominate and vote to promote any ordinary member into Congress Member even  if the CEC or the key leaders are not in favour of it. This new element will provide a fairer alternative to the absolute control of cadre promotion by the CEC members.

This is just a small example of how I put my belief into practice and the things I do. There are other measures which have been put into the amendment of the Constitution of NSP to make it more democratic and install the element of Separation of Powers within it.

Political Builder - From WP to NSP

Some people attack me for being "party hopper" or "political opportunist". Their reasoning really make me laugh. I am instead, a political builder, who believe in the True Spirit of Democracy and would put in every effort to build up the necessary platforms to balance off the almost total monopolization of power by PAP.

Although in WP, I didn't manage to convince and effect certain changes to its structure like building up the Malay Bureau which I did in NSP, but I believe in contributing to the rebranding effort of WP. I have initiated a few "long lasting" activities like National Day "flag offering" walkabouts, even going along the MRT train lines to effect a change of attitude and perception that opposition party is all about "opposing" but not "patriotism". We have worked hard as a team back in the early 2000s whereby a lot more people are either too afraid to join opposition party or just too skeptical to think about it. It was a very successful rebranding exercise which inevitable benefited not only WP but the whole opposition movement as a whole.

After GE2006 and my decision to resign from WP, I initially decided to take a long break from opposition politics, thinking that what I have helped to build in WP, would be able to work well towards my belief of what a Democratic Singapore should be all about. But apparently, the idea of "two party system" in Singapore is not showing a promising sign as a guarantee towards a more open and Democratic system which I envisaged.

The President of NSP, Sebastian Teo approached me and Tilik to persuade us to join NSP. Tilik eventually declined but I have agreed with certain pre-requisite conditions, but it has nothing to do with any "high position" in NSP CEC. The promise of change, restructuring, rebranding of their newsletter to North Star, setting up of Malay Bureau, guarantee of freedom of speech and expression, revamp on grassroot outreach activities etc, were all part of these "conditions" I have set for Sebastian before I agreed to join. There is no condition on candidacy nor personal glory of "important post" in CEC. In fact, I have to decline a couple of times for me to take over the SG post prematurely. I was just happy to help out Law Sin Ling who was the SG when I joined, in drafting out press releases and statements.

Basically, I just want to build a political party which will be creditable with basic functions revamped and strong core values in Democratic principles. Yes, I was willing to "do it all over again" from what I have learned and done in WP, to apply it on NSP with more modifications and enhancements.

However, for any organization changes, there will bound to be internal resistance to changes. But I am happy to say that our team has managed not only to revamp the party organization, going through the rebranding exercise, but we have managed to change certain mindsets as well. It is a fulfilling experience to me even though I have met lots of resistance, cultural shocks and problems in integrations etc.

I believe, if NSP has continued on what it has set out to do, it would have succeeded to achieve higher standards and results in the coming GE. Unfortunately, it didn't continue to fly higher despite of having a good take off in GE2011.Anyway, this is another story.

NSP has a remarkable campaign which has made tremendous gains from its previous results, partly because of the foundations we have built as a team right after GE2006 and partly because of the infusion of the group led by the two scholars, Tony Tan and Hazel Poa. NSP was effectively one GE late than WP. If it has carried on with this momentum, it would have achieved what WP has achieved in GE2011 by the next GE.

Leaving NSP

Some people question me or even blame me for the state of (dismay) affairs in NSP. They questioned me "Why did you leave?". Well, my simple answer to that is, I am a political builder without much attachments. When the group led by the scholars think they can lead the party and perform better, I was most willing to oblige them the opportunity to do it; just like the time when I am most willing to oblige them the opportunity to contest under NSP banner even though I know there will be problems of integrations as well as "leadership challenge" thereafter.

Even though I think they were making a grave mistake there and then of wanting to take the SG position and thus the party, but who am I to say I will be right on this? Besides, I always believe that the best lesson people learn is through mistakes they make. On top of that, I believe that if I don't agree to let them take over the SG post and even if I managed to win the post of SG via CEC elections, they would most probably leave NSP and it will destroy BOTH NSP and the group as well, politically speaking. This would become a really unfortunate loss to the whole opposition movement and democratic development.

I could have chosen to step down as SG and remain in CEC or even just as a party member instead of leaving NSP altogether, but I chose to let my membership lapse. I believed then, that my mission in NSP is completed, even though I did not attain the better result of winning at least a seat in parliament. The important point is that I have built the viable political platform which I set out to do.

The Next Mission

My next mission should switch to "the Forth State" or "Forth Power"; the scrutiny of the powers and political players via the non-partisan position. The scrutiny (checks and balances) will have to be applied to BOTH opposition as well as PAP. This is how Democracy should work.

To borrow Mr. Low Thia Khiang's phrase, if the co-driver is to slap the driver when he falls asleep, then who is to slap both the co-driver and the driver if they fall asleep together? This is the role of the Forth State or what I termed as "Third Force". This is also the reason why I feel that the dual party system isn't going to work well, thus we need multi-party system.

This is an even MORE difficult path than the previous two paths, joining WP or NSP. I have been called all sorts of names, all sorts of poisonous arrows, dagger stabs and such, but I take all these in stride. While there is a fast "awakening" process going on, but extremist fanaticism is also on the rise. Blind support doesn't only apply to PAP but also to opposition parties like WP or SDP as well. However, since WP has elected MPs in parliament and have more responsibilities and public interests entrusted to them via their Town Councils, it is natural that WP will have more problems and criticisms thrown at them and thus, more fanatic and illogical defense put up by their ardent supporters.

When these WP people (I always call them as such because in Internet, you can't really tell who are the party members and who are just supporters) cannot really defend WP's failings, naturally they will use the most common diversion tactic which PAP has been using all along. They will call others names, defame them by spreading rumours and such. I am definitely one of their victims. But I am not deterred by such tactics.

All I want is Democracy

All I want is simple, a functioning Democracy which is progressive in nature, which will bring strength and prosperity to Singapore. Without constant checking and balancing the powers with scrutinies on the failings of the parties entrusted with public funds and interests, we will not reach that state of democratic evolution.

This is who I am. A simple normal guy who has set out to achieve my democratic dream, no matter how far it is. Never mind if the process is so much difficult and EXPENSIVE, just follow the heart and passion, I believe it can be achieved; even if it is not in my life time, more people will come forward to help to achieve it.

I will live my dreams with my beliefs intact, do whatever necessary and within my ability to achieve progress in democratic development for Singapore.

To end my article, I will put up the various responses I had made to some of the ridiculous accusations and poisoning my adversaries have made against me, mostly behind my back, after I sign off.

Goh Meng Seng

Political Opportunist or Builder?

My response to people who throw up a lot of strange accusations on me being sour grape lah, political opportunist lah, bitter lah, whatever lah... here is my response:

Why am I sour grape when I am happy with my life now? Strange leh!

I am a political builder. Facts speak for itself. Build the political strength for others to continue the path. If they can make it, good for them but they must make sure they do a good job.

While I am in WP, I work hard to build the strength of WP. Some succeeded eventually by continue building on these strength, good for them. But they must perform, else they are not doing justice to the many sacrifices made by many other people who have brought them there.

While I am in NSP, I work hard to build the strength NSP as the Third Force. Some people thought they can do better and want to try, I will let them have it. But apparently, in this case, they failed badly even before going for the next GE. So be it. They owe an apology to many other people's sacrifices contributed in building up NSP. Nothing to do with me.

Do "political opportunist" do such things? No. Do people who are envious and selfish would do that? No. Actions speak for itself.


Another FB friend asks me if I am "political opportunist" and I ask him why? He said:

"People are saying that there is an individual amongst our group who is a political oppurtunist, because he/she post controversial things and allow the IBs on their friend lists to post"

I asked him what exactly is "political opportunist"? What is TRUE BELIEVER of Core Values of Democracy?

I told him if I am to block people who have differing views from me, who are my political opponents, then am I putting the belief of "Freedom of Speech" to practice? Won't I be the same as PAP, playing DEAF and ignoring differing views? So which part of this is "political opportunistic"?

I just told him that people who harbour such view are actually very dangerous. If they can practice CENSORSHIP at this level, if they ever take power and become government, they will be like PAP or even worse than them, in controlling Freedom of Speech!

Democracy and Freedom of Speech are not something that politicians could just "TALK" about it. We should observe very carefully the way politicians and their supporters behave and what they do in daily business. Democracy is more than lip service, a WAY of LIFE which we live by the Core Values we believe in.

No Hatred But Only Scrutiny

Here is another strange amusing thing people say about me and my reply; Some people keep saying I am "bitter" of not getting elected into parliament, "bitter" at WP etc etc.. Here is my reply:

Richard Wang, those people who really know me will tell you I am really living so happily after taking such a good break from partisan politics! What makes you think I am bitter at all? Imagination?

Getting elected will come with responsibility and lots of nonsense from lots of people. If you do not have that passion, you won't be able to sustain as it will be a torture to your life. If you only think about that high MP allowance, you will end up entrapped in unhappiness! Why should I envy or feel bitter over people in that situation ?

If I get elected, it would mean another phase of huge responsibilities and sacrifices of family life, privacy and business opportunities. Well, not that I do not want to get elected but my life will be very different. Good or bad? Nobody knows. 是福是祸无人知, just like YSL, do I feel envy of him? Feel bitter that I couldn't get elected like him? Absolutely no!

But at least, at this moment, I am living a happy life! The late Honorary Member of WP, Goh Seng Soon always scold me 乐不思蜀.. enjoying myself so much that I have forgotten all about home country Singapore politics!

Thus I am always amused by people who keep saying I am bitter about not getting into parliament, bitter at WP, envy at them...etc etc.. haha! It is really amusing rubbish to me lah!

The Most Absurd Accusation : PAP Spy?

Someone questioned me whether I am "PAP spy" while the PAP people accused me of being "one sided". This is hilarious.

For the WP people who don't like my scrutiny on WP on the AHPeTC 29% arrear saga, the following is my response... but before that, let me tell you a BIG OPEN SECRET, I am only the "SPY" of Singaporeans and Public Interests, nothing more, nothing less...

Speculating on WP AHPeTC saga? There will be no smoke without fire.

Yes I have been waiting for the AGO report but this time round, the 29% arrears is a serious problem and I have repeatedly hope that WP will shed some light on it but just too bad, even LTK tried to distance himself from it while the Vice Chairman of AHPeTC is as blur as sotong ever.

To my dismay, both gave irrelevant excuse for the repeated defiance of AHPeTC in submitting the report on arrears!

LTK can taici away with the excuse that he is no longer holding any top position in AHPeTC but PEH is the Vice Chairman for goodness sake!

Something is definitely brewing and we are kept in suspense while the Chairman of AHPeTC has conveniently kept quiet throughout this whole period. And you can't blame people of speculation when you have this deafening silence, Taici and political distancing by the very top leader of WP away from this saga, which have altogether created the speculations in the very first place.

There is no sign of ACCOUNTABILITY demonstrated here by WP. I wonder on what moral grounds can WP MPs go into parliament to talk about accountability to PAP, least asking any from them. They will be shot dead immediately in such debate.

Sometimes, having problems in governance is inevitable and that is not the biggest problem. The biggest problem will only occur when you mismanage the problem itself by not showing any moral courage of accountability.

The Hard Truth Hurts


Another friend/fan sent me the following message which he/she (yeah, cannot reveal whether male or female! haha) has posted on TRE's comment under my article... haha.. I have to agree totally:

By Silly Blue:

OH DEAR! All those SILLY BLUE TOY HAMMER working up for nothing!
GMS is right, he has said in his FB, only those who are GUILTY CONSCIENCE will be agitated and jumped at every comment and article he has written, always SUSPECTING that he is attacking them!

I have read this article upside down, inside out but I CAN'T FIND ANY REFERENCE to the Silly Blue's Workers Party but somehow, all these Silly Blue Toy Hammers keep jumping up and down, shouting out loud and cry foul of GMS... "attacking WP"? Oh DEAR! What IQ and EQ do they have?

This is really typical "此地无银三百两"! What GMS has written here can be referred ANY opposition party! I remember SDP has banned their own members from commenting in social media in their own identity as well!

I really cannot stop laughing while reading all these silly remarks from the Silly Blue Toy Hammer! HAHAHAHA!

Opposition Support Declaration

Opposition Support Declaration

I will only support Opposition Parties which TRULY BELIEVE in the Universal CORE VALUES of Democracy, Social Justice, Fairness, REAL Separation of POWERS (FIVE POWERS in Total) to effect REAL Checks and Balances, Rule Of Law and Basic Democratic Rights like Freedom of Speech and Expression. I will only support Opposition Parties with a clear and irrevocable belief in the ideology and the principles encompassing the human spirit of freedom and democracy.

I do not wish to see the case whereby in the haste of voting out PAP, we end up voting in a party that do not believe in all these and in fact, would be even MORE PAP than PAP in curbing civil rights and Democracy.

We must be discerning in our support of Opposition Parties which will hold our common belief of continuous Progressive Democratic Development for Singapore. There should not be ANOTHER PATH other than this else we will be pushing our country from one Tyranny of Dictatorship to another damning Dictatorship.

I will draw my line very clearly from those political parties or charlatans who tried to cheat us of TRUE Democracy. PAP has done that to my father's generation and that is why I am out against them. I shall not fall for another party which will try to do another PAP on us again.

Observe the speech and actions of various Opposition Parties, to scrutinize and determine whether they truly believe in the cause of Democratic Development for Singapore. Determine from the way they run their political parties and daily political activities on whether they truly believe in true democracy, true human spirit of freedom and justice, most important of all, believe in REAL workings of separation of powers and avoidance of CONFLICT OF INTERESTS, especially when monetary interests are involved. And in Singapore's context, practice TRUE FAIRNESS and whether truly taking care of the interests of ALL RACES.

We want TRUE DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT for Singapore and no other paths that deviate from it.


On another note:

There is an UNHEALTHY mindset among some political party members.

There are some party members who are so afraid to admit or make known to others of their party membership. They are most afraid of identifying themselves as a member of the political party they belongs to when they write or speak in public.

I used to think that only guilty conscience PAP members would avoid to let others know that they are PAP members but I do know of friends who are PROUD to be PAP members and make known to others that they are one.


Well we may differ in political views and affiliation but I do respect them for able to stand up proudly to what they believe in and their party affiliation.

However, it is an irony that there are some opposition party members who are so afraid to identify themselves with the party they are affiliated to. Are they afraid of PAP or ISD agents to hunt them down? No. They are more afraid of their own party going after them!

I always thought that only people with some dubious intention or agenda needs to hide themselves up but I was wrong. The amusement of such irony will always entertain me every now and then.

If we truly believe in Freedom of Speech and Expression, how could opposition party members be controlled in such a manner? It is totally irrational and unhealthy. One should feel free to speak his mind and he should know what to and what not to speak. We should empower our people to speak up, especially political party members!

The sad thing from this unhealthy situation is that, if the opposition party and its members have already exercise SELF CENSORSHIP even on their own party membership, can we really depend them on making Singapore more open to have more Press Freedom?

My Conclusion:


For the coming GE, opposition supporters should ask the various opposition parties on their positions on vital importance:

1) What do they think about current political system and do they think we need to improve the Checks and Balances of the whole system?

2) Do they believe in Separation of Powers as the main pillar of Democratic system? If so, what do they suggest to enhance the Separation of Powers in our current political system?

3) Do they believe in Freedom of Speech? If so, what do they suggest to change from status quo?

4) Do they believe in Social Justice? If so, what do they suggest to enhance it?

5) Do they believe in Rule of Law? Are they satisfied with the current system? If not, what do they suggest to enhance it?

If any opposition party refuse or try to shy away from answering all these basic questions, you should beware of their TRUE COLORS.

 Goh Meng Seng

Progression to Multiple Proportional Representation System

I do not agree with NSP's latest CRM proposal at all although it has made some valid points about the need to abolish the GRC system. The present GRC system has its apparent weaknesses but the most important point is that it has created an inherent instability to the a small nation like Singapore. It is not just about how the GRC would give the incumbent, PAP at this moment, the advantages over opposition parties. 

The GRC system might have serve PAP's intention of monopoly well for the past decades but in this new era, it has become a double edged sword instead. There is absolutely no guarantee for PAP to win all GRCs as proven by WP's victory in Aljunied GRC in GE2011. It is not just merely about win or lose for PAP but the truth is, PAP has lost two ministers in one shot due to GRC! 

Imagine if PAP is to lose 40% of the seats aka 40% of its GRC, it would mean that it may just lose more than 40% of its ministers altogether despite the fact that it still maintains its status as the ruling party! Thus the GRC system has become a great liability and baggage for ALL parties as well as Singapore as a whole. This is the main reason why the GRC system must be reviewed for the stability sake of Singapore. 

But to abolish the GRC system and revert back to the primitive system of single seat FPTP system is definitely not a progressive way. We may have to do a total revamp of our electoral system altogether instead of just engaging in a dualistic approach. Both the present GRC and the proposed ALL-SMC systems ignore the fact that there will always be voters "unrepresented" in the whole process. eg. if in a constituency, 40% voted PAP but it turns out that NSP won the seat(s) either in GRC or SMC, these 40% voters' choice will not be represented at all. A proportional representation system would have addressed this fundamental problem once and for all. 

We should have a Two-Tier electoral system and ironically, SMCs should be abolished totally, if equal weight and parity were to be enjoyed by every voter. We may only have a ONE SIZE group representative system eg. 4 seats for each group. 

There will be four votes allocated to each voter. One is to elect a local Town Councillor for municipal representation, one for legislative parliamentarian, one for "National" minority representative (either by party vote or individual vote) and one for "National" party leaders from the different parties. 

The rationale for such system is that Parliamentarians should only concentrate on legislative matters instead of being tasked to run the town councils. The Town Councils can be run by those town councilors who are elected separately by another vote. One Group of Constituencies may have 4 Candidates voted into parliament as MP but it could have as many as 10 Town Councilors voted to represent different districts within the group of Constituencies. 

All these MPs and Town Councilors will be allocated according to the proportions of the votes each party or independent candidates get. eg. for each 25% of the votes garnered, the party will get one seat in parliament and thereafter, depending on the size of the remaining percentage of votes, independent candidates or party candidates can be allocated accordingly. 

Similarly, for every 10% of the votes, each party will be allocated one seat for Town Council and so on. 

As for National votes, it will be opened to only participating parties with sizable number of candidates contesting (eg. at least 25% or 30% of the total parliamentary seats). Voters could either vote according to party line (aka party logo) and allows the parties to allocate these votes to their line up of candidates, or vote on the listed names of the individual candidates from the parties contesting. This is to allow parties to maintain the key potential ministers the parties wanted to include in its cabinet ministers' line up if it becomes the ruling party or part of any ruling coalition to be chosen by the voters. 

The minority candidates from each party will also be voted in through this National level proportional representation method. Minority candidates can also participate in the Local Group representation contest as well. 

A fixed total number of seats should be allocated to both National Party Leaders section as well as the National Minority Section. All seats in these two sections will be allocated proportionately to the parties.

Such a system will address quite a number of problems. It guarantees that our political system will have enough of the "ministerial caliber" politicians being voted or retained in the political system to provide a stability to the National leadership. 

It will also provide the opportunity for proportionate diversity in the representation of minority voices in parliament. 

Technically speaking, all voters will be "REPRESENTED" in parliament via their votes, even if they are of minority choice or voice. 

Parliamentarians will be released from the distractions of running municipal functions and can focus on their core job of legislative matters. They could still have offices set up in their constituencies to attend to matters concerning their constituents, other than municipal issues. Town Councilors elected will serve to manage these municipal issues instead. 

Such a system will enhance professionalism in the legislative functions in parliament and provide a stability to National leadership.

Goh Meng Seng

In memory of my Brother, David.

3 years ago, on this day 28 April, my brother David died during the General Elections while helping me in my election campaign in Tampines. It is a painful loss to me and my family.

David was the eldest brother in my family. He was a quiet and soft spoken guy. However, he was also a man of convictions.

David was a warm hearted, compassionate and helpful person who would always ready to help friends and family members. He had learned how to fix computers and would always offer to help poor family to fix their computers for free when he deemed fit. He had also refurbished old computers from my shops and gave them away to poor families whenever he could.

When I first joined Workers Party in 2001, David was all excited, though a bit worried about me. But he was definitely very supportive of me all along my path in opposition politics. When I first gave him the Workers Party membership application form, he gladly signed it.

From then on, he had been consistently on the ground to sell WP newspaper Hammer and knocking doors with me prior to GE2006. He had done all these without any expectation nor expecting anything in return.

David became my election agent in GE2006 when I contested in Aljunied GRC under WP banner. Without David, our campaign in Aljunied GRC may just end up chaotic. He had gone around the whole constituency and practically counted the lamp posts to estimate the number of posters we need. He had worked overnight just to make sure the contractors have put up the respective posters on time for the campaign on the next morning after nomination day.

Resources were always lacking in opposition parties when elections come. But David had basically utilized every means to recruit people to do the job. Although he wasn’t the “Principal Election Agent” of the team but he had basically run the whole logistics needs for the team. I owed him for that good campaign run.

When I announced my resignation from Workers Party, David was shocked and disappointed but he didn’t question my decision at all. But he did express his wish that I should join back Workers Party without being assertive.

I know my departure from Workers Party has caused some pressure on David. He was caught in between his party and me, his brother. I told him that he didn’t need to resign from WP as we are all in the same cause, no matter which opposition parties we are in.

However, it seems that not everybody in his party thinks like us. Although David didn’t tell me but I knew from various sources, he had been subtly distanced or even ostracized by some of his party members. Suspicions and distrust against David grew after I have decided to join National Solidarity Party. There were some who thought David was my “spy” in Workers Party but they had really underestimated David’s integrity. I have avoided asking him about Workers Party matters and he had never volunteered any information of his party to me.

When I decided to run in Tampines, I requested David’s help to be my election agent again. I knew this would put David in a tight spot but we have the understanding that we were in the same cause, we could choose our party and platform but not our parents. We are Brothers of the same bloodline. We have come to this understanding very early (about 2008-2009) so that we can let his party to have time to prepare new people to replace his role as election agent. Of course, I have to approach WP to tell them of this arrangement.

Unfortunately, this has caused further tension and awkwardness for David in WP. But David didn’t complain at all. He has endured it quietly. I do not understand the mentality or sentiment of some of the WP members. I do not work to contest against them but PAP. But it seems that they do not understand that at all.

A couple of months before GE2011, Yaw Shin Leong has spoken to me with much aggression that they decided not to contest Tampines (in GE2011) but would do so in the next GE. I sensed the kind of aggressive attitude of wanting a fight from him and WP. The immense arrogance demonstrated was astonishing. I realized then that my brother David must have suffered greatly but quietly from his party comrades’ attitude.

David must have felt torn apart when his party, WP announced their intention to contest in Moulmein Kallang after NSP has announced its candidates for this GRC. But he has kept quiet about it and didn’t approach me nor try to persuade me to pull out our team. He had felt a sense of great relief after I told him I was going to pull out our team from Moulmein Kallang GRC. He trusted me and our mutual understanding that we are working towards the same cause. I didn’t fail him in keeping that focus dedication to fight in what we have believed in.

It wasn’t easy for David to be the brother of Goh Meng Seng. Even though David was the eldest brother while I am the youngest in the family, he had always respected me in all aspects and supported me in my political struggle for the whole decade. He has never used his Eldest Brother’s status to lecture me or pressure me in any ways but treated me as a leader instead.

I am really fortunate to have a brother like David, who has put in real effort and time to support me in my political cause. But I am also really unfortunate to lose a brother like David in the midst of this struggle. He has not only suffered quietly the unwarranted distrust, slander, pressure and such in his party, but also gave up his life in supporting me, his brother, in my political struggle. It is indeed my greatest loss in my life to lose a brother like David. I owe him for my political status this life and I really wish we can be brother again next life to repay him.

Goh Meng Seng

晚报对佘雪玲的蓄意诽谤

我真的很难想象晚报会以如此没格的手段去胡乱报道这具有诽谤性的新闻。看看它在报纸的斗大标题是怎么写的：

“佘雪玲与已婚男面簿上载亲密照”

然后在文中的第一段就断然写道

"国民团结党第二助理秘书长佘雪玲面簿上载与一名男子的亲密照，男子据说是已婚男！" 

这标题和第一段文字已经涉嫌构成蓄意并恶意诽谤他人名誉的罪名！联合晚报在昨天（11月26日）14.30上载的网上宣传题也是以这第一段作为引题的。也许有人或律师提醒晚报这是具严重诽谤性的，所以在傍晚时分晚报才换了这引言：

“国民团结党第二助理秘书长佘雪玲有新恋情，面簿大晒亲密照！ ”

但是晚报主编必须知道实质的报章已经发售了出去了而没法更改标题和内容，这诽谤罪的嫌疑是脱不了身了。

第一，那男子并非“已婚男”而是“离婚男”。
第二，佘雪玲已经澄清这并非她目前的男友。*

虽 然晚报的报道里有加了一句，男子目前的婚姻状况不详，但是如果真是不详，为何大标题和首段竟然以断定的字眼说他是已婚男？看来，我们真的要怀疑晚报到底有 还有没有新闻从业员的最基本的专业道德与操守。在还没弄清楚事实前就胡乱报道这样具诽谤性的文章，这难道就是政府所谓的“负责任”媒体应有的所作所为吗？

晚 报和其他报业集团的报纸胡乱断章取意蓄意报道以达到中伤反对党人的形象已不是第一回了，我相信也不会是最后一回的。但是我觉得为了达到这目的而用这卑鄙无 耻的手段去形容象佘雪玲这样的女孩，试图把她报道成破坏别人家庭的第三者以破坏她政治形象，简直是令人感到非常遗憾的。

如果晚报还有那么一点华校生、读书人或华人应有的礼仪廉耻的话，那么就应该在晚报的封面刊登显著、慎重的道歉更正启事，以挽回那么一点点颜面和民众的信心。给人看到你们的诚意认错是不需要等到受害人发律师信的。

吴明盛

 *后记：佘雪玲再澄清，那男子的确是她的新男友

An Encouragement Note To Nicole Seah

The following is a note I have written to Nicole Seah after reading her article post "Ground Zero" on her personal Facebook.

Dear Nicole,

You may find it ironic or even feel that I am just being "sarcastic" but I have to congratulate you of crossing the most critical point of your life. Contrary to what you and many other people think, I think 2013 is the best year you could ever have in your life.

From what I have read from your post “Ground Zero”, 2013 is the year that provides the most important opportunity of metamorphosis for you, both in terms of personal as well as political development.

Although I hardly write to you about anything but in private, I have raised the concerns of your early political fame. Especially when you are blown out of the sky by the initial political fame gained with so many people flattering you, there lies the very danger of a devastating fall and destruction by the overinflated ego.

There is a Chinese saying, “少年得志大不幸”,literally means that most of those who have early fame or success in life, will probably end up with misfortune later. Right after GE2011, I actually felt guilty for transforming you into a “famous young Star” by urging you to stand for elections in Marine Parade which will inevitably put you into this dangerous path of “early fame”. As I watched over the days, months and years of how you have set your feet onto the sweet coated poisons of flattery and ego trips, I felt even worse. When I was persuading you to stand for elections in Marine Parade GRC, I have told you that you will definitely become famous or even a star, due to Tin PL factor of contrast and comparison. However, somehow I have left out the most important part of the potential danger lying ahead after becoming famous.

I didn’t write to you earlier because I know, there and then, you will not be able take criticisms constructively when what you heard most, was flattery. Pride and prejudice have become the biggest hindrance of your life. Anybody at your age if put into your shoes, would inevitably become so.

When I witnessed how you tripped and fell along the way with the various blunders you made publicly in forums, talks or in private, I thought to myself, all the efforts would be a waste after all. One will fall the hardest after he or she has climbed to the highest of the ego ladder. This is a historical lesson I learnt; the most effective way of destroying your opponents is to fan their ego to the highest and then after, give them the hardest blow to make them fall the hardest. They will never be able to stand up again to fight you. Strength comes not from your physical construct, but rather, from your mind and soul. Once your mind is destroyed by the fall from the ego ladder, no matter how strong you are in physical terms, you will lose the will to fight again.

When I read what you have written in this article “Ground Zero”, I feel so glad and happy for you. You have finally gone through the most difficult phase of this process of transition. Not many people can overcome this transition, a ruthless metamorphosis that will strip you of mind and soul. Some have even perished, taken their own lives for they cannot take the humiliation that comes from the fall from the ego ladder.

Thus, I have to congratulate you for making it through such enlightening process. However, I still hope that you can reconstruct your mind and soul to continue the political path which you have chosen to walk, with more wisdom and patience. Intelligence alone is not enough for one to walk the difficult, risky and uncertain path of opposition politics. You need wisdom, tact, patience, learning, hard work, team play and building, apart from charisma and stardom, to sustain and be successful in opposition politics. 

When you and other ex-RP people joined NSP and perform well in GE2011, I was extremely happy. However, I am utterly disappointed on how you guys run the campaign and later, demonstrate the impatience to take over the leadership of the party. I have no problem to hand over the SG at all but I guess it is the wrong thing to do after all.

Let me explain why I think you and others who are new to NSP are extremely politically naive and amateurish when you guys tried to take over the party. And why I decided to let Hazel become SG and allowing my membership lapsed as well.

Politics is not just about Stardom or Fame, not even about “talents”, be it “scholars” or whatever it means. It is about numbers and people management. Apparently, all of you have underestimated the strength of the “veterans” or “original members” of NSP. All you have focused is about what you want but nothing about the feelings or other people’s thinking or perception.

When I first join NSP way back in 2007, I didn’t even want to hold any position in CEC, although I was co-opted into it. But I still spent lots of effort and time to help Law Sin Ling, the then SG of NSP in various work; discussion of press releases, editorial of North Star, ground work as selling North Star etc. I wasn’t interested in taking up the SG post even after Law left. Not even when the veterans persuaded me to take over. The reason is simple: I was simply not ready to take up the SG because I have yet to gain confidence of the members. It will take time for anyone who wants to lead a whole group of people who are mostly older than you, to understand them better and find out more about each and every one of them. Else, any rush into such leadership position will be suicidal.

Anyone who tries to push you to take over such leadership position prematurely will definitely have ulterior motives or hidden agendas. It is actually a DEATH TRAP because once you take up that position, most probably you will not able to perform well because you lack the basic understanding of each individual in the party, least their full support, trust and confidence. Positions aren’t there for good showing only. They come with great responsibility and you will be putting your own credibility to great risk if you do not have the right conditions to excel.

Thus, it was only after Ken Sun stepped down and knowing the GE was near, I took up the post of SG. However, it is not without obstacle. There will always be others who want to be difficult and try to undermine your authority or position. There was one veteran who wanted to contest for the SG post. I told everyone, including him, right before the CEC elections that if he could find two congress members to propose and second him to contest for the SG post, I would decline nomination and let him be SG. He could only get one member to nominate him but no other to second him. The rest is history.

The point I want to show through my own experience, is that never underestimate the people around you. In politics, you cannot cherry pick but have to work with people whom you may not like at all. This is what team work is all about. As long as they are not there to destroy or sabotage the whole platform, you will have to play ball as a team player with them.

But when I saw how impatient the whole lot of you was rushing into demanding leadership positions, especially the SG post, I could only laugh at such naivety. I could have contested against Hazel and by now you should realize, most probably Hazel won’t win if there was a contest between us. (see afternote) But I didn’t. I empathized with your group’s plight, especially Tony and Hazel who have hopped from WP to RP and last (hopefully), NSP. They felt helpless of such “party hopping” because they felt that the main problem was that they do not have absolute control of their destiny via controlling the party platform. Furthermore, most likely if Hazel didn’t become SG there and then, your whole group would most likely leave NSP. Your group will become “political nomads”, so to speak. It will be a lose-lose situation for everyone of us. Even if I won the SG post, the whole party would still lose because we would lose the whole bunch of good, though politically inexperienced people.

However, I also foresaw that Hazel and the rest will not succeed basically because she won’t be able to commit the kinds of time and efforts demanded from a SG. Furthermore, taking up such position prematurely without even first knowing the whole party well inside out, will definitely handicapped her effectiveness as SG. Running a party of ALL volunteers is MORE demanding than running a company. This is because for a commercial entity, you can just hire and fire but not for a political party of volunteers. You will have to spend triple effort in managing PEOPLE, human beings who have different egos and characteristics.

This is the reason why I have to let my membership lapse because of these predictions, I do not want to be made the scapegoat for being blamed for Hazel’s failure. True enough, from extraordinary long time in publishing the first issue of North Star right after GE2011, to lack of leadership on the ground work front and such, my predictions came true. It is just a matter of time before she fell from that position.

I have spent so much writing on these because I want to let you know, it will do you no good to be impatient in taking up political positions in NSP CEC when you cannot commit that level of efforts and time needed to be effective. Most important of all, you will need to spend more time to understand everyone in the party, not restricting to CEC members only. Else, even if you managed to get whatever position you aimed for, you will find yourself stonewalled and frustrated at all the time.

The other point which you have raised in your article Ground Zero, is that you realize you are not expert in everything. The truth is, if you want to be a politician, even just as an opposition MP, you will have to know almost everything with certain depth, though not to the expert level. It is good that you have such realization and you are still young. You could still put effort in learning more policy matters; enrich yourself with the learning of Economics, statistics or even sociology and technology etc. This is an ever learning path for politicians.

Last but not least, I do have confidence and hope in you to progress into an even more potent political force after this great year of 2013. I always remind myself: one learns nothing from being blown out of the sky by ego fanning but only from setbacks and failures in life, one will get valuable lessons to prepare for the future. 

All the BEST to you in your future political battles.

Goh Meng Seng

Afternote: Well, even if Hazel managed to win in a contest against me during that CEC elections, she would lose even more. She would be seen as an ambitious. anxious maverick who ousted the SG whom agreed to take them into NSP. She would be seen in the same light of those backstabbers. How could she actually "win" anything via such process? Such contest will do her no good at all. Thus, the only way to resolve such lose-lose situation, was for me to step aside willingly for her to take over the SG post because she would not stand down from the contest as she has been misled into such situation. All poisons are disguised with lots of good intentions and flattery in politics. Only amateurs fail to see through such plots. 

Half Way Bell Check of SG Political Parties - SDP III

It is never easy to write a "fair assessment" of other opposition parties which do not have any seats in Parliament. We cannot use the same yardstick as PAP or WP to assess them because they have neither any opportunity to demonstrate their skills in parliament nor running any TC.

There are three main areas which I would look at these two parties, mainly

1) Organization functions, growth and stability
2) Consistency in ground work
3) Policy literature, deliberation and strength which includes commentary, press statements on various political issues etc.

All these are important parameters to gauge whether an opposition party without seats could be successful or having better chance to convince voters of their abilities in its future election bids.

Voters mentality is that they may give you "chance" but you must first show them what you are capable of, in terms of consistency in ground work, appearance on the ground and your ability to talk sense in your policy statements and published stance on various political issues. Of course, the potential of the party will also depends on how well the party is managed and growth.

SDP's Struggle on Keeping Gains and Talents

Ever since GE2011, SDP has been consistently losing talents. Part of the reasons was that most of these "high profile" candidates were not empowered by the party to become new stakeholders by appointing them as Cadre members. This in turn deprive them the opportunity to participate in SDP's CEC elections which could provide SDP the necessary party renewal.

SDP has performed reasonably well in GE2011 without its Secretary General Dr Chee Soon Juan's direct involvement in its rallies and public appearance during the election period. Thus somehow, it gave SDP a very important signal that without Dr Chee, more voters are willing to give SDP candidates with "good caliber" a chance to serve them. Of course, this may create a sense of "crisis" to the SDP leadership that the new batch of candidates may over-shine or take over the party. Thus if we look from this perspective, it is not that difficult to understand why post-GE2011 for SDP ended up with the loss of critical talents.

The only person who was new but elected into SDP's CEC was Dr. Vincent Wijeysingha but even he has quit SDP. The latest reports on Dr Ang Yong Guan has indicated that he would most probably moved on to Singapore People's Party with Mr. Tan Jee Say who have left SDP earlier to run for the Elected Presidency. Michelle Lee has long been seen putting up WP's blue T-shirt. Thus, it basically means that SDP has lost the WHOLE Holland Bukit Timah team which happened to score the HIGHEST among SDP's contested constituencies. i.e. SDP has lost its whole A TEAM.

Although SDP has since recruited new talents like Jeremy Chen who was involved in drafting the new Housing policy, but I think the lost of the whole GE 2011 Team A will reflect quite badly on itself. It will create doubts on both voters as well as other potential talents who might have second thoughts of joining the party after witnessing such losses.

The Best Website But....

If you make a thorough comparison of SDP website with other political parties, you will find that it is best professionally designed with good videos and even shopping cart for selling books to raise funds. Apparently, it has spent a lot of effort, time and most probably money in building up its website. However, something is just not right. First of all, there is no link nor information of who are the key CEC members of SDP listed on the website. Secondly, most of the books listed on sales are written by Dr Chee and even on the "FAQ", its first objective is to defend Dr Chee from the accusation that he "kicked" Mr Chiam See Tong out. Then it went on to stress that its Party is driven ideologically by Dr Chee, listing his books and such.

But it is interesting to note that SDP manages to get very talented people to help with its publication, website designs and video creation. It is a strength unmatched by other parties.

Ideologically Based on Dr Chee

It is not difficult to conclude that SDP has been built around Dr Chee by the look of its Website and literature published. Thus it seems that SDP cannot live without Dr Chee and the reverse may be true as well. This would mean that at present, any attempt to renew its top leadership would mean totally impossible because it has been so entrenched in one single man's presence in the party.

When you see Photos, you see ground work

SDP ground work has been "well documented" in the sense that each ground activity will definitely be reported on its website accompanied by photographs. However, if you observe very carefully, consistency on ground work is lacking. Consistency requires weekly engagement on the ground. There are sales of their newsletter Democrats and door knocking but these were not done regularly right after GE2011.

Ground work is more than just public visibility or photo shoot exercise. It is nice to put photos on website for netters to see but what matters most is what the ground knows of your presence.

Strength of Ideology, Policy Views and Political Literature

SDP professed to be strongly "ideologically rooted" by "Democratic Principles". Over the years, it has also developed a massive amount of political literature, thanks to Dr Chee working FULL TIME on this political front.

SDP has been able to provide timely comments, press statements and media responses for various issues, ranging from political stance, policy issues etc.It has taken its initiative to formulate various policy papers like Healthcare, Housing etc. These are good efforts even though we may not agree totally with their views.

It has also been actively sending its members, particularly younger ones, to participate in international or regional political events.However, the effectiveness of such overseas activities on local political scenes. But at least, there is some form of political education process.

SDP has put up various policy papers and some of them are quite impressive. However, many of those who helped to put up these policy papers, the brains behind all these, have left the party.

Policy papers alone will not get the party candidates elected. Each candidates' strengths and weaknesses count. Thus, it would be awkward if the party goes to GE with all these policy papers without the brains behind them.

The Linked Fate of SDP and Dr Chee ?

One of the biggest political blunder SDP has committed in post-GE2011 was the positioning of SDP by Dr Chee during the Punggol By-Election. Quite a number of SDP members and supporters I have met back then, expressed disappointment as well as frustration of Dr Chee's handling of the by-election issue.

Many acknowledge Dr Chee's contribution to the party for the past decades and had assumed that the fate of SDP will be linked to Dr Chee. However, some in the party, in increasing numbers, start to think that SDP would do better without Dr Chee as its leader. The Punggol By-election was a point that ignite such confidence crisis on his leadership.

Dr Chee will be able to contest in next GE but it was reportedly said that someone close to him has put up a "matter of fact" comment that he should quit politics altogether if he doesn't win the next elections. Unfortunately I don't see how he could win when all his able generals have left the party one by one.

I personally feel that Dr Chee should have opened up the party for renewal, accept the fact that the party has performed much better in last GE without his public participation and it is time for him to sit back as party advisor instead of taking the front driver seat. It doesn't reflect well if the party could put up an individual as its candidate during GE but in the end, was NOT promoted as the party's cadre members for whatever reasons. This is especially so when the candidates in question, are all very well qualified.

It would be irresponsible for a party to put up a candidate whom it doesn't trust to be its cadre member but deems fit to be an MP in parliament representing Singaporeans, unless there are really valid reasons to refuse such promotion for these candidates.

Especially so for a party that advocates Democracy, it should first practice it openly instead of just merely playing lip service about Democracy.

Cadre System and its Folly

The Cadre System is practiced in most political parties in Singapore, except for a few. The Cadre System is set up to prevent infiltration by opponent's agents so to disrupt leadership continuity or placement. However, the Cadre System has become a tool for incumbent leaders to control who can contest and vote in party leadership election. Most of the Cadre System only empowers the CEC or even just the few party leaders to decide who can be or not be cadre members of the party.

Thus, if the CEC or leaders are to preserve their own power and position in the party, the only thing they need to do is to appoint more members that they trust to vote for them during CEC elections. This will create a bad vicious power inbreeding and made renewal extremely difficult if the leaders themselves refused to step down.

During my time in NSP, I have made a couple of proposal to improve the Cadre System (or Congress Membership) in NSP. CEC will not be the only entity that holds the power to promote and appoint cadre members. The Cadre members themselves can propose and approve cadre membership during Party Congress. This will strike a balance of power between the need to prevent infiltration while avoid power inbreeding among the CEC members. I have also proposed to give Party Congress of cadre members the only power to remove critical assets like MPs. The CEC basically cannot sack any MP (if they have any) due to politicking, but have to seek the Party Congress endorsement in doing so.

This is to prevent the similar situation where SDP CEC sacks Chiam See Tong from party membership back in the 1990s due to differences in opinion and politicking.

Democracy - The Balance of Power

SDP has to show that it is serious about what it advocates : Democracy. The fallout of its team of promising candidates in the last GE indicates a serious systemic problem within the party framework.

While it is "norm" that parties may field candidates who joined the party at the very last minute but it must be cautioned that any candidates fielded by the party will be seen as someone whom the party has confidence in serving the constituents. Thus it is illogical for the party not to have the confidence in these candidates to become stake holders of the party by promoting them into cadre members.

The party structure will also need to be seen as transparent,accountable and open to constant renewal. It must also be seen as balance in delegating power instead of being seen as a "One Man Show", else it would be ironic contradiction for a party that advocate Democracy but in reality, practice dictatorial management style.

Conclusion

After the departure of Vincent Wijeysingha, I am rather pessimistic about SDP's future. No matter how many good policy papers it has produced in the past, political contest in Singapore is still reliant on individual personality on the ground.

A party cannot progress with massive loss of experienced, good candidates, especially from its A Team. It will setback the party's advancement and dent the party's credibility if the reasons for losing these candidates is due to internal politicking or the lack of trust in these candidates. 

Unfortunately, rightfully or wrongfully, Dr Chee will be seen as one leader who have dampen the progress of his party TWICE in history. I do not have high hope that Dr Chee could win the GE when he keeps losing good candidates. He may have the best Website and so on, but he lacks the appeal to the voters at the center who will decide winners.

Goh Meng Seng