Party Interests vs National Interests

Party Interests vs National Interests

It is kind of strange that there are people who actually “blame” the planned alliance for causing “credible parties” to lose votes. It is even more strange when the very people would claim that the planned alliance is just too insignificant, alliance of “mosquito parties”, alliance of “fringe parties”....

People who know me would know that I hate and dislike hypocrisy.

I decided to work for an alliance not because I can “make credible parties” to lose votes. Right after GE2015, I did a deep reflection to understand why opposition as a whole, lost the elections with such great margin.

Voters were afraid to have PAP losing power while the opposition as a whole, did not have a coherent agenda or common policy platform to replace PAP as a ruling party. The messaging among opposition parties were disorganized, confusing, sometimes even contradictory and lack clarity. Most importantly, opposition as a whole has not put up a coherent and convincing showcase of good economic policies and strategies since 1965.

Singaporeans have voted PAP as ruling government with great mandate for past 6 decades despite of the injustice done to political opponents, increasing cost of living, sometimes annoying unfair practices etc basically because they have shown that they were able to bring food to the table, roof over the heads and relative prosperity to the masses while the opposition didn’t even have a credible ability to scrutinize some of the bad PAP policies like Asset Enhancement Scheme!

The only time voters gave opposition a good decent support was when PAP or rather LKY had made a grave mistake in its graduate mother priority policy back in 1984. Subsequently, Chiam See Tong challenged PAP on HDB pricing in 1988 and 1991... etc.

Some people ignorantly, mistakenly or deliberately misinterpreted the result of GE2015 to only focus on the first part of the reason, voters are afraid of PAP losing power but failed to recognize the second part of the problem.... the lack of common policy platform and disarray policy messages.

In contrast, in 2011, opposition performed much better because after I started the debate and fire on HDB issues, it became the KEY issue of the whole campaign. All opposition parties attack MBT and his mismanaged HDB policies and WP became the biggest beneficiary of such unintended coherent attacks on HDB.

Of course in 2015 GE there were other factors like AHTC saga and death of LKY which both directly influenced and enhanced the fear of PAP losing power and ended up with incompetent opposition running the country.

My conclusion of the GE2015 reflections includes two important points. The whole opposition as a whole, must unite and give confidence to voters that we have a common policy platform, not merely an alliance. This is especially so for Economic policies.

We still face a BIGGER impact of AHTC saga in the coming GE when the verdict is out and expecting more actions to be taken by the authorities. All these, we really do not have any control over the state of affairs with regards to AHTC saga. We just need to minimize its impact on all other opposition parties.

The only thing we can do is to unite and present a coherent force with a common policy platform and Manifesto. The best option is to form a grand alliance which can put up a credible economic policy platform. This will address the fear of PAP losing power with no viable option for better transition to change of power due to the disarray of opposition parties.

I repeatedly say that as a whole, opposition is not lack of talents. With regards to economics, the planned alliance has 3 individuals with good Economic and Finance knowledge. We can handle all economic policy issues quite competently. In fact, from my various engagements, I find that it is really easier to discuss economic policy issues with Tan Jee Say and KJ Jeyaratnam, as compared to other opposition leaders or candidates. Their grasp of economics is superb and I do not need to explain any economic terms theories to them at all, unlike my other experiences.

Thus, I always hold the view that many opposition leaders and candidates are actually grossly undervalued when we do not unite. People may sneer, smear and mock at our current planned alliance as an alliance of “mosquito parties”, but do remember, even mosquitoes can kill as well.

I believe this is a good healthy development for opposition as well as the Nation. A good government can only be sustained when you have effective opposition with competent knowledge and skill sets to scrutinize and debate important policies, especially economics policies in parliament.

Just like the HDB issues. Even though I am not elected into parliament, but my complete views on HDB has made PAP Lawrence Wong to take serious considerations and come up with subsequent policy changes and initiatives based on the problems and solutions raised by me. Although these policy changes and initiatives are not qute complete, but it is a good start as I have performed an effective role as opposition which effect good governance that benefits the country.

Thus, I cannot understand why these people are skeptical about the planned alliance. It is ok if they do not like it or support. But to further accuse the alliance will reduce the votes and support of their so call “credible opposition parties”, that’s a great insult and deliberate blame game.

We are acting on what voters expect us to do and the past GE has shown this is key point which resulted in our unsatisfactory results.

In fact, it is in the Nation’s interests for the opposition to regroup and reorganize ourselves in unity.

But it seems that most of these people are only concerned about individual “party interests” instead of looking at the big picture.

I do not like blame game and definitely not hypocrisy. When opposition parties as a whole failed to form alliance, the very same people would accuse us, the “mosquito parties” of having ego problems and reluctant to unite. The truth is, it is never so. We have started discussing about alliance way back in 2015 and we were excited when SDP invited Dr Tan to meet over opposition unity in July 2018. We waited patiently since then, even seek to meet the only existing alliance platform, SDA. We waited for months for SDA to agree to meet up but no reply.

So what else can we possibly do?

We invited Dr Tan PSP to join the alliance and lead us. But no reply.

Thus, we decided to build the platform first and would still welcome others to join later.

If all these will make other parties to lose support and votes, that’s really not our fault at all. It is hypocritical and unethical to put blame on us for other people’s problem due to their own decisions.

You either believe in Opposition Unity or you do not. That’s just extremely simple.

For people to comment that I don’t like this guy, so do not want to play with him, I say that’s pretty amateurish.

For the record, there was mutual dislike among PAP pioneer leaders. But as true politicians and statesman, they still chose to work as a core team because what they only care about is whether the other person could bring value to the governance of the Nation. Personal emotions of likes and dislikes were put aside. They weren’t going to get married to each other and live their lives together forever anyway!

That’s true meritocracy that had worked for PAP as well as SINGAPORE in the pioneer years. Look at strength, weaknesses and facts to make the best decisions for the country.

It is only when political players in Opposition start to change their extremely narrow mindset to think like a statesman, instead of thinking like a petty lot, then we can see some light in the development of opposition politics.

I respect other people’s decision not to join the planned alliance but ultimately we will have to live with consequences of our own decisions, instead of putting blame on others. We must always learn to be responsible for our own decisions and actions.

Goh Meng Seng

TOTD: The Final POISONOUS Death Dagger stabbed into Alternative Media.

Thought of the Day - The Final POISONOUS Death Dagger stabbed into Alternative Media.

Most people like me, would look at the Fake News Law at superficial level on first sight. This is always the tactic used by PAP controlled Mainstream Media to mislead and misguide people into looking at the big punch while avoiding the poison darts and daggers hidden in that thick legislation.

While we are busy criticising why political appointees like Ministers were given such huge power to decide what's true and what's false, we miss the whole poisonous intent of this law.

Hidden within this legislation is the vicious intent to force the closure of all alternative media by taking aim at advertisers and sponsors of alternative media, instill FEAR into them while putting an "exemption clause" so that it could be used to exempt PAP's Mainstream media.

The reason why Facebook and other international internet media platform are so against this law is basically because not only the owners of these platforms would be criminally liable but advertisers on their platforms as well as sponsors will be criminalized by PAP government as "supporting fake news"!

The proposed law and with no single doubt, would be passed, says that if a website or internet platform has been found guilty of DELIBERATE spreading "fake news" or information (for 3 times within 6 months), those who donated or sponsored these sites, or advertise on these sites, will be charged in Singapore court as well!

Now you know why there is an "exemption" clause which gives PAP great power to exempt SPH, Mediacorp and media under its control from this law because, even these media outlet could not be sure that each and every news they broadcast could only be True but not Fake!

On the other hand, who would dare to advertise on alternative media like TOC or Independent SG if this law is passed? Who would dare to donate to these entities to face the risk of being prosecuted by PAP government if these media get into trouble with Fake News legislation?

This law is a total Farce. It is making use of the excuse of curbing "Fake News" to empower PAP Ministers with enormous Judiciary and Executive power to thumb down internet media which they don't like!

It goes against the spirit of Rule of Law whereby the Judiciary will be totally by-passed and smack of Rule by Law of a dictatorial power which will decide who will be exempted while who will be persecuted!

The potent poison actually lies within the details. If Singaporeans do not wake up to such blatant facts but chose to believe in PAP's sweet talk of its weak justification to empower themselves with such dictatorial powers, I fear Democracy will leave us eventually one day.

Goh Meng Seng

TOTD: What matters most in Politics?

Thought of the Day - What matters most in Politics?

I have put up a teaser just not too long ago, asking my FB friends to guess what I had replied a reporter's query on "when are you going to do ground work?".

My answer shocked him. I said, I am not going to "walk the ground", so to speak. Not going to knock on doors, shake hands and kiss babies.

His reaction is quite "normal" as this is the "default thinking" that politicians, be it PAP or opposition, should "walk the ground" in order to "win votes".

I explain to him clearly, I am not going to play the games according to the "indoctrinated rules" set by PAP.

PAP has not only drawn the electoral boundaries but also the "invisible political boundaries" for Opposition, to its own advantage, of course. PAP has always been trying to "mislead" and "misguide" political engagement via subtle "brain washing".

It all started way back in 1981, right after JBJ won the Anson by-election. The almighty PAP has lost its very first seat in one and a half decade. Naturally, the late LKY jumped with anger.

The often DULL parliament sittings had suddenly become all fiery with exchanges of missiles and dramas. It was apparent that the total dominance of PAP in the past immediate decade had made it complacent and lost the art of debate in the face of a strong and fiery opponent, JBJ. Parliament in the past could be an "empty rubber stamp" without the need of any real debates or even the need of attendance of MPs and Ministers. JBJ had changed all that. Even LKY himself had to make it a point to attend parliament whenever JBJ was making his speeches of criticisms.

In 1984, PAP lost another seat in Potong Pasir and this led to a serious rethinking of political strategy. Town Council Management entrusted to MPs was the solution.

It was an attempt to divert voters and politicians attention from the REAL CORE RESPONSIBILITY of an MP in parliament to drain their energy and attention into municipal issues.

In the Westminster system, municipal issues are taken care by District Councillors, who are also voted in by residents. An MP is never expected to manage the estate or be bothered by municipal issues because they are voted in to speak up on policy matters in parliament.

But PAP, knowing that they do not have strong MPs in parliament while having all the resources to take care of municipal issues by subcontracting out to professional estate management companies, tried to change the focus and direction of political engagement towards municipal matters instead of policy debates and law making in parliament.

PAP has successfully to mislead and brainwash both voters as well as opposition politicians to think that they should put most of their energy in knocking doors, convincing voters they can run town councils instead of putting up strong debates, policy ideas and scrutiny in parliament. After opposition won some seats, they will compete with PAP which has the whole machinery of People's Association (PA), in conducting durian tours, temple tours, organizing events etc... instead of spending most of their time in policy research and debates.

In the end, we have political parties doing Charity Work, giving out goodies, organizing events .... instead of doing the REAL political work of analysing, researching and commenting on Real political issues. Political parties are more like Charity Organization or Event Organizing companies or simply Social Clubs nowadays.

Voters are judging the "quality" of candidates by looking at whether they "serve" them by "knocking doors" or "visit" them. Or whether they attend wakes or temple dinners and such. Or organize any events for them...etc. The most illogical thing is, they even expect opposition who have not won any seat to do all these!

Instead of looking at the political views, ideologies or ideals of political candidates, we have voters basically "voting blindly" according to "party branding" or whether candidates "walk the ground"! These totally misguided perception and concept of politics is the direct result of PAP's subtle brain washing.

It always irks me when people start talking about "I only vote XXX party and not small parties" or "if you are contesting under XXX party, I will vote for you". I consider that as an expression of political immaturity. One who cannot discern good candidates from bad but resort to some "fuzzy branding", he must be too lazy to really study and understand each and every choices presented to him.

This is the reason why we ended up with lots of empty chairs and empty tables in Parliamentary sittings most of the time. When voters and politicians have WRONG and misguided priorities in politics, that's the end result we will get.

I will vote or support a person or a team for only two reasons:

1) Not PAP because I do not want them to be complacent when they get too high votes.

2) In the event of multi-corner fight, I will support the candidates who make good sense and have good political ideals or ideology which resonate with my belief, regardless of which party he or she is from.

I have gone through 3 General Elections. GE 2006 WP made great progress up from the devastating state of 2001 GE. This is partly because we played according to the brainwashed setting of PAP configurations, doing house visits, shaking hands and kissing babies.

In GE 2011, I changed the methodology subtly. I didn't knock on all the doors in Tampines but decided to ignite the fire on policy issues, mainly HDB issues. It set on a fire which ran wild and benefited all opposition.

I thought Singaporeans have evolved and matured politically. Finally they understood the importance of checks and balances, with a desire to vote in more opposition MPs. The path of Democratic Development should be on the right track of no return.

I was proven totally wrong in GE 2015. Voters are basically more Emotional rather than politically matured with the determination of making progress for Democratic Development.

I decided to stop all "political wayang" which is totally misleading, misguided and even detrimental towards REAL political Democratic progress for Singapore.

What we need is more public political discourse and education, not more door knocking saying Hi and Bye, shaking hands, kissing babies and making people "feel good" so that they will vote for you.

I decided to spend most of my time writing on my FB and copy some of the postings to my blog as an archive. I hope more people will be enlightened and provided with better reasoned ideas for them to talk about in their daily lives so that they could convince more people in their real life circles. Share the public discourse, ideas and ideals through FB or real life chats with friends and strangers.

This is a slow and painful process. It needs consistent commitment, nothing less than sweating out in knocking doors.

All political movements always start with evangelism of alternative ideas and ideals, not with knocking doors and kissing babies. When the seeding of ideas and ideals take root in the minds and hearts of voters, their emotional sway will be dampen and hopefully, what happened in 2015 GE will not repeat again.

Dr Sun Yat Sen had done that all his life, in order to convince people that a change of regime from Monarchy to Republic was a necessity. He changed China, not by knocking doors, kissing babies or doing charity work or organizing tours. He did it through endless and continuous evangelism of his political ideas and ideology, which were so alien to his people of his time.

Thus, I decided to break through the walls and boundaries set by PAP's political brainwashing. I will not play into their game of political patronage and wayangism. I will do what is MOST important in politics, the evangelism of political ideas, ideals and discourse.

If you expect me to knock doors, kiss babies, do charity work or organize events, then don't vote for me. If you only want to vote for some "big party with big brand", then I am not for you.

But if you want an MP who will put 101% in parliamentary work, scrutinize each and every policy and laws which PAP wants to pass, then I will be an extremely good choice for you.

My "Track Record" has nothing to do about how many blocks of flats I have "walk and knock", has nothing to do about whether I have run a town council before, definitely nothing about whether I am a good organizer of events or involve in giving out goodies as charity.

My "Track Record" is my consistency in providing my political views, ideas and ideals. Ideas and views which PAP would even adapt quietly without giving due credits, even million dollar "elite" ministers would read and adapt in their policies.

So next time, anyone of you start to talk about "walk the ground", "start campaigning" or "track record", think again.

I have never stopped "campaigning" since I graduated from university, against bad PAP policies. I "walk the hearts and minds" and my "Track Record" of policy ideas and ideals are thick.

Anyone who wants to be in politics, must have some policy views or policy ideas to start with. If you have none, sorry, I won't even bother.

Goh Meng Seng

TOTD: Lessons for Civil Servants from Malaysia GE14

Thought of the Day - Lessons for Civil Servants from Malaysia GE14

Many top and middle management civil servants in Malaysia as well as Singapore are pro the ruling parties in their respective countries and they think that by doing so, they could get promotion faster or at least keep their iron rice bowls fortified.

Some will go the extra mile to side the ruling parties or even risk breaking the law to demonstrate their boot licking skills.


They have forgotten that as civil servants, regardless of their political stance or preferences, they are required to maintain neutrality in their capacity as public servants. Tax payers paid their salaries, not ruling parties.

We have witnessed in Malaysia, a lot of upright civil servants were forced to leave or even persecuted for carrying out their duties diligently and they could finally cleared their names. On the other hand, those civil servants who are too biased in their ways are getting sacked or even face potential lawsuits against their bad deeds.

Singapore civil servants, especially those top civil servants should bear in mind that they should maintain neutrality at all times else the karmic results we are witnessing in Malaysia now may fall upon them one day if PAP lose its power.

Just today, I heard another case that a man was warned that he should not write any anti-PAP government postings on social media else they, the police, will prosecute him! That’s outright unconstitutional and against the right of freedom of expression! It really makes Singapore sound more like a total communist dictatorship!

This is not the first time I heard about such threats imposed by the police or ISD agents in disguise. They have forgotten that their duties are to the country, not to the ruling party.

Time has changed and it is regrettable that such old tactic of intimidation is still used by these people.

They will have to pray hard that PAP will stay in power forever.

Goh Meng Seng

The FATAL Mistake of PAP

The FATAL Mistake of PAP

Well, the Fatal Mistake fell upon Singaporeans while PAP made use of such manipulation of CPF-HDB financing to boast its own political capital built upon the great cost on Singaporeans' retirement financial adequacy as well as future generations of Singaporeans' housing needs.

Many people do not understand why I call Asset Enhancement Scheme as an outright scam. Let me explain in simple terms.

If someone forced you to put 50% or 40% of your salary into his safe keeping, promising you a miserable return of 2.5% per annum but tells you that you could use a big bulk of it to purchase only a precious stone from him and nothing else. He claims that it will increase in value forever, 10 times, 15 times, 20 times...

Else, you will have to wait until you are 55 years old before you can take back your money... then, it increases to 65 years old and then, he says, you cannot take out whole lump sum but only bit by bit....

What would you do? Of course you will use whatever amount of money you can get from these money you kept with him to buy this supposed precious stone!

Then, he inflated the price of this precious stone artificially because he is the monopoly supplier of these stones, under the slogan of "enhancing the value of the stones"... in fact, made you pay money to "upgrade" the stone with beautiful boxes.

However, right from the start, this guy knows that these stones could only last 99 years and by then, it will be zero value and under the contract, he could take the stones back from these buyers.

What about the promise of "Asset Enhancement"? What about the Empty rhetoric that these stones will rise in value FOREVER?

Anyone with a good mind would conclude that this is a scam. The contract drafted by that guy has specifically said that the stones will expire and have to be returned to him but yet, he is telling everyone that it is an asset to them and it will rise in value forever!

Now, this is just the beginning of the problem. If it is just a bit of money lost to a scam, that's not a big issue. But in the case of CPF-HDB, a few generations of Singaporeans' retirement financing is at stake!

It is a deliberate scam whereby money, your money, is deliberately channeled into a dead end with only one outlet available. i.e. buying HDB flat (later on private property but that is another issue). It is just like an irrigation of water. PAP had made use of your money, to make its HDB 80% ownership successful and claim credits for it. But it is in fact, a manipulation of your money which results in over-consumption of HDB public housing.

The fundamental Fatal Mistake made here is that in its zeal to get Singaporeans buying its HDB flats which continues to be inflated in prices as compared to 1970s and 1980s, PAP government has encroached into the core CPF funds meant for Singaporeans' retirement.

A prudent financial plan for retirement would require a person to save at least 20% of his or her income for retirement at anyone time. With prudent investment return about 5%-8% above inflation rate, it would provide a decent retirement for everyone.

A balanced financial plan would mean that a person should only spend 20% of his or her income on housing. This would mean that 40% of his or her income would be set aside for retirement as well as housing. 60% would be available for daily consumption.

However, PAP has screwed it up with its manipulation of the CPF which supposedly acts as function of retirement saving but they have mixed it up with housing financing, apart from other usage.

Only 11% of a person's salary are kept as fixed savings for retirement... inclusive of Medisave for healthcare. To make it worse, the returns for this 11% of savings is just 4%. Hardly meet the requirement of 5%-8% above inflation rate.

Thus, it is not surprisingly at all that most Singaporeans will not be able to afford a comfortable retirement just depending on the CPF savings.

The "solution" that PAP gave initially, is that HDB "is an asset" which Singaporeans could "monetize" for retirement. This was what MBT said during GE 2011 when I questioned PAP rigorously on the principles of having high HDB prices which created insufficient CPF savings for retirement.

I was hoping he would take up my challenge of an open debate on HDB-CPF back then because I would have hantum him with the basic fact that HDB is a 99 leasehold PUBLIC HOUSING which Singaporeans do not have a say on whether they could enbloc their flats. This is basically because, in legality, Singaporeans as HDB dwellers, do not own the land which their flats sit on! They have no legal rights over the land and cannot make any decisions on what to do with it, unlike private property owners.

And if HDB flat is an entity with an expiry date while PAP government apparently is not interested to do SERS for all HDB flats, then how could it be an "Asset" at all in the first place?

HDB flat is a Consumption good, not an Investment good. Period. It is totally misleading, dishonest and irresponsible for PAP to tell Singaporeans that their HDB is some sort of super investment which will rise in value forever!

And if HDB is a consumption good, it is totally unreliable to depend on it for retirement financing at all! Well, first of all, the value of HDB is destined to drop when its lease is running out!

I am explaining the CORE problems of the HDB-CPF axis before providing any viable solutions. It is basically a bad policy of funds manipulation which has gone wrong, resulting in bad financial planning for 80% of Singaporeans.

I am angry at PAP for its reckless and imprudent policy manipulations with total disregard of Singaporeans' welfare and prudent financial planning.

It is a foregone conclusion that most Singaporeans who have paid inflated prices for their HDB flats will suffer when they eventually find that there are insufficient funds in CPF for their retirement. You will see more elderly people pushing carts, washing dishes and cleaning tables in the years to come.

What made me extremely upset is despite of the obvious enslavement scheme of a 30 year mortgage for buying a HDB flat, MBT and PAP back then still blew their trumpets that HDB is still "AFFORDABLE"! Over-spending on mortgage of HDB, resulting in insufficient retirement saving in CPF and sometimes, with additional cash payment to finance a 30 year mortgage but yet, PAP is still blowing the trumpet of "Affordability"?! That's the most irresponsible remarks and political statement made by MBT and PAP.

Wait for my subsequent postings here... I shall touch on what are needed to correct this horrible HDB-CPF axis of evil.

Goh Meng Seng

TOTD: WP's Struggle & Impact on Opposition Dynamics

Thought of the Day - WP's Struggle & Impact on Opposition Dynamics

Many people maybe confused by the statements made by WP SG LTK. First, he changed his previous stance about WP not going to form the alternative government made just a few years ago to proclaim that "WP has the foundation to form the alternative government if voters support it".

Then he announced he will be stepping down as SG of WP next year.

Why would a party leader making such an optimistic proclamation not so long ago would want to announce his retirement as the leader of the party?

Many hardcore WP and opposition supporters jumped in joy when LTK said "WP has the foundation of forming the alternative government" without much thought.

For me personally, I was stunned when LTK uttered such words about "forming the alternative government".

In Singapore's opposition politics, we cannot win solely based on hardcore anti-PAP-opposition supporters. We will need to win the middle ground voters over as well. But sometimes, there are differences in perspective the hardcore opposition supporters vs the middle ground voters. The views on opposition party forming alternative government is one of the biggest differences.

Most of the hardcore opposition supporters would very much like to kick PAP out and have opposition party to form the alternative government. But most of the middle ground voters would frown or even frighten off by such idea. The GE2015 results is one of the most indicative preferences of the middle ground voters who had swung their votes against opposition parties across the board for fear of a "Freak Elections result". Although they would like to see more opposition voices in parliament but they do not want PAP to lose power as ruling party!

Thus, we always thread very carefully on this fine thin line and the LTK whom I know, WILL NEVER MAKE SUCH CLAIMS or mention anything about forming alternative government because he knows this will be unhelpful and will not win him any votes from the middle ground!

And it is EXCEPTIONALLY STUNNING for LTK to talk like that from a position of WEAKNESS instead of Strength. The circumstances surrounding the AHTC saga is extremely unfavorable to WP and WP has exposed its pure incompetency at the very least in this whole saga. Would anyone in his right mind, from the middle ground, believe that WP is suitable to form the alternative government at all?

It is obvious that LTK is just playing to the gallery of hardcore opposition supporters instead of trying to gain trust and confidence from the middle ground. This may mean that he has already given up hope of winning back the support of the middle ground voters since the razor thin victory over Aljunied GRC with a margin not more than 1% in GE2015.

This could work to put up a sympathy bid of being politically persecuted by PAP in the AHTC saga. But the most important intention lies in his words. He said "WP has the FOUNDATION to form the alternative government". What exactly does that mean?

It basically means that WP has the resources to contest AT LEAST HALF of the seats in Singapore. That's what it means. It is a show of WP's intention to contest at least half of the seats for the next GE!

But why would WP under such bad conditions wants to contest MORE seats instead of focusing on less seats and trying to defend AHTC and Hougang?

The political calculation is simple. They have come to the conclusion that they will not be able to win Aljunied GRC, maybe NOT EVEN Hougang for the next GE no matter how hard they try. This is because they have lost all the goodwill, trust and support of the middle ground voters. That is the reason why they are turning to the hardcore supporters to consolidate their support by making such "bold statements".

This is also why LTK announces his retirement from the SG post in such early stage. The next OPC elections of WP's CEC is 9 months later in July 2018, why would he make such early announcement?

The situation may be very harsh on the AHTC saga. They might even launch their third legal attack on WP over AHTC. LTK may be hit very badly and as a seasoned veteran politician who has accumulated huge amount of political capital and legacy, he would sure not want to end his legacy in a defeat at the polls. Thus, I guess that he will not contest in the next GE at all.

But since the chance of winning next GE is so slim with the anticipation of the total destruction of WP's middle ground support, why would the party considering contesting more than 50% of the seats?

The answer lies in the 12 NCMP seats. The only way to ensure that WP continues to dominate the opposition presence in parliament is to win all the 12 NCMP seats. The only way of doing that is to spread the leaders to fight different GRCs so that hopefully, they could win enough votes to gain one or two NCMP seats each for each GRC or SMC battles.

This would mean that the recent announcements made by LTK should be viewed with great pessimism. The party is over for opposition like WP to win seats in next GE. The only thing left to fight among opposition parties are the 12 NCMP seats.

WP's intended "expansion" of contest has nothing to do with the hope of forming alternative government but rather, a desperate struggle to win the 12 NCMP seats.

Thus, we will be seeing a lot of three corner fights mainly with WP in the next GE and they are embarking on an early campaign to solidified hardcore opposition supporters' support by giving false hope, singing the tune of "alternative government" when there is seriously no way they could achieve that under the current circumstances, under the curse of AHTC saga.

Goh Meng Seng

TOTD: Awakening from the HDB-Asset Enhancement Myth

Thought of the Day - Awakening from the HDB-Asset Enhancement Myth

Several friends asked me "What is Lawrence Wong trying to do?"

They are referring to why Lawrence Wong keeps reminding Singaporeans that your HDB flat will have ZERO value when the 99 Lease hold expires.

They are confused and full of anxiety.

I simply told them, this is nothing new, I have talked about it more than a decade ago!

Almost all of them now consider to sell off their HDB flats in anxiety. Then I ask, where are you going to live?

Some ask me is that the reason why I sold my own HDB flat back in 2010? I said, yes, partly so but most importantly, I need the cash for the General Elections. I have no regrets.

Then they ask me, why didn't my relatives or the flat my mother owns in Ang Mo Kio sold? Here again, I said, where can they live if they sell their HDB flats?

The key difference here is that, my parents bought their flat in Ang Mo Kio, way before this nonsensical "Asset Enhancement Scheme" came about in late 1980s throughout 1990s, Goh Chok Tong's time. They bought it cheap. There is no anxiety of having a "costly HDB flat" turned into worthless ashes in the end.

Unfortunately, many people were caught by that TOTALLY MISLEADING Koyok of "Asset Enhancement Scheme" which was the Theme of PAP back in 1990s till 2000s that kept them in total monopoly of power. A few generations of Singaporeans have been misled into believe in such nonsense. Even up till GE 2011, PAP's MBT still tried to sing song about Asset Enhancement Scheme for "Monetizing HDB Flat" for retirement financing.

Well, lucky for MBT and PAP, he didn't dare to take up my challenge of OPEN LIVE DEBATE over his HDB-Asset Enhancement Scheme Policy, else he will be knocked out and black out totally. But their lucky is Singaporeans' misfortune. Most Singaporeans are still submerged in such devious myth of HDB Asset Enhancement Scheme for another 6 years, until Lawrence Wong broke the truth.

Lawrence Wong is simply telling the Truth, nothing but the Truth. Your HDB flat will become Zero Value when the 99 year lease expires. Why is he talking about this NOW?

This is because PAP government is not going to carry out SERS Enblock for most of the HDB flats, which is the only way to save you from the eventuality of Zero Value, because it is not profitable for PAP government to do it. They are just mentally preparing the massive Singaporeans living in HDB flats that they should not expect much from their HDB flats at the end of the 99 lease. They should be prepared to live with their whole life's saving in CPF being wiped off when the lease is nearing expiration.

The PAP government, if they still exist by then, will not renew your HDB lease at all.

Singaporeans should wake up from this TWO DECADES Myth about HDB-Asset Enhancement Scheme. This is especially so for the younger generations, those who are thinking of paying extraordinary high prices for their BTO or HDB resale flats.

I was amused and worried for those people who are forking out near to a Million dollars for a resale flat in some Prime location. You have to know that even if your HDB flat is located at Prime district or location, IT WILL DEPRECIATE eventually and BECOME ZERO in value when the lease expires.

Your HDB flat will start to depreciate when it reaches 40 year old. No banks will make normal loan when it passes 50 years old. When it reaches 70 years old, basically no bank will provide loan to  any buyer at all, regardless of where the flat is situated.

This is something PAP has been hiding from you while they were singing and praising themselves about HDB-Asset Enhancement Scheme as a political tool of Pork-Barrel politicking!  I would say that over 80% of all old HDB flats will not be Enblock. You just cannot "enhance" your HDB value when the eventuality of ZERO Value is definite!

The faster and earlier Singaporeans realize this FACT and TRUTH, the better it is for them. Else, you will end up destroying your own retirement financing plan.

I have not come to the CPF-HDB financing part yet.... that's for another article another day.

Goh Meng Seng

Open Letter to Halimah

Open Letter to Halimah

Dear Madam Halimah,

At this very moment when I pen this letter to you, I still have the opportunity to address you as Madam Halimah instead of Madam Kelong President Halimah and I hope NOT to have that unfortunate opportunity to address you as such.

There is absolutely No Glory nor Dignity for you to become our First Lady President under the current circumstances. Your eventual "acceptance" of such farce arrangement of "Reserved Presidency", apparently meant for you, by submitting your nomination papers tomorrow, will be seen as an dishonorable act which will undermine the Presidency even before you begin your tour of duty.

Most important of all, your nomination and eventual acceptance of this Presidency now will cause more hurt and damage to the very Malay community which you claim to represent and lead. The implicit humiliation and hurt suffered by the Malay community will never recover fully due to the disgraceful ways of political manipulation by the power that creates unfavorable inferences upon the Malay community throughout the process.

You have said that you want to be the unifying figure for ALL Singaporeans but ironically, if you accept the "reserved appointment" of Presidency under such circumstances, you will not gain any substantial respect from any Singaporeans from any race. Your role of unification of Singaporeans would ironically be a figure head that every Singaporean stand in unity to disrespect or even despised!

The damage to our foundation of Core Values based on Meritocracy is just too great to quantify. This is one of the biggest damage your acceptance of such reserved appointment would do to our nation.

I would urge you to reconsider on submitting your nomination papers on 13 Sep 2017 because such move would only bring damaging consequences to everyone, to the whole Nation because it would be seen as the ultimate sophistry of rigging a simple electoral progress that would bring shame and disgrace to our Nation. A President-to-be who would put the whole Nation to shame and anger, is definitely not a good start for your six-years term which would be void of any legitimacy in the eyes of Singaporeans and the whole world at large.

I would urge you NOT to submit your nomination papers tomorrow so to trigger the mechanism to open up the Presidential Elections to contest by ALL qualified individuals from all races. Then you should contest in a fair and open elections to exemplify the values of meritocracy we hold so dearly for the success of this Nation.

Respect, dignity and legitimacy are earned, not Reserved in appointment. You will do yourself no justice as well as harm and damage to your Malay community as well as the Nation at large if you do not really understand this simple value.

Regrettably,
Goh Meng Seng

#MadamKelongPresident
#NotMyPresident

People’s Power Party (PPP) Statement on Singapore Presidential Elections 2017

Date: 12 Sep 2017

For Immediate Release:

People’s Power Party (PPP) Statement on Singapore Presidential Elections 2017

The Elections Department announced on 11th of September 2017 that Madam Halimah Yacob is set to be the 8th President of the Republic Singapore, having been the only potential candidate to have been issued both the Malay Community Certificate and the Certificate of Eligibility.

This means that the other two presidential hopefuls, Mr Mohamed Salleh Marican and Mr Farid Khan were not successful in their application to stand although both gentlemen had also been issued the Malay Community Certificate each. Both had failed to satisfy the ridiculously stringent criteria imposed upon private sector applicants.

The People’s Power Party (PPP), first of all, would like to express gratitude to both gentlemen who had bravely stepped forward to provide an opportunity for Singapore citizens to choose their next Elected President reserved for the Malay community. Mr Salleh and Mr Farid had subjected themselves to be scrutinised by the public with regard to their “Malayness” since they are of Indian and Pakistani by descent respectively. Madam Halimah, though technically an Indian by descent, have had her “Malayness” certified four times over in general elections previously.

PPP views this latest development of PE2107 as opportunity denied to both private sector candidates since the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) has discretionary powers. We also note the administrative manipulation of what could have been a participatory democracy.

First and foremost, the virtue of Reserved Presidential Elections had been eclipsed by the notion that the Malays are not capable of winning in an open contest. The Malays of Singapore are actually sick of such tokenism. To add salt to injury, the “Malayness” of Presidential hopefuls are being questioned by the general public and subjected to a special committee to certify that they are Malays.

Mr Salleh and Mr Farid should be lauded as successful self-made men who are truly non-partisan and independent. That cannot be said of Madam Halimah, who, despite of her claim to not be serving any political party after stepping down as Speaker of Parliament just about a month ago, would always be seen to be beholden to her supposedly erstwhile political masters. This indebtedness would forever be etched in the memory of Singapore for generations to come should she submit her nomination forms this Wednesday, 23rd of September 2017.

When victory is declared on a battle not fought, there is no glory nor dignity.

While we could grudgingly accept that this may be a Reserved Presidential Elections for the Malay but we definitely could not agree with the blatant political ploy to turn it into Reserved President for PAP’s Halimah!

While Dr Tony Tan was not the President of 64.8% of Singaporeans who voted against him in PE2011, at the very least he fought a battle and won by 0.35% margin against his closest contender, Dr Tan Cheng Bock.

PPP is disappointed without reservation that the office of the Elected Presidency is once again tweaked in forms and eventually, it denies robust electoral challenge that is the essence of our Democratic guarantee. In our view, Mr Salleh and Mr Farid who are prominent individuals of the Malay community with the exceptional capabilities to perform the role of the Elected President with full competency. The denial of their candidacy is really regrettable.

PPP shares the sentiments of Singapore Malays who feel insulted that they been taken for a ride. The community sees themselves, yet again, as a scapegoat for the political agenda of the Powers That Be. They are the ones paying the ultimate political price. They rightly feel used, betrayed, played out and stupefied now that they bear witness to political gains built upon Malay dignity.

Last but not least, PPP further reiterates that we should not allow electoral rules to be manipulated in such divisive way and the Constitution should not be changed so frequently by the ruling party just to suit their own political agenda. An Independent Commission appointed by the Elected President should look into every attempt of amendment made to the Constitution and the Elected President should also be vested with Veto power to such amendment with the advice of the Commission.

Most importantly, we hope that Singaporeans should realize that giving PAP 70% mandate with overwhelming power via the dominance of parliamentary seats will not work in the interests of our Nation. We should deny PAP Two Third Majority in the next General Elections so that they could not just bulldoze any amendment to our Constitution at their fancy. This will ensure a truly fair electoral process and this will enhance the independent role of the Elected Presidency above and beyond partisan politicking.

Syafarin Sarif
Chairman
People’s Power Party (PPP), Singapore For CEC

TOTD: Sympathy to Madam Kelong President

Thought of the Day - Sympathy to Madam Kelong President

My deepest Sympathy to the Madam Kelong President to be. No matter how you try to prove yourself capable of being independent of PAP, you will always be FOOT noted in the History of Singapore as the Kelong President who is beholden to PAP for getting this disgraceful position of Presidency.

It may not be your fault but you are one who made the choice to play right into the hands of PAP and thus, rightfully so, you will have to be responsible for your decision to play the puppet of the power that be.

The circumstances under which you become the President bring no glory or pride to you, your family or your clan but only insults, shame and anger to the Malay community.

You have already been addressed as "Madam President" by your powerful colleagues even before the race and now, being made the Madam President as "planned" through administrative means. We cannot help to feel that this is all Kelong or an elaborated set up of a wayang.

Your colleagues have helped to set up barriers to all competition by making Reserved Presidential Election... yes, make no mistake about it, it is indeed RESERVED for you and nobody else. By doing so, your Malay community has suffered humiliation not only once but twice throughout the whole farce process. One, they have set on record that any Malay Presidential candidate, including you Madam Kelong President, will not be able to win in a fair and open Presidential Elections because you are a minority despite the fact that not so long ago, an Indian PAP candidate has just won a by elections against the Secretary General of the second largest opposition party in Singapore!

The Malay community is further insulted when their two very successful self-made millionaires were denied Presidential candidacy even though they have created their own business empires which are worth multiple hundreds of millions. Do they lack any business, economics or financial capabilities to perform the role of the Elected Presidency when they have basically built their own business empires through their own merits? Obviously not and I believe they are better qualified in business, economics and financial capabilities than you do, Madam Kelong President!

You are only qualified on the technicality of being the PAP appointed Speaker of Parliament which doesn't involve in managing any big business, lest a $500 million paid up capital entity!

These are the Business Elites of the Malay community but they were put down as not good enough to be the Elected President?! Only people like you who are beholden to PAP by working for PAP could be qualified as Kelong President?

How hurtful could that be to your Malay Community, which you proclaim to represent and belong to?

Madam Kelong President, you may think that you have brought glory to yourself and the Malay community but no, you have instead brought shame, hurt and anger to the Malay community.

I would have even more sympathy to you if you really think it is something great to become the Kelong President as you wish because you are living in a dream that lacks legacy and dignity. Even your predecessor Tony Tan has more dignity than you do despite the fact that he had won only by less than 35% but at the very least he fought the battle till the very end! But you? You will always been seen as appointed by the 16 persons and PAP and nobody else.

My heart felt thanks to the other two Malay candidates, Mr Salleh Marican and Mr Farid Khan for stepping forward to offer yourself to serve Singapore as President. Don't feel bad to be rejected by the political sophistry of PAP because it is not the people like us who have rejected you. Only 16 people plus the PAP have rejected you. All the best to both of you. Thank you.

Goh Meng Seng

#MadamKelongPresident

#NotMyPresident

Don't Void Your Votes to Make PAP Halimah Looks GOOD! Anyone But Halimah!

Message of the Day

Don't make PAP Halimah look Extremely Good by voiding your votes! Just vote ANYONE BUT PAP HALIMAH!

Some people have been going around to urge people, especially Opposition supporters to void their votes. I hate to say this but this is an Extremely Stupid idea to start with!

First of all, do you know what will happen if these people managed to convince 10% of opposition voters to void their votes? It would mean that right after polling result comes out, the MSM media will have headlines screaming "Halimah has won a Glorious Victory with over 80% of valid votes cast!"

It would be even worse if both of the other contestants lost their deposits!

Do you want to make PAP look good with such a "Reserved Presidential Elections"?

Tony Tan is a Face-Losing President without much legitimacy or mandate basically because he got less than 50% of valid votes cast! The aim for this coming PE, IF THERE IS ANY CONTEST at all, is either to make Halimah lose or shame her and PAP by depriving her the basic mandate of 50%! This will be a tight slap on Halimah and PAP's public discourse of having a President who represents and unite Singaporeans.

This should be the ONLY Objective of this coming PE, to shame PAP for its political maneuvering and deprive Halimah the legitimacy and mandate of Singaporeans.

If we continue to have Elected Presidents who cannot even garner a simple majority of support from Singaporeans, then this Elected Presidency is basically flawed and we should then demand the amendment of the Constitution to have second round of voting between the two highest polling candidates if the first round of voting doesn't produce a winner who could garner more than 50% of valid votes cast!

Do not hand over the total monopoly of power to PAP so easily without a fight. The role of opposition politicians is to win votes, not to ask voters to void their votes and in the end making PAP looks extremely good with glorious results!

If PAP didn't even care about Barisan Socialists boycotting the GE back in 1960s, do you think PAP even care about people voiding votes?

Please do not repeat the stupid mistake which Barisan Socialists made when they boycotted the GE and handed over total monopoly of power to PAP so easily on a silver platter!

Goh Meng Seng

TOTD: Democracy in Destruction, Dictatorship in the Making

Thought of the Day - Democracy in Destruction, Dictatorship in the Making

Many people have spoken about bits and pieces of Conflicts of Interests in the appointment of AG and DAG, appointments of key positions in civil service and GLCs which are dubious with signs of cronyism and of course the "rigging" of the Elected Presidency by turning it into race based election which rules out potential strong contest from non PAP approved candidates etc...

Most people could only see the trees but not the whole forest. I was having dinner with a couple of friends and I explain to them that this is in fact a Dictatorship in the making but they couldn't really understand the whole picture.

As stated in PEOPLE's Power Party constitution, the fundamental principle which determine a Democracy is the Separation of 5 Powers. Most people would only know or familiar with the basic 3 Powers of Judiciary, Legislative and Executive but not the other two Powers. True enough my friends ask me what are the other two Powers?

I explain to them it is Power of Impeachment and Power of Appointment of civil servants (Examination).

In Singapore's context, the President who is supposed to safeguard our foreign reserves, is the key institution of Power of Impeachment together with CPIB. PSC which takes care of the civil service recruitment and appointment is the institution empowered with the function of Examination Power.

If we take a good look at what PAP is trying to do, we will realize that they are CONCENTRATING ALL THE FIVE POWERS under them by appointing their own people to the key positions.

They have controlled both the Executive and Legislative powers by default, then they started to influence heavily on the appointments of key personnel to civil service and a GLCs, sometimes even put their own family members in these important positions. Then they start to meddle with the whole judiciary system by appointing their own people to the AGC!

IF all these Five Powers are separated and independent of each other, we would have a good functioning Democracy with proper checks and balances. But the reverse would mean a total interdependent Powers tightly controlled by a centralized figure or organization. This would basically mean a total concentration of powers which in effect, turning our system into a live dictatorship!

Singaporeans should wake up to this fact that the Post LKY era will mean a tightening control of all Five Powers and the destruction of Democracy for Singapore will be completed without any effective system of checks and balances.

The Post LKY ERA is turning into a total nightmare for Singapore Democratic development...

TOTD: Hypocrisy of PAP's Minority Representation

PAP has tried very hard to justify its amendments to the Constitution with regards to the Elected Presidency. It has said that we should have "Minority" Representation for our Elected Presidency and thus, set up entry barriers to bar competition from other potential contenders.

However, the Elected Presidency is NOT about Minority Representation but a representation of National Interests in providing the necessary INDEPENDENT Institutional Checks and Balances to the Government of the Day in safeguarding our National Reserves!


Such lame excuses are typical of PAP and it is actually quite frightening. The Hypocrisy of PAP is further exposed when they demolish the very fundamental excuse of Minority Representation by denying that there is a need for by-elections if the Minority MP in a GRC has resigned or dismissed from his or her position!

There is no single doubt that whatever PAP has done or is trying to do is all SELF-Serving and we must be very worried now because we should ask ourselves, why would PAP go all length to prevent REAL Checks and Balances to be installed?

Goh Meng Seng

A Lesson from US Presidential Contest - A Robust Democracy

Thought of the Day

Folks, it is NOT END OF THE WORLD to have President Trump! Unlike Singapore, US has a more ROBUST Democratic political system with Separation of Powers institutionalized and embedded to effect REAL Checks and Balances. No matter how moronic or idiotic the President is, he or she will be checked and prevented from doing too much bad!

An idiotic or moronic President may not do much good, but at least for the next 4 years, he or she won’t do too much bad as well. 4 years later, if he could not perform or basically screwed up, the voters will just kick him out!


So instead of feeling devastated for Trump victory, we should learn something from this saga: It is more important to build a robust political system which has Separation of Powers institutionalized to effect Real checks and balances instead of betting on the hope that we could always choose wise and good guys into government!

Goh Meng Seng

The Critical 10%

The Critical 10%

Well, it has been an interesting day with the expected backlash pouring out. While many opposition supporters and members always cry foul about how the Main Stream Media distorted opposition members' messages by putting up sensational headlines, it seems that many opposition supporters and online media are also 100% capable of doing so as well. ;)

Many anxious friends have expressed concerns to me privately as well as many have expressed quiet support in private messages. But that's the part and parcel of opposition politics.

Apart from all these chest banging and angry shouting, very few actually bother about the rationale behind my article. Maybe I am unable to express clearly and I apologize for that.

Almost none of the hardcore opposition members have asked the intelligent question on why 40% is so important? But definitely they have shown one united trait of labeling people like me who didn't sing their tune as "PAP mole". Well, again, I guess they must have learned from PAP in doing fast labeling work. ;)

I have read Ravi Philemon write up and also some others who try to justify how good SDP DR Chee is by making comparison between the "vote swing percentage" and putting up statistics as such. Vote swing percentage comparison was made between Punggol East By-elections and Bukit Batok By-elections and they declare BBBE is as good as PEBE!

Statistics has to be used very carefully with the context of data. Making such comparison is assuming that the difficulties of converting or swinging the votes at different levels are the same. This is a flawed assumption.

Let me put across this point. Do you think a candidate is great if he is able to swing from 12% votes to 30%? A whopping 18% swing. Is this 18% swing comparable to the 18% swing from 40% to 58%?

Of course not. The context of the data is that the hardcore opposition votes constitute about 30%. The next 10% from 30% to 40% are the opposition sympathizers. The next CRITICAL 10% from 40% to 50% are the neutrals.

To swing from 12% to 30% is nothing compared to a swing of 10% from 30% to 40%! And to swing from 40% to 50% is the MOST difficult because as we get nearer to the 50% point, the voters are neutrals who are white leaning.

Thus we cannot compare the swing of BBBE from 26% to 39% as the same of PEBE swing of 41% to 54%. The level of difficulty is totally different.

The CRITICAL 10%, which is from 40% to 50%, are the most difficult group of voters for opposition to swing and win over. Dr Chee has never crossed 40% and it shows that he has been rejected by this Critical 10% of neutrals consistently.

It may not be entirely his fault as this could be due to the successful PAP smearing but the cruel reality is, he just couldn't get pass that barrier for all his 25 years of opposition political engagement.

To understand why, we must look at how PAP's smearing convinced this group of voters. Don't pass judgement on whether they are right or wrong but these are the messages that the Critical 10% accepted. PAP has portrayed Chee as untrustworthy, lack sincerity and credibility. The Chiam baggage is the biggest convincing factor. Whether we like it or not, the Critical 10% has believed in these messages and voted against Chee.

Thus, if Chee continued in what he is doing right now, without getting rid of the Chiam baggage and its impact, there is no way Chee could get higher votes or win any elections.

Listen to this Critical 10% who are mostly silent. No matter how the 39% of opposition supporters protest, shout, angry or mock at the whole thing, the fact still remains, without the endorsement of this Critical 10%, we will always be the disgruntled and dismay 39%.

If you read my earlier article carefully, I said Chee should take a back seat. Contrary to many people who jump at first sight of what I have written, I fell short of asking Chee to quit politics altogether. He could put more energy in earning and giving his family a better life but at the same time, support whoever the new leadership to bring SDP to greater heights.

In fact, if he is willing to do that, he may just dispel all those PAP smearing about him being power crazy, insincere whatsoever etc. If he chose to contest again next GE, not as the SG of SDP but as a reformed and self redeemed politician under SDP banner, he might cross that 40% or even move towards a victory.

The best way to win over the Critical 10% is to listen to what PAP has been trying to tell them. Hardcore opposition supporters may sneer at these messages but we must understand that this has always been PAP's success formula in convincing that Critical 10%. Don't pass judgement too quickly and understand why the Critical 10% believe in PAP's messages.

If SDP DR Chee and all of us only listen to the ranting and shouting of hardcore opposition supporters, we will lose sight of what really matters to our political battle, the Critical 10%. These are part of the so call "Silent Majority".

Goh Meng Seng

P.S.

I have enough of the attacks by the "MOB" but really, when they start to rant without reasoning, I ask myself do they really understand opposition politics is just not about them. The cult like behavior of these people sometimes makes me wonder whether our education system has failed so badly. Or we are just too far off from the proper development of Democracy. It is really something for me to ponder about.

Reflections on Bukit Batok By Elections

Reflections on Bukit Batok By Elections

Right from the start, the deal looks just too good to be true. Nobody has talked about David Ong's scandalous affairs but PAP imploded the issue on their own accord.

Curiously, Bukit Batok was just carved out from Jurong GRC during last GE2015. Then, PAP announced quickly that it will be sending an Indian candidate who had contested in Aljunied GRC to become its candidate for this BE.

It is just ALL TOO PERFECT and a GOOD deal for any aspiring opposition politician. Dream conditions BEST ever to happen in Singapore's context.

A By-Elections due to PAP scandal, opponent is a minority candidate in a dominantly Conservative Chinese ground.

My first instinct is, this is just too good to be true. PAP isn't that generous and its track record has shown that it is a petty and vindictive political party. Thus, the only logical deduction or conclusion is that, this must be a trap bait.

Well, whatever it is, we decided NOT to have multi-corner fight as an opposition. But under such suspicious circumstances, I also believe that we shall practice caution.

I checked on the demography of BB and found that it has an exceptionally high proportion of Indian voters. (It has 11% Indian voters.)  It is no wonder PAP is willing to field an Indian candidate. Well, isn't this ironic for PAP to accuse SDP of practicing "Racial politics"?

It would be PERFECT if SDP has sent Prof Paul Tambaya as its candidate because he will be effective in contesting the same group of voters against Murali.

Bukit Batok had a love hate relationship with SDP. It used to support SDP strongly back in the late 1988 and 1991 GEs when SDP was under the leadership of Chiam. However, it is also precisely due to this linkage to SDP, it has turned against SDP when Chiam left SDP under ugly circumstances/parting.

Thus my initial assessment is that Dr Chee is not exactly the right candidate to contest in BB due to this past baggage. It would be great if Prof Paul is fielded by SDP instead and he would surely have a fighting chance to win when he is short of such past political baggage. This was the basis of my first statement on this By-elections. If Paul is to contest, I will personally campaign on the ground for him because there would really be fighting chance to win.

But SDP has decided to field Chee. With due respect, I would think that this is really a strategic mistake. SDP and Chee is basically "showing hand" in this BE, without a proper assessment of the chances of winning.

True enough, the past baggage of Chiam came back to bite Chee. Whether we like it or not, this dagger is sharp and went deep down right into Chee's heart.

To be fair, SDP has a fantastic and wonderful team of back room operation team. It has run the logistics and media machinery very well. This is the real strength of SDP. Even WP political machinery cannot match SDP's backroom ops.

However, the reality is that Chee's leadership has only a track record of under 40% for the past two decades. SDP has never crossed the 40% barrier ever since Chee took over the leadership. (It is important to strike above 40% because it will keep PAP at their toes as this will make them vulnerable in these seats)

While many people would encourage Chee and SDP, citing this as the Best result Chee has achieved under harsh circumstances, but the hard truth and cruel reality is that JBJ has faced even more difficult and harsh smearing by PAP and its controlled media in the past but he has proven himself to be the true fighter who could bring WP to cross 40% and even won seats.

Whether we like it or not, whether we think it is FAIR to Chee or not, PAP has successfully decimated Chee's political credibility so much so that it actually affects the whole SDP.

And sometimes, I feel that it is really Chee's own doing in which he has given more than enough ammunition to PAP and its media to smear him.

For example, just for this BBBE, Chee has made quite a number of strategic erros.

1) The mismanagement of the Chiam meeting and saga is pretty glaring. While there will always be closed door negotiation but if it is agreed that this meeting should not be publicized or made known to the press, then SDP should keep to that promise. Furthermore, I hate to say this, although I dislike what Lina Chiam has done to Chee during this BE, but Chee must realize that he needs Chiam more than Chiam need him. Chiam is basically the KEY to his FUTURE political success and reconciliation should be achieved at all cost. Never mind on who is right or wrong in the past or present, but public Perception is everything in politics.

For SDP to come up with such conditions for Chiam, that is really a non starter. If there is no sincerity to strike a deal, then there should not be a meeting in the first place. The worse part is, when you come up with such unacceptable proposal but later, seen to milk on the perception that there is reconciliation process, then it is no wonder Lina Chiam is unhappy. She most probably feel that she has been taken for a ride or made use by SDP!

Thus, whatever excuses SDP come up with, any person with a reasonable mind would regard SDP in an extremely bad light, though we may feel that Lina Chiam is just too much to throw such a big dagger at Chee right at such critical moment of BBBE.

2) The focus on Town Council management has been overdone. The over promise of making Bukit Batok as the BEST Town actually backfired on Chee's credibility. No sound mind would believe in that promise basically because we know that to achieve that Best Town promise, you need funding and millions of it. Such funding is controlled by PAP via PA.. People's Association's CCC which will decide whether funding will be given to ANY upgrading projects proposed by any TC.

3) Having said that, swing voters know pretty well that there will be offset or trade off if they were to vote for opposition. Opposition must give them a solid reason for them to vote for them, making compromise or sacrifices on their HDB upgrading. Thus, the focus is about how good you will be as a REAL Check and Balance force in parliament. How good you will be as an MP to scrutinize PAP's policies in parliament. Chee might have that ability backed by his set of policy papers but yet, sorry to say that, he screwed it up when he REPEATED the mistake on MOM's statistics. If you have shown that you cannot digest, grasp or understand simple statistics as such, would the educated swing voters believe that you could debate and scrutinize PAP's policies in parliament properly? Some may believe that but most level headed person would not believe that.

I have tried my best in my own little ways to help SDP during the BE and I have witnessed Chee's family going all out to support him. However, when the dust settles, I feel extremely bad for Chee and his family. His wife and children have suffered much when he was fighting this war with no sign of victory around. When I read commentaries congratulating him and urging him on to continue fighting, I feel angry as well as sad. These people have unknowingly given Chee false hope.

We have to come to terms that Chee isn't going to go anywhere further than the current result due to many reasons and factors. Whether we like it or not, the Chiam baggage will always be on his shoulder if he didn't want to clear it off with sincerity.

He has given his best under the best circumstances any past and contemporary opposition politicians could dream of but yet, unable to cross that 40% barrier. No matter how we look at it objectively and rationality, it could only mean one thing, whether we like it or not, he has been tainted beyond hope. He is just unelectable.

This is this cruel but honest view I have with regard to Chee. As I have said, SDP has a fantastic support team behind but as long as Chee is leading SDP, all their effort may just come to nothing.

I guess for the sake of Chee's family, it is time for him to take a back seat and allow others to take SDP to greater heights. 5 years is a lot of time for a human being, 20 years of his prime has been spent in this opposition fight. It would be too cruel to ask him to continue to fight a destined lost war without much concerns of the sacrifices made by his family members.

Goh Meng Seng

Afternote:

The Independent has put up my article and there were some unhappy comments from the hardcore opposition supporters. I have replied as follows:

I thank you for all your comments here. I just need to make some simple clarifications.

Many people brag about the "high swing" SDP Dr Chee got from this BBBE. This is the common mistake people made in statistical analysis. Statistics must be analysed along with the context of the data.

For example, would you cry victory when someone improve from 12% to 30% in a SMC fight? Nope. Why?

We always say first 30% of opposition votes are the hardcore votes. It is a no brainer that one could increase easily from 12% to 30% under normal circumstances.

30% to 40% are the opposition sympathizers' votes. Need a bit of persuasion but still manageable.

But the Key critical 10% comes form 40% to 50% which are mainly the votes from the Neutrals. That's where we need a lot more persuasion to win over their votes.

Thus, it is totally irrelevant to compare the vote swing of BBBE from 26% to 39% to the vote swing achieved in PEBE which is from 41% to 55%. The core group of voters converted are of totally different nature with different levels of difficulty.

My whole point is simple. It may be a "good result" or even "best result" from Chee BUT let's face it, it was achieved under the most perfect situation you can find in Singapore's political context. It could only mean that Chee has PEAKED.

Throughout all his 20 plus years of leadership, SDP has never crossed 40%, never able to convince the neutrals. That's the harsh reality.

To urge him to carry on, giving him false hope and false prophecy, you will be making him and his family to make more sacrifices for absolutely nothing in sight.

Goh Meng Seng

P.S. Don't ask who I am as you know who I am. I may not be perceived as great as Dr Chee but I have crossed the 40% twice and led a party to cross 40% for two GRCs and one SMC. Yes, I am not that great but I am short of that critical baggage that will prevent me from convincing the Neturals.

Defending the Core Values of Democracy - No Vote Buying or Pork Barrel Politicking Please!

I have talked about this repeatedly, several times on why I decided to step into opposition politics but it is always good to keep reminding myself and others on the Core Values of Democracy.

I am a Cheng San Voter in 1997 when it was hotly contested by Tang Liang Hong and JBJ. PAP started to use their despicable vote buying tactic via HDB upgrading programs.

Any person with a strong belief in Democratic Values would immediately be disgusted with such vote buying pork barrel politicking. I decided that if I wanted to continue to stay here in Singapore, I will have to change the political system drastically else my future generations will suffer with such bad values.

I keep my Core Values of Democracy intact since. It is easy to be preacher of Democracy but it is never easy to be a true practitioner of Democracy. Example like Freedom of Speech. Most people will only pay lips service to Freedom of Speech or "Transparency", "Accountability" or such, but when it comes to the crunch, they will just forget all about these values and do otherwise.

The simplest Democratic idea is "Freedom of Speech" or Expression. Many people just pay lips service to it but when people started to criticise them, they became defensive and basically shut people up by blocking them from expressing themselves.

Back to the Core Values of Democracy which pushed me towards Opposition Politics, I hope that opposition parties and ruling party alike, should not cultivate that bad mindset that your votes can be bought over. Anybody who tries to buy votes in any ways, should be dealt with. PAP should be taken to task for many of these breaches but the political reality in Singapore under its absolute Monopoly of Powers, without effective separation of powers, it is really hard to establish the Rule of Law politically. (That is why we ended up with that idiotic conclusion that inside a polling station is not regarded as "within 200m" judgement!)

But nevertheless, we as Democratic warriors, should not fall into the dark side just because the PAP has no Honour whatsoever in upholding Democracy. They have breached the rules which they set for themselves but get away with it repeatedly but that doesn't mean Opposition parties who are fighting to establish REAL Democracy in Singapore should do what they did.

Goh Meng Seng

The following is the Electoral Rules on Corrupt Practices:

CORRUPT PRACTICES

Personation

57.—(1) Every person who —

(a)
at an election applies for a ballot paper or to record his vote at a DRE voting machine in the name of some other person, whether that name be that of a person living or dead, or of a fictitious person; or

(b)
having voted once at any such election, applies at the same election for a ballot paper or to record his vote at a DRE voting machine in his own name,

shall be guilty of the offence of personation.
[19/2001]

(2) The offence of personation under this section shall be an arrestable offence within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 (Act 15 of 2010).

Treating

58.—(1) A person shall be guilty of treating if he corruptly, by himself or by any other person, either before, during or after an election, directly or indirectly gives or provides, or pays wholly or in part the expense of giving, any meat, drink, refreshment, cigarette, entertainment or other provision or thing or any money or ticket or other means or device to enable the procuring of any such meat, drink, refreshment, cigarette, entertainment or other provision or thing, to or for any person —

(a)
for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person or any other person to vote or refrain from voting;

(b)
for the purpose of inducing that person to attend or remain at any election meeting;

(c)
on account of any such person or any other person having voted or refrained from voting or being about to vote or refrain from voting at the election; or

(d)
on account of any such person having attended an election meeting.

(2) A person shall also be guilty of treating if he corruptly accepts or takes any such meat, drink, refreshment, cigarette, entertainment or other provision or thing or any such money or ticket or who adopts any other means or device to enable the procuring of such meat, drink, refreshment, cigarette, entertainment or other provision or thing.

Undue influence

59. Every person who —

(a)
directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes use of or threatens to make use of any force, violence or restraint, or inflicts or threatens to inflict, by himself or by any other person, any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm or loss upon or against any person in order to induce or compel that person to vote or refrain from voting, or on account of that person having voted or refrained from voting at any election; or

(b)

by abduction, duress or any fraudulent device or contrivance, impedes or prevents the free exercise of the franchise of any elector or voter, or thereby compels, induces or prevails upon any elector or voter either to vote or refrain from voting at any election,

shall be guilty of the offence of undue influence.

Bribery

(60) The following persons shall be deemed guilty of the offence of bribery:

(a)
very person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, gives, lends, or agrees to give or lend, or offers, promises, or promises to procure or to endeavour to procure, any money or valuable consideration to or for any elector or voter, or to or for any person on behalf of any elector or voter or to or for any other person, in order to induce any elector or voter to vote or refrain from voting, or corruptly does any such act on account of that elector or voter having voted or refrained from voting at any election under this Act;

(b)
every person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, gives or procures, or agrees to give or procure, or offers, promises, or promises to procure or to endeavour to procure, any office, place or employment to or for any elector or voter or to or for any person on behalf of any elector or voter, or to or for any other person, in order to induce that elector or voter to vote or refrain from voting, or corruptly does any such act on account of that elector or voter having voted or refrained from voting at any election under this Act;

(c)
every person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) to or for any person in order to induce that person to procure or endeavour to procure the return of any person as a Member of Parliament, or the vote of any elector or voter at any election under this Act;

(d)
every person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement to or for any person who is assisting or has promised to assist a candidate at an election to induce that person to refrain from assisting that candidate;

(e)
every person who upon or in consequence of any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement procures or engages, promises or endeavours to procure, the return of any person as a Member of Parliament, or the vote of any elector or voter at an election under this Act;

(f)
every person who —

(i)
advances or pays or causes to be paid any money to or to the use of any other person with the intent that the money or any part thereof shall be expended in bribery at any election under this Act; or

(ii)
knowingly pays or causes to be paid any money to any person in discharge or repayment of any money wholly or in part expended in bribery at any such election;

(g)
every elector or voter who, before or during any election under this Act, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receives, agrees, or contracts for any money, gift, loan, or valuable consideration, office, place or employment, for himself or for any other person, for voting or agreeing to vote or for refraining or agreeing to refrain from voting at any such election;

(h)
every person who, after any election under this Act, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receives any money or valuable consideration on account of any person having voted or refrained from voting or having induced any other person to vote or to refrain from voting at any such election;

(i)
every person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, on account of and as payment for voting or for having voted or for agreeing or having agreed to vote for any candidate or group of candidates, at an election, or on account of and as payment for his having assisted or agreed to assist any candidate or group of candidates, at an election, applies to that candidate or to any candidate in that group, or to his agent or agents, for the gift or loan of any money or valuable consideration, or for the promise of the gift or loan of any money or valuable consideration or for any office, place or employment or for the promise of any office, place or employment;

(j)
every person who, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, in order to induce any other person to agree to be nominated as a candidate or to refrain from becoming a candidate or to withdraw if he has become a candidate, gives or procures any office, place or employment or agrees to give or procure or offers or promises to procure or to endeavour to procure any office, place or employment to or for that other person, or gives or lends, or agrees to give or lend, or offers, or promises to procure or to endeavour to procure any money or valuable consideration to or for any person or to or for that other person, or to or for any person on behalf of that other person.

[10/88]

Punishment and incapacities for corrupt practice

61.—(1) Every person who —

(a)
commits the offence of personation, or aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of the offence of personation;

(b)
commits the offence of treating, undue influence or bribery;

(c)
publishes or causes to be published any election advertising during the period beginning with the day the writ of election is issued for an election and ending with the start of polling day at that election which —

(i)
in the case of election advertising that is, or is contained in, a printed document, does not bear on its face or, if there is more than one side of printed matter, on the first or last page of the document, the names and addresses of its printer, its publisher and the person for whom or at whose direction the election advertising is published; or

(ii)
in the case of any other election advertising, does not bear in the form and manner prescribed under section 78A the names and addresses of its publisher and the person for whom or at whose direction the election advertising is published;

(d)
makes or publishes, before or during any election, for the purpose of affecting the return of any candidate, any false statement of fact in relation to the personal character or conduct of the candidate;

(e)
makes or publishes, before or during any election, for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of any candidate, any false statement of the withdrawal of any other candidate at the election; or

(f)
being a candidate or an election agent, knowingly makes the declaration as to election expenses required by section 74 falsely,

shall be guilty of a corrupt practice and shall on conviction by a District Court be liable —

(i)
in the case referred to in paragraph (a), to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both;

(ii)
in the case referred to in paragraph (b), to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both;

(iii)
in the case referred to in paragraph (c), to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both;

(iv)
in the case referred to in paragraph (d) or (e), to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; or

(v)
in the case referred to in paragraph (f), to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

[31/2001; 10/2010]

(2) Every person who is convicted of a corrupt practice shall become incapable for a period of 7 years from the date of his conviction of being registered as an elector or of voting at any election under this Act or of being elected as the President or a Member, and if at that date he has been elected a Member, his election shall be vacated from the date of the conviction.

[21/91]

(3) A prosecution for a corrupt practice except any corrupt practice as defined in subsection (1)(d) and (e) shall not be instituted without the consent of the Public Prosecutor.

[15/2010]

(4) Without prejudice to section 57, every offence of undue influence or bribery under section 59 or 60, as the case may be, and every other corrupt practice under subsection (1)(c), (d) or (e) shall be an arrestable offence within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 (Act 15 of 2010).

[10/2010]

(5) Where any election advertising is published in contravention of subsection (1)(c), the printer of the election advertising as well as the person for whom or at whose direction the election advertising is published shall each also be guilty of a corrupt practice and shall each be liable on conviction to the same punishment and incapacity under this section as the publisher thereof.

[31/2001]

(6) Subsection (1)(c) shall not apply in respect of —

(a)
the distribution of a book, or the promotion of the sale of a book, for not less than its commercial value, if the book was planned to be published regardless of whether there was to be an election;

(b)
the publication of a document directly by a person or a group of persons to their members, employees or shareholders, as the case may be;

(c)
the publication of any news relating to an election —

(i)
in a newspaper in any medium by a person permitted to do so under the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act (Cap. 206); or

(ii)
in a radio or television broadcast by a person licensed to do so under the Broadcasting Act (Cap. 28);

(d)
the telephonic or electronic transmission by an individual to another individual of the first-mentioned individual’s own political views, on a non-commercial basis; or

(e)

such other circumstances or activities as may be prescribed by the Minister by order in the Gazette.

PPP Submitted Views on Elected Presidency

Submission to the Elected Presidency Review Committee

The People’s Power Party is submitting this feedback to the Constitution Committee which is tasked to review the Elected Presidency.

The People’s Power Party believes that the Elected Presidency could become an important pillar of a more effective Democratic system by playing the role of balancing power. We also believe in the Separation of Power as the effective checks and balances in building a sustainable democratic political system for Singapore.

Organizations to be put under Elected Presidency’s Charge

The Elected Presidency should act as the pillar of power in administrating the Power of Impeachment as a check to the Executive. It should also take charge on the Selection and Appointment of important key personnel to top civil service position as well as the Sovereign Wealth Funds like Government Investment Company and Temasek Holdings. We are proposing the following organizations or commissions to be put under the charge of Elected Presidency:

1)      Corruption Practice Investigation Bureau

2)      Ombudsman Commission (to be established)

3)      Equal Opportunity Commission (to be established)

4)      Elections Department

5)      Public Service Commission

6)      People’s Association

This will prevent the massive conflicts of interests which existed in the current system.

Formation of Council of Advisors to Presidency

On top of that, we believe in the proper democratic representation of the Council of Advisors if they are to be vested with more powers. The Council should consist 25 members whereby 5 of them are appointed by the Elected President while the rest of 20 members should be elected by Singaporeans. This could be done by a universal suffrage running concurrently with the Presidential Elections.

The Executive arm or the Cabinet or Parliament, should not have the power to appoint any members into the Council of Advisors.

Veto Power of Presidency

The President, with the endorsement of the Council of Advisors, should be empowered to VETO any important legislation which the Presidency regards as detrimental to the welfare and benefits of Singaporeans at large. Such Veto can only be overturn by a Two Third majority votes by the Parliament.

We believe that with these modified features, we will be able to build a more balanced, stable and sustainable political system for Singapore.

Goh Meng Seng

Secretary General

For CEC of People’s Power Party.