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

The Rubbish Bin and Aim-less Standards

Thought of the Day

The Rubbish Bin and Aim-less Standards

To Opposition Supporters, especially people like Gilbert Louis

Politics is not just about Anti-Whichever Party. It is the selection of both parties and individuals who are relevant to our ideas of how the country should be managed and run. It also involves in choosing the parties which will set up a proper system which we desire.

In short, whichever political party we support, it must perform the two basic functions:

1) Safeguarding Public Interests
2) Performing Public Service

In the Democratic system we desire, we would understand that nobody is perfect and thus, proper Checks and Balances should be installed, in whichever means. For me, I chose to believe that Separation of Powers is paramount in effecting Checks and Balances.

What WP has erred, is a serious breach of my belief and I hope, it is your belief as well. It is ok to make mistakes as in our belief of Democracy, we expect human beings as imperfect and the tendency to make mistakes is perfectly normal.

However, WP has shown that it refused to admit the fact that what they have done is a serious breach of trust and Democratic principles. They are recalcitrant in every aspects. Do I want to show any support to such a party which does not even know where it had done wrong or plain refusal to admit its own wrong doing? Nope. Not for me.

Can you defend WP in any way? Yes, you can, but only when you throw away your Democratic belief, throw away any high expectation of Moral standards and Integrity. You can do that by using the Rubbish Bin Standards to justify the over payment of consultancy fees to their own people, FMSS. You can justify their massive conflicts of interests by using the AIM-less Standards.

However, what will that make you to be? You are lowering the standards which we expect any political administration to maintain, to such despicably low standards. The Rubbish Bin and Aim-Less standards. You have to give up the higher moral grounds which we depend upon to keep PAP in checks, just to defend WP.

What will that bring us to? We will degenerate into a dysfunctional Democracy whereby both ruling and opposition parties are as filthy as the shit hole. There are many such dysfunctional Democracies around the world and we won't even be unique in any sense. We will be spending time to hurl insults of "You also like that!", "You are corrupt too!" etc etc and nothing gets done, and Public Interests will definitely be compromised in the end.

Each and everyone of us will have to decide for ourselves, whether do we want to accept the Rubbish Bin and Aim-less Standards as the norm or we have to get it right, do it right from the start. I for one, will refuse to be dumped into the Rubbish Bin standards.

The implications of discarding the Moral High Ground and adopting the Rubbish Bin and Aim-less standards are really vast. It is not just about WP anymore. It is about your life, my life, our future generations' lives.

You may think that we should save WP's seats in parliament is something we must do at all cost. You may think that this is the only way to save whatever little "Democracy" we have, as in having an opposition in parliament. But I guess we must first understand the FULL Cost of doing so. The Full Cost, is the Total destruction of our Democracy development process, ironically speaking. It will derail our aim of building a functional Democracy. It will encourage crooks and charlatans to infiltrate into our political system because they see that they can just get away with their greed EASILY just because they have this little label "Opposition " put on their foreheads.

If you wanted that to develop, that's your choice, but not mine. I would rather we have a proper cleansing and rebuild everything proper right from scratch again. It is painful in the short term, but at the very least, we can be sure whatever fruits we will get later, will not be toxic, not only for us but also for our future generations.

I take my Mission and Vision very seriously in opposition politics. These have never changed from the very day I decided to step into it. But I won't stop anyone to disagree with me nor my methodology. Each of us will always have the choices to make. You may disagree with me and I don't intend to have everyone to agree with me, but I only ask for your understanding.

Ultimately, if you don't clear off the rubbish, you will always stuck sleeping with the rubbish dump. I chose to clear the rubbish, no matter what it costs.


Goh Meng Seng

Political 007 Musing

There are a lot of rumors going around about me since a decade ago. Almost all are malicious unscrupulous smearing aimed at defaming me. These rumors come from BOTH WHITE AND BLUE camps.

There are many funny ones, ranging from having mistresses to being " PAP moles". My wife is actually my best fan who cannot stop laughing when she read or heard all these rumours.

She was born in Hong Kong and studied in Singapore. She didn't quite like those Singapore boys she met during her study in Singapore because she has met with extraordinary situations while staying in hostel that made her concludes that Singaporeans in general, do not care about justice, social or criminal justice, liberty, freedom of expression and lack the courage to speak up and fight for their own rights.

Until she met me in NUS, she didn't have good impression of Singapore guys. I was the outlier and surprised find for her.

Thus, when anyone suggested that I am some undercover PAP mole, she either gets pretty amused or sometimes, extremely annoyed. I told her to relax, that's how dirty play politics is.

I am extremely fortunate to have my soul mate as my wife, which may not agree totally in what I do (making family sacrifices for Singapore, which she doesn't find wanting the change or the freedom and democracy which I envisioned) but nevertheless, given me the moral support throughout these years.

Anyway, the latest rumor which my adversaries are trying to spread in order to discredit me will really make her laugh. I could only reward her periodically with such silly jokes.

The rumor says that there are intelligence which indicates that I am living off the sponsorship of the American government! Hahaha.

If that is so, I won't be the only opposition party leader attacking the TPP agreement!

These basically Chinese Educated Blue supporters spread such rumor basically because I am pretty vocal about China's meddling in HK And South China sea.

But laughing matters aside, there are real interventions via sponsorship and support by foreign powers in Singapore's politics, not only the Americans, Europeans, Malaysia or even China government. If you are observant enough, you will see those subtle invisible hands around.

However, I am really a hard nut to crack and uncompromising in many ways. My wife will definitely laugh and tell me, "over your dead body lah!"

Goh Meng Seng

Writting Off the Contributions of Opposition?

Someone said that none of the opposition parties should take credits for the changes that PAP has made since GE 2011.

I would disagree. I am not afraid nor shameful to take credit for the change in the HDB policies as the one who initiated a hard hitting campaign on Over priced HDB flats, not merely on pricing alone but the intellectual philosophy and discourse against it. Starting from HDB is NOT an INVESTMENT but a HOME to the debunk of PAP's argument of selling off or monetizing HDB for retirement. On top of that, highlighting the social injustice of PAP breaking its social contract when we allowed it to have the power to acquire land from our forefathers at dirt cheap price in return for cheap housing for generations of Singaporeans.

The activists who stood up against 6.9m Population White Paper and CPF's forever low return and increasing minimum sum should be credited for adjustments done to these policies.

SDP has persevered over freedom of speech and eventually PAP relented to put up Speaker's Corner. SDP has also touched extensively on universal healthcare policy and PAP came up with Medishield Life. Even though Medishield Life has lots of flaws but at least it is a first step of response to SDP's initiative.

Maybe he can only speak for his party and yes, WP should not claim any credits for all these policies because it has never led or initiated any public discourse or opinion on any important public policies so far, despite of the fact they have Numerous MPs in parliament and have put up a comprehensive manifesto.

WP MPs have not followed their own policy manifesto closely while debating in parliament. They have not uttered a word on abolishing ISA in parliament while they have written that in their manifesto. They even change their stance on ministerial salary using strange calculations which ended up as million dollar salaries.

So please, if you must comment, speak for your party's ineffectiveness and not robbing away due credits to other parties and activists.

Besides, this person who spoke about "no opposition party should take any credit" of the changes or improvement made was not even involved in the political arena for the past decade. Obviously, he cannot claim any credit to any of the happening, including the awakening in 2006 and the forward march of opposition in 2011 etc. But for him to write off all the combined efforts, sacrifices and contribution in this past decade in one full stroke, I guess that is really arrogant to start with.

Among opposition members and activists, we may have our differences and views but I respect their little contributions in their own ways. Yes, even the mere presence of WP MPs in parliament, though not fully effective (not even as "watch dogs" or "co-drivers"), is a little contribution in itself. This is despite the fact that we would like to see them more vocal and effective in their debates in parliament.

Many people, beside the opposition candidates in GE, have contributed tremendously to the opposition cause. This is especially so for the grassroot activists, spending time, effort and even money without remunerations, definitely without those million dollar deals. (Of course there are some bad apples who are more interested in making money out of opposition politics but let's put that aside). But to make it more effective and worthwhile, those on the frontline will have to put up a good fight, lead the public opinions and discourses on various public policies. Else, the disappointment of these grassroot activists in making such sacrifices will be irreparable.

The worst case scenario is to have a rookie to step up and write off all the efforts and contributions of many others before him. I am quite utterly disappointed.

Goh Meng Seng
 

NCMP Saga --- The Backdoor Monkey Tussle

It is quite amusing to watch how the NCMP saga unfolded. Both sides just play politics.

As usual, one side White will play the big bad wolf bully while the blue side play victim card again. It is even more amusing that WP which has rarely moved motion of debates, had done it again just for its own party vested interests and agenda. Well, of course PAP forced it to. Well before you guys accuse me of being biased, can you find any other motion of debate carried out by WP on other more,important issues, like human rights issues or matters which concerns how PAP treated activists or imposed unfair measures on New Media or even shutting down TRS?

Personally I do not see any problem of Lee Lilian declining the NCMP seat. It is her prerogative to do so. I would also not take up NCMP seat because I view it as getting into Parliament via the back door. As far as I know, LTK used to hold the same view as I do. He has put on public record of his stance about NCMP.

So it is just very puzzling to me that LTK actually moves the motion of debate in parliament just to get his other WP candidate Daniel Goh to replace Lee Lilian as NCMP!

Well both LTK and I may not object to other people taking up NCMP seats while we ourselves would view it as a insulting backdoor path into Parliament, but to go the extend of an extra mile to FIGHT for a NCMP seat for another party comrade is totally shocking to me.

It is just like a dog begging for the backdoor to be opened for another dog to get into the main house! Pretty shocking to me for people to actually support such an act in the name of Democracy!

If it is all about Democracy, then we should instead debate about what kinds of political system we should install to enhance the Balance and Separation of Power. How the Election system and Electoral processes should be enhanced. Should we have Proportional Representation? Should we enhance the power of the President by putting Auditor General, Corruption Practice Investigation Bureau (CPIB), the Judiciary Appointment, Public Service Commission Elections Department etc, all under the Presidential Office and limit the terms of Presidency to a maximum of one term?

But instead, we have WP members wasting time in begging and debating on a feature which is invented by PAP as a means of mockery to our Democratic system! I am in total disbelief of such monkey show going on in parliament... well, the Chinese Monkey Year isn't really here yet!

Goh Meng Seng

Post Mortem Fever~ Free Rider & Failed Internet Outreach

After two months, people are still talking about the results of GE2015.

I have made my views known earlier on, written on my FB and blog but there are new inputs by some keen political observers.

A substantial number of people raise the anger on internet blaming Workers Party for the mediocre performance in parliament (which they have defended themselves with statistics on the total number of questions they have raised in parliament) and the AHPETC saga (despite of Sylvia Lim denial of the vast impact on the Election results) as the key issues which made the Middle ground lost their confidence in opposition as a whole.

Although I think these are important issues but may not be the only main issues that caused the overall fall in opposition support.

I have raised the Fear of PAP losing power as the main issue which somehow orchestrated partly by PAP as well as some fence sitting Middle ground. I was told that some people have circulated a "Vote Wisely" Whatsapp message right before polling day. I do believe that created a major impart.

On the other hand, I think despite of WP trying to defend their performance in parliament, it is undeniable that it is a public perception and Consensus that it has not been effective nor competent in parliamentary debates, regardless of how many questions they have raised.

If you observe carefully, the only issue which WP made noise OUTSIDE parliament is about the AHPETC saga! And this is done as a defensive posture instead of offensive stance against any important current issues!

Thus it is no wonder that voters, Rightfully or wrongfully, had the impression that the only things happening is WP AHPETC problems! WP has never spoke up on any other ex-parliamentary issues like speaking up for the activists who were charged for the heckling saga nor Amos Yee nor any human rights issues.

Neither has it raised its voice timely on current issues in support of any cause of justice or Democracy.

It is contended to its sole platform in parliament and none of its MPs has participated in any protest or activism outside parliament or its constituency activities.

WP was lucky in 2011 that a huge wave was created by other people, be it netizens, activists, other political parties or otherwise prior to elections. It took the opportunistic approach of not making any noise but rode on the waves of anti PAP policies, in particularly the most unlikely HDB issue which it has never objected before, to win Aljunied GRC.

It came in at the very last minute to capitalize on the waves of public sentiments but what it eventually presented in parliament on its views on various issues from ministerial salary to HDB suddenly differed greatly of what it has said during Election rallies or written in its own Manifesto.

This is the result of being Free Riders. As Free Riders, you are forced to ride on the same waves and sing the same tune without being the opinion leaders to craft or manage how the waves pound on PAP. But after Elections, when you are in parliament, you sing different tunes which sometimes contradicted badly with what you have said during Elections. Thus the Perception of mediocre performance was formed by such flip flopping.

In GE201, the new media was very influential, though they have internal competition among them. TRS, TRE or Temasek Review, TOC etc, have more diverse reporting on different opposition parties.

Unfortunately for GE2015, the most influential TRS was forced to close down while TOC and TRE acted like WP mouth piece! (Most likely they thought it is wise to focus on the best horse WP so that it will win more seats but it has definitely backfired.) Thus, they lost so much credibility and people tend to compare them to MSM like ST and ZB which are regarded as PAP mouth piece.

Thus opposition as a whole, lost the New Media war. This is one crucial reason why IPS survey reflected that Middle ground trusted MSM more, instead of other New Media which sound more like WP or SDP mouth piece.

There are many lessons to be learned from these post mortem. But I guess people will definitely get sore and angry at people like me who just have the courage to go against all adversary to point out the simple Truth. It hurts, of course.

Goh Meng Seng

Misguided Belief: By-Elections Strategy

There has been a lot of talk about "By-Elections Strategy" right after 2015 General Elections and it seems that people are trying to push the blame to the complete contests opposition parties have put up for this GE.

They opined that the National Swing of votes against opposition was the result of the FEAR of PAP losing power. While this may be true but I do not think we should be quick to conclude that it is the fault of other smaller opposition parties for contesting all other seats in this GE.

The By-Elections Strategy is a baseless misguided strategic thinking. From past GE results, there is absolutely no Correlations found in By-Elections Strategy (i.e. contesting less than 50% of the seats) that really helped opposition parties gaining more results or seats.

For GEs held in 1991, 1997 and 2001, less than 50% of seats were contested but only for GE 1991, we saw a more successful campaign whereby SDP and WP together, won 4 seats. Ironically, in GE 2001 which opposition contested the LEAST seats since 1980s, opposition parties as a whole had the WORST results! Thus, there is absolutely no correlation whatsoever between By-Elections Strategy and good opposition results.

For GEs held in 2006, 2011 and 2015, more than half of the seats were contested. But for these GEs, we saw a steady increase of opposition support for 2006 and 2011. In fact, for GE 2011, we contested nearly all seats other than the 6 seats in Tg Pagar which was disqualified on technicality, but we achieved the BEST RESULTS for opposition as a whole, since 1991.

Thus, there is absolutely no basis to claim that By-Elections strategy is vital for opposition electoral success. It is NEITHER the necessary nor sufficient conditions for opposition parties to perform well in elections.

Thus, we should not just believe blindly that we should have By-Elections strategy. In fact,I do not believe in By-election strategy at all. It is a misguided defeatist strategic thinking. It effectively secedes Power to PAP even without a fight and it means giving PAP a BLANK CHEQUE right before GE! How can that be good for Singapore?

The only thing that could possibly keep PAP up on its toes, to keep Singaporeans as its priority and to get it to take care of Singaporeans, is the FEAR of losing power during GE! If we were to submit to By-election strategy, it would mean that we would have taken off that sword over PAP's head right now and PAP would do whatever benefits itself and its cronies without the need to be bothered about Singaporeans' well being!

This is the reason why I am against the By-election strategy. From past statistical results, there is absolutely no basis to think that it could help opposition to win more seats. But at the same time, we are just selling out our only means to keep PAP up on its toes for such misguided myth and belief.

The problem lies with Voters' perception of FEAR. 2001, opposition parties lost badly due to FEAR; right after 911 terrorist attack in US. Similarly, for GE 2015, it was FEAR again, that resulted in a dismay showing overall for opposition. The FEAR of uncertainty if PAP lost power.

But small parties should not be blamed for that FEAR because only bigger opposition parties could effect that FEAR.

Some people say opposition suffered a bad swing because of small parties and we contested all seats. This is because people fear PAP losing power.

One must first look at simple facts of comparison. In 2011, all but 6 seats were contested. You mean to say that PAP won't face the same risk of losing power in 2011 if we simply look at the total number of seats contested?

There must be something more to make voters to fear PAP losing power. There are combined factors:

1. The show of an over confident of WP and SDP winning. This can only be effected when majority of media focus has been put on them, showing the huge crowd size of their rallies and suggestive reporting of potential GREAT victory. This also means that other small parties did not hog the news space and didn't project any negativity to voters as a whole. (The only BAD thing or NEGATIVITY that comes from opposition was the APHETC saga! This has NATIONAL EFFECT on voters' perception but this is not the doing of smaller parties like PPP.)

2. However, the number seats of WP and SDP added up will not Cross the 50% mark. It would be irrational for voters to conclude that PAP will lose power if Both WP and SDP win all the seats they contested. Thus, it also means that in voters' mind, other smaller parties may also win seats! If that was so, it must be the case that voters also think smaller parties have good credible candidates who could potentially win seats as well .

Now, how can people start to say that other smaller parties do not have credible candidates if that was the case?

Thus, please don't put blame on other smaller parties. Opposition as a whole has put up a TOO STRONG showing which Ironically backfired. It was too strong overall to make people frighten of the unthinkable, PAP LOSING POWER.

Contrary to those naysayers, opposition wasn't weak at all and it was Precisely due to this perceived strength, voters begin to worry about PAP losing power.

We need to analyze the factors behind opposition's dismay showing in GE2015 with a balanced mind and not to believe blindly in some illogical and baseless claims or accusations or blame pushing masked behind some "comments".

To address the FEAR of PAP losing power, voters must be told that PAP will still be the dominant party tasked to form the government even if it lost over 50% of the seats. It is so far, the only party that could contest ALL seats alone.

It would most probably look for a COALITION partner and that would be REAL CHECKS and BALANCES kick in. Having a few opposition MPs in parliament may be good but they could not really effect policy direction change but a coalition partner with PAP would be able to do that.

Most likely WP will become PAP's coalition partner. I do not think other parties would want to be PAP's coalition partner other than WP. WP has said that it is open to become coalition partner, most probably a slip of tongue during a political forum. It has also said that it will not form coalition government with other opposition parties.

Thus, as far as I can see, there is really no problem even if PAP lost absolute Power and we should educate voters about that.

Goh Meng Seng

GE2015: Stop Pushing Blame on Smaller Parties!

I cannot help but wonder why people cannot see through the plain attempt of some political leaders of shifting away blame when they come up with some totally illogical and even contradicting statements.

Half truth is thrown up to mask their flaw argument.

For example, people say opposition suffered a bad swing because of small parties and we contested all seats. This is because people fear PAP losing power.

One must first look at simple facts of comparison. In 2011, all but 6 seats were contested. You mean to say that PAP won't face the same risk of losing power in 2011 if we simply look at the total number of seats contested?

There must be something more to make voters to fear PAP losing power. There are combined factors:

1. The show of an over confident of WP and SDP winning. This can only be effected when majority of media focus has been put on them, showing the huge crowd size of their rallies and suggestive reporting of potential GREAT victory. This also means that other small parties did not hog the news space and didn't project any negativity to voters as a whole. (The only negativity projected by opposition which has NATIONAL influence and implications, is only the doubts thrown on the AHPETC saga but this has nothing to do with the small parties at all!)

2. However, the number seats of WP and SDP added up will not Cross the 50% mark. It would be irrational for voters to conclude that PAP will lose power if Both WP and SDP win all the seats they contested. Thus, it also means that in voters' mind, other smaller parties may also win seats! If that was so, it must be the case that voters also think smaller parties have good credible candidates who could potentially win seats as well .

Now, how can people start to say that other smaller parties do not have credible candidates if that was the case?

Thus, please don't put blame on other smaller parties. Opposition as a whole has put up a TOO STRONG showing which Ironically backfired. It was too strong overall to make people frighten of the unthinkable, PAP LOSING POWER.

Contrary to those naysayers, opposition wasn't weak at all and it was Precisely due to this perceived strength, voters begin to worry about PAP losing power. Period.

Reflection on earlier predictions of GE2015

Reflection of GE 2015

A couple of months before GE2015, I was sharing with quite a number of people, including editors from TR Emeritus​ on what I thought would be the outcome of GE2015.

In retrospect, I did make some accurate predictions but also bad judgement as well.

I told them that most probably WP would retain Hougang but lose Punggol East while Aljunied GRC was going to be a 50-50 fight. I was hoping that WP could win East Coast GRC (at that time, the formation of Fengsan SMC was not made public yet.)

The reasons I gave was that those residents who have changed from PAP to WP management (aka Punggol East and Aljunied) would have experienced first hand the vast differences and changes in the management of their town. Particularly for Punggol East which I have quite a number of friends and relatives who stayed there had complained profusely against the drastic drop of cleanliness in their neighbourhood.

Linking this situation to the AHPETC saga would naturally create negativity among the swing voters. Punggol East was thus expected to lose. As for Aljunied GRC, the adverse swing would mainly come from the negativity derived from the FMSS saga.

As for East Coast GRC, I would expect WP to win because I thought that those voters there would not have the bad first hand experience as those voters in Punggol East had. It would just follow the expected upward trending of increasing opposition support nation wide.

I also expected other opposition parties would fair better and we might see non-WP MPs in parliament this time round.

I was proven half right. WP did lose Punggol East and Aljunied GRC did have an extremely close fight. WP nearly lost, only won by a razor thin margin. But I was proven wrong about the isolated effect of the AHPETC saga and the upward trending of opposition support. I have underestimated the combined effect of Pioneer Package and the lost of middle ground voters' confidence.

Of course, some of the people I have spoken to, were practically laughing my predictions of WP losing Punggol East and Aljunied GRC having a close fight. Especially for the editors from TR Emeritus. They thought that it was due to my bias against WP which made me to come up with such predictions of loss of WP in Punggol East.

Some even thought that WP would win Aljunied GRC with INCREASED margin, citing reports that survey done on the ground has shown that very few voters regard AHPETC as important. I told them that it just needed a mere 5% of SWING voters to regard that as important, that will already be a killer.

Well, apart from WP's results, I guess if I have known that there would be a great National swing against opposition, I would have given this GE a big miss and save a lot of money!

Nevertheless, I will learn from this GE2015 that no matter how people want to isolate themselves from other "opposition" parties, all Non-PAP parties will always be viewed as one by Singaporeans.; those middle ground swing voters. It will be a wishful thinking that we could effect a clear differentiation between the different opposition parties.

All for one, one for all? Some of us may not want to think that way, but that's what the middle ground voters think.

Goh Meng Seng

Loss of Middle Ground's Confidence

Did opposition as a whole lose the confidence and trust of the middle ground voters? If so, what makes them lose confidence?

Following my previous posting on GE2015 reflections, the next pertinent question we need to ask ourselves is why would the middle ground voters abandon opposition parties altogether with that fear of PAP losing power?

Many opposition supporters took potshots at the front page report of PM Lee making the remark that if opposition party took power, Liao Lah (we are finished ) but I find that expression struck the core fear of the middle ground voters.

Whether we like it or not, the AHPETC saga has instilled doubts and even fear into middle ground voters' mind. While those supporters in WP wards were struggling on whether to keep opposition MPs in parliament or not, other middle ground voters were frighten with the prospect of having opposition parties forming the government with the lingering doubts over AHPETC saga.

AHPETC saga at best, will be viewed as an issue of competency. But even at this optimistic level, it is unacceptable to the middle ground voters.

Serangoon Gardens and Kovan area used to be WP strong ground even since GE 2006 and the swing towards a losing ward for WP is really alarming. By right Town Council management only affects HDB dwellers and these private house owners should not be affected at all. However these voters have swung against WP and this can only be explained by the erosion of confidence in WP's Corporate management of AHPETC.

Thus it is a gross understatement to say that AHPETC has little or no impact on GE2015. I believe that the AHPETC saga has in fact created fear and loss of confidence of most middle ground voters throughout Singapore.

Linking this AHPETC saga with the perceived prospect of PAP losing powerdue to reasons as explained in my previous posting, it created a massive swing of votes from the middle ground which leave us with only the base support of hardcore opposition supporters.

In GE2011, the entry of Chen Show Mao has instilled confidence in the middle ground voters and the whole opposition enjoyed a vote swing towards it. But this time round, unfortunately the reverse happened.

It may take us years or even more than a decade before we could restore such confidence again, unless we take pro active measures to win back their confidence during these few years.

Goh Meng Seng

Voice of Conscience

Andrew Loh expressed frustration and disappointment that no MP, be it PAP or WP has made any comment on the torture, unfair treatment or cruel inhumane vindictive political persecution of AMOS.

I would like to share with him and all here why this is so. I was persuaded by many well meaning supporters and close associates not to comment or get involved in this Amos saga simply because they opined that I will lose support and votes from Singaporeans who may be either opposition supporters or middle ground voters.

Why so? Amos is seen as a rude and ungrateful spoilt brat by many Singaporeans and many of them hold the view that "he needs to be taught a good lesson " or "he deserves it".

It is indeed sad that our society and Nation at large has lost the sense of appropriateness, conscience, Rule of Law and human decency just because many of us are overwhelmed by disgust, annoyance, hatred or simply apathy.

Such common thinking resulted in a literal MOB RULE mindset in which these people would just want HARSH punishment towards spoilt brat Amos, disregarding whether what he has done warrant any criminal charges or imprisonment or worse, sending to IMH or 18 months of reformative centre detention... They might have wished Amos to be locked away with keys thrown away if they could!

The vindictive PAP Government feeds on such irrational sentiments of Mob Rule thinking and thus we ended up with a gungho aggressive AGC trying all administrative means to punish Amos in any ways they can, going into extremes in their vindictive political persecution of a 16 year old boy. They have totally Forgotten their role as legal officers is to uphold Rule of Law and not some political persecution of their masters.

And the sad thing is, most Singaporeans have stood by watching silently, condoning such vindictively cruel, inhumane and insanely disproportionate brutal assault on a 16 year old boy. Some have even cheered, clapped and urge the authority on such act!

Amos is not the one who is mentally sick. These people are the ones who are mentally sick.
The sad thing is that apart from a few politicians, most have lost their voice of conscience. They chose to keep quiet for fear of losing votes from the irrational Mob!

Personally I have received several private messages from supposedly opposition supporters who chastised me for taking part in the Protest against PAP Government's vindictive, inhumane and cruel political persecution and said Amos deserves it and I will lose support by fighting for him! Some have even openly attacked me as TRAITOR just because I participated in the protest held by foreigners, forgetting that it is human decency and pure conscience of Rule of Law which I am standing for.

These people view that a spoilt brat like Amos is more disgusting than a regime which will go all out to persecute a 16 year old with such extreme cruel and inhumane means!

A spoilt brat like Amos could do no big harm to anyone except annoying many people. What he deserves is just zero attention from all of us. But a Government which will break all backs to seek all possible administrative means, even trespassing the rule of law just to persecute Amos will do more harm to our nation!

It has destroyed Rule of Law, instilled fear which curtailed free speech and worse, destroyed trust in our legal system!

Instead of taking the stance to stop all these nonsense from such fanatical move by PAP Government to extract maximum punishment from a naive and ignorant spoilt brat, both PAP and opposition MPs have chosen to remain silent.

Instead of taking the lead to show leadership in putting sense and reasons into people's mind of proper balance and moderation, they decided to allow PAP Government to feed on and perpetuated Mob Rule!

Instead of standing up and be opinion makers and leaders, they have chosen to hide cowardly behind perceived safety of populist Mob mentality.

This is the sorry state of affairs in Singapore, so much so that foreign observers and activists have to wonder what has happened to our country whereby those who are supposed to fight for the well being and rights of the people, suppose to be leaders of the people, have become enslaved by that little ballot box!

I know I am going to be attacked by many people again for making this post but heck it. If I have to lose my voice of conscience in exchange for enough votes to win Elections, then I would rather not have such support and prepared not to win Elections. I would rather keep my soul and conscience intact than go into parliament with an empty heart.

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

Two Warnings to Opposition Camp

Warning to Opposition Camp I

It has come to my attention that there is a group of "opposition supporters" (well, in fact, just a particular party supporters) which is ultra left and does not really believe in the Universal Values of Democracy, Rule of Law, Justice and separation of powers.

This group is actually "Ultra-Left" which has a slanted view of Great China which I suspect is basically Chinese Chauvinistic in nature. For Opposition supporters in Singapore to support tyranny rule of CCP in China, hitting out any Democratic Movement against the tyrannic rule of CCP in all possible opportunities, have exposed their ideological idea of Dictatorship.

From my observations so far, this group of "Opposition supporters" does not really believe in Democracy. If they ever have the chance to influence or even control any opposition party to come into power, most probably they will be MORE PAP THAN PAP in all aspects.

From my observations, they are basically holding the same Dictatorship ideology or tendency which PAP embraces... the Monopoly of Power is their strategic positioning. They will encourage multi-corner fights to prevent any other opposition parties other than the one they support, so to prevent other opposition parties to be successful in GE and make sure that the party they support will be the only viable party to become ruling party.

I hope all of those people who believe in Democracy as our core value and our basis in our struggle against PAP, to be extremely careful of this group of people. Else, we may just end up with a group of people who are More PAP than PAP to be ruling party in future.

Warning to Opposition Camp II

I have to concede, the big word "Opposition" is built around mostly on the concept of "Anti-PAP". We must also admit that among the "Opposition Camp", Opposition people, be it opposition party members or supporters, aren't really "perfect" in every sense.

Politically speaking, I find certain tendencies among Opposition people quite troubling. There a few points I wish to raise here:

1) Lack of Understanding or even doesn't believe in simple Universal Core Values of Democracy, Rule of Law, Social Justice, Basic Human Rights, Fairness, System of checks and balances, Accountability and Transparency etc. We have to apply these values in assessing BOTH the ruling party as well as our own opposition parties.

2) Extremist tendency in Racial aspects (Racial Chauvinism), Religious aspects (insensitive Religious based attacks or comments) and Party Affiliation aspects.

3) Some party supporters are very defensive of their own party's shortcomings while attacking almost every other opposition parties in all other ways. Ironically, they have the same monopolistic tendency just like PAP. This is unhealthy for Singapore democratic development.

4) The more worrying tendency is the rise of Religious and Racial assertions in the daily social-political discourses. We must understand that no party will be able to rule effectively or even win elections, if it does not show the ability and capability to take care of the interests of ALL races and religious groups in Singapore. PAP will discourage positive religious and racial discourses in the name of "possible sedition" but the truth is, one of the main reason why PAP is still able to stay in power is because it has used all mechanism and machinery available as the ruling party, to show that it is the "ONLY" political party which can take care and balance the interests of all racial and religious groups. Opposition people are not going to progress if they are still stuck with divisive extremist tendency in Racial and Religious aspects.

5) While we may position opposition as "Pro-Singapore", "Pro-Singaporeans", but there is really a fine line between Nationalistic vs Xenophobia. Based on the Universal Core Value of Democracy and Social Justice, we should also help those foreign workers who have been ill-treated or exploited by their employers or even the whole system to seek justice and redress. Instead, we are seeing people attacking foreigners all across the board regardless of the context and situation. A balance must be struck between Anti-Liberal Immigration Labour policy vs Anti-Foreigners. We are against the policy, not Foreigners who behave themselves in Singapore. Of course, for those Foreigners who misbehave themselves here but consistently just get a slight slap on their wrists, we detest that. That concerns the unfair judiciary system run by PAP government which antagonized and planted the seed of public hatred against such unfair treatment. Such issue has wider implication as in rising social tension between local Singaporeans vs foreigners. But as opposition supporters, we should not fall for the extremism while we raise the red flag against such systemic bias.

It is not going to be easy to strike a balance in this era due to the change in the political landscape both in Singapore and the world. Without a strong belief in Universal Core Values of Democracy, Social Justice, Rule of Law etc etc, many of us will fall into the traps of extremism which may be detrimental to the whole Opposition movement.

But we must try very hard, to constantly remind ourselves and people around us who are with us in this difficult journey of effecting Political Change.

Goh Meng Seng

WP's Non Violent Civil Disobedience

I remember years ago right after GE2006, during one important WP CEC meeting, there was a debate on whether WP should "draw a clear line" from "Non-Violent Civil Disobedience". I was against such move and argued passionately that WP should NEVER draw that line.

The reason I gave was that WP might not utilize NVCD there and then, but it cannot discount the possibility that there may come a time that the rules and laws set and changed by PAP may become so ridiculous that the only possible way is to fight it via Non-Violent Civil Disobedience. The example I gave back then was the constant interference and disturbance of NEA officers on opposition parties' regular political outreach in selling our political newsletters. SDP was charged and fined for selling their publications and books in public places and there is absolutely no guarantee that PAP will not do the same to WP or any other party.

In fact, it has been proven that NEA tried to use exactly the same law "illegal hawking" on NSP during my tenure as Secretary General. NSP back then, stood steadfast and challenged NEA for the summon and was prepared to go to court to fight it out. We continued our regular selling of North Star while Reform Party did that as well.  Both RP and SDP supported our position that regular political grassroot outreach activities like selling party newsletter IS NOT ILLEGAL HAWKING.

However, regrettably, WP kept quiet and stopped all its Hammer sales activity for almost two months. WP members were quietly BLAMING me on my back of "dragging" them down into the mud. I was utterly disappointed. Instead of fighting against the unjust and unfair PAP law enforcement, they chose to stab fellow opposition parties instead.

Nevertheless, that saga has proven to be very important in setting the new norm for ALL Opposition parties, including WP. WP was basically the FREE Rider of this good outcome. Well, it is ok for me as the important point is about opening up more space for all serious opposition politicians.

Fast forward to 2014, WP was charged for "illegal trade fair" without a permit from NEA. WP has apparently, through the Town Council it controls, initiated Non-Violent Civil Disobedience against UNFAIR and UNJUST law as well as regulations. It is Deja Vu. They have chosen to go ahead with the trade fair without the permit, knowing that they will definitely get charged for such offence. Maybe they are bold in doing so because it is under the cover of the Town Council and nobody will be or can be disqualified for candidacy in coming General Elections for such fine to the Town Council.

I will support WP in this fight against the unjust law, not because I am a fan of WP or anything like that. It is because PAP is "playing cheat bully". It has manipulated the law and regulations to suit its political agenda and this is detrimental to Singapore's democratic development. Rule of Law must be upheld to effect a level playing field for ALL political parties.

The only thing regrettable here is that residents of Aljunied GRC may have to pay for such expensive court case if the team of seven lawyers engaged by WP is not doing this Pro-Bono. It is a bit lopsided to engage a team of seven lawyers to fight a case which only involve a maximum fine of $1000. Even if WP won this case, residents of Aljunied GRC would most probably still the biggest losers if they have to foot the bill of this team of seven lawyers.

I do not think WP can win this case in the court of law but it could well win in the court of public opinion. But apparently, the COST of this victory, is going to be very high for the residents of Aljunied GRC.

Freedom is not Free and it depends on who is going to pay for it.

Afternote: I have been informed that the Town Council does not need to pay the legal fees. Either the lawyers are doing Pro-Bono or someone else paid their fees. The following is what Sylvia Lim said:

Ms Lim told reporters outside the Subordinate Courts. "I would also like to clarify that the lawyers we have hired are from the same firm that I am associated with. We will not be touching any town council's funds to mount this defence. We will be raising funds from elsewhere. Neither me nor any Workers' Party members will have any share in any fees that are paid to the law firm."

In Memory of Opposition Sage-Fighter - Goh Seng Soon

"The coffin is for the dead, not for old man". This is Seng Soon's pet-phrase. Today, his death has ironically confirmed his pet-phrase: he has to leave this world before he could drink that champagne which he has prepared for years.

Most probably to all those who are not in the field of opposition politics, or even to most of those who are in it, Goh Seng Soon is a stranger to them. However his contributions to Singapore's Democratic political development should not be ignored. He was one of the only 5 heavy weight members in Workers Party who were conferred as "Honorable Member" of the party. He was one of the very few political figures in Workers Party who has the most political acumen, wisdom and idealism. He was also one of the very few senior veterans in Workers Party who has claimed the Badge of ISD.

I have once said Mr. Low Thia Khiang is my initial political teacher, but I have never mentioned, Mr. Goh Seng Soon was however, my advanced political tutor and soul-mate. Along the lonely path of political struggle, I am really fortunate to meet such a good teacher and soul-mate.

To understand Goh Seng Soon's political course, we will have to start from Singapore's political exile and refugee, Tan Wah Piow's saga. Seng Soon was born in a poor family but he was a bright student who seek to take up part time diploma courses in pursue of a better paper qualification. In that era of active student movement, he has the opportunity to get to know Tan Wah Piow and other prominent student leaders of that time.

When former union leader and PAP's MP Phey Yew Kok framed, falsely incriminated and accused Tan Wah Piow of "rioting", Seng Soon became the key witness for Tan Wah Piow. When the said "riot" was happening, Seng Soon was just having coffee with Tan Wah Piow near the venue of the rioting. In the name of Justice, Seng Soon has chosen to fight against the unreasonable and rascal almighty bully all the way without any reservation. No matter how intimidating the opponents were in court, he fought them fearlessly. The crossing swords in court has created a rare excitement in Singapore's judiciary history, so much so that it has become the daily headlines of the then Chinese newspaper Nanyang Sang Pao for that duration. Seng Soon has repeatedly outmaneuvered the Deputy Public Prosecutor that he ended up flipping his tie over his shoulder in frustration!.

Seng Soon admired Tan Wah Piow's talents and he admitted that he has learned a lot from Wah Piow in debating skills and leadership. In view of Wah Piow's talents, Seng Soon believed that Lee Kuan Yew would definitely find every means to get rid of him if possible. This was basically the reason why all of them believed that Tan Wah Piow has to run road, else he would definitely be dead.

When the verdict of injustice came to put Tan Wah Piow into jail for 1 year, Seng Soon stood right outside the courtroom's door and told the reporters, "I guess I will not be going home today". Indeed, he was mentally prepared to be arrested by LKY's ISD. True enough, the ISD agents were waiting for him right outside the court building! He was detained by ISD without trial for more than 4 months. When they gave him the "cold shower" in the detention centre, he retaliated by throwing hot coffee at them and even wanted to beat them up. When they tried to force confession out of him of being Communist, he told them he belonged to the LARGEST PARTY in the world, the Rice Bowl Party. His unyielding and dauntless attitude has left a great impression till today, only that he has left us now. However, being kept in captive by these bullies would inevitably mean that he would be tortured by them. Such humiliation has been unforgettable and unforgivable to Seng Soon. This was basically the fundamental reason for the deep-seated hatred Seng Soon had against the LKY-PAP regime. He has even named his dog "HARRY", the Christian name of Lee Kuan Yew, to vent his anger. Lee Kuan Yew has thus become his "sly fox".

Initially, Lee regime wanted to send Tan Wah Piow to army training immediately after his release from prison. However, after a strong protest from the student unions, Lee regime finally relented and agreed to allow Tan Wah Piow to go back home to visit his family members for a day. Lee regime has sent ISD agents to follow Tan Wah Piow everywhere he went on that day but luckily, with the help of Seng Soon and his friends, Tan Wah Piow managed to do a disappearance act and escaped from the agents' surveillance. After hiding for months, he managed to leave Singapore safely. Seng Soon became the unsung strategist of his escape.

Seng Soon lost his opportunity of higher education due to his involvement in the student movement and activism. Ｉbelieve that if he were to have the opportunity to further his studies, his achievements would be very much greater than it is now. Although he lacked the opportunity of acquiring a proper higher education but he was able to become Consultant, in his own merits, for a wooden plank factory in Indonesia as well as high class restaurant etc. in Singapore over his lifetime.

Politically, his contributions at the back scene cannot be ignored. Even though in his whole life, he has only participated in one General Elections in 1988, but in that battle, PAP has activated almost all its heavy weights to support its candidate in Chua Chu Kang SMC! These heavy weights included Mr and Mrs Lee Kuan Yew, former DPM and President Ong Teng Cheong, current President Tony Tan etc. Despite of such great showing from these PAP heavy weights, he was still able to garner 40.7% in that 1988 GE. The reason why Lee Kuan Yew was so concerned and nervous about Goh Seng Soon's participation in the elections was because if he ever got elected into parliament, they would be facing an opponent more formidable and "troublesome" than JB Jeyaratnam himself!

Even after Seng Soon stood down from frontline politics, he was still very influential within the party. He has helped out with Mr. Low Thia Khiang's grassroot activities during the foundation years and had contributed his time, effort and money on various occasions and activities. He was pivotal and critical in the progress of getting Low Thia Khiang to replace JBJ as Secretary General and undoubtedly, was credited as the most important man behind WP's move towards a totally new era from then on. He has also acted as the treasurer of the party, one of the more important position in the party CEC. He was also the Election Agent of Dr Poh Lee Guan during the 2001 General Elections.

During this elections in 2001, the authorities had created a lot of issues for the Workers Party but Seng Soon was ever ready to engage in the battle of wits and courage with them. In facing the various deliberate unreasonable difficulties created by the police, Seng Soon was always able to collect all evidences and fight if off with the police officers with full confidence. Whenever the police wanted to make things difficult for him, he would put up with a cunning smile and walk off as if nothing happens. This has confused the police until they didn't know what to do with him. In the end, the top police officers in the Ang Mo Kio Police Station were said to be so afraid of him and would avoid him at all cost. It was such an unforgettable terrible experience with Seng Soon that they have given him a nickname, "The Devil from Workers Party"!

In the past, for almost every Sunday, Seng Soon would pay out of his own pocket to prepare appreciation luncheon for those Workers Party members who had gone for Hammer Sales all around Singapore in the morning. After lunch, they would sit down together and count the intake for the Hammer sales on that day. This also provided the opportunity for members to chit chat and enhanced comradeship among themselves. Once the URA called him up and claimed that he has contravened the rules of private residency by carrying out "political activities" in his private flat and they wanted an explanation from him! As usual, Seng Soon was so calm and steady, did not even show any bit of anger when he visited URA. He just left them a simple statement, "If you think I am in the wrong, please sue me in court!", gave them that cunning smile and then just left URA with the staffs stunned. URA was shocked and didn't know what to do with him! Actually, it was only Seng Soon's style to always be prepared for such incidents. He has long collected newspaper cuttings as evidence that PAP leaders had told the press that they had once had a very important meeting at one of the senior leader's house to make a very important decision. If URA was to sue him for breaching the law, then this senior leader must have broken the law as well! Luckily URA didn't take any action against Seng Soon else the veteran senior leaders of PAP would face great embarrassment if they were to be taken to court as well!

Seng Soon was never a power crazy politician. When Workers Party was able to find enough young people to take over important roles in the CEC, he took the initiative to ask to step down from CEC when the election of new CEC was due. However, this doesn't mean that he didn't care for WP' development anymore. On the contrary, up to the very last days of his life, he was still worried about the development of Workers Party.

Among all opposition members, Goh Seng Soon could be considered as a rare species. He has an extra-ordinary huge network in Singapore and he was definitely one of the smartest strategist among the veterans. He could analyse and determine the truth of political reality with his Theory of Relativity and logic. Nothing was too complex to be solved by him. Regrettably, he has left before he could accomplish what he has set out to do.

Although I have learned quite a lot of things with regards to politics and diplomacy from Seng Soon, but I didn't dare to consider myself as his "disciple" because I have not gone through that proper formality. He has a totally different view of this student who was considered by many people as "traitor of Workers Party". In the face of overwhelming WP members' hostility towards me, he was still willing to regard me as one of his soul mates and best friends. I am very touched by the trust he has in me. For some ultra-sensitive information which he would refrain from sharing with his WP comrades, he has shared with me unreservedly. Our mutual trust was built on the fact that we have come to acknowledge that we were both on the same path, we have the common goals and common idealism. He has shown understanding that my criticisms of WP were all made based on the premise of enhancing a better progress and development for Democracy. His only complain to me was that my actions or criticisms of WP has put him in a very difficult spot among his WP comrades. However, he still hoped that I could return to WP. He has encouraged me and even wanted to try every means to put me back into WP. But I have subtly and tactfully put such suggestions into cold storage. Deep down my heart, I was very grateful for his good intentions but I didn't dare to tell him, without me, Workers Party will not die, but if I returned to Workers Party, I will definitely perished!

How many soul mates can one meet in a lifetime? It is even rarer still for a political soul mate. In this lonely political path of mine, Seng Soon was the only political soul mate whom I could have perfect genuine meeting of minds and souls, spoke freely about anything and everything, mutual respect, looked out for each other...etc. He used to joke frequently that he has achieved the status of "Political Sage Fighter", one who have both the wisdom and valor while I was just a "Political Fox"! This was because he was always circumspect and farsighted, could always foretell with divine accuracy in political matters. What he set to do, he would always accomplish it. However, the unexpected had happened and he has lost quite badly in his last battle of his life, in full regret. Now, I am left even more lonely in this path of politics.

The passing of Goh Seng Soon is definitely a great loss to opposition politics. To the Workers Party at this critical juncture of democratic development, such loss is definitely a huge blow to it. As for me, it is emotionally totally unbearable.

For now, I only hope that my teacher, Seng Soon, will have a smooth journey to heaven. You have such little regrets in life, no big deal and you shouldn't be bothered at all. I hope that my little eulogy here could well put your extraordinary life on record of Singapore political history by summing up your contributions to our political development in this life. I sincerely hope that we shall meet again to continue our friendship in next life. Please Rest In Peace.


In Mourning,


Goh Meng Seng