ang mo kio by election soon?

[cheepshootjuan]

Sep 27, 2010
Minister Balaji has died

Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Balaji Sadasivan, who was battling colon cancer, died early on Monday morning. -- PHOTO: NP

Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Balaji Sadasivan, who was battling colon cancer, died early on Monday morning. He was 55.

Foreign Minister George Yeo broke the news of his death in a Twitter message just before 10.30 am on Monday. 'Mourns the passing away of dear friend and colleague Dr Balaji Sadasivan,' he twitted.

Dr Balaji had surgery at Gleneagles Hospital on Sept 23, 2008 to remove a cancerous tumour in the colon.

Before he entered politics in 2001 as a PAP candidate, he was a neurosurgeon at Gleneagles Hospital.

Soon after, he was elected as an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC. He was appointed minister of state for health and environment in November 2001.

From May 2006 to March this year, he was senior minister of state for foreign affairs and information, communications and the arts. In April, his responsibility was confined to the ministry of foreign affairs.

Dr Balaji leaves behind his wife and two children.

would there be a by election? if GRC is not one for all and all (not) for one, then why legitimate GRC?

 

[po2wq]

u tink ah loon got bols? ...

 

[jbsmith]

Unlikely, some MPs from Ang Mo Kio GRC will cover his duties instead.

 

[halsey02]

u tink ah loon got bols? ...

God is warning loon, look Balaji can go...you can too!, anyday maybe before, the old man's "last leaf fall"..

 

[johnny333]

Is there time for a by-election before the expected snap general elections

 

[cheepshootjuan]

i tot GRC is an all in and all out system. that high pitch indian mp is dead. who to look after the minority there? didn't lau goh and lau lee always highlighting minority rights and all those craps?

democratically, there should be a by-election. if other mps can oversee the duties of another demised mp, then it also proves that there is no necessity to have so many mps in a GRC in the first place and that the real motive is to usurp more wards and slot in as many weakling pap mps as possible through the backdoor of GRC's walkovers.

this is a big national KELONG!!

 

[popdod]

dun hab lah...i tot last time zoolong oso wanna hab by-erection..
but
papaya said cannot.

:o

 

[Sideswipe]

i tot GRC is an all in and all out system. that high pitch indian mp is dead. who to look after the minority there? didn't lau goh and lau lee always highlighting minority rights and all those craps?

"I don't look ah bu neh neh to you?"

 

[Watchman]

Ang Mo Kio MPs all got poisoned and have colon cancers !

 

[sinren67]

Loong should hold a by-election in his own ward as a yardstick and then decide now or till Feb 2012 for GE

 

[jacobsgoh]

i tot GRC is an all in and all out system. that high pitch indian mp is dead. who to look after the minority there? didn't lau goh and lau lee always highlighting minority rights and all those craps?

democratically, there should be a by-election. if other mps can oversee the duties of another demised mp, then it also proves that there is no necessity to have so many mps in a GRC in the first place and that the real motive is to usurp more wards and slot in as many weakling pap mps as possible through the backdoor of GRC's walkovers.

this is a big national KELONG!!

GRCs are meant to make it difficult for oppositions to contest in a given ward,
all along i thought its meant for favoured children throught the back window; now i know i am mistaken, its the backdoor.

 

[ahbengsong]

A few prc friends chose to return home to china because they have seen an increase in cancer cases in pap singapore... they suspect its something to do with newater...

 

[Glaringly]

A few prc friends chose to return home to china because they have seen an increase in cancer cases in pap singapore... they suspect its something to do with newater...

Even PRC not strong enough for our newwater?

Cham liao, got to think of ways to collect the overflow flood water ourself.

 

[SotongMee]

Bala Neh did not listen to Lao Lee, he peacefully retired at 55 !

Unlikely, some MPs from Ang Mo Kio GRC will cover his duties instead.

 

[cheepshootjuan]

obviously, THERE WON'T BE A BY ELECTION

TOC Op-ed: New twist to the by-election question, but don’t hold your breath

Posted: 27 Sep 2010 01:12 AM PDT

Dr Balaji Sadasivan’s passing this morning inevitably raises the question of whether Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will call for a by-election to fill the now-vacant seat in his own ward. Dr Balaji was an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, in addition to his portfolio as Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

This issue was last raised after Dr Ong Chit Chung, an MP in Jurong GRC passed away in August 2008.

During the Parliamentary sitting following his death, then-Nominated MPs Thio Li-Ann and Loo Choon Yong proposed a motion calling for amendments to the Parliamentary Elections Act to allow for by-elections upon the passing of an MP while still in office.

The motion was rejected 62 to five.

One of the arguments against having a by-election was that other Members of Parliament in the GRC were able to cover the constituency duties of Dr Ong. Madam Halimah Yacob noted that the other MPs in the GRC had covered the Meet-the-People’s sessions for Dr Ong.

This was the same approach taken in the case of Dr Tay Eng Soon, an elected Member for Eunos GRC who passed away in 1993 and in 1999 when Mr Choo Wee Khiang of Jalan Besar GRC resigned. Both MPs were from the PAP.

This time round Mr Lee will be hard-pressed to deploy the same explanation in Dr Balaji’s case. Due to his duties as PM, Mr Lee would already have had less time for constituency work than ordinary MPs; it is thus unlikely the Prime Minister can be tasked to make up for Dr Balaji’s constituency work.

Further, the assertion that the rest of the GRC MPs can cover for someone’s duties raises the obvious and uncomfortable question: are an MP’s duties really that important if he’s so dispensable?

More importantly, the government will have to revisit the question of electoral representation: the Ang Mo Kio team was voted in at the 2006 general election with 66.14% of the vote. Votes were cast for the whole GRC team, Dr Balaji being one of the members.

As former Nominated MP Mr Siew Kum Hong argued in the 2008 debate, voters give the mandate to the whole team in a GRC.

In his parliamentary speech, Mr Siew said, “And if the composition of the team changes for any reason, then it by definition becomes a different team. It ceases to be the team elected by the voters. In that situation, surely a fresh mandate from the voters is necessary.”

The GE consideration

Unfortunately, however untenable the PAP’s explanations are, the reality is that it is unlikely that a by-election will be called.

By law, the term of this Parliament does not expire until February 2012. However, there is a widespread expectation that the elections will be called as early as the end of this year or next year around March, just after the Budget is passed.

Given that a by-election in the PM’s ward will be a de facto referendum on the government, it is unlikely that a by-election will be called if a general election is indeed being planned in the coming months.

Regardless, Dr Balaji’s passing once again reflects that the question of when to call a by-elections and the broader issues of electoral accountability is far from settled.

Dr James Gomez, Executive-Director of Singaporeans for Democracy, told TOC he intends to publicly raise and discuss this issue at the

 

[cheepshootjuan]

if suppose lau lee mafia boss of tg pagar GRC would to pass away suddenly, should there be a by election? all his ka kias are weaklings who got into parliament because of backdoor influence of the mobster boss.

 

[johnny333]

A few prc friends chose to return home to china because they have seen an increase in cancer cases in pap singapore... they suspect its something to do with newater...

Seems like alot of cancer going around in Spore, whether you're an elite or lesser mortal, no one is spared.

Whatever the reasons, newater, too many cars, inferior food, sick buildings, authorites not doing their job,... It's a serious problem & what's scary is that the authorities are ignoring it

 

[Cestbon]

There will be no by election because of the due date for election is near.

 

[silverfox@]

There will be no by election because of the due date for election is near.

Even if there is a by-election, who you think will be the contenders?:p

 

[Maximilian Chua-Heng]

I concur. Could it be the stressful living here which induces such cancers?

STI like Warts, Herpes etc are not the only diseases we should be wary of.

Seems like alot of cancer going around in Spore, whether you're an elite or lesser mortal, no one is spared.

Whatever the reasons, newater, too many cars, inferior food, sick buildings, authorites not doing their job,... It's a serious problem & what's scary is that the authorities are ignoring it