Insist on Meritocracy, Reject Mediocrity

Goh Meng Seng · Dec 30, 2012

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Wan Bao has always been
quite supportive of Workers Party (WP) all this while and it is exceptional for
it to be so. This could be seen from the reports on WP since the Hougang
By-Elections held earlier on. It is indeed rare to have a mainstream newspaper
to be so supportive of an opposition party under Singapore’s unique political
consrtruct.  
 
 
However, it should not
be biased by its support to WP so much so that it would go that extra mile to
use reports with twisted angle to attack those who have very different stance
from it! (I am of course referring to myself!) 
 
Just like the report
shown above, it uses a very definite tone to assert that “majority of netizens
feel that there is sourness written between the lines”; it would be totally
misleading to those who don’t really know the fact at al! Well, I have checked
through this comment posted on my FB and I have found there are over 20 FB
friends agreed with my comments and have clicked “Like” while there are just
only a handful of those usual suspects of hardcore WP people raising
disagreement. How could that be considered as “majority”? Maybe the Chief
Editor of Wan Bao should help the reporter to get a new pair of spectacles or
that send the reporter to a couple of Statistics classes! Such gross
misreporting could damage Wan Bao’s credibility and reputation (that is, if
there is any left)! 
 
Well, I am a straight
talker and will not try to beat around the bushes. Some feel that this is REAL
while more feels that this is just “ignorant” or even “idiocy”; this is just a
matter of perspectives. Nevertheless, many people feel that as “politician”, it
is better to be “slick”and have a “glib toungue”, must be more “politically
correct”. However, isn’t that asking politicians to hide their real thoughts
and replace them with sweet talking?  I
don’t concur to such hypocritical pretence! 
 
As for my comment, that
is serious matter. There are a lot of people disappointed with WP’s performance
since last General Elections. Even the so call “political observer” whom Wan
Bao interviewed has to settle with the assessment of “WP’s performance is so
so”. That is basically just a civil way (politically correctly smooth) of saying
“mediocre”.  It is a fact that there
isn’t much commendable performance.  
 
Right from the start, Chen Show Mao has
conceded to PAP to become the great fearless Wei Zheng who will speak the
truth, in all honesty with their criticisms. That basically means that PAP has
become the Emperor while WP becomes the loyal court officials. There is
basically nothing wrong to concede to the victor as it is a common practice in
ancient history. But Wei Zheng is one who will speak up fearlessly (well, isn’t
that as ignorant and idiotic as I do? LOL!) of the truth and facts and isn’t
one of the fearful silent coward. However, just after one year plus, why has
our Wei Zheng become the silent one on the policy front? 
  
 
WP walks into parliament
with the slogan of “Towards First World Parliament” but once in parliament, why
are they bringing up such inconsequential questions on cats, dogs and bird
droppings? Is it true that there isn’t any other important National issue to be
brought up in parliament for debate? Why didn’t they bring up the issue of AIM
in parliament earlier on? 
 
Even for that “sure
score” issue of ministerial salary debate, WP has screwed up so badly that it
was mercilessly mocked by PAP. Not to mention about being exposed of plagiarism
right in parliament. My little criticism of WP in my FB is really nothing
compared to be shamed in the hall of parliamentary debate. How embarrassing!  
 
Just when we thought the worst is over, WP exploded with the Yaw Shin Leong
scandal. The ultimate shame lies in how clueless WP was in handling such
scandal. It has dragged the scandal for nearly a month before it was forced to
tearfully sacrificed YSL. Apparently this has put a lot of doubt on the crisis
management ability of WP. After the dust settled, we thought we could just
close the chapter with a by-election. However, the WP candidate’s credibility
was again put to doubt by a leaked minutes of its CEC meeting. Finally, the
by-election has a happy ending with the magnanimous support of Hougang voters.
But just as we thought all the storms have passed, residents under WP’s wards
exposed that WP has used lucky draw to buy votes in support of HDB upgrading!
This is the greatest ironic blow to opposition as a whole as we have been
attacking PAP of using HDB upgrading to buy votes during elections! This is
simply the pot calling the kettle black! 
 
  
Our hearts are bleeding
with all these missteps of WP! All these mediocre performance has absolutely
nothing to do with the lack of confidence. I have thought through rigorously
but I just couldn’t figure out how “confidence” (or the lack of it), as
mentioned by the political observer, has to do with WP’s mediocre performance.
However, I would say some of the incidents have to do with the over confidence,
complacency and arrogance. 
 
It is unimaginable that within such a short period
of one and a half year’s time, WP has been making such fumbles in such high
frequency and how is WP going to survive for the next 3 to 4 years before the
next GE! Confidence can never solve these fundamental problems! 
 
It is inexplicable for
the Wan Boa’s political observer to assert that we should give WP one more seat
so that they will have the confidence to perform better! This is really absurd!
When did we become a country that abandon the core principle of meritocracy
while rewarding mediocre performance?  We should insist on meritocracy and
reject mediocrity. 
 
 
If we lose this
insistence on meritocracy, Singapore
would definitely and eventually end up with a political slimy m&d filled with
mediocrity instead of becoming “First World”
class! 
If WP chose to contest
the by-election due short term political interests considerations, before it
rectifies, consolidate and make adjustment to its present team of MPs, even if it
managed to win another seat, it will face the greater risk of having further
mediocre impact that would cause even more blunders. This is especially so when
it is obvious from Hougang By-election that WP is pretty dry on its talent pool
now. 
  
WP should stop and
reflect upon itself, bides its time in reconsolidation before it starts afresh
again. Only in doing so, it would be able to meet the high expectations of its
supporters to accomplish and fulfill its mission of creating the “First World
Parliament”. 
 
Nothing is absolute in
this world. More may not be good. We should have quality MPs instead of just
quantity. If the slate of MPs are still lacking in quality, it should just give
them closed door training to perfection. WP should get its house in order first before
it move forward to win any other seats.In short, it is best for WP to give it
a pass for this by-election. 
 
<div class="MsoNormal">
Goh Meng Seng</div>

brocoli · Dec 30, 2012

PM has already said that in an election, you are electing a team, not an individual

Goh Meng Seng · Dec 30, 2012

Well, this is a by-election in a single ward! :wink:

Goh Meng Seng

brocoli said:
PM has already said that in an election, you are electing a team, not an individual

brocoli · Dec 30, 2012

Goh Meng Seng said:
Well, this is a by-election in a single ward!

Goh Meng Seng

Read carefully he is talking bout by-election, you have to concede that SDP is a poorer team even if they have a better candidate, which we do not know yet.

There is a reason for it, because you are electing a team to represent you when you are going to a general election and not just electing an individual in that constituency, but really you are electing a member of a government and the person stands wearing a logo representing a political party

Really, the right way to choose a government is in a general election when the choice is put and that choice is really for the term of the government, unless there is a complete change in Parliament. Otherwise, individual MPs, whether they resign or something happens to them, ought not to be able to upset the overall political situation, and that's the reason why it is designed like this.

Of course, in a practical situation, if you do have a vacancy, if there are no special reasons one way or the other, then there would be expectations you ought to have a by-election to fill the seat, and that's something which I will consider.

We are different, because we started off different when we went into Malaysia. When we were in Malaysia, we complied with the Malaysian norms, and in the light of the experience we had during that period, after we left Malaysia, we changed back to what we were before the Malaysian period, because we did not want in a tight situation, one person deciding to resign and therefore forcing the government to change.

Why should one person decide what really should be decided by the electorate as a whole. So there is a reason for that. You may accept it to a certain degree, you may have a view, but it is not something that is accidental.

Then Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew explained this when he moved the constitutional amendment in December 1965. In other words, immediately after Singapore became independent. I quote from his speech then:“This amendment revokes the clause which was introduced into the State Constitution of Singapore when it entered Malaysia. Members in this House will know that there was no such injunction of holding a by-election within three months in our previous Constitution. We resisted this particular condition being imposed upon the State Constitution at the time we entered Malaysia. But our representations were not accepted because Malaysia insisted on uniformity of our laws with the other States in the Federation, and with the Federal Constitution itself. Since we are no longer part of the Federal whole, for reasons which we find valid and valuable as a result of our own experience of elections and of government in Singapore, we have decided that this limitation should no longer apply.”

The Constitution, therefore, reflects a political philosophy that emphasises stable government and the view that in elections, voters are primarily choosing between political parties to be given the mandate to govern the country, rather than between individual candidates to become MPs. We have kept the constitutional provision because the considerations for enacting it in 1965 remain relevant today.

brocoli · Dec 30, 2012

Mr Goh, don't you you think you are extremely presumptious???

the fundamental principles of democracy is choice....

its 1 thing to try to convince others that your candidate is better or more winnable and other party candidate is shit, its another to call on others to withdraw....

even now so far, no one have called on Desmond Lim or KJ to withdraw,

calling on others to withdraw is the ultimate show of weakness

if WP is so dry on talent, why don't you and contest to prove it... unless you know you are even more talentless than WP 4th tier candidates

you big headedness and cowardice know no bound.....

commoner · Dec 30, 2012

ok,,,, what GMS did not say what another political analyst, who is NOT a captain rank, but an associate professor, say about him in WAN BAO,,,,

- BEing a poltical figure, should be of a HIGH LEVEL MATURITY with making statements,,,, IS THE ASSOC PROFESSOR saying our esteemed GMS immature?

- What GMS said is INEFFECTIVE and reflect his ignorance (naive) of politics,,,,, WOW, this ASSOC PROFFESSOR is too much to say say things about our in house analyst

- should use more provocative wordings (vocab),,, THIS ASSOC PROFFESSOR sure or not, said that about our 2nd. UPPER CLASS NUS graduate,,,, don't know if this professor got any honors fegree or not,,,

hip hip hooray for GMS,,,,, GMS for MP in Punggol East,,,, GMS will bring the parliament to meritocracy rather than mediocrity,,,,

VOTE GMS for MP in Punggol East

Goh Meng Seng · Dec 30, 2012

You have to read my post carefully. I have full rebuttals already. :smile:

Goh Meng Seng

commoner said:
ok,,,, what GMS did not say what another political analyst, who is NOT a captain rank, but an associate professor, say about him in WAN BAO,,,,

- BEing a poltical figure, should be of a HIGH LEVEL MATURITY with making statements,,,, IS THE ASSOC PROFESSOR saying our esteemed GMS immature?

- What GMS said is INEFFECTIVE and reflect his ignorance (naive) of politics,,,,, WOW, this ASSOC PROFFESSOR is too much to say say things about our in house analyst

- should use more provocative wordings (vocab),,, THIS ASSOC PROFFESSOR sure or not, said that about our 2nd. UPPER CLASS NUS graduate,,,, don't know if this professor got any honors fegree or not,,,

hip hip hooray for GMS,,,,, GMS for MP in Punggol East,,,, GMS will bring the parliament to meritocracy rather than mediocrity,,,,

VOTE GMS for MP in Punggol East

Pioneer · Dec 30, 2012

This is why we need representation in parliament from a different opposition party. WP with 8 members in parliament is enough. Without competition in parliament, WP tend to doze off and enjoy the good life. Would really like to hear a different voice in parliament.

cass888 · Dec 30, 2012

Goh Meng Seng said:
You have to read my post carefully. I have full rebuttals already.

Goh Meng Seng

Not a very mature response ex-sec gem!

LeMans2011 · Dec 30, 2012

....Well, I have checked through this comment posted on my FB and I have found there are over 20 FB friends agreed with my comments and have clicked “Like” while there are just only a handful of those usual suspects of hardcore WP people raising disagreement. How could that be considered as “majority”?

Feel the need to enlighten you on this. You have 20 FB likes => That represents the number of votes you will get if you throw your hat in.
"Only a few usual suspect dislikes" you FB comment? Because nobody bothers to visit your facebook. Singapore has a few million voters... if i were you i will not feel proud about having 20 likes out of a few million voters.

cass888 · Dec 30, 2012

LeMans2011 said:
Feel the need to enlighten you on this. You have 20 FB likes => That represents the number of votes you will get if you throw your hat in.
"Only a few usual suspect dislikes" you FB comment? Because nobody bothers to visit your facebook. Singapore has a few million voters... if i were you i will not feel proud about having 20 likes out of a few million voters.

George Yeo gets more likes on a picture of his food.

scroobal · Dec 30, 2012

GMS

Couple of observations and comments.

1) Your comments give the impression that WP is the govt and therefore carry such a importance that you spend all your waking hours monitoring them.

2) If WP is hopeless, voters will ditch them. At the moment, there is limited choice.

3) You comments about WP has long crossed the realm of a political pundit. You are singularly obsessed with bringing them down at all costs. We are all aware of WP's limitation and I have been a critic but I do so within a certain context. The comments about Wan Bao is laughable and bordering on the ridiculous.

4) You have stopped being a critic of the PAP after the elections. What changed? Are they more honest than WP. Do they deliver in Parliament? Are they looking after their constituents.

brocoli · Dec 30, 2012

can you please rebut this ???

who the fuck do you think you are that you can ask WP to withdraw and deprive the voters of their choice ???

do you even live in Punggol East ???

and why the fuck should WP even listen to you

brocoli said:
Mr Goh, don't you you think you are extremely presumptious???

the fundamental principles of democracy is choice....

its 1 thing to try to convince others that your candidate is better or more winnable and other party candidate is shit, its another to call on others to withdraw....

even now so far, no one have called on Desmond Lim or KJ to withdraw,

calling on others to withdraw is the ultimate show of weakness

if WP is so dry on talent, why don't you and contest to prove it... unless you know you are even more talentless than WP 4th tier candidates

you big headedness and cowardice know no bound.....

brocoli · Dec 30, 2012

the dumbest rebuttal with an arrogance no less than GMS...

because voters have no choice they have to endure bullshit because there is no choiice ,,,

voters are oblige to endure and WP can perform as bad as possible since they are no the govt....

what a senile old man

scroobal said:
GMS

Couple of observations and comments.

1) Your comments give the impression that WP is the govt and therefore carry such a importance that you spend all your waking hours monitoring them.

2) If WP is hopeless, voters will ditch them. At the moment, there is limited choice.

3) You comments about WP has long crossed the realm of a political pundit. You are singularly obsessed with bringing them down at all costs. We are all aware of WP's limitation and I have been a critic but I do so within a certain context. The comments about Wan Bao is laughable and bordering on the ridiculous.

4) You have stopped being a critic of the PAP after the elections. What changed? Are they more honest than WP. Do they deliver in Parliament? Are they looking after their constituents.

Goh Meng Seng · Dec 30, 2012

Dear Scroobal,

If I am really that "bad" and wished WP to be ditched in future GE, I won't be putting up all these comments knowing that there are those blindly ignorant ones who cannot see beyond chanting for victories.

For all what it is worth, I still "graduated" politically from WP and I still have quite a number of friends in there. Whether we like it or not, WP is still important in the process of democratic development in Singapore; at least for the near future. It is natural for people to get too high for their heads during this period and would defend WP with all bitterness and zeal against people like me. But there must be someone who will constantly give them the necessary poking to keep them on their toes. PAP will not help opposition parties like WP to grow and would have wished them to be pushed to the high top and then just push them for the free fall and hope that it will just fall too hard that it can never pick itself up again.

I believe Yawgate is part of that plot. I don't believe the ISD is so ineffective that they won't know about his little hobby. ISD is the private eye of PAP government! But they took the opportune time, waiting for him to get elected and get big headed, going around to give others the impression that he is going to take over LTK then they drop the bomb on him. It will create multiple injuries on him, LTK and WP all at once. There will be always the skepticism that LTK took the opportunity to get rid of him because he has shown signs of threats to his leadership, which may not be true at all! That is where the tension lies within WP at the moment!

I have said this before, the most effective way to destroy your enemy is not constantly beating him down at every opportunity. That will make your opponent stronger each time beaten. The most skillful way is to let them win all the time purposely, letting them get too high, arrogant, complacent and thought they are invincible, letting down their guards, pushing their ego to the highest cloud 11 and then suddenly, you just push them to have a free fall. Most probably, they will never be able to get back again with any fighting spirit. I am actually doing the opposite. Although it seems that I may be keeping the stings at all times, but in effect, this is the only way to puncture whatever egoistic high heads they have, putting them constantly on their guard.

The comments on Wan Bao consist of two parts. One is the cynicism that I would expect you to realize and laugh about. The other one is the direct reality checks for WP and a stinging reminder of what needs to be done.

It is precisely we do not have much choices left other than SDP and WP, maybe NSP to some extend, that we need to keep the one at the front in constant reality check on their mediocre performance. The advice listed at the back is aimed to make WP realize that any army, no matter how formidable they are, will need to stop, re-organize, re-group, re-consolidate and take stock of weaknesses before they can move on for other battles. If WP, with only 8 MPs cannot manage each individual MPs well, with MP making such amateurish mistakes like vote-buying, there must be something very wrong... a fundamental systemic problems lying within. How could it be good for WP to have another addition to its rank of yet another MP whom would most probably be inferior than these 8?

I think it is really the bias on your part, along with many people, that see I "stopped criticising PAP". That is far beyond the truth. Maybe I have lessen my visits to this forum but the criticisms have never stopped on my FB and blog. It is only true that those fanatic die hard blues (i.e. WP people) who have learned from PAP the selectively sensationalize criticisms that I have made against WP by blowing it up. Thus, the impression that I have been only attacking WP which is utterly wrong. Whenever issue arises, there will be comments on all, not just WP. Unfortunately, it seems that WP has much bigger share of issues than others, as listed in my article.

However, having said that, it is not my duty to help PAP grow stronger, neither my job to help frontline opposition politicians to fight the fight that they should be doing. But sometimes, it is just that instinctive cynicism in me that urge me to kick the butt of PAP when WP failed to do so in timely manner. That is why I say my criticism of PAP has never stopped at all. Such urge also applied quite fairly across the board, SDP and NSP have been criticized as well.

Goh Meng Seng

scroobal said:
GMS

Couple of observations and comments.

1) Your comments give the impression that WP is the govt and therefore carry such a importance that you spend all your waking hours monitoring them.

2) If WP is hopeless, voters will ditch them. At the moment, there is limited choice.

3) You comments about WP has long crossed the realm of a political pundit. You are singularly obsessed with bringing them down at all costs. We are all aware of WP's limitation and I have been a critic but I do so within a certain context. The comments about Wan Bao is laughable and bordering on the ridiculous.

4) You have stopped being a critic of the PAP after the elections. What changed? Are they more honest than WP. Do they deliver in Parliament? Are they looking after their constituents.

SgParent · Dec 31, 2012

Goh Meng Seng said:
... I still "graduated" politically from WP

That's it!!!!! Now I know who/what is the root cause for all this natural fertilizer in this forum.

This will be the #1 reason why I will vote for any Tom, Dick and Harry, or even a used tissue paper, instead of WP.

Bye bye WP. Read you in History book.

HTOLAS · Dec 31, 2012

Mr Freedom, you are showing signs of PTSD which might have been caused by the traumatic events and aftermath of the GE 2011. I feel your pain and hope you get well soon. But please go see a doctor before you move from incoherence to insanity.

wwabbit · Dec 31, 2012

Have to feel pity for this guy, everyone can see that his bitterness and hate for WP yet he can't see it and continues to deny it. Just like those gambling addicts denying that they are addicted.

TuaGow · Dec 31, 2012

Insist on Meritocracy, Reject Mediocrity???

That is why GMS is being rejected by WP.

Goh More Shit, get a life and move on. stop to be so venegeful and alway attack WP.

Bigfuck · Dec 31, 2012

If you want to help good at making shit, donate money for his brain scan.　Wahlao at 42 look like machiam late 50s

Insist on Meritocracy, Reject Mediocrity

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