When Roy had spoken his last, Tan Hui Hui asked if there were any media or press personnel to ask questions, no reporters dared to come forward. This prompted someone to say aloud that Singapore 154th has no press, and no reporters. I was there to see how pathetic media corpse and shit times are.
After a tiring 15 hour flight, I managed to crawl out of my hotel bed and jet lag, to attend the CPF protest. I wanted to get a sense of the political mood in the country. I was struck and very impressed by the incredible courage shown, particularly by this young man and this petite girl. However, I wondered why all these were necessary when Singapore already had an opposition presence in Parliament. Their one simple role, if they lack the drive, courage or intelligence to do anything else useful, is to be the voices of the people. After all, this was Sylvia Lim's pompous declaration to Lianhe Zaobao on 06 May 2012 when she was asked about the WP's silence on the budget when other parties had spoken up:
“But we are in Parliament, they are not. We will make use of the platform we have.”
At the height of the AIM saga last year, I posted the
article below.
The article can well serve as a template to this current situation by replacing "AIM" with "CPF".
My old WP colleagues and my views about Low, having known Low Thia Khiang for more than 34 years ago when he first joined the WP in 1982, and having uncovered and discovered his role, purpose and agenda, remains unchanged.
It will take time but Singaporeans will continue to, albeit very slowly, discover and realise that Low Thia Khiang, beyond the theatre he puts up during electioneering and the cheap theatrics in Parliament, is not who they think he is and that the Workers Party, having been infiltrated by the likes of Low and at least three other operatives, is not the Workers Party of old or the opposition party Singaporeans think it is.
The more perceptive and knowledgeable posters like Golden Dragon, who had access to intelligence, will know this and will know what I mean. In the meanwhile, beyond some cheap theatre, please be prepared for more "under-performance" and silence from Low and his ilk. There is a reason to this silence. And it is not for any noble reasons or sorry excuses that has been ascribed to it by the WP, its fans or the usual WP crowd.
***
What will the Workers Party do on 14 January 2013?
Will the WP Parliamentarians be silent, reticent and fearful and not raise this AIM issue in Parliament? And will they continue to rely on their Vellama modus operandi, i.e. remain silent and let ordinary citizens, netizens and bloggers do the work, carry out the heavy lifting and take the risks on their behalf (even as these WP MPs enjoy the privileges, perks and benefits of being a $16,041/month MP)?
With all that have been published by bloggers and netizens, it is to be expected and simply a matter of time before the incorrigible Dauphin and his merry men latched on to something and revert back to what his father, he and his lackeys do best, i.e. threaten to sue or sue. Old habits die hard.
Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by all MPs, including those from the Workers Party. The purpose of Parliamentary privilege is to allow MPs to speak freely during ordinary Parliamentary proceedings without any fear of legal action. Non-elected politicians, bloggers, netizens and the ordinary man in the street do not enjoy such a privilege. Notwithstanding this lack of privilege, these non-elected politicians, bloggers, netizens and the ordinary man in the street have spoken up on many and varied issues. To their credit, they have done a lot of work. They have carried out the heavy lifting. And they have courageously taken the risks in doing so.
The AIM issue directly affects the WP. The WP has a presence of 6 MPs and 2 NCMPS in Parliament. It is for the WP Parliamentarians to raise and pursue the AIM issue in Parliament.
Voters have also voiced their concern about the AIM issue. Voters have voted the WP into Parliament for a reason. To be their voices. It is the one of the primary duties and responsibilities of being an elected member of a First World Parliament to voice the concerns of your constituents and the electorate in Parliament.
In order to get to the bottom of this AIM issue once and for all, it is incumbent on the WP to raise and pursue this matter in Parliament when Parliament sits on 14 January 2013. If it does not but instead, expects non-elected politicians, bloggers, netizens and the ordinary man in the street to continue to raise and pursue the matter outside of Parliament, it will merely prove, once and yet again, all that have been said by skeptics and critics about the Workers Party and the pusillanimous leadership of the Workers Party.