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And why is the 154th still showing pics of the 1960s? Cos there's not much improvement since then?
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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - MM: Oppo sure lose if u come to my GRC!</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>1:56 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 27) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>42342.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Dec 17, 2010
MM: All parties welcome to contest
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MM Lee at Tanjong Pagar community events in 1967 (above) and 2008. He has been the ward?s MP since 1955. -- ST FILE PHOTOS
View more photos http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20101217/ST_18542955.jpg
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OPPOSITION parties are welcome to contest Tanjong Pagar GRC, but they may find it difficult to exploit issues to garner votes, says Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
'I would say there are no pressing political issues for the opposition to exploit. The people are happy,' he replies by e-mail to Insight's questions on the possibility of a contest.
(kojakbt: LOL! This is a sure sign that PAP will lose many votes this time. What has LKY been smoking?)
Members of Workers' Party, Reform Party, National Solidarity Party and Singapore Democratic Party have been seen on walkabouts and house-to-house visits in the GRC in recent months.
MM Lee has been MP for the Tanjong Pagar ward since the 1955 Legislative Assembly elections and the anchor minister for the GRC since 1991.
As a single seat, Tanjong Pagar saw furious battles which Mr Lee won handsomely. Since it grew into a four-seat group representation constituency in 1991, and a six-seat GRC in 1997, it has never been contested.
Explaining why his constituents are happy, he points to the ward's transformation from a poor working-class area to a middle- to upper-income heartland.
When he first won the Tanjong Pagar seat, he recalls, 'there were many port workers and casual workers without homes'.
He notes that two blocks of rental flats - the pioneer project of the Housing Board's Home Ownership Programme - were built along Cantonment Road in 1963. Other estates such as Everton Park, Spottiswoode Park and Tanjong Pagar Plaza soon followed, housing port workers, executives and the working class.
Now, after extensive upgrading and the building of new projects like Pinnacle@Duxton, and with most first generation residents having paid off their loans, 'housing is not an issue in Tanjong Pagar', MM Lee says.
(kojakbt: but what's the price of Pinnacle? $600K! LOL!)
Neither is cost of living, he adds, noting that ComCare funds have not been fully disbursed as the ward sees 'very few' hardship cases.
As for the GRC's mature estates, he says there has been an effort to improve mobility through barrier-free access and upgrading.
When asked if the MPs are ready for the possibility of some divisions being carved out as single-member constituencies, he replies: 'They are all prepared.'
And on the PAP's line-up for the GRC in the next election, he would only say: 'Wait and see. PM will decide.'
(kojakbt: But ah boy will discuss with papa first mah... LOL!)
It is the same response he gave last month when asked if he would stand in Tanjong Pagar GRC for the next election.
MM Lee had said then that he would stand if he was fit and if the PAP's secretary-general, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, decided to field him.
His fellow GRC MPs declined to speculate on whether MM Lee would continue to stand. But Mr Lui Tuck Yew, who oversees Moulmein, says: 'Singaporeans benefit significantly from his insight, from his connections, from the respect he continues to command in many different countries.'
The MPs speak of bigger-than-usual crowds at GRC events featuring MM Lee as the guest of honour. Mr Sam Tan, the MP for the Radin Mas ward, describes him as having the draw of a 'superstar': 'It's genuine. People gravitate to him, take pictures with him, and shake his hand. This enthusiastic crowd comprises different ages too, from young to old.'
What do the constituents think? In a street poll of 46 people, 29 are in favour of MM Lee continuing to stand, 12 are undecided, while five feel he should retire.
Civil servant Steven Tan, 42, agrees that MM Lee has done a lot for Singapore but feels that he should retire as he is getting old.
But to Mrs Siew Sim Cheng, 53, a Bukit Merah resident and housewife, age is not an issue. 'MM... may be old but he can still use his mouth and his mind,' she says.
A sense of reassurance is cited by residents who want him to stay. 'To a certain extent, because of MM, we do expect that this area would be taken care of,' says Mr Ray Wang, 29, an engineer who lives at the Pinnacle@Duxton.
Others cite his stature and legacy.
Says video editor Teo Wai Chin, 33, who lives in Everton Park in Tanjong Pagar ward: 'MM should stand if he wants to. It's more symbolic than anything else - for the longest time, this has been his ward.'
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MM: All parties welcome to contest
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OPPOSITION parties are welcome to contest Tanjong Pagar GRC, but they may find it difficult to exploit issues to garner votes, says Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
'I would say there are no pressing political issues for the opposition to exploit. The people are happy,' he replies by e-mail to Insight's questions on the possibility of a contest.
(kojakbt: LOL! This is a sure sign that PAP will lose many votes this time. What has LKY been smoking?)
Members of Workers' Party, Reform Party, National Solidarity Party and Singapore Democratic Party have been seen on walkabouts and house-to-house visits in the GRC in recent months.
MM Lee has been MP for the Tanjong Pagar ward since the 1955 Legislative Assembly elections and the anchor minister for the GRC since 1991.
As a single seat, Tanjong Pagar saw furious battles which Mr Lee won handsomely. Since it grew into a four-seat group representation constituency in 1991, and a six-seat GRC in 1997, it has never been contested.
Explaining why his constituents are happy, he points to the ward's transformation from a poor working-class area to a middle- to upper-income heartland.
When he first won the Tanjong Pagar seat, he recalls, 'there were many port workers and casual workers without homes'.
He notes that two blocks of rental flats - the pioneer project of the Housing Board's Home Ownership Programme - were built along Cantonment Road in 1963. Other estates such as Everton Park, Spottiswoode Park and Tanjong Pagar Plaza soon followed, housing port workers, executives and the working class.
Now, after extensive upgrading and the building of new projects like Pinnacle@Duxton, and with most first generation residents having paid off their loans, 'housing is not an issue in Tanjong Pagar', MM Lee says.
(kojakbt: but what's the price of Pinnacle? $600K! LOL!)
Neither is cost of living, he adds, noting that ComCare funds have not been fully disbursed as the ward sees 'very few' hardship cases.
As for the GRC's mature estates, he says there has been an effort to improve mobility through barrier-free access and upgrading.
When asked if the MPs are ready for the possibility of some divisions being carved out as single-member constituencies, he replies: 'They are all prepared.'
And on the PAP's line-up for the GRC in the next election, he would only say: 'Wait and see. PM will decide.'
(kojakbt: But ah boy will discuss with papa first mah... LOL!)
It is the same response he gave last month when asked if he would stand in Tanjong Pagar GRC for the next election.
MM Lee had said then that he would stand if he was fit and if the PAP's secretary-general, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, decided to field him.
His fellow GRC MPs declined to speculate on whether MM Lee would continue to stand. But Mr Lui Tuck Yew, who oversees Moulmein, says: 'Singaporeans benefit significantly from his insight, from his connections, from the respect he continues to command in many different countries.'
The MPs speak of bigger-than-usual crowds at GRC events featuring MM Lee as the guest of honour. Mr Sam Tan, the MP for the Radin Mas ward, describes him as having the draw of a 'superstar': 'It's genuine. People gravitate to him, take pictures with him, and shake his hand. This enthusiastic crowd comprises different ages too, from young to old.'
What do the constituents think? In a street poll of 46 people, 29 are in favour of MM Lee continuing to stand, 12 are undecided, while five feel he should retire.
Civil servant Steven Tan, 42, agrees that MM Lee has done a lot for Singapore but feels that he should retire as he is getting old.
But to Mrs Siew Sim Cheng, 53, a Bukit Merah resident and housewife, age is not an issue. 'MM... may be old but he can still use his mouth and his mind,' she says.
A sense of reassurance is cited by residents who want him to stay. 'To a certain extent, because of MM, we do expect that this area would be taken care of,' says Mr Ray Wang, 29, an engineer who lives at the Pinnacle@Duxton.
Others cite his stature and legacy.
Says video editor Teo Wai Chin, 33, who lives in Everton Park in Tanjong Pagar ward: 'MM should stand if he wants to. It's more symbolic than anything else - for the longest time, this has been his ward.'
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