Don't let PAP be sole driver: WP
Singapore needs strong opposition to ensure driver stays alert, Low says at Hougang rally
By Kor Kian Beng
At the Workers' Party rally in Hougang last night, a massive crowd heard party chief Low Thia Khiang thank residents for voting for him when he first contested in the ward in 1991 and urging them to do the same for Mr Yaw. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN
THE Workers' Party (WP) last night kicked off its election campaign by urging Singaporeans not to let the People's Action Party (PAP) continue as the sole driver of Singapore's future.
Instead, the party believes the country needs a robust Parliament with a strong opposition that can be a co-driver to ensure the man behind the wheel stays alert.
'A co-driver is essential, especially when the road gets tougher to navigate,' said WP chief Low Thia Khiang, who has stepped out of Hougang to contest in Aljunied GRC.
'The co-driver is there to slap the driver when he drives off course or when he goes asleep. But, of course, if the driver is friendly and drives responsibly, we just keep talking to him to keep him awake.'
The remarks continue an ongoing war of words over a driving analogy between the ruling party and the WP, after Mr Low had first said last week that Singapore needed to build a strong opposition that could take over as government, just like a car needs a spare tyre.
It forms the basis of what the WP described as a 'First World Parliament' - its election slogan and a consistent message exhorted by Mr Low and eight other WP candidates at its first rally in Hougang.
But the auto talk triggered responses from Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam and later Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who said the WP's real intention was to be a co-driver, to 'stop the car if he does not agree with the direction' by 'stepping on the brakes from time to time'.
PM Lee said the better way forward for Singapore is to 'find the best driver who is not only capable, but who really cares for where the car is going, and will take (it) forward safely'.
WP chairman Sylvia Lim assured voters that the party also cares about where Singapore is going, but is concerned at the PAP's aversion to effective checks and balances from the opposition.
She asked: 'Is it right to let the driver fumble when our lives are in his hands? What price will Singaporeans pay for that?'
Calling it the PAP's usual threat tactic on the consequences of voting for the opposition, Mr Low said the PAP, the opposition and Singaporeans are all inside the same vehicle, and 'could be injured or die' in an accident.
However, Mr Low stressed that the WP is not able or ready to be a co-driver yet with a lack of talent to form an alternative government.
Describing the WP as someone without a driving licence, he said whether it could get one depends on the voters.
'In fact, the whole problem here is that without co-drivers, Singaporeans keep getting taken for a ride,' he added.
'It's time for Singaporeans to start looking for potential co-drivers, support and cultivate the potential co-drivers so that one day the potential co-driver can have a driving licence to take over if and when necessary.'
Besides trading barbs with the PAP over car analogies, the WP speakers, including star rookie Chen Show Mao, lobbed criticisms at policies on education, national service and immigration, among others.
But a big theme of the night was Mr Low sharing with Hougang voters his reasons for leaving the ward and moving to Aljunied GRC to seek a breakthrough with an A-star team that comprises himself, Ms Lim, Mr Chen, family counsellor Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap and postgraduate law student Pritam Singh.
He thanked them for voting for him when he first contested in the ward in 1991 and saluted their 'courageous' support over the years, despite the PAP delaying upgrading programmes for them.
He urged voters to do the same for the WP's organising secretary Yaw Shin Leong, a 34-year-old businessman who started his campaign with a halting Teochew speech last night, as he takes on the PAP's Desmond Choo in Hougang.
'Shin Leong has worked with me for many years. I hope you will give him a chance the same way you gave me a chance,' Mr Low said.
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Singapore needs strong opposition to ensure driver stays alert, Low says at Hougang rally
By Kor Kian Beng
At the Workers' Party rally in Hougang last night, a massive crowd heard party chief Low Thia Khiang thank residents for voting for him when he first contested in the ward in 1991 and urging them to do the same for Mr Yaw. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN
THE Workers' Party (WP) last night kicked off its election campaign by urging Singaporeans not to let the People's Action Party (PAP) continue as the sole driver of Singapore's future.
Instead, the party believes the country needs a robust Parliament with a strong opposition that can be a co-driver to ensure the man behind the wheel stays alert.
'A co-driver is essential, especially when the road gets tougher to navigate,' said WP chief Low Thia Khiang, who has stepped out of Hougang to contest in Aljunied GRC.
'The co-driver is there to slap the driver when he drives off course or when he goes asleep. But, of course, if the driver is friendly and drives responsibly, we just keep talking to him to keep him awake.'
The remarks continue an ongoing war of words over a driving analogy between the ruling party and the WP, after Mr Low had first said last week that Singapore needed to build a strong opposition that could take over as government, just like a car needs a spare tyre.
It forms the basis of what the WP described as a 'First World Parliament' - its election slogan and a consistent message exhorted by Mr Low and eight other WP candidates at its first rally in Hougang.
But the auto talk triggered responses from Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam and later Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who said the WP's real intention was to be a co-driver, to 'stop the car if he does not agree with the direction' by 'stepping on the brakes from time to time'.
PM Lee said the better way forward for Singapore is to 'find the best driver who is not only capable, but who really cares for where the car is going, and will take (it) forward safely'.
WP chairman Sylvia Lim assured voters that the party also cares about where Singapore is going, but is concerned at the PAP's aversion to effective checks and balances from the opposition.
She asked: 'Is it right to let the driver fumble when our lives are in his hands? What price will Singaporeans pay for that?'
Calling it the PAP's usual threat tactic on the consequences of voting for the opposition, Mr Low said the PAP, the opposition and Singaporeans are all inside the same vehicle, and 'could be injured or die' in an accident.
However, Mr Low stressed that the WP is not able or ready to be a co-driver yet with a lack of talent to form an alternative government.
Describing the WP as someone without a driving licence, he said whether it could get one depends on the voters.
'In fact, the whole problem here is that without co-drivers, Singaporeans keep getting taken for a ride,' he added.
'It's time for Singaporeans to start looking for potential co-drivers, support and cultivate the potential co-drivers so that one day the potential co-driver can have a driving licence to take over if and when necessary.'
Besides trading barbs with the PAP over car analogies, the WP speakers, including star rookie Chen Show Mao, lobbed criticisms at policies on education, national service and immigration, among others.
But a big theme of the night was Mr Low sharing with Hougang voters his reasons for leaving the ward and moving to Aljunied GRC to seek a breakthrough with an A-star team that comprises himself, Ms Lim, Mr Chen, family counsellor Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap and postgraduate law student Pritam Singh.
He thanked them for voting for him when he first contested in the ward in 1991 and saluted their 'courageous' support over the years, despite the PAP delaying upgrading programmes for them.
He urged voters to do the same for the WP's organising secretary Yaw Shin Leong, a 34-year-old businessman who started his campaign with a halting Teochew speech last night, as he takes on the PAP's Desmond Choo in Hougang.
'Shin Leong has worked with me for many years. I hope you will give him a chance the same way you gave me a chance,' Mr Low said.
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