PAP's New Strategy - will it work?

[Thick Face Black Heart]

Your posts exhibits lack of focus. The main aim now is to derobe the PAP of its overwhelming majority. Get that done, then we can tear each other to bits. Or form whatever opposition coalition or opposition alliance that is deemed fit. Before that, lets focus on the primary objective and not get sidetracked.

Issue right now is not whether the opposition can be of ministerial material and run the civil service and state organs to the effectiveness we expect. Far from it. This will come in due them when the PAP loses its stranglehold and the opposition MP start playing the role of shadow ministers.

To come up with in depth alternative policies and examine the ramifications of their implementation is no easy task. It takes a great deal of resources which the opposition doesn't have now, but which they will certainly have if they derobe the PAP of its 2/3 majority.

The immediate goal is to force the PAP to reverse bad policies and implement better ones, to get their prying fingers out of all the economic pies so that we can have our fair share. Opposition needs to come across as credible, measured, exhibiting a sense of political savvy and willingness to sacrifice for the good of Singapore. The rest is secondary.

First things first.

What is going on in the PAP is half of the story over here. If we want to celebrate the decline of the PAP, I have no real objections.

The question is: what have we got now? We have opposition parties, which are a mishmash of well-meaning but inexperienced people, do-gooders, and - let's be frank - total clowns. Question is - is our plan B going to be as great as our plan A? What happens when it is time for the opposition party members to take over more of parliament? Is there going to be any real positive change in the system? Or will things merely stay the same, or even worse, go down the tubes?

What you have said either reflects the decline in the quality of PAP MPs, or it means that this has always been the case, that PAP MPs were merely very bochap all along.

If the quality of PAP MPs is going down, then can getting better opposition MPs in parliament make a positive difference to Singapore? Are their ideas substantial, and making a positive impact, or are they just guard dogs to scare the PAP into thinking twice before continuing to bilk the system as before?

If the quality of PAP MPs has always stayed the same, then wouldn't it be right to say that in reality, most of the PAP MPs have been ineffectual anyway, and parliament has always been a relatively toothless institution, and all the work of the Singapore government is done by the civil service - wouldn't that mean that even if the opposition takes over parliament, they would struggle to control the civil service?

Anyway - just voicing out my thoughts. Like I said, the waning of the PAP is only one half of the situation. The opposition parties have to rise to the fore, and it is not enough that they are vastly improved from 20 years back, from now on, they have to aspire to match the same standards that we've come to expect from the PAP and take over.

Because a lot of what's going on in the PAP reflects the lack of interest in public service, not only from the PAP, but everywhere, including the opposition party. I think it is not only the case that the PAP finds it hard to attract talent, the same is true of the opposition. We could be looking at a national crisis.

 

[metalmickey]

The reason I say all this - I don't think it's merely the case that the PAP has grown incompetent. Singapore has problems that even the old PAP, the wise one with good foresight, the 60s / 70s version - they would have a lot of difficulty solving the problems we have today. Not enough to say, just because there is competition, magically our lives will be better. LTK and the WP can say what they want about all the symptoms of what is wrong with Singapore, we can all see that. What I want from the opposition is something even more than that.

1. What are you going to do if you became the prime minister of Singapore?
2. How and where is Singapore's prosperity going to come from in the future?
3. Current method of distributing wealth does not work. What else can we do?
4. Is it possible to start extracting more inland revenue from businesses / multi-nationals / foreign talent / richer people because we are sick of pay and pay.
5. Suppose you were to step away from Temasek / GIC model of exploitative wealth extraction, how are you going to restructure the economy?
6. Singapore is addicted to cheap foreign labour. Sooner or later all of them will strike. Then how?
7. How to deflate the Singapore land bubble without causing an economic depression.
8. why are our startups like shit even though we want and like startups so much? And even if we did become Silicon Valley - you guys realise that there are many people in Silicon valley who are left behind because cost of living too high / got no skills?
9. How do we best leverage the talents of foreigners without ending up in a situation where they basically start controlling our economy?

We can see that many people in the opposition parties have good intentions. But I still want the answers to all these questions, since having good intentions is not enough. All these are not fluffy western liberal ideas. These are answers we all demand from our government, PAP or opposition.

 

[metalmickey]

Thick Face Black Heart:

Mao Zedong preached constant revolution. He preached destroying first and then building later.

Maybe there were good intentions, I don't know. In any case, his country was screwed so badly they're still recovering today. Want to destroydestroydestroy, maybe it's good, maybe it's bad, I don't know. But show me the plan B for fuck's sake.

 

[Fucker]

many of these fuckers like Yeo Guat Kwang are responsible for bringing in so many FTs, having to speak up for business's interests. Now he's singing a different tune.

But, there's only one in Europe. Controversial too.

 

[watchman8]

Thick Face Black Heart:

Mao Zedong preached constant revolution. He preached destroying first and then building later.

Maybe there were good intentions, I don't know. In any case, his country was screwed so badly they're still recovering today. Want to destroydestroydestroy, maybe it's good, maybe it's bad, I don't know. But show me the plan B for fuck's sake.

Mao Zedong is recognized as a great war strategist and war leader, but a horrible administrator and builder.

Removing the 2/3 majority of pap is not going to destroy sinkieland, as the systems and govt servants will still go to work everyday. These are the real people that runs the govt, not pap. The politicians are there to guide and direct. I'm sure the majority of voters have eyes and will not blindly vote incompetent opposition in, as shown in tampines and many other constituencies.

 

[SgParent]

The reason I say all this ...

How do you know the Oppo do not have any solutions? Because the Braddell Road Brothel printed so? Or your White Scum MP said so?

All you need to know now is, stick with the same White Scums and you will only get the same screwing like in the past decades. Vote for competition that always, always benefits the consumers then you and your children will have a fighting chance for something better.

Btw which part of "competition that always, always benefits the consumers" do you not understand?

 

[zhihau]

You have heard about PAP MP's Foo Mee Har and Baey Yam Keng suddenly becoming charitable about serving the peasants on a near full time basis. So what is going on?

bro,
for a good moment me thought Baey got smart after figuring out that if he could get posted out of Tanjong Pagar GRC, there's an equal chance of him wooing the growing population of aunties at Aljunied GRC.
as for FMH, thought wendychan could give us more leads :o:o:o

 

[SgParent]

The reason I say all this ...

Which part of "competition that always, always benefits the consumers" do you not understand?

How do you know the Oppo do not have any solutions? Because the Braddell Road Brothel printed so? Or your White Scum MP said so?

All you need to know now is, stick with the same White Scums and you will only get the same screwing like in the past decades.

 

[zhihau]

Btw which part of "competition that always, always benefits the consumers" do you not understand?

bro,
first rid the PAP of their 2/3 majority in the Parliament :p:p:p

 

[Thick Face Black Heart]

Thick Face Black Heart:

Mao Zedong preached constant revolution. He preached destroying first and then building later.

Maybe there were good intentions, I don't know. In any case, his country was screwed so badly they're still recovering today. Want to destroydestroydestroy, maybe it's good, maybe it's bad, I don't know. But show me the plan B for fuck's sake.

Something is wrong with your English comprehension. Not a single soul here has ever suggested destruction or anything remotely close. I'm talking about priorities. We worry about getting our oppositions in, creating a balanced and plural parliament, then we talk about ministerial caliber and national administrative capabilities for opposition MPs.

You keep pushing folks here for a plan B when you won't even understand that we have not achieved the basic goal which has been clearly stated. When LKY became prime minister in 1959 had he governed a single ministry yet? Had he worked a single day in the british admin service.

 

[zhihau]

Crafting of policies are best left to career civil servants.

bro,
then civil servants need to understand that they serve the Republic and her citizens, not any political party in particular. sadly, they need to also understand that PAP != Singapore

 

[zhihau]

You keep pushing folks here for a plan B when you won't even understand that we have not achieved the basic goal which has been clearly stated. When LKY became prime minister in 1959 had he governed a single ministry yet? Had he worked a single day in the british admin service.

bro,
one question: is it possible for the oppositions to have a concerted effort in the next GE by contesting for only a total of 30 seats out of the 87?

 

[Thick Face Black Heart]

bro,
then civil servants need to understand that they serve the Republic and her citizens, not any political party in particular. sadly, they need to also understand that PAP != Singapore

C programmer!

 

[Sinkie]

PAP where got new strategy one? All strategy are B.S.

 

[winnipegjets]

The 60 percent that voted PAP will switch vote only when they their pockets are hit. A severe recession is needed.

 

[zhihau]

C programmer!

no lah, me not programmer

 

[Thick Face Black Heart]

bro,
one question: is it possible for the oppositions to have a concerted effort in the next GE by contesting for only a total of 30 seats out of the 87?

BEES has been discredited.

 

[zhihau]

A severe recession is needed.

lemme start my little farm first :o:o:o

 

[scroobal]

2 main things;

1) We know that PAP needs to recover ground fast. Either that or stop the bleeding. We also know that the PM despite his apology prior to polling has not made substantive progress. In fact the salary review was a farce.

To prepare for 2016, the PAP must move now as you cannot build ground level support in a short space of time. We already have Tin Pei Ling working full time, now we have FMH and Baey following suit. So why the coincidence? What other rabbits can they pull out from the hat? Remember East Coast GRC is at stake. Joo Chiat is likely to disappear.

2) Most people I suspect are sensible enough in seeking to reduce PAP's monopoly and to bring in more accountability and to consider alternative views more seriously. No one in his right mind is expecting for the people to topple the PAP. People must be dreaming if they think that WP is waiting to form govt or can form govt and that goes for the rest of the opposition parties. Its a moot point to even consider such an outcome at this time.

Even getting one third of the seats is a basically a pipe dream. Most of our opposition politicians are social activists rather than political animals. Even those who think they are born to politics are anything but that. Look at how Ling How Doong despite being a lawyer performed so badly that he would even make an organ grinder's monkey look spectacular.

I suspect that PAP and the PM has resigned to the fact that more seats will be lost but it won't be one third. It will be a question of accommodation. I had already mentioned that sometime back that they are not prepared to retake Aljunied with quality candidates.

PAP's biggest fear is quality candidates surfacing just before GE for the opposition. 2011 was rather quite unexpected in the quality that turned up.

 

[watchman8]

bro,
then civil servants need to understand that they serve the Republic and her citizens, not any political party in particular. sadly, they need to also understand that PAP != Singapore

The civil servants will become more neutral as more seats are lost by dominant party. It has happened in many countries, including Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan. Things will fall into place as the opposition becomes stronger.