'Real insurance' is to help PAP find good people
DPM Teo says Opposition asking voters to pay high premium but they 'can't deliver'
by Ong Dai Lin
04:46 AM Apr 08, 2011
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SINGAPORE - The ripostes on the need for Singaporeans to buy political insurance have been quick from both sides. Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said that if Singaporeans want a "real insurance policy", they should "help the People's Action Party (PAP) make sure that we can bring in good people for the next generation".
His response follows comments by the Opposition for the need for such insurance in the event the PAP was found wanting.
Speaking at the introduction of PAP's new candidates yesterday - the sixth round - Mr Teo noted that the Opposition has said it is not ready to form the Government. "So what they are asking you to do is to pay a very high premium for the so-called insurance."
And when one wants to encash the policy, "they can't deliver", said Mr Teo, who is the party's second assistant secretary-general.
Saying that it is not easy to form a good strong government, he cited the impasse facing the Belgian government since elections in June last year and how the coalition governments of Britain and Australia are unable to make major decisions for their countries.
In the United States, the growing political polarisation has caused the country to be "living from week to week" as the government is unable to pass the budget.
Mr Teo said: "There are many insurance policies, but the insurance policies don't work." More practical would be to recruit people with broad ideas into PAP, and consult the views of those unwilling to join.
Asked about the scrutiny on the new PAP candidates, Mr Teo said it was "welcome", adding that the public should "scrutinise the Opposition candidates as carefully and as thoroughly as they do the PAP candidates", given some Opposition parties have set themselves up to be an alternative.
The discussion should also "be based on truth and on being upfront". "If you hide behind the sinister cloak of anonymity and make all kinds of untruthful statements, how is the person going to defend himself?" said Mr Teo.
As for the Opposition's pledge to be full-time Members of Parliament, Mr Teo said each MP's job and experience brought diversity to the party. Neither do MPs work individually - it is important to bring together capable people to deliver quality service.
The three new candidates introduced yesterday - Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar, 35, an educator; Mr David Ong Kim Huat, 50, a businessman; and Mr Lawrence Wong, 39, a former civil servant - also weighed in, saying it is the quality of work and not the amount of time spent on work as an MP that should be measured.
Dr Intan added that she felt her work as an academic would help enrich her work as an MP, as she gets to hear from other groups in society.
They also disagreed that there was a shortage of talented Singaporeans entering politics.
Rather, it was a matter of whether Singaporeans are willing to step forward, with some unwilling to do so due to worries over opportunity costs and the fear of not having enough time for family
DPM Teo says Opposition asking voters to pay high premium but they 'can't deliver'
by Ong Dai Lin
04:46 AM Apr 08, 2011
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> var fontIndex = 2; var fontSize = new Array('0.63em', '0.69em', '0.75em', '0.88em', '1em', '1.13em'); </SCRIPT>
SINGAPORE - The ripostes on the need for Singaporeans to buy political insurance have been quick from both sides. Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said that if Singaporeans want a "real insurance policy", they should "help the People's Action Party (PAP) make sure that we can bring in good people for the next generation".
His response follows comments by the Opposition for the need for such insurance in the event the PAP was found wanting.
Speaking at the introduction of PAP's new candidates yesterday - the sixth round - Mr Teo noted that the Opposition has said it is not ready to form the Government. "So what they are asking you to do is to pay a very high premium for the so-called insurance."
And when one wants to encash the policy, "they can't deliver", said Mr Teo, who is the party's second assistant secretary-general.
Saying that it is not easy to form a good strong government, he cited the impasse facing the Belgian government since elections in June last year and how the coalition governments of Britain and Australia are unable to make major decisions for their countries.
In the United States, the growing political polarisation has caused the country to be "living from week to week" as the government is unable to pass the budget.
Mr Teo said: "There are many insurance policies, but the insurance policies don't work." More practical would be to recruit people with broad ideas into PAP, and consult the views of those unwilling to join.
Asked about the scrutiny on the new PAP candidates, Mr Teo said it was "welcome", adding that the public should "scrutinise the Opposition candidates as carefully and as thoroughly as they do the PAP candidates", given some Opposition parties have set themselves up to be an alternative.
The discussion should also "be based on truth and on being upfront". "If you hide behind the sinister cloak of anonymity and make all kinds of untruthful statements, how is the person going to defend himself?" said Mr Teo.
As for the Opposition's pledge to be full-time Members of Parliament, Mr Teo said each MP's job and experience brought diversity to the party. Neither do MPs work individually - it is important to bring together capable people to deliver quality service.
The three new candidates introduced yesterday - Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar, 35, an educator; Mr David Ong Kim Huat, 50, a businessman; and Mr Lawrence Wong, 39, a former civil servant - also weighed in, saying it is the quality of work and not the amount of time spent on work as an MP that should be measured.
Dr Intan added that she felt her work as an academic would help enrich her work as an MP, as she gets to hear from other groups in society.
They also disagreed that there was a shortage of talented Singaporeans entering politics.
Rather, it was a matter of whether Singaporeans are willing to step forward, with some unwilling to do so due to worries over opportunity costs and the fear of not having enough time for family
