SM Goh's 'win-win solution'
ALJUNIED GRC voters can produce a win-win outcome from the General Election if they vote for the People's Action Party, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday.
That would retain the talent of Foreign Minister George Yeo in Government, while Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang could still go to Parliament as a Non-Constituency MP (NCMP), he said.
But if the WP won, it would be a 'win-lose' situation - Singaporeans would gain opposition voices in Parliament, but lose Mr Yeo.
'George is more than a foreign minister,' said Mr Goh. 'He has a very creative mind and is able to think out of the box.'
He noted that when he was prime minister, Mr Yeo came up with the idea of having weekend cars as a way to make cars more affordable while keeping traffic congestion down.
Parliament can have up to nine NCMPs from among the strongest opposition losers, and Mr Low has said that he would not accept that role.
But Mr Goh suggested that the WP chief could be an NCMP, and said: 'Whether Low Thia Khiang is directly elected into Parliament or comes in as an NCMP, it's the same Low Thia Khiang - same power, same voice as any other MP, except the right to vote on constitutional matters, which doesn't take place very often.'
He was at a dialogue with about 20 young Singaporeans aged 17 to 22 at a session organised by South East Community Development Council.
They raised a wide range of issues, from the parliamentary system to the role of new media in politics.
A few told Mr Goh that they and their friends went to the socio-political website, The Online Citizen (TOC), for their news and asked his views on new media.
His advice: 'When you go to TOC, just be careful that that site is an anti-establishment site. So what you read, discount by 90 per cent.'
One student asked about Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's recent comment that Aljunied GRC voters would have the next five years to 'repent' if they voted for the Workers' Party and said he was 'irked' by such statements.
Responding, Mr Goh said: 'I am not sure whether (MM Lee) fully understood the religious connotations of the word 'repent' because very often we use repent in a secular sense.'
He urged the group to focus more on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's statements instead.
YASMINE YAHYA
ALJUNIED GRC voters can produce a win-win outcome from the General Election if they vote for the People's Action Party, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday.
That would retain the talent of Foreign Minister George Yeo in Government, while Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang could still go to Parliament as a Non-Constituency MP (NCMP), he said.
But if the WP won, it would be a 'win-lose' situation - Singaporeans would gain opposition voices in Parliament, but lose Mr Yeo.
'George is more than a foreign minister,' said Mr Goh. 'He has a very creative mind and is able to think out of the box.'
He noted that when he was prime minister, Mr Yeo came up with the idea of having weekend cars as a way to make cars more affordable while keeping traffic congestion down.
Parliament can have up to nine NCMPs from among the strongest opposition losers, and Mr Low has said that he would not accept that role.
But Mr Goh suggested that the WP chief could be an NCMP, and said: 'Whether Low Thia Khiang is directly elected into Parliament or comes in as an NCMP, it's the same Low Thia Khiang - same power, same voice as any other MP, except the right to vote on constitutional matters, which doesn't take place very often.'
He was at a dialogue with about 20 young Singaporeans aged 17 to 22 at a session organised by South East Community Development Council.
They raised a wide range of issues, from the parliamentary system to the role of new media in politics.
A few told Mr Goh that they and their friends went to the socio-political website, The Online Citizen (TOC), for their news and asked his views on new media.
His advice: 'When you go to TOC, just be careful that that site is an anti-establishment site. So what you read, discount by 90 per cent.'
One student asked about Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's recent comment that Aljunied GRC voters would have the next five years to 'repent' if they voted for the Workers' Party and said he was 'irked' by such statements.
Responding, Mr Goh said: 'I am not sure whether (MM Lee) fully understood the religious connotations of the word 'repent' because very often we use repent in a secular sense.'
He urged the group to focus more on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's statements instead.
YASMINE YAHYA
