PA and grassroots are political tools for PAP!
November 16th, 2013 | Author: Contributions/ Raja.
To TRE,
I am an Indian Singaporean currently working in Chennai for a decade now.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong defended the practice of appointing candidates from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) as grassroots advisers for local People’s Association (PA) organizations.
Speaking to reporters at the Central Singapore District Council appointment ceremony, Mr Lee responded to a question on renewed calls that the PA should not favour any political party.
Mr Lee said that PA is not a political organization, but is “part of the government”, running the grassroots network.
The above said by him is not true. These are political tools used by the ruling party to canvass votes. Such a system is also found in India. They have many such organizations all over India.
Like for example, Indian Association, a nationalist political group in India that favours local self-government and serves as a preparatory agent for the more truly national Indian National Congress. The association was founded in Bengal in 1876 by Surendranath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose; it soon displaced the Indian League, which had been founded the year before, and rivaled the long-standing British Indian Association, which it regarded as a reactionary body of landlords and industrialists. The association was supported mainly by younger professional men among the Bengali intelligentsia. It spread beyond Bengal to other parts of India but remained Bengali in character, using expatriate Bengali communities.
The main role of these associations is to canvass votes and rally support for their political parties running in elections.
The PAP does it too in Singapore. It follows the same system as found in India. The Workers’ Party promised to dismantle People’s Association. This is the reason why it should be dismantled because these associations do not actually work for people but manipulate them.
Politics is a dirty business and you can be easily caught in a spider’s web if you are not careful. All Singaporeans should stop supporting such organizations and support charities instead.
Raja
http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/11/16/pa-and-grassroots-are-political-tools-for-pap/
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