TOC: Face to Face

[metalslug]

Face to Face Trailer
theonlinecitizen

<object width="853" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bFFoYwe8HFY?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;hd=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bFFoYwe8HFY?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;hd=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="853" height="505"></embed></object>

The Face to Face forum, held on Dec 16th 2010 brings together the major political parties (sans the People's Action Party) in Singapore for a 3 hour Q and A session. About 350 people attended. It was organized by The Online Citizen


Face To Face - Part 1.1 Economy
theonlinecitizen

<object width="853" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DAIOsjQEySU?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;hd=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DAIOsjQEySU?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;hd=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="853" height="505"></embed></object>

Part 1.1 of Face To Face, a political forum organised by TheOnlineCitizen on the 16th of December 2010.


Face To Face - Part 1.2 Economy
theonlinecitizen

<object width="853" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/j2glQazBq5k?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;hd=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/j2glQazBq5k?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;hd=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="853" height="505"></embed></object>

Part 1.2 of Face To Face, a political forum organised by TheOnlineCitizen on the 16th of December 2010.


Face To Face - Part 1.3 Economy
theonlinecitizen

<object width="853" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Yaoi0zQ5Pp4?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;hd=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Yaoi0zQ5Pp4?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;hd=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="853" height="505"></embed></object>

Part 1.3 of Face To Face, a political forum organised by TheOnlineCitizen on the 16th of December 2010.

 

[Tristan]

Talk cock session. No wonder the PAP can't be bothered.

 

[metalslug]

Don't talk rubbish, if you can't understand what they said, don't watch...

Talk cock session. No wonder the PAP can't be bothered.

 

[Rogue Trader]

Very very interesting. I would recommend all forummers to watch this.

Thanks to TOC for chairing this. Will there be more such sessions in the future?

 

[GoldenDragon]

From face to face to face-off in the GE.

 

[Ramseth]

I'm surprised and baffled by why the audience question and seemingly hold the opposition responsible that, MM has said this or that but it wasn't done or didn't come to pass. Since when did MM Lee join the oppositon? But I'm also pleasantly encouraged by CST response, MM Lee has said many things...

 

[Rogue Trader]

But I'm also pleasantly encouraged by CST response, MM Lee has said many things...

Watching Mr Chiam here just puts a lump in my throat :(

 

[GoldenDragon]

Talk cock session. No wonder the PAP can't be bothered.

Talk CB PAP sure keen.

 

[QXD]

The question thus remains; Will the voters have the balls deliver themselves out of this hell?

 

[Tristan]

Don't talk rubbish, if you can't understand what they said, don't watch...

Apart from CST, who has proven himself, being elected and in parliament actively taking part in debates for the past god-knows-how-many years, the rest are all newbies or wannabes, all outside looking in.

If the panel consists of people like LTK, Sylvia, or even past MPs or NCMPs like Steve Chia, then the session is more credible because it is an insight of people who are in there, know all about engaging the ruling party on policies.

What do GG, GMS, CTL, CSJ, KJ know that I don't? Although I must say I'm impressed by KJ and CTL's thought processes.

 

[captainxerox]

f2f did show that opposition can work together. common enemy is always a good thing.

 

[Zombie]

f2f did show that opposition can work together. common enemy is always a good thing.

on the contrary, it shows that they do not share a common solution eg HDB

voters will be confused..

 

[lovesamleong]

Talk cock session. No wonder the PAP can't be bothered.

Good job to TOC for organizing the session, metalslug for posting and organizing the videos

No cock lah. SPH are worry liao!

Dec 27, 2010

Opposition has no excuse not to do better at GE
In its favour: Electoral and societal changes, more qualified recruits
By Kor Kian Beng

THERE I was, seated in one corner of a hotel ballroom two weeks ago, watching six opposition leaders doing their best to prove that their parties have what it takes to do well in the next general election.

They fielded questions and presented their parties' positions on a wide range of issues, from housing prices, income inequality and national service, to civil liberties, the Internal Security Act, the role of the mainstream media and defamation laws.

They took jibes at the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) over some government policies and for not responding to an invitation to send a representative to the dialogue itself, which was organised by sociopolitical website The Online Citizen.

Most of the 350-strong audience lapped it all up. The atmosphere was much like that at an opposition rally during a general election.

At the end of the 21/2-hour event, there were smiles, handshakes, high fives, pats on the back, and words of praise for the six panellists.

When I asked opposition veteran Chiam See Tong after the event for his view on how it went, he declared: 'The winds of change are here. People are fed up with the PAP.'

Looking and sounding confident too, when approached, were his fellow opposition leaders: Dr Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party; Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam of the Reform Party; Mr Chia Ti Lik of the Socialist Front; Mr Goh Meng Seng of the National Solidarity Party; and Mr Gerald Giam of the Workers' Party.

There are a number of possible reasons for the sense of optimism among the opposition about its chances at the next polls - due by February 2012 but widely predicted to be held by June next year.

First, high property prices and a surge in foreigner numbers have caused dissatisfaction among Singaporeans, and are issues ripe for opposition exploitation.

Second, electoral changes in the form of more single-member constituencies and smaller group representation constituencies will lower entry barriers for the opposition in terms of campaign costs and resources.

Third, the opposition has a number of new recruits who are well-qualified professionals. They include the Reform Party's Mr Jeyaretnam, Mr Tony Tan and Ms Hazel Poa, the Singapore Democratic Party's Dr Vincent Wijeysingha, and Workers' Party's Mr Giam and postgraduate law student Pritam Singh.

Fourth, the lure of HDB upgrading as an electoral carrot has faded. When the PAP dangled this in the two opposition wards of Hougang and Potong Pasir in 2006, the tactic backfired.

Fifth, the electorate that the opposition has to woo is arguably better-disposed towards them. Half of the 2.31 million voters next year would have been born after 1965, as opposed to one-third in 2006. Although the PAP believed that post-65ers supported it during the last general election, there are also perceptions that this generation might be more open to voting for the opposition. This is because this generation would not have experienced first-hand how the PAP Government led the country through the struggles of the 1950s and 1960s and are viewed as having less attachment and loyalty to the ruling party.

Sixth, with an increasingly more tech-savvy population, the reach of the Internet would have become more pervasive than it was during the 2006 polls. The Internet not only gives the opposition parties their own channels to reach out to voters, but also provides an avenue for Singaporeans to seek more alternative viewpoints.

Lastly, the key opposition parties appear to be more at ease in working with one another and presenting a more united front to the voters and to fight the PAP.

One telling sign was the dialogue two Thursdays ago, which saw five opposition parties, except the Workers' Party, rolling out their top leaders to attend the event, with Mr Chiam's presence making the strongest statement.

The opposition patriarch, who rarely skips his Meet-the-People sessions on Thursday evenings, not even when he was recovering from a mild stroke in early 2008, made an exception two weeks go to join his fellow opposition leaders at the dialogue, where they interacted like war comrades, posed together for photographs, and hardly disagreed with one another in their replies to the audience.

Sources say negotiations are under way to strike new alliances among the opposition parties before the next general election.

If the proposed alliance pans out and coupled with the factors above, it can mean only one thing: The opposition has no excuse not to do better at the next polls.

To some, the test would be whether the opposition snags at least one GRC, or at the very least adds more single-seat wards to the existing two in Hougang and Potong Pasir.

To be sure, the opposition may yet fail to deliver, judging from its past record. It is one thing to look promising but another to garner more than 50 per cent of the votes necessary to send a candidate into Parliament.

The opposition's chances in the coming general election are probably as good as it will get. The parties must step up candidate recruitment and produce well-researched alternative policy proposals to offer in their election manifestos.

The opposition will have only itself to blame if it fails again to deliver the goods, especially if its failure stems from infighting. There is a limit to voters' patience.

[email protected]
<!-- / message -->

 

[cheekenpie]

NSP sent Sec-gen Goh MEng Seng.

SPP sent Sec-gen Chiam See Tong

SDP sent Sec-gen Chee Soon Juan

WP sent ordinary member Gerald Giam

PAP sent the holy spirit.

 

[tonychat]

I'm surprised and baffled by why the audience question and seemingly hold the opposition responsible that, MM has said this or that but it wasn't done or didn't come to pass. Since when did MM Lee join the oppositon? But I'm also pleasantly encouraged by CST response, MM Lee has said many things...

A sinkie usually talks a lot and yet that old fart can't deliver in a human way. He needs to have a casino cos he can't get investor in to invest in sinkieland. Investors had wisen up and understand what sinkieness and sinkie behavior means.

 

[Ramseth]

NSP sent Sec-gen Goh MEng Seng.

SPP sent Sec-gen Chiam See Tong

SDP sent Sec-gen Chee Soon Juan

WP sent ordinary member Gerald Giam

PAP sent the holy spirit.

He's no ordinary member. He's WP CEC Assistant Webmaster and a published author. From the other side of the mirror, it's good that WP's willing to let newer and less known members to take the limelight instead of established leaders hogging down the limelight all the time with no room for next generation to be groomed.

 

[Tristan]

Here's my personal assessment of the six horsemen after hearing them speak:

1. CSJ - A good orator but there's something very unsettling about him. Probably someone chasing his own agenda. A very dangerous guy to bring for a gunfight.

2. CTL - Would make a good leader. No airs about him and has good qualities. Ideas and planning very sound. He is someone to look out for.

3.KJ - Obviously very intelligent, coming from good stock. Would make a good minister and would give any of the MIW ministers a run for their money.

4. GG - No leadership qualities. One of those people that are born to follow not lead. Still cannot shake off the worker mentality after those years in MFA.

5. GMS - Probably the worst of the lot. Totally lacking in substance, ideas, charisma or leadership qualities.

6. CST - Been there, done that. Still very wise but the best years are probably behind him now. Would make a good mentor for up and coming opposition politicians.

 

[Dreamer1]

Talk cock session. No wonder the PAP can't be bothered.

Ah Boy hor,how do u know that papa PAP can't be bothered.

Let yr grand uncle tell u what happened many years ago,the night when WP JBJ,yes,the daddy of Ken Jaya won Anson seat.

The pal of PM LKY then,Mr Devan nair recounted that he and most of pappeis just lauched it off,yes,could't be bothered.

But Papa LKY was not amused,he was in very bad mood,walkingb up and down and couldn't stop,he kept telling Devan Nair that JBJ was going to unseat PAP soon,and that he must had an urgent action plan.

His pal Devan Nair knew him well after so many years,kept his comments and withdrew his wide grin,scared of offending the very angry PM that nights and many nights later.

Go check up the history as recounted by ex-Preseident Devan Nair aka Kenny Na!

 

[Tristan]

Ah Boy hor,how do u know that papa PAP can't be bothered.
If they had bothered, they would have sent someone from the youth wing to show his/her face.

 

[Tristan]

Go check up the history as recounted by ex-Preseident Devan Nair aka Kenny Na!
I wouldn't trust history as recalled by an alcoholic.