25/04/2013

Dominant But Not Dominating

PAP: To remain dominant without being dominating


It can do this as an open political party, he said, that galvanises a diversity of views and ideas, including critical opinions. 

"I believe we can play a dominant role, retain a dominant position without wanting to completely dominate," DPM Tharman said in an interview with The Straits Times. 

"It's in Singapore's interest that you do have a dominant party, but it's got to be one that's open to diversity, welcoming of a responsible opposition."

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I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THE PAP, THEY WILL NEVER CHANGE!


I tried really hard to believe what Tharman said the other day, that the PAP will be 'open to diversity, welcoming of a responsible opposition'. That the PAP has changed and will continue to change with a younger generation of ministers leading the charge

But even before I can try to overlook how they had not only dominated, but also crushed without mercy any dissenting views in the past, a cartoonist was locked-up, and threats were allegedly made to withdraw funding to a community organisation, because one of its directors' civil society activities in his personal capacity

Now, I am more inclined to believe what Catherine Lim. "I believe that the PAP is incapable of re-inventing itself, because true re-invention would require the opening up of one crucial area, that the PAP seems determined to keep under control at all cost. This is the area of political liberties—open debate and criticism, independence of the media, public assemblies and street demonstrations for a cause, etc., all of which are taken for granted in practising democracies."

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AGC STATEMENT ON INVESTIGATIONS INTO LESLIE CHEW


The Attorney-General’s Chambers has issued a statement on recent interest in the investigations into Mr Leslie Chew, an online cartoonist, for possible breach of the Sedition Act. The full statement is as follows:

The Attorney-General’s Chambers is aware of interest in the investigations into Mr Leslie Chew. Mr Leslie Chew is assisting the Police in investigations at this time, and it will not be appropriate to comment specifically on his matter.

There have also been queries on the general principles as to when investigations would be conducted, and action taken against persons.

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Sedition charge would send wrong signals about managing race

Race and religion form the third rail of Singapore politics. They lie in the deep, dark recesses of our national life, ready to strike the reckless and the ignorant with an untamable force. Most Singaporeans – even many liberals – believe that freedom of expression should not apply in the vicinity of this third rail. As a result, they not only accept the laws that govern racially or religiously offensive speech, they have even been known to push for strong enforcement.

Now, a 37-year-old cartoonist Leslie Chew is under investigation for a possible breach of the Sedition Act. One of the cartoons that apparently earned the authorities' attention attacks the "racist government" of "Demon-cratic Singapore", including a leader who "abhors Malays". No reader would have the slightest doubt that this is a criticism of the Singapore government's race policies, so protestations that this is a purely fictional strip are unlikely to impress any judge.

However, let's hope that the case doesn't get that far. While the law gives the authorities the green light to take forceful action, that does not mean they have to go all the way.

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If Demoncratic's work is seditious, PAP's words are worse

The arrest is a smack on the govt. It claims that the cartoon is seditious and is able to evoke strong race emotions. As it turned out, other than the anonymous emo sicko (who could well be a govt agent) who lodged the police report, there's no outcry from the Malay community or any other community.
On the other hand, we have had tons of outcry from the Malay community, both within and outside Singapore, whenever our leaders justify policies on Malays, particularly those pertaining to the SAF.

Judging from the above two contrasting scenarios, who is the guilty party evoking race emotions?


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Singapore Probes Cartoonist for Alleged Racial Insensitivity
Artist Leslie Chew posts on his Facebook FB +0.50% page what he describes as a “totally fictional comic” strip about a fictional place, one frame of which is pictured here

While no major ethnic violence has occurred here since 1969, authorities have occasionally dealt with racially and religiously inflammatory acts using anti-sedition laws. In 2005, authorities jailed two men for making racists remarks against Malay Muslims—the first persons to be imprisoned under the Sedition Act since 1966. Several others were since warned or punished over insensitive comments on race and religion, including a couple that was sentenced in 2009 to eight weeks’ jail for distributing Christian tracts—which the court determined portrayed the Prophet Mohammed negatively—to a number of Muslim Singaporeans.

In a comic strip published late Tuesday on Facebook, Mr. Chew recounted his arrest, saying that police investigators had “treated me with courtesy and were mostly cordial in their approach.”

“Hang in there fans! And watch out for the next episode of the fully fictional Demon-cratic Singapore coming your way soon,” he wrote.

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Singapore cartoonist arrested for sedition: lawyer
A comic strip put up on Facebook by cartoonist Leslie Chew in 2011, depicting how his fans tell him they love his comics but will not pay for them. He was arrested last Friday 19 April for alleged sedition over another comic strip that seems to accuse the Singapore Government of being racist (Photo: Demon-cratic Singapore Facebook page)

Chew regularly posts satirical political cartoons linked to current events in Singapore on his Facebook page, which has more than 21,000 followers.

His cartoon characters usually resemble local politicians, although a disclaimer on the page says it is "a totally fictional comic with entirely fictional characters based on wholly fictional events in a fictional country".

Speaking to AFP on Wednesday, Chew said he was "surprised" that he had been picked up by the police. "I thought I made it quite clear through the disclaimers on the cartoons that my work on Demon-cratic Singapore is purely fictional," he said. He added that he intends to continue to publish cartoons while he is being investigated as police have not imposed any restrictions.

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S’pore cartoonist arrested for alleged sedition
Singapore police arrested Mr Leslie Chew, 37, the person behind the cartoon strip, Demon-cratic Singapore, on Friday morning, for alleged sedition.

He was held in custody and questioned over the weekend, and was released at 8.45pm on Sunday after posting bail of S$10,000.

The police confiscated his handphone, computer and hard disk. He was also asked to surrender his passport to the police at the Cantonment Police complex.

The charges relate to two of the comic strips on his Demon-cratic Facebook page. Mr Chew has produced more than 600 cartoons thus far, including those on the page.

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related:
Sg cartoonist arrested for alleged sedition
Authorities arrest cartoonist; pwns everyone including itself
S’pore cartoonist arrested for alleged sedition

Remy Choo to represent artist of Demon-cratic Singapore

TOC understands that lawyer Mr Choo Zheng Xi has been engaged to represent Mr Leslie Chew, artist of webcomic Demon-cratic Singapore, in court.

Mr Choo said, “Leslie disagrees with the premise of the police investigations into his cartoons and hopes that the investigations will not result in a formal charge.”

Mr Chew, 37, was arrested on Friday morning for alleged sedition. He was held over the weekend and released on Sunday evening at 8.45pm, after posting bail for $10000. The police confiscated his computer, hard disk and mobile phone, and he was also asked to surrender his passport at the Police Cantonment Complex.

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Support Leslie Chew - aka Demon-cratic!

very well written article can be found here, written by Kirsten Han.

I like what she wrote about the Streisand Effect, her analysis is spot on. What I found even more interesting is that she has attracted comments by very pro-PAP supporters (are they afraid to comment on Limpeh's blog, given how clearly vehemently anti-PAP I am?)  Look, I am all for the freedom of speech and these PAP supporters have the right to express themselves - but some of the arguments they come up with are really flimsy and downright stupid.

Yes Caleb Chao, I am talking about you. Any comment which begins with, "I do not have proof..." means that your following comment is no more than a wild speculation on your part with no more evidence than your own gut instincts and cannot be taken seriously. So feel free to express your opinion on Leslie Chew if you want, but stop trying to tell us what you think the rest of the country feels on the issue because by your very own admission Caleb, you have absolutely no freaking clue. Ha! Bodoh goondu.

Cartoonist's arrest - not just about alleged sedition


The news is all over the Internet now - cartoonist Leslie Chew, 37, of Demon-cratic Singapore, arrested for alleged sedition. Since the news broke late on Tuesday night, the number of "likes" on his Facebook page has jumped by about almost 2,000.

Apparently, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) were waiting for Leslie at his parents' house on Friday evening, around 10.30pm. Leslie had just returned from an overseas trip. When I spoke to him on Tuesday afternoon, he told me that initially there were just 3 officers, but the number grew to about 10 or more as they started to look through his things in the house. Eventually, they confiscated his handphone, hard disk, laptop, and asked him to surrender his passport.

He was then brought to the police station at Cantonment complex. There, he stayed for the night - in a lock-up, on a hard floor with just a blanket - until about noon the next day. That was when the "interview" took place. Leslie said there was only one investigation officer who spoke to him. The officer, one ASP Alvin Phua, pointed to two cartoons in particular, which are the subject of the investigation and his arrest.

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Demon-cratic Singapore creator arrested for sedition


Chew’s cartoon was not discriminatory against Malays, but referred to the government of ‘Demon-cratic Singapore’ as a racist one. The strip that ‘scandalises’ the courts depicts a character called ‘Pinky’ Loong kicking a High Court Judge out of his office and also involves a cheating politician not so subtly named ‘Michael Phucker’. Other uncannily familiar characters in the Demon-cratic Universe include $8 KHAWTeo CHEE HONG, HAIRY Lee, THORNY Tan and Ho JINX

 Incidentally, the evil party in Chew’s story is called ‘Party against People’. The entire cast sounds inspired by nicknames straight out of an EDMW or Sammyboy forum thread conceived by 13-year olds. Not exactly Mad Magazine material, I suppose.

Some authors have the nerve to do away with the ‘parallel universe’ angle and mock the PAP straight up. In 1971, 22 year old cartoonist Morgan Chua drew a cartoon of LKY riding a tank threatening to crush a baby symbolising the paper he worked for, the Singapore Herald. LKY’s also a favorite target of foreign humorists;  You can only purchase ‘Harry Lee Kuan Yew, A Pictorial Account of his Life and Times‘ online, a collection of lampoons by Rodney King, an Australian who worked here for more than a decade. In this book the ‘lovable old twerp’ ‘gets a good hand-bagging from Maggie Thatcher’ and ‘falls down a rubbish chute’. It would have been funnier if his caricature of LKY didn’t resemble the stereotype of a slant-eyed Asian.


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Muslim civil society leader resigns from two charitable organisations after pressure from government to curb his critical views

Yahoo! News Singapore, 26 Apr 2013
 A Muslim civil society leader in Singapore resigned from his posts in two charitable organisations on Monday after allegedly receiving government pressure to curb his critical views.
In a post on his personal blog Wednesday, Nizam Ismail explained why he decided to quit as board director of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) and chairman of the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA) effective earlier that Monday. 

Nizam said that AMP chairman Azmoon Ahmad called him on Saturday to say that he received separate phone calls from two government ministers expressing concern over Nizam's participation as a speaker at next week’s May Day protest at Hong Lim Park. 
Azmoon relayed a message that Nizam should “take it easy” and decline participation from such activities, or else, the government would withdraw all funding from AMP. Full story
"I want to involve Singaporeans more in building our country, to create more room for you to express yourself and try out your own ideas. They are all making a better Singapore" - PM Lee Hsien Loong, GE 2006 

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AMP and partisanship

Was he being partisan in his comment online criticising the White Paper? It is in these questions that much of the case rests – be it for or against the pressure the Government allegedly used to push out Mr Nizam.

If the answer is yes, then objections to any intervention start to fall away. If not, then Mr Nizam is rightly aggrieved.

And while it is inevitable that the idea that a Government allegedly threatened to withhold funding evokes a sense of heavy-handedness, the history of AMP does seem to a set out the nature of the relationship.

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Guided Democracy In Play

The chairman of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP), Azmoon Ahmad, had advised Nizam to part ways after separate phone calls from two Ministers (guess who?) took issue with some online comments, speaking at the Hong Lim Park, and participation in a public forum. Azmoon had to act, "Otherwise, the Government will withdraw all funding from AMP." Money may not buy happiness, but it sure does ensure compliance. 

Nizam was aghast that activities in his private personal capacity was commingled with community services in his public capacity as an AMP/RIMA director. Community services which stand to benefit thousands – be they low-income families, youths at risk, students. Nizam is also leaving Suara Musyawarah, a feedback panel for the Malay-Muslim community. You would too, if feedback is commingled with kickbacks. 

The other news worthy item in the public sphere is the arrest of a cartoonist for sedition, the offending copy being “Malay population… Deliberately suppressed by a racist government.”

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Of AMP’s Nizam, Demon-cratic cartoons and that May 1 rally

Sometimes, a word or two whispered in the right ear will do the trick. Sometimes, the whisper can be as simple as “What’s he doing in a place like that?’’ Depending on the status/standing of the whisperer, the person being whispered to would have to guess at what the whisperer truly meant. An innocuous question? Or one that has deeper meaning?

Seems that Mr Nizam Ismail, a now former director of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP), has been the subject of some whispering.  He told The Straits Times that AMP had informed him over the weekend that two ministers had “expressed concern” about some critical views he had put forth online and his participation in the two events. He declined to name the ministers.

He said he was presented with two options. One, if he did not “tone down” his activities, the Government would withdraw funding from AMP. Two, dissociate himself from AMP if he wanted to continue with civil society activities.

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THE POLITICS OF BEING DOMINANT AND DOMINATING


I write this note not merely to explain the circumstances behind my departure from the Board of Directors of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) and stepping down as Chairman of the Board of Centre for Research on Malay and Islamic Affairs (RIMA).

This is troubling and goes entirely against the grain of reported statements by Deputy PM Tharman Shanmugratnam that the Ruling Party will be an open political party that “is dominant but not dominating”, but one that seeks to galvanize a diversity of views and ideas, including critical opinions.

The gist of the following account is set out in an Email that I had written to both AMP and RIMA Boards on 22 Apr 2013. The contents of this Email remain unchallenged 

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Singapore protest speaker resigns from posts after alleged govt pressure


A Muslim civil society leader in Singapore resigned from his posts in two charitable organisations on Monday after allegedly receiving government pressure to curb his critical views.

In a post on his personal blog Wednesday, Nizam Ismail explained why he decided to quit as board director of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) and chairman of the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA) effective earlier that Monday.

Nizam said that AMP chairman Azmoon Ahmad called him on Saturday to say that he received separate phone calls from two government ministers expressing concern over Nizam's participation as a speaker at next week’s May Day protest at Hong Lim Park.

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NIZAM AND THE SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS


Having served with AMP for so long, I read Nizam’s latest blog with great disappointment.  His attack on the AMP is an insult to all of us who have served in this organisation past and present.  Who does he think he is? 

It is troubling that we have allowed Nizam to use and manipulate all of us into becoming pawns in his political games? The AMP matters. It employs many good-hearted people who want to make a difference. There are families who depend on the AMP for their sustenance. And now all the good work we have done over the years have been tainted by the baseless accusations made by Nizam. 

I fear that all of us have failed in our duties. We have been manipulated and deceived by Nizam. Let’s call it like what it is. Nizam is not a civic activist as he claims. He is a political activist. It is fine for him to leave the AMP and fulfil his ambition to be a politician, but to part ways and then pour scorn on the AMP is not becoming of a good person of high moral standing.  It is an act of a coward.  I am sad that we have allowed Nizam to use the AMP and now get away with it. 

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A Problem Out Of Thin Air

The problem started when two ministers contacted the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP), a Muslim civil group, and exerted pressure due to Nizam Ismail, a director of the group who was scheduled to speak at the May Day protest. In a post on his blog, Mr. Ismail announced that he decided to quit as a board director of AMP as it had been hinted that government funds "might" be withheld from the group if he spoke at the protest. His resignation was to distance himself from AMP.

Speak about shooting yourself in the foot! Seriously, who the hell is Nizam Ismail. No offence to the man but I never heard of him and I believe most Singaporeans have no idea who he is. He is a non-factor. So what does it matter if he speaks at the protest? Or to be exact; he was a non-factor. He is now a factor because everyone now knows the Singapore government is trying to stop him from speaking at the protest!

With his resignation and blog post, the Singapore government just gave the May Day protest a free promotion. It made the protest bigger and more important than it was. The protest is now suddenly a problem for the government, and it is a problem that the government created out of thin air.

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Rules of engagement need negotiation

Muslim Affairs Minister Yacob Ibrahim gave a roundabout response, or at least, that was how the ST report appeared: Asked by reporters last night on the sidelines of a dialogue organised by government feedback unit Reach, Dr Yaacob said: “AMP is an important partner. In our discussions with AMP, we have never touched on their internal organisation, how they are being managed.”

(Okay, so he’s saying it doesn’t matter who is doing what in AMP, so long as the work gets done properly. Mr Nizam was head of AMP’s research arm and its former ex-chairman) He also noted that the association has “written in its Constitution that whoever is involved in AMP must be non-partisan and we assume therefore not involved in politics”.

He said the Government was more concerned with the work they do as they receive public funds. Dr Yaacob added: “Money which is given by the Government to Malay-Muslim organisations must be for the purpose of voluntary work that will help the community move forward. It is not for the purpose of creating a platform for people to be involved in partisan politics.”

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Engaging or Fighting the Government?

I remember Nizam Ismail from the Hong Lim gathering. Not the name but that someone from AMP spoke.

Rules of engagement Bertha and others? I don't know. The PAP government is committed to being the 800 pound gorilla in our landscape and the only way for them to stay that way is never to face another 800 pounder. More likely they will engage to neutralize any creature that is adding pounds quickly.

The huge gorillas are only afraid of the ecology turning unfavorable to them, i.e., the people. If you are only 100 lbs but the ecology is in your favor, you win. Simple and powerful lessons from BBC 'Walking with Dinosaurs' series. Any creature that ignore this 'hard truth' is only setting itself to be fixed and dispatched. Not clever.

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Nizam Ismail, AMP and the two ministers

The other side of the argument of course would be that he probably did what he did to test the limits of what an NGO like AMP can or cannot be involved in. AMP, being an NGO, should strictly be that - and non-governmental organisation. Hence, all the pressure from ministers or what not is really unwarranted.

But this is Stinkapore, er I mean Sinkapore. So the rules are that if you want to be in an NGO that the govt supports (like AMP), you'd better toe the line. The real alternative to detach yourself from the bondage of the govt is to be truly financially independent - ie accept no govt funding at all. Zero. Zilch. That way there truly won't be any strings attached.

But then again, how far can an organisation go without funds? Can AMP really do that? If yes, Nizam can stay. Good luck.

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Nizam Ismail forced to resign from AMP for speaking at Hong Lim against White Paper

AMP is a movement which aims to uplift the Malay-Muslim community and “holds closely to our core principles of independence, non-partisanship and critical collaboration with all parties that share our mission in the community”, he said. He added that Nizam decided to resign “to avoid further misperception” that he reflected AMP’s official stand on political and civil society issues.

Dr Yaacob also replied to media enquiries yesterday saying, “AMP is an important partner. In our discussions with AMP, we have never touched on their internal organisation, how they are being managed.” He also noted that the association has “written in its Constitution that whoever is involved in AMP must be non-partisan and we assume therefore not involved in politics”. He added, “Our concerns are not just about Mr Nizam, our concerns are about how government funds are being used.”

“At the end of the day, we have to be very candid here. Money which is given by the government to Malay-Muslim organisations must be for the purpose of voluntary work that will help the community move forward. It’s not for the purpose of creating a platform for people to be involved in partisan politics.”

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Nizam Ismail ‘forced’ to resign from AMP?

There is an article in Breakfast Network today on the circumstances leading to Nizam Ismail’s resignation from AMP. This news is also carried by the main media. Nizam is a lawyer and had spoken at the first protest rally at Hong Lim and is scheduled to speak again on May Day in a sequel to the first rally.

It was reported that ‘AMP had informed him over the weekend that two ministers had “expressed concern” about some critical views he had put forth online and his participation in two events

He said he was presented with two options. One, if he did not “tone down” his activities, the Govt would withdraw funding from AMP. Two, dissociate himself from AMP if he wanted to continue with civil society activities.

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WAR HERO LIM BO SENG'S GRANDSON OUTRAGED BY VANDALISM AT MEMORIAL

STOMPer reader "deepsecret", who reported the incident, said her fiancé had chased after a man in a hoodie who was seen vandalising the Cenotaph at Esplanade Park.

She said that he was wearing headphones, was dressed in a dark blue hoodie and dark jeans and carried a brown/black backpack. The STOMPer also said that the vandal had mentioned his act as being a "revolution".

The Cenotaph is a war memorial that was built in memory of men in Singapore who gave their lives in World War I and World War II.

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Singapore judiciary demands apology for web backlash

The Attorney-General Chambers (AGC) has issued take-down letters and demanded apologies from several websites over posts which it said cast doubt on the judiciary's integrity in a case involving a China national.

The websites and Facebook pages involved had suggested that a Singapore court had been lenient to Yuan Zhenghua, 31, who hijacked a taxi last year and crashed it into the driveway of Changi Airport's budget terminal, killing a Malaysian airport worker. Yuan, a technician, was sentenced by a district court to 25 months in jail Monday.

Singaporeans took to Internet websites and Facebook pages to criticise the verdict, prompting the AGC to issue letters asking for an apology and that the postings be taken down.

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related: AGC demands apology from websites over verdict backlash

The G’s dartboard: The blogosphere

Does anyone think that the G is getting too trigger-happy shooting off warning letters into the blogosphere? I’ve lost track.

There’s the set that was sent to administrators of Facebook pages which contained comments on the 25-month jail sentence on the Chinese national who went berserk in Changi airport, carjacked a cab and killed a cleaner (contempt of court). Then there’s the Council for Private Education upset over some emails a blogger sent to the media (defamatory). Then a stiff clarification from the Singapore Land Authority to another blogger whom it said got his facts on the Pulau Ubin saga wrong (misleading readers).

Oh! The most recent: the Manpower ministry takes issue with a Yahoo news report on the SMRT bus drivers’ alleged grievances (failed to verify facts). And a filmmaker says she’s likely to hear something from the G on her video of those Chinese SMRT bus drivers (false allegations of police brutality). 

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OPINION: Tharman in the spotlight - Seah Chiang Nee

 
Malaysia Star, 27 Apr 2013

THIS month, the spotlight in Singapore – quite deservedly – falls on Second Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmu­garatnam. 

For two hours, Tharman, who joined the Cabinet only nine years ago, gave a polished performance befitting his title as a possible or potential prime minister. He spoke about the gradual shift of ruling party’s ideology – from centre to centre left – to a new emphasis on social objectives, and more proposed taxation on wealth.

Other subjects covered were wide-ranging. The tone was firmer than the generalities and hedging that the public has been hearing from some leading politicians. Full story

Also read: Lee Hsien Loong scores a nought for political nous


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DPM Tharman: It’s in SG’s interest to have a dominant party

In a recent 2-hour interview with the Straits Times, DPM Tharman spoke on a number of topics concerning Singapore. 

Answering questions about the People’s Action Party (PAP), DPM Tharman said that it is in Singapore’s interest to have a dominant party. He said, “It’s in Singapore’s interest that you do have a dominant party, but it’s got to be one that’s open to diversity, welcoming of a responsible opposition.” 

The PAP wants to remain a dominant party anchored in society – without dominating in all areas, said Mr Tharman. It can do this as an open political party, he said, that galvanises a diversity of views and ideas, including critical opinions.

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PAP - DOMINANT WITHOUT BEING DOMINATING IS WISHFUL THINKING

2 decades ago, there were few who would “want a check on the PAP”.  The reason for most to insist on some external checks is the major screw ups, one after another. 

What has been observed and experienced by Singaporeans is a PAP which has not been listening and in the process, created a huge mess of our lives. Credit should be given for its attempts to listen but one senses that PAP does not want to remove its acoustic earmuffs after it rammed the population white paper down our throats and continue to throw taxpayers’ money at solutions. 

PAP has been dominating all its life.  Are we to believe that a leopard can change its spots?

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The PAP in Critical Transition: Regaining Lost Trust

If the relationship between the PAP government and the people in the past was described as awkward and uneasy, today it can be said to be shattered and irrecoverably broken. Never have the people shown a greater loss of faith in their leaders; never have the leaders been more desperate to regain that lost faith.

The proof for what must be seen as a major national problem, is in the people’s continuing expression of anger throughout the nearly two years since the General Election of May 2011. The PAP’s worst ever performance then had been followed by a quick succession of equal electoral humiliations, culminating in the loss of the Punggol East by-election in January 2013.

Yet the people’s anger had by no means abated, spilling over into the broader arena of Government decisions and policies. It vented itself in open skepticism about a Government-initiated national dialogue with the people, and more specifically, in a carefully organized mass demonstration in February 2013 against the government’s White Paper which, in announcing its plan for a target population of 6.9 million by 2030 through an increased intake of foreigners, had only succeeded in reviving an issue that had been the most bitterly contentious in the General Election.

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Daily SG: 26 Apr 2013

Cenotaph Vandalised!
– The Grand Moofti Speaks: Singapore’s aspiring democrats turn to violence
– Breakfast Network: Deface of Singapore’s heritage
– Breakfast Network: Cenotaph vandalism: Why blame youth?
– xtemujin 360°: Cleaning of the Cenotaph after vandalism

Truth, Justice, and the Singapore Way
– Dr Cherian George: Sedition charge would send wrong signals abt managing race
– Chemical Generation Singapore: The Return of the Sedition Act for the Internet
– The Expository: Difference between Criticism & Contempt of Court ~ The Expository
– TOC: Why the Sedition Act shouldn’t apply to Leslie Chew

The White Paper & the ‘Singaporean Core’ (Gilbert Goh Protest)
– TRE: You’re blinded by your emotions for supporting Nizam
– Singapolitics: AMP and partisanship
– Yahoo: Singapore protest speaker resigns from posts after alleged govt pressure
– TRS: NIZAM AND THE SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS


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related:
SM Tharman: A stronger and more Cohesive Society
DPM Tharman: "I'm not the man for PM"
DPM Tharman in Focus
Ask DPM Tharman
From Baey Koh Tin to Tharman
Spore pushes for minority race President but not ready for non-Chinese PM
Strong opposition good for party and country
Dominant But Not Dominating