PM Lee expects more robust debates in the next Parliament
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PM Lee expects more robust debates in the next Parliament
by Saifulbahri Ismail; 04:46 AM Sep 11, 2011
SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (picture) said he expects to see more robust debates in the next Parliament, which will convene on Oct 10.
This is the first time the House will see the most number of Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) - six from the Workers' Party, and another three who are Non-Constituency MPs - and Mr Lee also expects more different views to be expressed and all perspectives to be covered.
Speaking to reporters on a wide range of issues on the sidelines of a community event yesterday, Mr Lee said how debates in Parliament will develop will depend on the dynamics of the debates and contributions of the members.
"It depends whether they take a serious approach to discuss the issues or whether they take a tactical approach and just use it to score political points. I hope that we will be able to move forward in a constructive direction," Mr Lee said.
The Prime Minister also laid down what he expects from the People's Action Party (PAP) MPs. They should believe in what they say and master the subject in their speeches, Mr Lee said. He also urged PAP MPs to speak up for their constituents and help to form and shape views to develop a consensus and move forward together.
To a question on whether the Whip would be lifted more often, Mr Lee said that it depends on the issues. He said the Whip will be lifted if it is an issue of conscience, but party discipline will need to be followed on policy matters.
Mr Lee also elaborated on the recent editorial in the PAP's magazine Petir, where he called on the party to reflect on the General Election.
He said that it is a new situation where the population is changing and attitudes are shifting. However, the party still needs to connect, represent and lead the people, and he hopes that the new generation will work with the Government.
"As they work with us, they change and we change. I think that's something which the party has to work at very hard, reaching out to the new generation, new formats, new media, new activities. But also keeping our traditional base - the older ones, Singaporeans who have contributed a lot to Singapore and I think who deserve to have their voices heard too."
The Presidential Election
On the recent Presidential Election, Mr Lee said it was important to have public debates on the future of the institution.
"It's good that there's a public debate on the experience on the Presidential Election, different perspective raised and concerns too, particularly amongst the minority communities that if the process carries on like this, it will become difficult to elect a minority President because that's the nature of election politics," he said. "We are following the debate carefully, I think it's still very early yet and we have not come to any conclusion."
The PA-Workers' Party dispute
When asked about the recent storm between the People's Association (PA) and Aljunied Group Representation Constituency over the lease of common sites in the Opposition wards, Mr Lee stressed that the PA is not a political organisation.
"The PA serves all the residents in the constituency, and it's non-political. In fact, it doesn't allow political activities on its premises when it runs its own activities. But guidance must be from somebody who's working on behalf of the Government. It's like having the Ministry of Education, the civil servants are impartial and neutral but the Minister is a Government Minister," Mr Lee said.
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110911-0000218/PM-Lee-expects-more-robust-debates-in-the-next-Parliament -
Originally posted by bic_cherry:
PM Lee expects more robust debates in the next Parliament
by Saifulbahri Ismail; 04:46 AM Sep 11, 2011PM Lee: I am the government.
PM Lee (implied): "Citizens are like civil servants, they serve the government under "non-political" PAP-PA MP/ MP-wannabe advisers to grassroots."
PM Lee (implied): "_ __ the government"
Ref:
- 'PM Lee expects more robust debates in the next Parliament': [TDY, 11Sep2011]
The PA-Workers' Party dispute
When asked about the recent storm between the People's Association (PA) and Aljunied Group Representation Constituency over the lease of common sites in the Opposition wards, Mr Lee stressed that the PA is not a political organisation.
'The PA serves all the residents in the constituency, and it's non-political. In fact, it doesn't allow political activities on its premises when it runs its own activities. But guidance must be from somebody who's working on behalf of the Government. It's like having the Ministry of Education, the civil servants are impartial and neutral but the Minister is a Government Minister,' Mr Lee said.
Logic:
The impartial and neutral civil servants in the the Ministry of Education need a leader: the government Minister to lead them.
Similarly, the daft and stupid Singaporeans, like civil servants, need PAP advisers to grassroots to lead them in a non-political/partisan manner.
Every opposition MP is unfit for the job and needs to be removed ASAP by Chairman/ PM Lee HL himself [hierarchy]: 'PM Lee says countries worldwide respect and admire Singapore's proven system': "...I'm going to spend all my time thinking what's the right way to fix them, to buy my supporters votes, how can I solve this week's problem and forget about next year's challenges?..." [CNA:03May2006][YouTube/@1m10s]
...sigh...
Well, he sure has his ardent fans and admirers demanding big crumbs...
[p.source]
Perhaps the problem is that money is how they decide.
[Img source]
The poor will have to beg for better crumbs?
[img source]
And accept that some are much more equal than others [dictionary.com]...
And so the 'dictator' dictates..., and oh my crumbs have come late today..., I must pull up my socks, listen and totally obey...
Pls forget this post, nothing you read here is true okay?
References (Conduct of civil service):
- 'Separation of powers' [wiki]: "The separation of powers is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic. Under this model, the state is divided into branches, each with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility so that no one branch has more power than the other branches. The normal division of branches is into an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary. ..."
- '(PSD) Maintaining High Standard of Conduct': "The Civil Service works under a Code of Conduct based on the principles of incorruptibility, integrity and propriety. Civil servants are expected to conduct themselves with impartiality and honesty at all times, by: Remaining completely neutral in all political matters and matters of public controversy ... " [PSD (Role)> Nurturing Talent> Progressive Policies][pict-link]
- 'Integrity of election process a hot topic during youth forum': "'Civil servants under the constitution hold their allegiance to the president. The symbolism that is attached to that is we actually serve at the pleasure of a politically neutral institution. It is one of the values of the civil service that we are politically impartial,' said Ms Owi. " [CNA, 17May2009]
References: (PM Lee's misuse of the PA for PAP partisan objectives):
- 'Upgrading in Opposition Wards- MPs should front initiative': "Why did the HDB choose to work with unelected candidates instead of the elected MPs in the constituencies?.. shouldn't the mandate that the residents gave to the elected MPs be respected?" [ST, 07Oct2009]
- 'How PAP uses taxpayer-funded grassroots for political gain': "The People’s Association (PA), ..Like all other stat boards, it receives a yearly grant from the government to run its programmes and cover operational costs. .. It spent a total of $320 million last year. However unlike most stat boards, whose chairmen are usually the permanent secretary of the parent ministry or some other senior civil servant, PA’s chairman is none other than the Prime Minister [pict][board]. The de facto leader of all the CCCs, CCMCs, RCs and NCs in each constituency is known as the “adviser to the grassroots organisations (GROs)”. This adviser is appointed by PA, presumably with the nod of its chairman, the Prime Minister. In PAP constituencies, PA always appoints the elected MP as the adviser. But in opposition wards, PA appoints the PAP candidate who lost in the last election, not the opposition MP" [G Giam, 10Oct2009].
- '‘Adviser over MP’ raises many questions': "PAP MPs are appointed as advisers to the grassroots organisations in their wards by the People’s Association (PA). In the two opposition wards, the PA picked the PAP candidates who contested but lost in the wards in the last two polls as the grassroots advisers." [ST, 22Oct2009][alt link]
- 'MND continues to throw smoke bombs over role of PAP 'grassroots advisers'': "There is absolutely no reason why opposition MPs cannot be appointed as grassroots advisers unless they decline to work with the government. The root cause of the problem lies in the lack of a clearly defined demarcation between the state and the party which resulted in many supposedly apolitical institutions like the People’s Association being made use of by the PAP to serve its partisan interests.
As the People’s Association is a statutory board, its members and grassroots advisers should have no political affiliations.
It is disingenuous of the PAP to appoint their losing candidates to continue “serving” in the opposition wards under the veneer of being the “grassroots advisers” appointed by the PA." [TR, 27Oct2009][alt link]
- 'Town Council Act (CAP 329A) states clearly that Govt must work with Town Councils (run by MPs) to implement LUP': "It is a joke that for some strange reasons or another, Mr Shanmugan’s ministerial colleague has refused to obey the Town Councils Act by choosing not to work with Hougang Town Council and even has the audacity to TWIST the facts by claiming that 'it is the role of the grassroots advisers to implement the LUP' through his press secretary when it was stated NOWHERE in the Town Councils Act that the LUP has to be carried out by the grassroots advisers! From beginning to end, there was no mention of the words 'Grassroots advisers', 'People Association' or 'PAP losing candidates' and so how did Mr Eric Low come into the picture at all? " [TR, 29Oct2009][alt link]
- 'Grassroots Organizations should stay non-partisan': "By appointing PAP candidates as grassroots advisers in Opposition held wards, the government is effectively bringing partisan politics into governmental institutions. Using the PA as a vehicle for PAP candidates as grounds to gain political capital so that they may fight their next battle with more goodwill, the governmental risks costing itself the position of Singapore as a Parliamentary Democracy; and put Singapore in par with communist states like Cuba, China and North Korea." [TR, 03Nov2009][alt site]
- 'PAP has blurred line between State and party': "THE cry for multi-party representation in Parliament is the People's Action Party's own doing.. The PAP has blurred the line between the State and the party: What belongs to the State belongs to the PAP... The People's Association becomes a PAP instrument... The money belongs to the State". [STforum, 13Apr2011][alt link]
- Chang NY: 'Delink political affiliations of grassroots bodies': "I would like to suggest that the People's Association (PA) be run like a civil service organisation in order to single-mindedly and unmistakably carry out its sole purpose of serving the people. Board members of the PA should not hold any political office. There is then no conflict of interests." [ST,4June2011][alt link]
Fixing the opposition:
- 'PM Lee says countries worldwide respect and admire Singapore's proven system': "...I'm going to spend all my time thinking what's the right way to fix them, to buy my supporters votes, how can I solve this week's problem and forget about next year's challenges?..." [CNA:03May2006][YouTube/@1m10s]__________________
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Good lor.....人多çƒé—¹ã€‚。got opposition= debate more.
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Hope there willl be live in cna where viewers can see whats happening in the parliament. Viewers can hear and listen to mps and opposition debate.
Do we have that soon?
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Originally posted by bic_cherry:
Wow that's a nice picture of TPL. Whose big thing was she grabbing?
