I just came from reading Lucky Tan's well argued post in his Diary of a Singaporean Mind because TKL recommended it on his facebook page.
I often see things differently from him but his is a highly intelligent analyst. Here is what I don't agree with this time.
He wrote:
Unfortunately, based on what they have done in recent days, I'm not sure if they are able to stop damaging their own reputation further.
My novice read about the SDP is that they are not stupid; just deluded. They thought too highly of their alternative national plans for Singapore. Too eager to show them off to us but we aren't keen. Not now anyway. Given the back lash from voters they had created for themselves I am sure they will now begin to act smarter. I think they will not contest this by elections. That will take them to more stupid than stupid.
I don't believe the WP do not have alternative plans but these guys are tactically shrewd. They understand the time and place must be right for effective communication and action. E.g., by waiting for the right moment to reveal the involvement of AIM, they show voters that they had put their welfare ahead of everything else. They are not interested to make PAP look bad just for scoring useless points which most pragmatic voters aren't interested. Unfortunately there will always be impatient and idealistic people who bought the SDP approach to checking the government. It doesn't work. Go study the shrewdness of Abraham Lincoln. Well watch the movie (nominated for 12 Academy Awards) if it comes to town.
How to beat the PAP is to show that you put Singaporeans ahead of the interests of your political party. Meanwhile fight fairer and cleaner than the PAP. Don't be despicable which is what the PAP had descended to.
PAP trying to focus the debate of this by elections on local issues is in my limited view a very bad idea. Singapore is so small, local realities are nothing but expressions of inseparable national issues. The PAP candidate is not stupid. Privately he must have realized by now that localizing the peeves of residents except for Rivervale Mall cannot solve their problems. Really, what can you do about traffic speeding along the roads and the residents' need to get across safely to the PCN especially for senior citizens. What can you do about the noise the temples make which residents complain about? Unless you live among the residents and show that you are prepare to suffer with them and ask them to join you, how else can you address this problem? This is the reality of living in congested Singapore. So many things now have to be traded off painfully. And who created this terrible cheek by jowl outcome? National policies of the PAP.
The noise from traffic is really quite bad these days, what with so many places being built along major roads, and quite a large number of drivers revving their expensive cars along these roads, even when the roads are just 2 lanes in landed housing estates. So much for the advantages of vibrancy.
ReplyDeleteRe the noise from temples, maybe they need rules like the mosques. Whatever it is, we have become such an intolerant people today, always whining. If you don't like the noise from the temple, then move! Otherwise, shut up...
Re the political parties, SDP is too impatient. In some ways, one cant blame Chee. He's been out in the wilderness for 15 yrs. He looks at the growing mess in his country. He's got some good men and plans. WP's guys are wimpy in comparison, and they don't say much in Parliament these days. There are no fiery speeches like before. Worse, they're not even upholding views they have in their manifesto.
Looking at the TC situation, one gets the impression they didn't realise they could make a song and dance about impropriety. It was Alex Au who put the spotlight on the situation. It seems the WP just bowed to the fact they were being whacked, like when they took over Hougang. Either that or perhaps, as blogsite Illusio suggests, they are on shaky ground because of who they hired to run the AHTC.