Just when the cleaning of the hawker centre dispute was fading away,
Vivian Balakrishnan threw down the gauntlet in Parliament, calling
Sylvia Lim and Pritam Singh and the WP names and challenging them to sue
him in court. Initially some might have thought that this was the
position of a minister trying to make his mark. Then the PMO issued one
statement after another to support the stand of Vivian and confirmed
that it was the stand of the Govt to hold the WP to account for what
they said and done in the hawker centre cleaning issue. The Govt is
questioning the integrity, honesty and trustworthiness of the WP. The
Govt is taking the fight to the WP and demanding the latter to pick up
the gauntlet and do battle.
Low Thia Khiang has replied that he would not pursue this matter and
have a run in with the PAP that would be time consuming, energy sapping
and financially draining on the limited finance of his party. A drawn
out battle is something that the WP would not want to be dragged into.
They would rather continue with what they have to do to serve their
constituencies and not politicking to win a battle with the time and
place and agenda set by the PAP. They would want to leave the matter as
it is and let the people decide whether they have done wrong or whether
they are worthy to be voted in again.
The PAP has in a way decided that the WP is guilty and wanted this to be
confirmed in this chosen battle, preferably in court, to be judged by
the court. They are taking on the roles of judge and executioner. The WP
chose to have the issue be judged by the people like in Hougang and
Punggol East. Let the people be the final arbiter of who is right or
wrong, or who is good or bad.
The question is how important is this issue over the other major issues
that are left in the air and the many national issues that the people
are unhappy about? Obviously the PAP would think that this is of
paramount importance and needs to be settled. The WP may disagree and
want to move on to deal with other more pressing and important matters,
and would see this as simply politicking and bickering for votes.
At the recent DBS Insights Asia Conference, Hsien Loong was quoted to
advise whoever governs Singapore to ‘try very hard to keep the politics
clean and straight, constructive,’ and, ‘where you’re solving problems
and not just slogging it out, fighting with one another’. There are two
points here, keep politics clean and straight, and avoid bickering and
politicking to score political points. How would these points measure up
with the PAP upping the temperature on the hawker centre cleaning issue
and not to let it pass and not to move on?
15 comments:
Big Monkey see big, talk big.
Small monkey see bigger, talk smaller.
Voices, TODAYonline
[PAP, WP should now regain focus on national issues]
from Arthur Lim
"While the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council may have erred
in the manner the cleaning protocol for a hawker centre was carried out,
this episode wasted precious time in Parliament.
If it has tripped up,
the Workers’ Party (WP) should bite the bullet, admit any shortcomings and apologise.
People would understand
that a relative rookie in a new ward can make errors.
What is important is to learn and improve over time."
http://www.todayonline.com/voices/pap-wp-should-now-regain-focus-national-issues
Voices, TODAYonline
[Chen Show Mao’s Facebook post shows lack of respect]
from Gary Chua Sheng Yang
"The WP has spoken of building a First World Parliament.
Is this the behaviour it would condone from one of its MPs?
The party should respond with facts
if the allegations against its MPs are inaccurate and,
if the allegations are proven correct,
accept the mistake and apologise unreservedly.
This action by Mr Chen is disconcerting to neutrals
and suggests that the WP may not be ready to be taken seriously as a political party."
http://www.todayonline.com/voices/chen-show-maos-facebook-post-shows-lack-respect
PAP is applying Sun Tzu's art of war: "choose your enemy, choose the terrain, hundred battles hundred victories" The teochew ah hia also know Sun Tzu and hold his horses. After all he is a Nantah graduate and knows Chinese philosophy well.
The haze and epidemic levels of dengue fever does not seem important enough to interest Millionaire Bala and the PMO (Prime Millionaire's Office).
I'm glad they are at least able to wrap their minds around a $7,000 ceiling problem.
I've never seen so many PAPigs fill up all the seats in parliament.
I am disappointed that Parliament debate some stupid issu call integrity. Is there better thing to deal in Parliament? We pay them millions and they are talking something that benefits no one except themselves.
Redbean,
this obviously hint one theory that the old man is dying, and the pinky is fixing the opp party for 2016 election, and using wallaby court to declare opp party guilty at all cost to prevent them from election. Low is really smart not to fall into trap of evil man. So obvious that vivian pursued the case under the instruction of pinky, otherwise how to have the whole government backing him ?
As bystanders(旁观者),
the People are clear about what
the Hooha is all about.
And
if they are not, just read this Post
by Redbean. Everything will be as
clear as crystal.
@ oldhorse42 July 15, 2013 8:52 am
WP is applying Sun Tzu's art of war: "To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself" The teochew ah hia also knows Sun Tzu and holds his AIM. After all he is a Nantah graduate and knows Chinese philosophy well.
Enemy provides for its' own defeat is apt in the Case.
Lucky for the Enemy that it is just defeat and not demise.
Otherwise It will go kaput.
Hahaha
'..and suggest that the WP may not be ready to be taken seriously as a political party'
I have never read a more stupid comment. What does the WP, which was formed by David Marshall in 1957, has been in existence for more than five decades and not ready to be taken seriously?
If some people do not take them seriously, how come they can win by-elections time and again against the PAP, even with the PAP bigwigs behind their candidate. Doesn't that tell us that there is more to it than meets the eye?
CLeaning one hawker center more important than the dengue problem affecting the entire country? If PM Lee is independent and meritocratic, he should have suspended VB from all his minister duties and demoted him. He is incapable of putting important thing first.
'Chen Show Mao’s Facebook post shows lack of respect]
from Gary Chua Sheng Yang'
This Gary is probably a bootlicker or his reading material consists of only SPH publications.
Go pick up any international newsmagazine and he'll find political cartoons and caricatures aplenty. The one on CSM's FB aptly decribes the whole sage and if there's a respect for the 3 depicted, they would have lost it long before
previously posting should read as
'describes the whole SAGA and if there's ANY respect"
Ng Kok LIm's latest
[Vivian Balakrishnan failed to prove WP untruthful]
"I refer to the transcript of the 9 Jul 2013 parliament exchanges on the Aljunied Town Council Blk 538 hawker centre cleaning issue [1]."
http://trulysingapore.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/vivian-balakrishnan-failed-to-prove-wp-wrong/
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