7/18/2014

How to unscrew a bad image?


The PAP’s image has taken a big hit with its handling of the CPF money. Netizens are making all kinds of suspicious and derogatory remarks of the PAP and forming a very negative impression of what it is doing with their money. Yes, it is a perception, but it is a very bad perception that the PAP has to live with. Can it ignore such a perception and think that everything will be fine and the next GE will just be fine without doing anything to clear the damaging image, without correcting the impression?
 

Here is an example posted by a blogger in TRE,
 

• pioneer_generation:
July 11, 2014 at 8:21 am (Quote)
 

The PAP just cannot keep their grubby hands off any money belonging to the citizens. The excess premiums are desperately needed to make up for all their poor investments and losses after being cheated and easily swindled by the banks, crooks and sweet talkers. They are like little spoilt children in a toy store. I want, I want,I want…… without ever to have to pay for it. Now they find the cupboard bare, so they have to retain the citizen’s CPF, rob their medisave funds and sell them grossly inflated HDB flats to make up the shortfalls. We are really in a fix! Fixed by the PAP! We have to unfix ourselves by kicking them out so that later generations can have a fresh start. Never again should we give any political party unlimited and uncontrolled power. After all they are only humans. They cheat, lie, screw around like anybody else.
 

The strong words used and the thinking behind the words speak a lot about what the blogger thinks. And if more and more people are thinking this way, PAP will have a tough time living it up and living up to this image.
 

How would the PAP’s PR team tackle this adverse publicity and a perception that will be costly if not explained away? It would take a very stubborn or confident PAP to think that they can live with it and continue to do as they think right, be like deaf frogs and keep on climbing up the mountain, ignoring all the noises from the lunatic fringe. It will take a very brave man, or a very stupid one, to think all is fine. Just keep delaying the return of the CPF money under all the good and caring excuses. Just keep loading up on the premiums for the Medishield Life for all contingencies and for the rainy days of tomorrow. The people will understand and accept them quietly like in the past and will keep on voting for the party and all its good policies.

Kopi Level - Green

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

A lot of singaporeans are really just as money driven as the PAP. Thats why I feel all it has to do, is to introduce more policies that are perceived as giving more money to the people. Not last minute goodies, but long term ones.
It is very easy for them to get 60% of votes again actually. Its just whether they want to do it or not. People not so stupid to vote based in MRT breakdowns and so on.
Give more money and make it more obvious than less foreigners are being allowed in. Because given the disunified state of the opposition once these hot button issues are addressed they mostly got nothing to say anymore.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

I agree. They have so much reserves and these could be turned into votes. Funny thing is that they are still thinking of adding more to the reserves as suggested in the Medishield Life discussions.

More reserves, more reserves.

I have a funny feeling.

Anonymous said...

/// Just keep delaying the return of the CPF money under all the good and caring excuses. Just keep loading up on the premiums for the Medishield Life for all contingencies and for the rainy days of tomorrow. ///
@ redbean

But LKY and his disciples think differently.

“What’s wrong with collecting more money?”
Lee Kuan Yew

http://sgtalk.org/mybb/Thread-Ngiam-Tong-Dow-had-a-big-fight-with-Lee-Kuan-Yew-over-COE

Anonymous said...

"How would the PAP’s PR team tackle this adverse publicity and a perception that will be costly if not explained away?"
RB

Hahahahahaha.

With Teochew Ah Hia as leader of the strongest Sinkie opposition and publicly praising PAP as a competent govt, why would PAP even need a PR team, u tell me lah?

Anonymous said...

Botak has already clarified the CPF money. It is very very safe. It is managed by AAA+. How to know whether Botak is talking cock?

Anonymous said...

"How to know whether Botak is talking cock?"
Anon 9:44 am

Very simple. Will PAP get 60% votes next election? Will Botak be re-elected?

If yes, it means Botak is NOT talking cock.

Simple, tio bo?

Anonymous said...

Exactly. Just commit to spending 2% more of the reserves. Difference would be huge. Voters who switch from pap to opposition mostly do it to send a msg. With the exception of wp, a lot do not vote opposition because they are actually good.

Virgo49 said...

The monies they are dishing out are on long term basis.

Pioneer Generation Package, nearly 400,000 out of 450,000 above 65ers will vote for the PAP. Just a simple whisper, if PAP OUT, you are also OUT.

SERs lottery winners. If PAP OUT, no more SERs so NO more HDB lottery draws- Many will vote PAP.

Estates benefiting from the MRT rail-line.

If PAP OUT, MRT line not going to your estates- your landed properties, HDB flats- value no go up. Majority will vote PAP.

GST credits, many poor old folks waiting patiently for the August 01st five hundred bucks.

More in the future. So majority will vote PAP.

If PAP loses, many businesses will move out, your shares will drop, your properties value will also drop.

So many kiasi sinkies will still vote PAP.

Thus the PAP will not lose any GE election except maybe by-election and that constituency has no real valve benefits.

lust for love said...

Whether good intentions or not, can't help making people feel suspicious, because they feel that they don't need to owe people an explanation. What they want from the people is just listen and follow instructions, don't ask. They don't trust us to explain anything to us, we don't trust them since they're not forthcoming.

Trust is very important,more important than money. Money lost can try to earn back again. When trust is gone, it is very hard to regain it.

Anonymous said...

One thing that if they can accept it will cement their position. They need to accept that people want an opposition. Their overall pitch cannot be "we know best" anymore. Instead "ok lets have 20-25 opposition in the house to critique and debate, but remember we still have the infrastructure and plans to make things happen".

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

@ looking-through-his-own-biases RB:

>> The PAP’s image has taken a big hit with its handling of the CPF money.

Sure it has taken a hit but by WHOM?

Mostly by old fucks of my vintage who bang balls cannot get what they think is "their money" to do as they please.

Practically all of these soon-to-be apeks were (quite foolishly) "depending" on what they thought quite incorrectly as "their CPF" as liquid assets for their retirement, and thus made insufficient preparations for income and assets by their own private, non-govt means -- like insurance, or real estate or equities, or licensing of intellectual property.

The young fucks don't give a shit lah. Many of them are happy to have a job and to be earning.

The young fucks are quite aware that they have enough time to plan financially for their twilight years, and are not FOOLISH ENOUGH to trust the government with such an important task.

As far as I am concerned, the PAP is not to be blamed. You can't cheat an honest man. Read that again and again and meditate on it. Then the truth will set you free...hopefully ;-)

Anonymous said...

Botak is much better than those with full sets of hair mah. But must give discount to what he says since he is wearing white and the lightning badge.

b said...

So long as 50.00001% voted for pap, life will still go on with pap irregardless how people are unhappy at the other side. If they know how to play this game, they can even win this game with 20%. Humans are basically greedy and selfish so how can depend on them to improve lives.

Anonymous said...

PAP has the best image as far as Singaporeans go. They have laugh their way to the bank all these years, so why should they think of changing the status quo? The young Singaporeans are too busy partying by the Bay and Sentosa to give a fuck as to who runs Singapore. These young Singaporean are from the take and take generation and they are not interested about CPF. As long as they can party and have a good time, they are happy. They only people who bitch about their CPF money are those losers who trusted the PAP government all those years and now the rule have changed not in their favour, so they go crying to HLP. Come on, we did not hear these losers make any noise when the going was good. I think the PAP government has done a fantastic job and they are right to retain the the withdrawal of CPF and the increase premium for health care. Go PAP go.

Anonymous said...

Anon 1,29

And pigs will fly. Dream on man...........