APEC 2024 Peru. Biden shafted to a corner in the back row. Xi in front row next to Peru's President
5/01/2006
where is the beef?
After four days of rallies, all the people heard were promises of more good things for the people and one upmanship, or trying to run down the opponent. Is this the quality of debate in a general election of a first world country?
For having a first world govt and being paid out of this world salary, the people can expect and must demand more quality and substance. It is time for the govt to go down to brass tacks and tell the people what they are going to do to give the people a better life.
Yes Hsien Loong said that the govt is going to tackle rising cost of living issues which they have forgotten in the last few years. Ok it is alright to have amnesia and forget that they have to look after the people's interest all the time and not during a general election.
Now the people must want to hear what are the steps the govt is going to take to solve the people's problems. How are transport fares and all other fees going to come down? Or they cannot come down, out of the govt's control as they are determined by external factors? What about high cost of medical fees and school fees? What about quality jobs, unemployement and senior workers?
Tell the people what will be done and how and when it will be done. These are not new problems and many thinking heads must have been looking at them and would have worked out something by now. They can't be thinking about them now because there is a general election.
And for being paid out of this world salary, the people would expect out of this world solutions. So far nothing out of this world have been said. The solution to pay ever higher medical fees by different schemes through insurance and medisave are nothing enlightening. The fees still go up and the people still pay.
Show the people some brilliant solutions to justify the high salary so that the people will all shut up and even respect the govt more. But if the solutions are the standard regular increases in fees and fares to maintain good profits, then there is nothing unusual.
Four more days to roll out what the govt is going to do, in details. Staying together, moving ahead must now be translated into follow up actions.
Unfortunately I am only having garbage now.
ReplyDeleteThe quality of debate dished out to voters so far is a total let down. I would have expected national issues to be raised, but what we got were old municipal issues like 'repeat medications' that surface in every GE. I hope opposing candidates should refrain from resorting to scurrilous attack on one another.
Whether we have a first world government or not, I do not think I am qualified to comment. However, I earnestly pray that the victors in this GE will be magnanimous enough to forgive the vanquished who might have unwittingly ofended them during the campaign trail.
The PAP is not forthcoming in how she is going to handle the increase in cost of living and rising medical cost in Singapore.
ReplyDeleteFor the past few days PAP's rallies, they are trying their best to evade the main issues by focusing the attacks on Gomez slip which majority of Singaporeans don't even consider it a issue if one will to compare it with the NKF fiasco, Nicoll Highway collapsed, investment lost in China and recent Thailand.
Socaps, I have mentioned about this in an earlier blog comment. What we are seeing is the tone and direction of the campaign proceeding as the ruling party will want it and which is to focus on municipal issues to distract the electorate from more pressing big-picture ones like structural unemployment, invasion of foreigners in the employment and educational spheres, accountability and transparency. The APs need to be more forceful in steering the debate away from these distractions and enagage the ruling parties on the more important issues. This opportunity comes only once every five years. It will be a shame if this opportunity is wasted by the APs seeing as how this is the best possible chance since '91 to actually make a big dent in the ruling party's stranglehold on power.
ReplyDeletethe gomez issue has allowed pap to dictate the direction of the election debate and wp is unable to shake it off with a good counter argument. they should try to get some pointers from soc.cul.spore on this.
ReplyDeletewhat the election debate has proven so far is that the quality of candidates from both sides are comparable. Can't really see any difference in so call supertalents and high achievers against the run of the mills opposition candidates.
they all talked about the same thing and bickered more than the promise of a first world election.
I am disappointed that one opposing group has allowed the controversy over Gomez's missing form to take centre stage to the exclusion of more pressing issues that voters deserve to hear. Given that the guilty party has not furnished a satisfactory explanation there is no necessity to keep harping on the same issue as no man is infallible. Voters can distinguish between black and white. We are left with only three precious days before polling day. I appeal to opposing groups concerned to focus on main isssues to project the image of a first world government.
ReplyDeletethe way kanseng is talking about it there is more than meets the eyes. but for voters, their choice maybe betweent the devil and the deep blue sea.
ReplyDeleteif they want to vote sylvia lim in, they have no choice but to vote for gomez as well or vice versa.
the pap's push on this is to discredit the whole team as this is or was the strongest team that could have a chance to get voted in.
the wp must regain the initiative and lead the rally to what they want to say and not be embroiled in this issue and let the voters decide for themselves.
hopefully they can get in and gomez be taken to task after the election and not now.