11/11/2007

Raise the political barrier

Vivian Balakrishnan had a lively discussion with 100 young activists and an impressive 10 questions were asked. Not bad for Singapore standard of active participation in a dialogue. 3 questions is standard and 10 is excellent in a depoliticised citizenry. The key issue raised was the need for a high standard of integrity among political aspirants. Vivian mused that 'many people are asking us to dumb down our political system. Lower the hurdles, lower the standards, lower the penalties, lower the deposits, so that we can have apparently more contest.' He added that he 'would rather have a high political hurdles, so that anybody who seriously enters the contest is a good, strong, honest person, willing to pay the prices and able to withstand the scrutiny of the public.' In one mouthful he has said that the govt will set the rules and standards for entering politics. A hard fact that the people must live with. The power of the day sings the song. Also, no one will take issues with maintaining high standards of conduct and integrity. These must be the basic qualities expected of national leaders. What is questionable is to link ability to pay a high deposit, or rich people, as people of high integrity, is unacceptable. There are many good people with very high integrity but do not have the money for deposit and were out of the system, cut off by the system. The next point is that these people of high integrity must be prepared to pay a high price. Why should entering politics be equated to paying a high price? Who is exacting this high price and under what circumstances? When we expect good people of high integrity to come into politics, the assumption is that they will conduct themselves exemplarily and would not behave like clowns or hit people below the belt. The issue of paying a high political price is unnecessary and is a threat that our system can do without. Not that people going into politics can destroy another with impunity. Unjustified and unsubstantiated attacks on any opponent must be paid with a high price. But this high price must not be there as a criteria or condition in our political system if we are to open the net wide enough to really get the good people into politics. Yes, it is dangerous to lower the criteria to enter politics. But a good political system must not have unjustified high barriers to keep good people out. A lot of money and high political price as a threat are something we can do without.

5 comments:

  1. No worries, RedBean, for politics is part of daily life. They can choose to rise the barrier for their interpretation of politics, but we can always choose not to take part in their form of politics.

    Just dont follow the CSJ way.

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  2. Once the govt controls politics, it's "game over".

    On a positive note, the majority of S'poreans are not emotionally stable or intellectually capable to cast a ballot. I think Lee & Co know this — if the people were really allowed to choose, democracy will become a tyranny ans people vote for all sorts of "popular" benefits ("what's in it for me?"), and everyone will be taxed to the eyeballs, like they are in ALL western democracies.

    Because the majority of people ("the masses") are DUMB MOTHERFUCKERS, democracy, IMO is always a really bad idea.

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  3. For the time being, don't waste time and strength talking abt politics or rights in S'pore. The 1 party almost total dominance will remain for more good years to come.

    Most people only whine to the highest heaven, but at the end of the day, still give a passing 'C' grade for the Govt of the day, for whatever reasons.

    The only real change can only come about when people are hungry again. And when hungry people are forced into a corner, well, they rise and fight. There's nothing to lose anymore.

    Are you hungry??

    As for CSJ, the damn fool agitates for a cause that's not suitable for the time, so he's screwed. You've got to be at the right place at the righ time, with the right brains and luck to see you thru...well, like LKY.

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  4. yeap i agree the opposition are dumb silent when they are not barking up the wrong tree and that is quite strange actually.

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  5. the soviet union can disappeared overnight. saddam hussein, marcos and suharto too went off overnight. don't bet on any system to last forever. it can go over night too.

    when all the prices are up, money gets smaller, and if there is a financial crisis, things can turn wild.

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