6/20/2009
Revelation of the MPs
In the follow up to the changes to the political system that is akan datang, ST has a full page report of the views of the ruling MPs on these changes. And the revelation is quite enlightening.
Teo Ser Luck said this, 'We will be thinking in terms of national interest, and less about putting things across because of political points.' He was referring to the Govt Parliamentary Committees which were trying to serve as a check on govt policies in the absence of a significant opposition presence in Parliament.
Both Ser Luck and Amy Khor probably share the same view that it would be a step back if PAP MPs were to censor their views just to toe the party line. For all these years, how much of the MPs views were party lines or to score political points and how much were based on national interests? The two positions may or may not be in conflict, but at times they could.
The other interesting quote from Amy is that, 'When a PAP MP criticises govt policies, he or she is not doing it just for criticism's sake or playing to the gallery.' Well said, Amy. How many had been guilty of criticising for criticism's sake or playing to the gallery?
Anyway, what is the point of having opposition views when they have no right to vote against the bills? Opposing views for the sake of opposing views or playing to the gallery of the public eyes? Can this be all there is to it?
This is best answered by Charles Chong who said, 'Currently, MPs can say whatever they want,...The Party Whip - applies only during voting.' This simply means that the MPs can make all their opposing views, but when come to voting they must vote for the party line. Doesn't this smack of hypocrisy? When one is so against a policy but must vote for the policy?
What is not very enlightening in the report is the comment by Dr Gillian Koh. She said, 'Gone are the days when opposition can say there are so few opportunities. No longer would that excuse be there.' She was referring to the increase of single ward seats from 9 to 12. Hmmm, what kind of logic is that? Didn't she know that once all the seats were single wards? So it is a great concession after taking away all the single seats and now say you can have 3 more from 9? Better say a big thank you to the govt for being so generous and magnanimous.
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11 comments:
We are probably the only country in the world where the political parties, although at loggerheads with each other, as is natural, do not resort to violence, conspiracies, blackmail and so forth to carry out their agenda. Look at what is happening around us in places like Taiwan, Korea, Japan, The Philippines, Myanmar, India......the list is endless.
Here, the opposition is so docile that the ruling party has to think of ways to make parliamentary debate more robust! I am no football fan but it's like Manchester United saying to a much lesser team: "Here, take five of our best players and let's have a more interesting match so that the spectators will not fall asleep!"
WTF!
Yes, some lawsuits were initiated but if you want to stay out of trouble, don't just make insinuations without substance. That's about the most you can suffer. Unlike other countries, you will not disappear in the middle of the night!
Yeh yeh yeh!
Wow!
Lots of fightings but no blow, oh, they are just crosstalks in politics, Sg Style lah !
Seems like there are plenty of violences in the politics of Democratic Nations. Only the Communist Ones are ok.
XnEgNeGoAiiX
hi XnEgNeGoAiiX, i presume this is your nick and not some kind of expression : )
welcome to the blog. politics is always politics. the masses must be able to decipher the real from the unreal, the truth from the wayang.
Dear Redbean,
I came across two quite similar Nicks that resembled Cryptonyms but lack the ability to decipher. So I pick one to emulate to see if there are readers who will react specifically to it. You are the First to have feel it strange though I was intriqued earlier.
My message was b4 the Nick and that is; there are much hot air in our MPs.
XnEgNeGoAiiX
hahaha, well said.
countered each and every nonsense point they said.
hi XnEgNeGoAiiX
i thought it was a coded XENGA : )
actually i feel that what amy khor and teo ser luck were saying is in response to opposition MPs. They are saying that with GPCs, they will b more objective than opposition MPS who are there just to say things to score points, which obviously is more the case with PAP MPs, who are usually fighting over themselves to curry favour and agree with the government's policies.
BlisteringBarnacles
Dear Redbean;
Good Morning ! It is cryptic code alright and only meant for party(ies) intended. I believe one respondent was able to decode and the Two had some good exchanges between them in TOC before. Now one of them may have morped and lurking in Blogoland and may even infiltrate or have infiltrated your sites.
XnEgNeGoAiiX is my Nick here which I copied with some modifications, so, we can keep guessing. In any case, the suspected commenter (was)is never invective and blended in cordially, very amenable at times. He/she seems to do damage controls in Blogoland professionally.
XnEgNeGoAiiX
wow, your revelation is like there is a secret society or gang lurking in blogosphere. i hope they do too much damage to anyone.
and hi BlisteringBarnacles, welcome to the blog. whatever, an opposition is an opposition. anything less is freak.
Oh, it's subtle, it is done beautifully, at times the subjects get shifted without the slightest hint. However, they are too good to be accepted by most netizens who find obnoxious.
These nice commenters that I am alluding to are active at sites that are more critical of governance.
Maybe I conjure up too much or have been too suspicious.
XnEgNeGoAiiX
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