1/25/2011
Shock waves and tsunamis in the next GE
The PAP election machinery is whirring as it should be and everything is running as per normal. Every single step is as planned, like the last election, like the election before the last election. The efficiency is time proven and nothing will go wrong.
The electoral electoral boundaries have been redrawn, electoral list finalized, the new MPs are being interviewed, the grassroots all activated and ready to go. Next will be the budget which will send the MPs going oohs and ahhs, the best budget of the century, a people’s budget, everyone should be happy. Where on earth can one find such a good govt?
The people can expect something real big this time, big pay rise, bigger bonuses, bigger angpows. Maybe not as big as the $300k I wish for as it is unlikely that the govt will print $600b like the Americans to give away. But it will be damn big.
But will there be shock waves and tsunamis? I personally think there will be plenty and many coming from the PAP itself. Let me guess what the shock waves will be.
1. The yodas will be gone. The PAP can’t be talking about a younger set of leaders and advising other countries to have younger leaders while it hangs on to all the yodas with some becoming centurions soon. LKY and Jayakumar will likely be dropped.
2. Shock wave Two could see the dropping of ministers without portfolios. With the huge pay package, it is very difficult to justify to the people why ministers without a ministry to run should still be paid that kind of money. Zorro is the exception as the NTUC is a national institution, as large as any ministry. Chok Tong and Boon Heng’s positions should be hanging on a thread.
3. The third shock wave must be the dropping of ministers that are sure goners. Whether the PAP drops them or they stand for election, they will not be in the next govt. It is thus a tough decision for Hsien Loong, dropping the ministers or losing them together with the GRCs and the team of MPs.
4. The next shock wave will be the dropping of young MPs who are no longer interested in politics or are not perceived to be with the people. Reviewing their attendance in Parliament sittings will give one an idea of who would want to be dropped.
From the opposition camp, the shock wave will come when they are able to contest every single ward and every GRC. And the bigger shock is that many professionals and credible and able candidates are coming out to stand.
The biggest shock wave will come when the election result is announced. I was gazing very hard at my crystal ball and all I saw was smoke. I could not figure it out. It was so tumultuous and earth shaking that the crystal ball went poop after that. It could not take the shock of what was coming. Looks like a tsunami hitting the political scene.
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9 comments:
I think for this election, I will for once forego my tub of popcorns and exotic beer. Instead, I will have a double whiskey, neat, to steady the nerves.
I will be sitting on the edge of my chair and biting my fingernails, gasping in utter disbelief as the results are announced in stilted monotones in the still of the night. Far away in the distance, someone's dog barked in approbation.
Prior to that, I hope someone will stand up from an opposing camp for election to the office of the next President. If that happens, I hope that our beloved incumbent will gamely run for another term of office to give moral authority to the next office bearer in case the newbie wins just because the people wants a change for a breath of fresh air. In this regard, I suggest that a younger man, probably in his forties should run so that his responsibilities and duties can be carried out with the vigour and vitality not to mention the cerebral agility expected of him.
We live in exciting times.
For the presidency, they have erected so many barricades, it is a shame. With all the conditions, what is left is a handful of yodas to pick from.
Some guidelines are necessary, but these must be reasonable and not be so prohibitive that only the top civil servants and honchos are eligible. It deprives the right of all citizens from standing for office.
In the darkest part of my personality -- the one that loves history and all the political intrigue which forms the narrative of human society, I'm hoping the PAP get thrown out, and an hard- left social democrats get in.
Many Singaporeans -- especially those "educated" (??) at the elite liberal Ivy League -- have been clamouring for years for "demo-Crazy", state welfarism on every level, and "special rights for locals".
The basis of these special rights for locals is based on the FACT that your mother's vagina happened to be in S'pore territory when you came shooting out -- screaming, naked and covered in mother-slime.
Fuck it. If it is socialism and a nanny-cradle-to-grave-government they want, they ought to go that way.
If you surf over to the Temasek Review, Online Citizen, as well as the forum of the Lame Stream Media you'll get a sense of how stupid the average voter really is, and why considering not voting seems to be a sensible option.
Anyway, all the actors in the political theater need to learn some lessons that are best taught by the experience -- the negative experience one gets when one acts on belief and faith instead of evidence and reason.
The People Always Get The Government They Deserve. And they Deserve To Get It Good And Hard.
When they throw out the lollipops and candies on February 18th, all the shocks will be taken care of.
The biggest shock will be their retaining the same number of seats. Or even more.
We live in same old, same old times.
kuan yew will be dropped etc etc - only in your wildest dreams. as for the PAP getting a lower percentage of votes - more possible, but still a pretty wild dream. easier to win the Spore Sweep.
matilah is quite right when he says that the ordinary voter is stupid (daft is more fashionable, matilah). mostly they don't think, generally they don't know, for sure the reasoning is wonky.
but we've muddled through before, tho at the time, people hadn't been brainwashed and still thought, though they weren't as highly 'educated', and we'll manage again.
hopefully, protest marches won't be needed. but even if they are they will have little impact, since cannot have drums, loud music and shouting. hymns really don't have the same impact.
anon 556
I am not a male homosexual nor metro-sexual (almost the same thing), nor am I a sheep who blindly follows popular convention. Thus I'd never qualify as being "fashionable" person -- not even in the slightest sense.
I tend to be the odd one out -- standing out "like dog's balls" occasionally ;-)
The Flower Vase like position of president is too vital to be held by a non compliant or radical person. He/She must be able to play magic with words, the art of deflecting accountability or absorbing them like a blackhole. Maybe another Malay Singaporeans will be the next president.
The greatest shock will be the PAP wins by a majority of 69% with all the Yodas winning and retaining their seats.
Many cybercitizens will drop their jaws when the election results are announced.
And some will stop blogging after that after having to get to know their fellow compatriots better.
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
I think that you can do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit,
but other than that, this is magnificent blog. An excellent read.
I'll definitely be back.
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