Han Fook Kwang continued with the discussion on the future of the PAP in
his Sunday morning discourse. He said he had spoken to some people and
the feedback, ‘there is a sizable group of Singaporeans who say they
supported the PAP in the early years but now feel it isn’t the party
they knew’. The Party thinks they are still the same party, wearing
white and still with the same mission and fire in the belly as the Party
in 1954.
Refreshing on what Ho Kwon Ping said last week, the people he talked to
all did not want a change of govt, but would want to vote opposition. I
too spoke to some people and the feedback was that many would rather
vote the opposition. It is clear that the answer will depend on who you
talk to or who are your friends.
The three different scenarios clearly show that it is who you are mixing
with, the kind of people you keep as friends or acquaintance that will
tell you the kind of things you want to hear. It is also a reflection of
who you are comfortable with, what is inside your head. Sure, birds of
the same feathers flocked together.
For people who are just crystal ball gazing, who are just observers of
the political scene, there is nothing much to it to keep the companies
they kept and sharing the same stories and political jokes. They would
have their fun jabbing at one another and feeling good about what they
said and their views.
For people who are making decisions based on things they heard from the
friends or people that are feeding them the information, it is a very
serious matter. For each group of people will tell a different set of
stories. The doomsayers will tell them the end is near. The bootlickers
will say more better years ahead, the ground is sweeter. But none will
tell the whole truth, but what they believed or what they want to tell,
or what they think the listener would want to hear. The important thing
is to make the master happy with their anticipation of good news flowing
freely and pleasing to the ears. George found out too late. At least he
found out, the hard way.
You are what you are, from the company you keep. You are what you are,
from what you hear and what and how you react to the whisperers.
One can also say a political party is the company it keeps. Woe behold
the political party that is infested with fortune seekers and those that
go with the flow. But the delusion, they believe they have the most
righteous and morally upright people with them, selfless and not self
serving, all eagerly and desperately wanting to serve the people.
Kopi Level - Red
RB, you might be missing the thrust of the recent deluge of speeches, forums, op-ed pieces in the MSM about how the majority of citizens would like to vote for the opposition but do not want a change of government. These hacks want you to believe that it is dangerous to vote the opposition because it may result in a "freak" election result. When that happens, extra-legal steps can be justified to reflect "the will of the people", like calling in the armed forces. Ho Kwon Ping dodged this question recently, a question posed by Catherine Lim to LKY some years ago which failed to receive a response from the great man. It has happened in Myannmar, etc. Are they laying the ground for such an eventuality in GE2016?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteUsually, people don't say ALL that they think.
Therefore, don't believe ALL that you hear.
The old man thinks, pinky thinks, the whole PAP thinks and their hard-core supporters think, and still does, that the PAP is the same party as in 1954, and that what they did then, must be considered as 'their legacy' that warrants our continued support, when we know that that legacy has been totally negated and does not exist anymore.
ReplyDeleteHow did Han Fook Kwang, with all his years as a journalist, only now and ONLY after getting feedback by speaking to some people, thinks the PAP is different? Towing too much of the line, as all journalist do, has numbed their skulls that they cannot pick up the signals despite spending their whole working years digging for news on the ground.
The uniqueness of the Singapore electorate, whereby many don't want a change in government but want increased opposition. In my view this is perhaps the largest group out there and will be the one that decides electoral results. It is no coincidence the WP, seen as the most similar to PAP but willing to voice up on alternative issues, are the ones who have made the biggest inroads.
ReplyDeleteTherein lies the difference with Singapore and other countries. In other countries, people vote for who they want as government. Here, many vote opposition to send a statement to the government, but do not want them out.
Please lah...supporting particular politicians and their parties doesn't automatically make you all "friends". You cheapen the word "friends" lah.
ReplyDeleteThe word" friends" has already been cheapened by social networks like Facebook. Having 5000 "friends" on Facebook is no big deal. But in the real world it is impossible.
So lucky that I did not call Matilah my friend. It will cheapen the word for sure : )
ReplyDelete@rb:
ReplyDeleteNever mind. Because of my unrepentant asshole nature, I have very few real friends -- i.e. people who "get it" and "get me" -- and most of them are not visible on the net.
Then there are about 80% of the world's population who have "imaginary friends", which lends weight to the claim that most people are delusional and therefore better be "caveat emptor" when dealing with them.
One thing is for certain, I don't come to your blog to make friends...but you already knew that ;-)
I still remember this quote: There is no such thing as a permanent friend, only permanent enemies. I think it was from one opposition politician, but I can't pinpoint who.
ReplyDeleteMati-lah is right. The kind of friends that some people claimed on facebook, by the thousands, is all a farce. Everything has been cheapened, including money.
I think PAP is not too bad lah - but only need to remove a few very greedy ones. I think we all know who they are.
ReplyDelete"whereby many don't want a change in government but want increased opposition."
ReplyDelete- government never change one lah, they are all run by mafias in disguise as ministers whether in this small island or all over the world.
The best thing for Singapore is for the opposition to win the election and after that, the PAP will become a strong opposition party. We will finally get the check and balance that has been missing for the past few decades, and has been responsible for the drastic decay in this country.
ReplyDeleteCalling this a "freak election result" is a dishonest attempt to scare voters. Similarly the claim that opposition is not ready to form a government is also false. All over the world, the ruling party has been overthrown and the government taken over by fresh blood. In Singapore, this can only be for the good.
continue from above...
ReplyDeleteIn Singapore, our fresh blood are Low Thia Khiang, Lina Chiam, Tan Jee Say and so on. These are all honest and competent people. I have every confidence that they can govern Singapore well.