The role of an MP is about law making, about national issues and
policies, about running the country, about serving the people. It is
definitely not about running a Town Council. A Town Council, or whatever
you choose to call it, must be a public service not different from
other govt services. The people did not vote an MP to run Town Councils
and be involved in the nitty gritty details that he has no time for more
important matters like attending in Parliament. An MP can head a Town
Council, to give it direction, to make sure it run well to serve the
people. But the operations of the Town Council must be managed by a team
of professionals, not a mix match team to be brought together after an
election without continuity.
The MP can be there to ensure that the Town Council serves the people
fairly and equally. He should be out of the administrative role, to take
the Town Council to task if it does not serve the people and not be
taken to task as an administrator of the Town Council. It would be very
tough it the MP, a politician, may he be a lawyer, a doctor, a vet, a
singer, a soldier, or whatever, be made to run a Town Council as his
primary duty.
An MP’s primary duty is in the Parliament. If he cannot be in
Parliament, he should not be a Member of Parliament. If he is absent
from Parliament most of the time, if he his bogged down by the routine
of running a Town Council, how can he serve effectively as a Member of
Parliament? You don’t call an MP a Town Council Chairman or Manager, but
a Member of Parliament. The people did not go to the polling station to
elect a Town Council Manager. They went to the polls to elect their
representatives to the Parliament.
The PAP has a different view on this. They want an MP to be first a Town
Council Manager, to be able to run a Town Council, as a test to
eventually run the country. I quote Boon Wan, ‘…the Town Councils Act
has a wider strategic objective of testing parties aspiring to form the
national government, by running a town council to first prove their
competency.’ This is like telling everyone that he needs to get a degree
as a test of his ability to be successful in life or to run the country
as a national leader. Is this a logical argument and expectation?
WP said they are not going to form the govt. So can they be excuse from
running a Town Council when there is no aspiration to be the govt? So
are many independent candidates that would not even dream of running a
govt as an individual. Chiam See Tong has wasted more than 20 years of
his time running Town Council, an impediment that prevented him from
devoting fully to law making when he cannot dream of forming the govt.
What is the primary duty of an MP? Running his clinic, running his law
firm, running his business, be directors here and there, running Town
Councils and neglecting his duties in Parliament or no time even to
attend Parliament that sat for a few days a few times in a year?
What is happening? Running Town Council as a pre requisite to be an MP
necessary? I can’t help it when my head keeps shaking. National leaders
are not necessary the kind of people that are good at running town
councils, running sports associations, running clan associations or
trade unions, definitely not necessary to be a successful lawyer or
doctor. National leaders are people that have a passion to want to serve
the people, to give the people a better life, people with a vision and a
political will to make the ministries work towards that goal. What they
need is a clear vision, to see the bigger picture of country and
people, not about running town councils or squabbling over petty issues.
They should be looking at national issues, at problems that involved
hundreds of millions or billions, not a few dollars. They must have the
helicopter ability, the bird’s eye view of things and not be bogged down
by the daily grind of administrative procedures of a town council. The
heart must be in the right place, and a really big and good heart with a
passion to serve the people.
What do you think? Should an MP be turned into an administrator instead
of a law maker, instead of a Member of Parliament? If he is so busy with
Town Council matters, with his own business, where got time to be in
Parliament to tackle national issues and law making? It is a joke that
after paying the MPs such a big sum of money they could not find time to
attend Parliament sessions.
A politician/MP's role should be as a check and balance on the govt and all the govt agencies. A politician/MP should not be put in a position to be checkmate in an administrative role.
31 comments:
"Should an MP be turned into an administrator instead of a law maker, instead of a Member of Parliament? If he is so busy with Town Council matters, with his own business, where got time to be in Parliament to tackle national issues and law making?"
So now you know why Singaporeans must be kept busy doing wayang and national service.
Either the PAPigs keep us busy and make us work hard
OR
we are not so busy and got time to make the PAPig Millionaires work hard.
Got any $8 mechanical ventilator or not ah?
Totally agreed, I written and talked to a lots of my friends about this nonsense duty of our $16K MP. The duty of a MP is first and foremost to the Parliament.
We Should have Five elected Mayors N,S,E,W and central. Dr Koh so like to be son of Punggol East can go and run for Mayor of Northern Region. That will cover Ang Mo Kio too and he did not to hop around to be a MP. Currently, the appointed Mayors are doing nothing much except being seen to give schoolarships and help here and there. The elected Major can serve as a training ground for hopeful young politicians to manage local issues first! Then he can run for MP to dicuss about national issues.
Mr Mah, Raymond Lim and Wong Kang Seng are wasting their times. Hardly see them.
Last, MP to be full time, not holding directorship here and there and they work closely with Mayor too to bring up local issues in the Parliament.
Finally, we are so rich that we can definitely pay them full time pay!
New York City with a population of 8.4 million only got one mayor leh.
Are 5 PAP mayors more productive?
How much is a PAP mayor paid?
New York City mayor is entitled to salary of US$225Ka year or S$306K a year.
"What is the role of a MP?"
RB
The role of an MP will be defined by the incumbent govt, and in a way that will have great advantages over an MP which is not from the incumbent ruling party.
Limpeh kalikong and 93% tiok.
The way that is set up is to trip the wp mah
Do correct me, if I am wrong.
What's being said here by Chin Leng aka Redbean should had been raised by the Pioneer Batch of Alternative Party Parliamentarians such as JB Jeyaretnam, Chaim See Tong, Lim How Dong and the Current MPs in Workers Party who are Legal Eagles such as Sylvia Lim, Chen Show Mao and Pritam Singh etc. Why did they not look at their roles as MPs as defined by Chin Leng here?
I could only surmised that the Politicians in Sin are an UNENLIGHTENED LOT.
Parliamentarians' sole duty is to make the People as safe and happy as they(Parliamentarians) want and wish for themselves. They are to make Laws to provide maximun justice to one and all and that they themselves come under the Jurisdiction. They shall do their best to prosper the Country whilst upholding justice and guide the People towards achieving the goal of happiness for the Nation as a whole.
As enumerated by Chin Leng, the Parliamentarians are to ensure that the Civil Setvice under the Charge of the Government shall fulfill their Duties so as to achieve the Goal set by the Parliamentarians collectively known as the Government.
PAP MPs have hitherto behave as Rulers, calling the Shots and making decisions that benefit their own Party and its' Members. Laws are formulated with hardly much consultation, rwferendum and or consensus from the Electorate. Laws are passed arbitrarily by their(PAP) Majority Representatives.
Although the PAP claims that they work their best for the People and the Country, the Ground Sentiment does NOTseem to share the Claim.
Anyway, I would like to suggest that Chin Leng send this Article to all the Local Newspapers for publications in their Forums.
patriot
When PAP for so many donkey years held all seats in Parliament and even have lost one seat to JBJ, where got Town Councils???
Later even to CST, also no Town Council. It's when they lost two seats to SDP, that they planned TCs to pluck the Opposition.
They want them to look bad in not running the TCs as they are inexperience in the first place and NO COOPERATION from all government agencies in the second place.
They made things really difficult for the Opposition wards. Even Opp MPs sat besides rubbish bins to meet the People's sessions.
The HDB should be the running the TCs as they had done all the years since time immemorial they built the public flats.
Also, residents where got pay extra funds for sinking into the Lehman Bros and Sisters scam??
The MP primary duty is firstly looked after the welfare of its constituents that had voted for him.
Secondly, to address National issues that affect the lives of all Singaporeans on the National Front.
Regardless, they are from the ruling or Opp parties, their main role is to speak out for all Singaporeans with a clear conscience.
WHAT'S THE POINT OF SWEARING ON THE OATH IF YOU DO NOT DO IT WITH A CLEAR CONSCIENCE???
The brave ones must do what is expected of them even if they are been sacked by their Leaders.
God got eyes, people also got eyes!
Hi lim chai yen, welcome to the blog.
The wayang must come to an end. Sinkies are not daft. Just do not want to say out loud. Everyone is sneering at the AHPETC saga.
apologies, wrong spelling, repost.
Just added this para at the end of the article.
'A politician/MP's role should be as a check and balance on the govt and all the govt agencies. A politician/MP should not be put in a position to be checkmate in an administrative role.'
@ Chin Keng
The Added Last Paragraph is redundant IF the Parliamentarians functiin with integrity and work towards the Good for the People and the Country.
IF THEY ARE ROTTEN, THEN THE GOVERNMENT IS ROTTEN AS WELL FOR IT IS THEY WHO FORM THE GOVERNMENT.
SO, WHO CHECKS THE GOVERNMENT?
ULTIMATELY IT GOT TO BE THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES, BY ELECTING THE RIGHT LEADERS.
patriot
My apology for typo mistake in 'Cin Keng' which should read 'Chin Leng'.
patriot
A politician/MP should not be put in a position to be checkmate in an administrative role.'
RB 10:35 am
But it is not a matter of should not but rather and sadly, for sure will happen if the politician/MP is from a party which is not, and also don't want to be, ready to be govt and only has 7% seats in Parliament.
By not being ready to be govt, the WP has already checkmate themselves and by the 60%, not to mention by the powerful PAP.
And in the wider perspective, it is the smart and rich Sinkies who checkmate the daft and suffering Sinkies by not joining the opposition to become strong and ready to be a better and more caring govt as compared to PAP.
"And in the wider perspective, it is the smart and rich Sinkies who checkmate the daft and suffering Sinkies by not joining the opposition..."
Anon 10:55 am
Tiok. The smart and rich Sinkies need to be in the opposition to form a better alternative govt, and which really needs smart Sinkies in order to do so.
Daft, suffering and money no enough Sinkies cannot even take care of themselves, so how to vote them to become govt even if they join opposition in large numbers, u tell me lah?
But then under PAP, smart Sinkies can make lots of money, so why would they want to join opposition, u tell me lah?
That's why PAP knows, Teochew Ah knows, Sinkie opposition will never be ready to be govt and be a threat to PAP.
Mr Red Bean,
Thanks for the warm Welcome!
I agree with you that imminent
great changes are lining up to
happen. The signs are all there.
From the look of it, the Old Man
may not last till next year.
His useless Son, who within 10
years put the country in a big
mess, is now trying to recover
from his second bout of cancer.
How will this turn out, nobody
is the wiser, not even the
doctors and professionals. There
may be another relapse of his
cancer illness.
We can already witness how he had
behaved during the last six twelve
months. The impact of his prostate
cancer on his psychological and
emotional health must have been
very great. So much so he had
made many irrational decisions,
such as:
1. Suing Roy for defamation and
charging him for another "offence",
2. Charging people for illegal
assembly, for using the Hong Lim
Park, a gazetted area specially
for free speech, crowd gathering
and assembly, protests, etc.
3. Using public funds to buy
buses for a private company SMRT,
which is under Temasek Holdings,
indirectly helping his own wife;
4. Making irrational speech at
PAP's 60th Anniversary such as
"fighting for life and death";
5. Keep praising foreigners to
the extent telling Singaporeans
to learn from people of 3rd
World Country, thereby degrading
and undermining our 1st World
Status;
6. Constantly belittling and
insulting local Singaporeans, his
own citizens and voters, for
this and that, even to the extent
of accusing them of littering
without seeing it with his own
eyes.
7. Biting upon WP like a mad dog
refusing to let go, because
of the AHPETC accounts, without
looking back into PAP's own
Town Councils' failures and
inadequacies, especially on their
mindless investment of the TCs'
public funds on toxic products
and suffered very heavy loses,
and the AIM's $1 company that
bought the accounting system for
a song, thereby depriving WP from
using it to manage their accounts
in AHPETC.
8. Continues to open the flood
gate for foreign trash to come
in to compete for our jobs, and
make our lives and livelihood
more and more difficult.
9. Allowing HDB prices for flats
to continue to rise, despite
cooling measures imposed. Why?
Because HDB and Temasek are the
culprits for the increase in sale
prices and rental in order to
maximize their profits and
increase the GDP, and their
bonuses.
10. Etc.
And in the mean time, the pressure
cooker continues to boil at full
steam. New Citizenship are given
continuously without respite,
though assurances were made to
pacify the daft and idiot.
Oblivious to the sufferings of
the lower and middle income
families, the elites and
scholar-generals continue to enjoy
their keeps and hope for more of
the same - cheaper, faster and better.
The Singapore Dollar is dwindling
and the Economy is on the down
slide.
Just look at this Lunar
New Year. The streets were
deserted like Ghost Town. New
Year's Eve businesses were only
about 60% to 70% of previous year.
PAP leaders have displayed in
Parliament recently that they are
really sore losers. Only one GRC
lost and they lost their direction
and purpose of existence.
Forgetting about serving the
people, PAP employed Destructive
instead of Constructive Politics
to try to destroy WP in
Parliament. This is contrary to
what President Tony Tan had
told them NOT TO DO in His
Parliament Opening Speech.
Really, I simply don't understand
what the hell PAP leaders are
trying to do - so immature, so
unprofessional, so crude and
ungentlemanly, so vicious and
vindictive, totally unbecoming
of Members of Parliament.
Representatives of the People - my foot!
I am sure MORE things are brewing
within the PAP's machinery.
What can the ordinary
Singaporeans do? For how long can
the pressure cooker keep boiling?
' This is contrary to what President Tony Tan told them NOT TO DO....'.
Tony Tan is only a window-dressing president and he is a president courtesy of PAP.
Btw, Tony Tan is no different from Pappies which he was a member of the Pack and they did their best ti make him the President of Sin.
What's the Track Record of Tony Tan when he headed GIC?
patriot
Bi polar!
God is so kind. With so many warning signs, still don't want to repent and do good.
That's the problem - the current government is nothing but a big administrator.
Hence it wants the MPs to be administrators
It does not have any vision for the country, now or in the future :(
"For how long can the pressure cooker keep boiling?"
Hell Rider 12:50 pm
For as long as the Sinkie opposition is not ready to be govt. This is about the only thing that is holding back the 60% from voting the PAP out. Because for daft and suffering Sinkies, things were already as bad, if not worse, in last GE than now.
And if the opposition is still not ready by next GE, I bet the outcome will be about the same as last GE. Maybe even better % votes for PAP, because the PAP govt now is also better than the PAP govt of 2011.
For 60% Sinkies, between PAP and the Sinkie opposition, it was the choice of the lesser of 2 evils for the past 10 to 15 years, and still is. Before that, it was a clear choice between good (PAP) and evil (opposition).
Because now, even for the star WP CSM, given his pathetic performance in Parliament since being elected MP, I cannot imagine him to become a better PM than the lack lustre Pinky.
Even the comparable Hainan Ah Ko was rejected by the majority Sinkies, getting less than 40% votes from Sinkies in not one but 2 elections that he contested. Hence from these past precedents, I do not place much hope of Aung Juan Soon Chee being elected this coming GE. Or even if elected, can do any better as MP.
What do u think? Is my analysis rational?
/// What is the role of a MP? ///
Collecting $15,000 a month, tuang Parliament sittings and doing nothing.
"Just look at this Lunar
New Year. The streets were
deserted like Ghost Town."
Hell Rider 12:50 pm
This is because Sinkies now, especially the younger ones, are no more that traditional lah, unlike last time.
Some more ah, if got money, every day can be like Chinese New Year what, tio bo?
And if got no money, where got mood to celebrate?
So Hell rider, your observations are right but maybe not your conclusions.
For the 4 days of CNY, it was so quiet in the morning up to 9am. Could not hear a sound. Dead silence.
I also noticed something. A lot of the Chinese lion dances are performed by those who look non Chinese.
Also foreign Indian/Bangla workers and maids queued to buy bak kwa.
"That's the problem - the current government is nothing but a big administrator. ...It does not have any vision for the country, now or in the future."
February 23, 2015 2:46 pm
- this PAPig gahmen got a vision for the future.
- unfortunately you the singaporean is not part of that vision or future.
- is it time to pull the plug on this gahmen yet?
See WP CSM in Parliament budget session.??
Looking bored and disinterested.
SIGH
@ Virgo49
You give LKY 50 years.
You give LHL 10 years.
Why you don't give CSM the same chance?
Double standard is it?
PAP is making a mockery out of all
their MPs. None of them speak out
for the common people, their
constituents, their voters. They
only speak up for themselves or
their Party or for the Government.
When come to voting for certain issue,
regulation, law or amendment to
the Constitution, none of them
dared to go against their Big Boss.
PAP has turned the Parliament into
a wayang stage to rubber stamp
whatever they want, in order to
benefit themselves and their Party.
There is no diversification, imagination,
creativity, innovation, thinking
out of the box, crossing of boundaries, mavericks, champions
for the ordinary Singaporeans.
Most of them are nothing but a
bunch of echos, devoid of a mind
of their own.
Really sad, very very sad,
Post a Comment