publichouse.sg

Editorial

The country needs the PAP to introspect and renew itself.

While the unexpectedly comfortable win for the opposition Worker’s Party (WP) in the Punggol East by-election of 26th January has rightly been hailed as a significant political development, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has so far reacted to it with a conspicuous lack of introspection.  Ministers and party leaders have publicly played down the loss as an outlier that does not presage a wider loss of affection for the PAP or its long-term agenda.  That is disappointing, because it is likely that the fiasco came about less through the growth of the WP than by the missteps of the PAP itself.

By Calvin Cheng

The People’s Action Party’s (PAP) biggest nightmare has come true – for the first time in their recent history, they have lost a previously safe seat. The loss of Aljunied was devastating but not unexpected – Aljunied has been closely fought for several elections, with its constituents being part of Cheng San and Eunos GRCs previously. The loss of Hougang was to be expected; Hougang is the Worker’s Party’s (WP) stronghold where it’s Chief, Low Thia Kiang’s aura is impenetrable. But Punngol East’s loss is going to drive a stake into the very soul of the PAP, the very heart of its inner leadership. It is an unmitigated  disaster that will tell the PAP that it has to change, not tweak itself, but fundamentally change. EVERYTHING that used to work is now not working.

In the past, after Lee Kuan Yew had destroyed the opposition and the PAP settled into technocratic dominance of Singapore, the PAP’s winning formula was straightforward. Crunch the numbers, settle on the best most ‘rational’ policy that the statistics suggest, tell the people ‘trust us this is right’, and just get on with implementation. This clearly does not work anymore.

The following note is from the Cyberpioneer Facebook page on Friday, 25 January.

Dr Ng Eng Hen visited ME2 Jason Chee this afternoon. The good news is that he has made progress and no longer needs ICU monitoring. Here are Dr Ng's thoughts on the visit:

Good news. Jason is now well enough and has been transferred to the General ward. We can all take comfort that he has made progress and no longer needs ICU monitoring.

I visited Jason today. His complexion was no longer sallow and he could speak long sentences without becoming breathless. He shared how his Navy mates ferried his father to be with him every day. His doctors and nurses tell me he has turned the corner and is out of immediate danger. Jason, according to them, has endeared himself to all the staff through his cheerfulness and optimism despite his severe accident. He knows the individual names of the medical team taking care of him. Over the weeks, they have bonded. So much so, that the ward staff are having a celebration for his birthday tomorrow.

The following story is from the website: Workfair Singapore.

The deportation was swift and some say, unexpected. Almost as soon as authorities labelled the industrial action that gripped SMRT on the 26th and 27th of November an ‘illegal strike’, 20 drivers from China were rounded up for questioning. They were taken to the Police Cantonment Complex on the 28th of November and held for at least half a day. Some only left the next morning.

Following initial investigations, 29 Chinese drivers were eventually taken into police custody between the 30th of November and the 1st of December, accused of participating in the ‘illegal strike’. The men had their work permits cancelled and were all repatriated on the 2nd of December.

Workfair managed to track down and speak to three of the 29 drivers in separate interviews. Accounts of what led to the work stoppage and what transpired during the ‘illegal strike’ differ. But all three men said they were not given an opportunity to defend themselves before being summarily dismissed from their jobs and sent home.