• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

SM Goh, please love your country more than the PAP

by onlinecitizen
28/07/2008
in Current Affairs
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0

Choo Zheng Xi / Editor-in-Chief

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong recently addressed grassroots leaders at a National Day event in Hougang. In his address, he gave Hougang grassroots leaders an idea of how to play the role of an effective “opposition” in the ward. He suggested that they:

“Study the annual accounts of the town council to ensure that the funds are properly used. Check whether the arrears for S&C (service and conservancy) charges are piling up, and eating into their reserves. Make sure that enough money is put aside for cyclical maintenance.”

Whether wittingly or not, Mr Goh unveiled the blatantly political purpose of grassroots organizations. It is also doubly unfortunate that he chose a National Day event to openly encourage this politicization: surely Singapore is larger than the People’s Action Party (PAP) and its supporters?

For Party or Community?

The People’s Association (PA) is the umbrella organization that funds all grassroots organizations. The PA website states that its mission is to “bring people together to take ownership of and contribute to community well-being” and strengthen racial harmony ties. Nowhere in its mission statement do we see Mr Goh’s goal of keeping the PAP in power.

The ideal of community bonding at the grassroots level is a noble one: a strong community spirit facilitates mutual assistance. The value of this mutual assistance should not be underestimated in our densely populated living environment. Strong community bonding can make our spatially challenged habitats not just tolerable, but enjoyable.

One of the touching examples of community spirit is the Seletar Chronice (http://seletarchronicle.com/), a newsletter set up by the residents of Seletar to highlight community events and news. This is done completely on the resident’s initiative, without prompting by a PA sponsored Resident’s Committee (RC). Some posts highlight the wildlife treks around the area, and one post nostalgically reminicises about old friends who grew up in the area but who have since moved away:

“All say that living in Seletar were among the sweetest days of their lives for the nature and the community, and the sense of historical continuity. They have settled elsewhere and made other lives, but Seletar still holds that special place for them”.

How much of such genuine community building spirit is lost when the energies of RCs are spent doing dirt-digging on the political opposition? Good Singaporeans who are passionate about creating activities for the benefit of their communities, but who do not want to involve themselves in partisan politics, will naturally be put off grassroots work. This is a pity.

Nation before Party

Mr Goh was, in my opinion, right in his criticism of Mr Low for not providing Singaporeans with an alternative to the PAP system of government, and too narrowly defining his role as that of a watchdog.

Still, frustration with the opposition aside, Mr Goh was speaking to the wrong audience at the wrong event. He was not speaking to PAP cadres at a party strategy planning forum. He was speaking at a National Day event, and Singapore consists of more than the 66.6% of the population that voted for the PAP.

One can’t help feeling there is something self-serving behind the PAP’s consistent blurring of the lines between State and Party. Lampposts are festooned with National Day banners bearing the faces of PAP Members of Parliament (MP).

While I understand that these people are faces of the elected government of The Republic of Singapore, surely there is much that Singaporeans identify more with than MPs they hardly know the names of.

On a practical level, we must question where the funds to print such banners comes from. Does it come from a general pool of money that has been set aside for National Day celebrations? If so, why are there no banners provided for opposition wards Hougang and Potong Pasir? Why are such funds being utilized to finance a subliminal annual election campaign?

This self-serving tendency needs to be controlled. There are more appropriate platforms for electioneering than our Nation’s birthday. National Day electioneering emotionally disenfranchises the 33.3% of Singaporeans that voted against the PAP, and the hundreds of thousands of other voters who would have if their electoral wards were not walkovers.

Regardless of how viscerally we dislike the PAP, there is much to love about our country and the communities we live in. I wish people like SM Goh would make it easier for people who dislike the PAP to identify with and love our country without having to associate it with partisan politics.

——————

Read also: “Why so silent, PAP Town Councils?” by Andrew Loh.

——–

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Malaysian court sentences man to 1,050 years’ jail, 24 strokes of the cane, for raping stepdaughter 105 times
AFP

Thai court jails activist for 28 years jail for royal defamation

26/01/2023
Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall
Community

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

26/01/2023
KKH’s lack of continuous monitoring baby’s vital signs “was not ideal”, said State Coroner
Health

KKH’s lack of continuous monitoring baby’s vital signs “was not ideal”, said State Coroner

26/01/2023
Dozens of COVID protesters still behind bars in China: HRW
AFP

Dozens of COVID protesters still behind bars in China: HRW

26/01/2023
8 dead, including 6 Chinese nationals, after ship sinks near Japan
AFP

8 dead, including 6 Chinese nationals, after ship sinks near Japan

26/01/2023
“党籍不会过期失效”  前进党称已就党籍终止知会卡拉
Health

Nurse disabled permanently after vaccine injury and sacked by SGH; Did the hospital advise her to apply for VIFAP?

26/01/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Malaysian court sentences man to 1,050 years’ jail, 24 strokes of the cane, for raping stepdaughter 105 times

Thai court jails activist for 28 years jail for royal defamation

26/01/2023
Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

26/01/2023
KKH’s lack of continuous monitoring baby’s vital signs “was not ideal”, said State Coroner

KKH’s lack of continuous monitoring baby’s vital signs “was not ideal”, said State Coroner

26/01/2023
Dozens of COVID protesters still behind bars in China: HRW

Dozens of COVID protesters still behind bars in China: HRW

26/01/2023
8 dead, including 6 Chinese nationals, after ship sinks near Japan

8 dead, including 6 Chinese nationals, after ship sinks near Japan

26/01/2023
“党籍不会过期失效”  前进党称已就党籍终止知会卡拉

Nurse disabled permanently after vaccine injury and sacked by SGH; Did the hospital advise her to apply for VIFAP?

26/01/2023
Man and 2-year-old daughter fell into hole in bridge at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, “seconds away from drowning”

Man and 2-year-old daughter fell into hole in bridge at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, “seconds away from drowning”

26/01/2023
Ruling on Trump ban marks defining moment for Facebook panel

Meta says Trump to be allowed back on Facebook, Instagram

26/01/2023

Trending posts

Ho Ching breaks silence over Temasek’s write down of its US$275 million investment in FTX, says it “can afford to be contrarian”

US regulator questions VCs’ due diligence work prior to investing in FTX; Ho Ching says Temasek can afford to be contrarian

by The Online Citizen
24/01/2023
27

...

Two Indian nationals paid about S$330 and S$730 respectively for forged certificates submitted in their S-Pass application

MOM found issuing EPs meant for foreign PMETs to PRC waitress and general worker

by Correspondent
26/01/2023
26

...

SM Goh, please love your country more than the PAP

by onlinecitizen
28/07/2008
0

...

“党籍不会过期失效”  前进党称已就党籍终止知会卡拉

AGC asked to explain purposes of 68 private letters of inmates illegitimately forwarded to prosecutors

by The Online Citizen
21/01/2023
16

...

Indian rupee falls 60% since signing of CECA while Singapore becomes top investor in India

by Correspondent
25/01/2023
34

...

“党籍不会过期失效”  前进党称已就党籍终止知会卡拉

Has HDB flats become “more affordable” by “selling” at a shorter lease of 50-years?

by Leong Szehian
25/01/2023
18

...

July 2008
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
« Jun   Aug »
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
  • Contact Us

© 2006 - 2021 The Online Citizen

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2006 - 2021 The Online Citizen

wpDiscuz