Hi everyone,
Are you tired of our Members of Parliament screwing up or being too secretive? Do you find them not being transparent or accountable in their dealings? Or maybe you feel your MP is not doing enough in your constituency?
Now, you can play an active – and effective – part to hold our MPs to a higher standard.
In Singapore, our MPs are the best-paid part-timers. Even though they are elected to represent the people, and are paid a handsome $14,000 a month, they only spend part of their time carrying out their duties as MPs. The work of running the town is given over to hired-hands, the professional town managers.
The thing is, if our MPs are paid such good remuneration (and for PAP MPs, are guaranteed a win in elections), they should be providing service of the highest quality, standards and expectations. No longer should we be satisfied with non-transparency, non-accountability and coy and meaningless answers from our MPs about issues, as has happened on many occasions this year.
And so, TOC would like to invite all of you to join our new initiative – the Members on Patrol Scheme (MPS). We will have our own MPs on the ground. The intention is a simple one:
Singaporeans who live in the same area will form groups who will keep watch on the issues, events and happenings in their respective constituencies. These will then be relayed back to TOC and TOC will highlight these issues here on this blog.
In effect, it will be ordinary Singaporeans keeping their Members of Parliament on their toes.
The Members on Patrol keeping the Members of Parliament in check.
For example, the recent town council investment saga highlighted the possibility and effectiveness of Singaporeans questioning their MPs directly. In the same way, we can also highlight other issues, even municipal ones.
To join the TOC MPS, simply drop us an email at [email protected] with your name, contact (either handphone or email address) and the constituency in which you are living (please state only the GRC or the SMC).
We will group you together with others in your area and ideas, suggestions and discussions can take place. You can also rope in your friends, families, colleagues to join this scheme.
At the moment, the MPS is made up of TOC members – some 60 or so of them. Help us grow this into a more significant – and more effective – number.
Your contribution and participation may be small but be assured that it is significant. More importantly, you will be part of a larger group of Singaporeans who want to see our MPs doing better and holding them to higher standards of service, accountability and transparency – be they PAP MPs or opposition MPs.
The bottomline is this: If our MPs want to be part-time MPs and be rewarded with such high salaries, then they’d better be doing an exceptional job.
Join us in making this so in 2009 and beyond. Be an MP yourself! Anyone who is a Singaporean is welcome!
Lets not just gripe and feel helpless. We can do something about improving Singapore. Change is what we need and this MPS is but just one small thing we can do in this direction.
Drop us an email and work together with other Singaporeans in your area on this initiative!
Thanks, everyone.
Regards,
Andrew Loh
Managing Editor
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