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In a press statement issued by the National Solidarity Party (NSP) , penned by its Secretary-General, Lim Tean, the party calls for the Group Representation Constituency system (GRC) to be torn down so that true democracy can take root in Singapore.
In the original stated purpose of GRCs that was created in 1988, it was to guarantee a minimum representation of minorities in Parliament and ensure that there would always be a multiracial Parliament instead of one made up of a single race.
The full press statement of NSP on the GRC system
The Bukit Batok By-Election yesterday was noteworthy for the following reasons;
First, it makes total nonsense of the PAP’s continued claim that the Group Representation Constituency system (GRC) is required to ensure the election of minority candidates into Parliament. The election of the PAP minority candidate in Bukit Batok , and many others before him such as Michael Palmer in Punggol East in 2011 and JB Jeyeratnam in Anson in 1980 show that Singaporeans are not averse to electing minority candidates. The PAP’s continued insistence on the GRC system reeks of political deception at its crudest; nothing more than a mechanism to entrench its power by parachuting unworthy PAP candidates into Parliament.
One of the most glaring and egregious example of the cynical use of the GRC system is to be found in Tampines GRC , where the minority member of the GRC is the Environment Minister himself . It is clear that his role in the GRC, together with that of the Finance Minister is to shepherd 3 other PAP candidates into Parliament to make up the PAP numbers.
There is absolutely no basis to contend that the Environment Minister is unable to be elected without the GRC system. If indeed he is unable to get elected on his own accord in a Single Member Constituency (SMC) , then he should not be in Parliament .
We call on Singaporeans to demand that the PAP put an end to the GRC system immediately, so that true democracy can take root in Singapore.
Second, the Bukit Batok results demonstrate that the Singapore voter will punish the PAP for its brand of gutter politics, which has become the hallmark of its election strategy. The Singaporean voter has no appreciation for character assassins, who do nothing to elevate our political discourse.
Finally, the Bukit Batok results confirm our belief that the results of GE2015 were an aberration, due to SG50 and the death of Lee Kuan Yew, which the PAP took maximum advantage of. It is clear that the policies of the PAP are rejected by at least 40 % of Singaporeans.
The NSP is greatly encouraged by the Bukit Batok by-election results, and we call on all our volunteers and supporters to step up their efforts to engage Singaporeans and to spread the message of our Party, so that we will make the breakthrough in the next election and be elected into Parliament to serve the people of Singapore.