• 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

Does Heng Swee Keat have any original ideas or is he just echoing what Lee Hsien Loong says?

by Ghui
08/07/2020
in Opinion, Politics
Reading Time: 3 mins read
2

First Assistant Secretary-General of the Peoples’ Action Party (PAP), Heng Swee Keat has declared that  the Workers’ Party (WP) was using the prospect of an opposition wipeout to sway voters and win more seats in Parliament. In saying this, Heng seems to be echoing what Secretary-General of the PAP, Lee Hsien Loong had said earlier when he claimed that suggestions by the WP that the PAP could win all 93 contested seats this General Election were an unrealistic outcome and a “tactic” to win seats in the General Election.

Why have Lee and Heng both mentioned this?

In reality, Singapore has been ruled at the incumbent PAP for over 50 years. In fact, Singapore has never had any other Government apart from that formed by the PAP. Not only has the PAP won every single General Election since independence, it has won by a landslide each time. In context, it would appear that the only thing unrealistic here are the seemingly irrational fears of Lee and Heng.

Lee has gone on to warn voters to about how political consensus has frayed in countries that change governments regularly and urged voters not to be being taken in by opposition parties offering an alternative choice to the PAP. Why is there so much fear associated with the PAP campaign?  Fear of opposition party “tactics” on the part of the PAP leadership and now passing on fear to Singaporeans about the “fraying of political consensus”.

Lee’s warning is also not really appropriate for the Singaporean context. Firstly, Singapore has not changed governments regularly. We have had the same political party rule us for over 50 years. Secondly, this is not likely to change. All that might happen is that there are more checks and balances within Parliament.

That, is a good thing. Nothing to be fearful about. A blank cheque for the PAP is far more scary a prospect.

Lee went on to say:

“After a government falls, what follows isn’t a new, more stable equilibrium, but more frequent changes of governments and divisive politicking. People appear to have a choice, but often the more things change, the more they remain the same. These countries have not done better than Singapore,”

Why is he talking about falling governments when nothing is going to fall?

Even if the PAP loses its majority (which it will not), the government will not fall. The PAP is not the government. It is a political party. The PAP can lose every single seat and the government still will not fall. Secondly, a difference in opinion plus more checks and balances in Parliament does not equate to division. We are adults who can have differing opinions, discussion and compromise for the betterment of the whole. That is nothing scary about that.

Every single opposition politician that has addressed this issue has stated clearly that they do not wish to topple the PAP. All they want is for the PAP not to have a super majority. Is Lee incapable of listening? If he can’t even listen at a time when he is campaigning, can he listen after he wins a super majority?

Voters really need to think long and hard about this one.

Lee also urged Singaporeans not to vote for the opposition if what they really want is a PAP government. Again, Lee has missed the point. Everyone is in agreement that the PAP will win the election and form government. It may even win every seat.  The only issue up for debate is whether or not the PAP will win a super majority. So, voters should vote based on whether or not they want to grant the PAP a super majority. Lee is conflating super majority with mandate.

Also, why is Heng echoing Lee like a parrot?

He is predicted to be the next prime minister of Singapore after Lee retires. Shouldn’t he have more original ideas?  This general election is a chance for Heng to display his leadership. Yet, it would appear that all he has done is to bomb in East Coast and repeat after Lee. Is this promising for a future prime minister?

If voters want proper debates in Parliament as opposed to an echo chamber, they should think long and hard about how they choose to exercise their vote.

 

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

Gerald Giam: Providing affordable homes for all Singaporean families
Politics

Gerald Giam: Providing affordable homes for all Singaporean families

08/02/2023
PAP MP Xie Yao Quan counter-grilled by Leon Perera over housing affordability as he tries to nitpick on WP’s Manifesto
Parliament

PAP MP Xie Yao Quan counter-grilled by Leon Perera over housing affordability as he tries to nitpick on WP’s Manifesto

08/02/2023
Louis Chua: Not difficult to see manifestations of the severe demand-supply imbalance in Singapore’s housing market today
People

Louis Chua: Not difficult to see manifestations of the severe demand-supply imbalance in Singapore’s housing market today

08/02/2023
Leon Perera questions Govt if it seriously considered the link between housing affordability and fertility
Politics

Leon Perera questions Govt if it seriously considered the link between housing affordability and fertility

08/02/2023
Ex-Tokyo Olympics official held on alleged bid-rigging: media
AFP

Ex-Tokyo Olympics official held on alleged bid-rigging: media

08/02/2023
About 30,000, not yet tried and convicted, are in Malaysia’s overcrowded prisons of about 76,336 inmates
Civil Society

About 30,000, not yet tried and convicted, are in Malaysia’s overcrowded prisons of about 76,336 inmates

08/02/2023
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
2 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Gerald Giam: Providing affordable homes for all Singaporean families

Gerald Giam: Providing affordable homes for all Singaporean families

08/02/2023
PAP MP Xie Yao Quan counter-grilled by Leon Perera over housing affordability as he tries to nitpick on WP’s Manifesto

PAP MP Xie Yao Quan counter-grilled by Leon Perera over housing affordability as he tries to nitpick on WP’s Manifesto

08/02/2023
Louis Chua: Not difficult to see manifestations of the severe demand-supply imbalance in Singapore’s housing market today

Louis Chua: Not difficult to see manifestations of the severe demand-supply imbalance in Singapore’s housing market today

08/02/2023
Leon Perera questions Govt if it seriously considered the link between housing affordability and fertility

Leon Perera questions Govt if it seriously considered the link between housing affordability and fertility

08/02/2023
Ex-Tokyo Olympics official held on alleged bid-rigging: media

Ex-Tokyo Olympics official held on alleged bid-rigging: media

08/02/2023
About 30,000, not yet tried and convicted, are in Malaysia’s overcrowded prisons of about 76,336 inmates

About 30,000, not yet tried and convicted, are in Malaysia’s overcrowded prisons of about 76,336 inmates

08/02/2023
Deepfake ‘news anchors’ in pro-China footage: research

Deepfake ‘news anchors’ in pro-China footage: research

08/02/2023

Microsoft sees ‘new day’ in war with Google over AI search engines

08/02/2023

Trending posts

Cognizant India transfers staff to work in Singapore as recently as this year

Local IT grads can’t find jobs while engineers constantly transferred from India to work in SG under CECA

by Correspondent
05/02/2023
112

...

No response from Josephine Teo on whether Mediacorp has been instructed to stop coverage of SMT circulation scandal

No response from Josephine Teo over alleged blackout of coverage by Mediacorp over SMT circulation scandal

by Terry Xu
06/02/2023
13

...

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

by Correspondent
03/02/2023
26

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
48

...

Japanese-Canadian junior high school girl breaks national record with 3km in 9:02 mins

“I want my normal life back,” Sherry Drury withdraws from National Junior High School Tournament due to overheated public attention

by Yee Loon
06/02/2023
4

...

19-year-old delivery rider in China covers 5km in 22 minutes to deliver antivenom to woman who had bitten by snake

19-year-old delivery rider in China covers 5km in 22 minutes to deliver antivenom to woman who had bitten by snake

by Yee Loon
06/02/2023
5

...

July 2020
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Jun   Aug »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

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

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz