geraldgiam.sg

The value of political competition

Singaporeans are not necessarily yearning for a political ideology—be it democracy or otherwise. What we want is a government that is more open and accountable to its citizens, and which truly serves its citizens, not just the ruling elites. One of the proven ways of bringing this about is through more political competition.

Political competition, just like competition in the commercial world, can bring about great benefits to citizens. Imagine walking into a supermarket and having a choice of only one brand of products on the shelves. The manufacturer of that product may claim that its product is ideal for local households, but without competing products, can consumers really know if they are getting the best possible deal?

The product manufacturers may also start getting complacent, thinking that there is no need for continual improvements, as there is no risk of losing their monopoly status.

This, I feel, is exactly what is happening in Singapore.

Continue reading “The value of political competition”

Yearning for “Western-style democracy”?

I am all for adapting democracy to suit our circumstances. However, the PAP’s interpretation of “adapting democracy” is in fact more about justifying their authoritarian ways, than our cultural uniqueness

In his speech to the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Students’ Union Ministerial Forum on 22 October, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said that some people—probably referring to young Singaporeans—“may not fully appreciate the purpose and importance of general elections”.

According to the Straits Times, he said that these people “simply yearn for liberal Western-style democracies without considering whether these will produce a good and effective government”.

Mr Goh cited an exchange of letters in the ST Forum last month on the topic of democracy. This led him to ask his audience: “Is a democratic system an end to be pursued in its own right, or is it a means to select a government to look after our lives like a guardian or a trustee?”

I am not sure where Mr Goh got the idea that Singaporeans are yearning for Western-style democracy and that they think democracy is an end in itself. If was because of the “exchange of letters” in the ST Forum, then I’m afraid Mr Goh is mistaken.

Continue reading “Yearning for “Western-style democracy”?”

We have already lowered our housing expectations, Mr Minister

The current housing situation is not a result of Singaporeans having unrealistic aspirations, but a shortage of flats due to poor planning in accommodating the surge in population in recent years. In fact, compared to previous generations of Singaporeans with similar education and income levels, many young couples have already drastically lowered their housing expectations.

I wrote a letter to TODAY newspaper in response to a commentary by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan last Saturday. An edited version of the letter was published on Thursday (21 October 2010) on TODAY Online under the title, What do newlyweds want in a flat? Below is the original letter which I submitted. The sentences in bold were left out by the paper.

————

I refer to the commentary by Mr Mah Bow Tan (“Buying a flat? Choose wisely”, TODAY, October 15).

His quip about how some Singaporean men propose to their future spouses with the offer of an HDB flat application aptly reflects the strong desire among couples to own a home of their own once they get married. It is therefore regrettable that in the past few years, public housing prices—and hence these dreams—have soared out of reach from so many young couples.

Mr Mah contended that with growing affluence and education levels, Singaporeans no longer want only basic housing. He defines basic housing as simple and functional one- to three-room flats, as opposed to larger four-room, five-room and Executive flats. Mr Mah also distinguished between standard flats and premium flats—the latter referring to flats with better designs, better finishes and in better locations, like the Pinnacle@Duxton and Waterway Terraces at Punggol.

Although Mr Mah stated that that premium flats form only a fraction of the new flats offered, I question why there is a need for HDB to build premium flats in the first place. Why is it so important for a public housing agency to “set new benchmarks for waterfront living for public housing”, or to built flats in prime downtown locations? How does this achieve the purpose of providing affordable housing for the masses?

While Mr Mah is right that Singaporeans’ expectations have changed, they have not changed so drastically that they are now expecting condo-style living for their HDB flats. This is evidenced by the fact that every launch of new developments by HDB in the past year has seen massive oversubscriptions, even for those offering only standard flats. In addition, resale flat buyers are paying huge cash-over-valuation (COV) premiums for even old, basic flats in mature estates like Queenstown.

The current situation is not a result of Singaporeans having unrealistic aspirations, but a shortage of flats due to poor planning in accommodating the surge in population in recent years. In fact, compared to previous generations of Singaporeans with similar education and income levels, many young couples have already drastically lowered their housing expectations.

HDB should focus on building more basic, functional flats and sell them at truly subsidised prices, in order to meet the urgent housing demands of many young couples. As a taxpayer-funded agency, HDB should not be trying to set design benchmarks—or worse, boost their profits like private developers do.

Gerald Giam

Start a conversation…about politics

If you want to see political change in Singapore, you don’t need to even venture beyond your immediate circle of contacts. The family dinner, the lunch break with colleagues or the hangout over coffee with friends present ideal opportunities to start a conversation about politics.

In the run up the elections, many Singaporeans are stepping forward to volunteer their time and energy to help opposition parties, including the Workers’ Party (WP), to succeed at the polls. In fact, a number of my blog readers have emailed me to volunteer their help.

There are many things that supporters can help with, from accompanying party members of their house visits, to logistics, to being polling agents on Election Day. We welcome volunteers to help in any way that fits their schedule, interests and talents.

There is another outreach activity which very effective, but often overlooked—starting a conversation with your family, friends or colleagues about politics.

Continue reading “Start a conversation…about politics”

Meet me at WP Open House

Dear readers,

I will be on Workers’ Party Open House duty this Monday. You are welcome to drop by if you’re interested to find out more about the Workers’ Party or simply for a chat. The details of the Open House are:

Date: Monday 11 October 2010

Time: 8-10pm

Venue: 216-G Syed Alwi Road #02-03, Singapore 207799

I look forward to seeing you there.

[Note: WP Open House is on every Monday, except public holidays. There will always be a CEC member present at the Open House.]

216-G Syed Alwi Road #02-03

Singapore207799

Sylvia Lim’s supplementary questions on YOG

Members of Parliament are required to file their questions for the ministers about two weeks before the Parliamentary sitting. This is to give time for civil servants to draft out a reply for their minister to read out in Parliament. The minister’s prepared reply usually gets wide coverage in the mainstream media, dwarfing the original question filed by the MP.

However, MPs are also given the chance to ask supplementary questions after the minister’s first reply, to seek clarification and probe further. The following is the exchange between Workers’ Party chairman Sylvia Lim and Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan on 15 September 2010. Continue reading “Sylvia Lim’s supplementary questions on YOG”

What makes a democracy

There is more to democracy than government-led consultation exercises. A democracy not only ensures that citizens are consulted on policies, but gives citizens real bargaining power to affect government decisions.

My letter to the Straits Times as it appeared in today’s Forum section.

————–

What makes a democracy

MS MARGO McCutcheon surprised me last Friday (‘No say? It’s simply not true, she says’) when she wrote that Singaporeans have far more say in what their government does than Canadians.

She offered as an example that Singaporeans were consulted before the goods and services tax (GST) was introduced, while Canadians like her were not for a ‘harmony tax’ imposed by Ottawa.

Ms McCutcheon’s American husband also described democracy as a fancy word for partisan bickering and gridlocked government. Rejecting democracy that way is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

While we shouldn’t adopt democracy’s negative aspects, we should not cling blindly to the status quo simply because it may have worked in the past.

The form of democracy which works is one in which all political parties compete vigorously; and present better proposals for voters to choose.

It should include an open and transparent government, strong and independent institutions not easily manipulated by partisan interests, and capable, upright politicians.

Democracy should afford citizens the freedom to express their opinions without fear of unjust repercussions. The mass media should report objectively and fairly, and be willing to criticise the government when necessary.

Building such a democracy requires the effort and participation of all citizens. We need an informed citizenry that is able to elect leaders based on merit, rather than out of fear or ignorance, and hold them to account for their actions in office.

We can build such a democracy while avoiding the trappings that bog down some other countries.

Gerald Giam

Your vote is secret

Let’s be very clear: YOUR VOTE IS SECRET. I will take you through the whole balloting process to see why. Vote with your conscience, not with fear!

Many Singaporeans harbour the misconception that their vote during elections is not secret. I’ve talked to many people, both educated and less educated, and the overwhelming majority seem to think this way. This is despite the fact that at every election, the Elections Department takes pains to communicate to voters two main points: Voting is compulsory, and voting is secret. I guess this is a point that Singaporeans just refuse to believe our government about.

It is even more unfortunate that some persist in perpetuating this urban myth, which only serves to strike more fear into the hearts of Singaporeans who are thinking of voting for the opposition. A letter in Temasek Review today exhorted Singaporeans to spoil their votes because, the writer reasoned, then the PAP won’t “mark” you for voting against them and if there are enough invalid votes, it will indirectly increase the opposition’s share of the valid vote.

This is wrong on many counts. I’ll highlight just two: Firstly, the PAP does not know which party you voted for, so they won’t know who to “mark”, even if they wanted to. Secondly, invalid votes do not factor in the final count, which is based on valid votes. This means that if there were 10 votes–six for the PAP, three for the opposition and one spoiled–the final tally is 66.6 per cent to the PAP (six divided by nine, with the spoiled vote excluded), not 60 per cent.

Let’s be very clear: YOUR VOTE IS SECRET. I will take you through the whole balloting process to see why:

Continue reading “Your vote is secret”

WP’s Parliamentary Questions (15 Sep 2010)

Workers’ Party chairman Sylvia Lim is to query Ministers on YOG expenditure, anti-speculation measures for properties, non-Singaporeans working as security officers and about persons connected to Yong Vui Kong.

Workers’ Party chairman and NCMP Sylvia Lim will ask the following questions in Parliament on 15 September 2010:

1. To ask Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports:

(a) why is the final budget for the Youth Olympic Games more than triple the original estimate;

(b) where were the additional funds drawn from;

(d) what was the amount paid for the tickets purchased by the Ministry of Education and whether this was also part of the YOG budget.

2. To ask the Minister for National Development:

(a) if he will explain the basis on which the new anti-speculation measures announced on 30 August 2010 were devised; and

(b) whether any assessment was done on their impact on genuine home buyers and Singaporean investors.

3. To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs:

(a) what is the proportion of licences that are issued to non-Singapore citizens to work as security officers; and

(b) what proportion of licensees are not working in that industry.

4. To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs whether the Government has detained under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act any person believed to have been organising drug trafficking activities which involved Yong Vui Kong, an inmate on death row.

Selamat Hari Raya

I’d like to wish all my Muslim readers Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Eid Mubarak. Maaf zahir dan batin (especially for any wrong stuff I wrote on my blog!)

I’d like to wish all my Muslim readers Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Eid Mubarak. Maaf zahir dan batin (especially for any wrong stuff I wrote on my blog!)

Selamat Hari Raya