Unfortunately for Mr Chiam See Tong, his gamble to leave Potong Pasir SMC to contest in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC did not yield the desired results. Not only did he not win the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC contest, his wife – Lina Chiam who is taking his contest seat in the Potong Pasir SMC has lost to Mr Sitoh Yih Pin in the Singapore General Election 2011 by a very narrow margin of 114 votes. Lina Chiam got 7859 votes while Sitoh got 7973 votes.
The results meant that the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) does not hold any seats in Singapore Parliament.
Just some images in tribute of Mr Chiam See Tong – Source (The Temasek Review)
Mr Chiam See Tong at a rally
We will never see this again
Love of Mr Chiam See Tong
This will probably be the last election contest for Mr Chiam due to his ailing health and there are concerns on what will happen to Potong Pasir. Will it be absorbed into the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC in the next Singapore General Election? Will the well bonded community spirit in Potong Pasir be lost? Will Lina Chiam continue her husband’s work Read on…
May 8th, 2011
Since the introduction of the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system of election in Singapore in Year 1988, no opposition parties have ever won a GRC in an election.
In a bid to break the PAP’s stranglehold on Singapore parliament, the Workers’ Party formed an “A-Team” of credible candidates – consisting of CHEN SHOW MAO, SYLVIA LIM, LOW THIA KHIANG, MUHAMAD FAISAL BIN ABDUL MANAP and PRITAM SINGH, to contest against incumbent George Yeo, Singapore’s Foreign Minister in the Aljunied GRC.
What makes the contest interesting is the fact that much is at stake for PAP: Mr George Yeo is the foreign minister for Singapore, while Ms Lim Hwee Hwa is the Minister in Prime Minister’s Office. The other notable PAP candidate is Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, touted as the future Speaker of Parliament.
On 8th May 2011 at 0211hrs, the Workers’ Party team in Aljunied GRC was officially declared the winner of Aljunied GRC and overall, we now have 6 elected members of parliament from the Workers’ Party, which tripled the figures of the entire opposition MP from year 2006. What is even more amazing is the fact that the Workers’ Party Team led by Mr Low Thia Khiang won by a comfortable margin of nearly 10% – 72,165 votes for the Workers’ Party against 59,732 votes for the People Action Party.
Mr George Yeo has been very sporting in acknowledging the defeat while Read on…
May 8th, 2011
Editor’s Note: Check the space at the bottom of this post for the updates on Singapore General Election Results 2011
As a kid, I was always excited about Singapore elections. This would be the time when you see the candidates going around and shaking hands with members of the public, MPs carrying babies in photo shoots, banners and posters hanging at public places as if there would be a fan fare, lorries with loudhailers chanting party slogan, and one of the rare times when my entire family will stay up late and watch the election results on TV together.
The election results will always end up mostly the same, with the People’s Action Party (PAP) winning the majority of the seats except for Potong Pasir (won by the Singapore Democratic Alliance – SDA) and Hougang (won by the Worker’s Party – WP). My parents would give a cheer to PAP and I will follow suit, as it seemed to me that those guys in white uniform are the “good guys”. The only other familiar cheer belongs to Potong Pasir – with the zealous supporters shouting out: “Chiam See Tong! Chiam See Tong! Potong Pasir Chiam See Tong!!”
As I read more in the newspaper and entered my JC days, I wondered why people would be voting for the Opposition in the first place? The candidates seemed to be all brawl, perhaps candidates whom did not succeed in the society with an axe to grind against the government. For the residents in opposition wards, they are worse off with no estate upgrading and sheltered walkways. Thus, the last General election in 2006 still got me appalled on why both the SMCs in Hougang and Potong Pasir can still be retained by the Opposition.
The world as a whole had went through much since 2006 – the global financial crisis which started in 2008, the Middle East democratic uprising, political chaos in Thailand, tsunamis engulfing Japan.. all of which had impacted Singapore in some way. Locally, Singaporeans have to deal with inflation, influx of foreign talent, traffic jams, rising retirement age and a flux of other issues.
With the advent of Internet, you now hear a more diverse set of opinions from a greater set of our Singapore population. And it seems like with the progression of every election, the voices from the public are now getting louder. As the only Singaporeans from the team in Limsimi.com, I have also been getting queries on which political party I am rooting for in this coming Singapore General Election 2011. While it is illegal for me to reveal whom I am voting for, I will share my personal thoughts:
We are truly a blessed nation. With no natural resources and the adversity surrounding us in the initial years of our independence, we have come a long way. Our county is safe and you can jog around at night without fear of kidnap and robbery. Our country is relatively affluent and as a result supports very public projects like libraries, swimming pool and MRTs for the masses. Our government recognise the need to keep our nation exciting to the world outside and thus, we bring in and build. We have the F1, the Esplanade, the Integrated Resorts (IRs) and the development of Sentosa Coves. I attribute all these to the first and second generation of leaders whom makes hard decisions as well as personal sacrifices towards our nation building.
I must also add that we have a very efficient government. Things are so well organised and planned that you do not have to queue up to pay your taxes. In fact, we have such a wonderful e-government that plenty of countries wanted to learn the framework to set it up. Our government takes very pro-active but conservative measures in fiscal and monetary policies – allowing us to have an appreciating Singapore dollar without impact to our export markets, increasing our relative riches against other nations (including Malaysia). Unlike the European nations including the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain), we have a very high cash reserves in the region of 100s of billions, protecting us from any austerity measures and ensuring we have the insurance to weather any financial storm.
Then there is more that our government did for us.. from ensuring safety from the food we eat, towards a very neat planning of estates, beautifying our parks and ensuring that we have sustainable water to drink – we have to attribute all these to our government.
And to compare against Malaysia – we are well aware of the crime rates there. We are well aware of the maintenance level of the public roads and always question why Tebrau Highway seemed to be choked. We wonder why there is no MRTs or LRTs or conveniently located public libraries in Johor Bahru, already a city since 1994. We feel the anguish on the periodic power outages and cut of water supplies. Not to say that Malaysia is bad but truly, we should be very contented with our Singapore Government? No?
The Government in Singapore is truly top-notch, but people equate the Government to PAP. The reason is simple. PAP runs the government, as ALL the Ministers and all the Ministers of State are from PAP. PAP = People’s Action Party. While there is nothing wrong if the capable ministers from PAP run the entire government, we need to dive deeper into the societal concerns amongst our fellow Singaporeans.
Our Identity
- How does it feel, when finally, we won an Olympic Gold Medal? Some of us will tear out of pure happiness, some of us will jump for joy out of delight. One of our Singaporean – one of us, has finally done our nation proud. But what if the medalist was actually a Chinese National and “imported” to Singapore only 5 years ago? Would you be as proud?
In our rush to be successful, our leaders, our government running our Sports Council and inevitable the PAP has ignored the voices of the native Singaporeans. Without a proper platform for debate in the Parliament, we have introduced the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. Do we really need this? Why do we desire success so much? Can’t we develop one of our own? If the government wants success so much, why not pay millions to existing Gold Medalists? Get 10 of them here, and perhaps, one of them can replicate their success and we will finally have one Gold medal?
What we really want is to have someone whom sings the Majulah Singapura with pride at the podium. Someone we can truly identify with. It is NEVER the same feeling if a foreign talent import wins it on our behalf. The Government does not seem to understand and gave the reason that it would be the same, and some would think it is the same without doing a proper poll. Unfortunately, the feelings of Singaporeans does not seem to be truly comprehended. Looking across the causeway, I envy Malaysia for producing homegrown talents like Lee Chong Wei.
Fairness to People
- If you look across the road at Potong Pasir run by opposition and those run adjacent by PAP, there is a marked distinction. The estates by PAP are upgraded with a newer, neater look while those in Potong Pasir is run down and in need of a new coat of paint without sheltered walkway. Not saying that the town council in Potong Pasir is bad, because the crux of the matter is due to the lack of budget. Lack of funds allocated to Potong Pasir by the Government. And the reason, as stated by our Prime Minister from PAP:
“The answer is that there has to be a distinction. Because the PAP wards supported the Government and the policies which delivered these good things.”
“Between the people who voted and supported the programme and the government, and the people who didn’t, I think if we went and put yours before the PAP constituencies, it would be an injustice,”
Shouldn’t upgrading be based on needs first, rather than political parties? The government rightfully belongs to everyone. I remember the Singapore Pledge below:
We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equalityso as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation.
No incumbent political parties, should use the government to further their political gains, at the expenses of our fellow Singaporeans Read on…
May 7th, 2011
