THE BULLDOZER

So, it has silently come to be,

A place hostile to you and me.

In stillness I can clearly see,

I'm now virtue's last refugee.

In building a bulldozer army,

We created our own enemy.

In the name of our economy,

We surrender our autonomy.

In every spot, every corner,

Rolls the bulldozer monster.

To every sight, every chatter,

It is now the supreme master.

Yet, the victims line the street,

Prostrate at democracy's feet.

When arguments never meet,

Blind worship can turn sweet.

If in the bulldozer I idly sit,

Truly, I feel I'm not the bandit.

In destroying all that resist it,

The machine is the real culprit.

So if we see a line in the sand,

We'll have to take a stand.

To save our beloved land,

We'll need to have every hand.

PROPOSAL FOR 
GOVERNOR-MAYOR SYSTEM

On 8 September 2015, at a rally during the last General Election, our Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong said: "The world is changing. Singapore is changing. Our politics will have to change... But we have to work together even if we have to work harder to have a national consensus ..." 

I agree with what he said and it is in that spirit that I'm proposing for public and Government consideration a Governor-Mayor System (GMS) to be installed in every constituency.

It is hoped that it can help address and resolve most of Singapore's outstanding political problems in the following ways:

1. Partisan grassroots organizations 

GMS: The winner of an election will become the MP-Governor of that ward. He/she will be the leader in charge of the town council as well as the people's voice in Parliament. The best loser in that election will be the Mayor who will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the town council and assist the MP-Governor in resolving the problems of residents. So, every constituency will be served by a team of 2 people from different political parties. Because both will be holding official appointments, grassroots organizations will have to serve both officials without prejudice.

2. Hostility and negative campaigning between political parties

GMS: Both the MP-Governor and the Mayor will work together in the same office so that they can learn to build consensus through a spirit of common national purpose. Gradually, this friendship between them will have a positive contagion effect on relations between political parties and adversarial politics and personal attacks will slowly disappear.

3. Wasteful political rivalry

GMS: Instead of their political differences becoming a bone of contention, they will become a source of strength in generating creative solutions for the town council and the community. They can also collaborate, build synergy and bring to fruition the non-overlapping social programs that they have each promised during their election campaign. Capitalizing on their plurality maximizes scarce political talent and resources.

4. The limitations of a part-time MP

GMS: Since work is shared between the MP-Governor and the Mayor, their workload will be lighter and therefore they will be able to cope despite working part-time. Accordingly, the original MP allowance will be shared according to the proportion of their popular vote, eg in Bukit Batok, it may be a 61:39 split in the allowance.

5. The objectionable upgrading carrots and town council politics

GMS: When election time comes, both the MP-Governor and the Mayor can join the fray as opposing candidates, and having seen them in action over 4 to 5 years, voters will be in a much better position to judge them on their character, their ideas, their deeds and their ability to be a team player. Dangling of carrots like upgrading and other projects will become obsolete vote-motivators because people now know that the top 2 candidates will eventually work on these projects jointly.

6. The persistent clamor for alternative voices

GMS: Because the PAP and the opposition will always work together in every town council and in every constituency, people will realize that alternative thinking will eventually be incorporated into Government policies. Having alternative voices for their own sakes will be a thing of the past. Supporters from both sides will unite when they see their leaders already working together.

7. The lack of political renewal

GMS: The novel idea of the best loser in an election being appointed mayor means that opportunities for political work will increase. This will encourage more talented people to enter politics and also increase the pool of people familiar or competent with town council work. The next generation of political leaders will emerge when people begin to see politics as a viable career choice.

Conclusion

For this GMS to work, a transformative change of mindset in the whole of Singaporean society is necessary. Politics should be seen less as a competitive activity, but more as an art of conciliation, compromise and collaboration. The GMS will become part of our ongoing meritocratic experiment of seeking "what works" as started by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

WHAT DOES THE BUKIT BATOK BY-ELECTION RESULT MEAN?
The day after - a time for sobriety

Now that Mr Murali Pillai of the PAP has scored an expected easy victory with 61.2% of the votes, we can reasonably draw 12 conclusions about Singaporean voters:

1. Voters trust the PAP fully and are willing to continue to leave the running of their country to them unquestioningly.

2. Voters think that a Parliament dominated overwhelmingly by one party is good for them.

3. There is a large group of voters who have no inclination to actively participate in the governing of their own country and who are largely unaware of their own political beliefs, but they are forced to vote because voting is compulsory.

4. Voters are not looking for a representative who shares common political beliefs with them. They are also not concerned about exercising their own political rights through this representative. They are merely looking for a capable candidate with good character to be their MP and are quite willing to allow his party to manage their political rights for them in whatever way the party sees fit.

5. Voters continue to think that they are doing a candidate a favor by voting him into Parliament rather than think that their MPs are doing them a favor by representing them in Parliament. They do not realize that an election is more about the voters identifying and electing the candidate who can represent their political interests rather than it is about the political ambitions of the candidate.

6. Voters do not vote along racial lines.

7. Voters vote for the PAP despite the poor moral qualities of their MPs in two recent episodes when they were involved in alleged extramarital affairs with their own party activists.

8. Voters believe that MPs can discharge their political duties fully even if they are only part-timers.

9. Voters will always reject those candidates who were said to have made mistakes in the past.

10. Candidates whom voters rejected in SMC contests can suddenly become acceptable to voters if these same candidates contest in GRCs later.

11. Voters are not concerned about whether undesirable tactics employed during election campaigning may mislead them into voting for the wrong candidate.

12. Voters tend to view their MPs more as estate managers rather than representatives of their political interests, of which they are highly ignorant.

It is highly creditable that voters here do not vote according to racial lines, but the other 11 conclusions make me have serious misgivings about the political realities in Singapore. Given that they are unlikely to change much in the foreseeable future, participants and would-be participants in our political arena should think very carefully about the part they should play in order to help develop Singapore society and secure its future.

I must say that given the state of our electorate , we are extremely fortunate to be ruled by the PAP who have, at least, ruled Singapore sensibly and ensured the material well-being of Singaporeans. But, if the party becomes corrupted or totalitarian in the future, our electorate will be incapable of saving itself even if we have free and fair elections. In the light of a highly ignorant and sometimes self-sabotaging electorate, we must pray very hard every night that the PAP stays honorable and conscientious.

MURALI PILLAI 61.2% 
CHEE SOON JUAN 38.8%

Sorry folks, but I told you so.

Just read:
"DOES THE BUKIT BATOK BY-ELECTION REALLY MATTER?
Why the PAP will keep winning and the opposition keep losing"
http://singaporedialectic.blogspot.sg/2016/05/does-bukit-batok-by-election-really.html?m=1

BUKIT BATOK BY-ELECTION
Today's The Day

Whoever wins, please serve honestly and sincerely!

DOES THE BUKIT BATOK BY-ELECTION REALLY MATTER?
Why the PAP will keep winning and the opposition keep losing

Even if Bukit Batok falls to SDP on the 7th of May, there will still be no change in the political landscape. I can bet you that PAP will again win by a landslide in the next general election and power will remain overwhelmingly with the PAP.

This is NOT because Singapore is too small for more than one political party. It is NOT because the late Mr Lee Kuan was such a massive  juggernaut of a personality that he would forever cast a shadow on local politics. It is NOT because the PAP has done such a great job that Singaporeans could find no reason to change their ruler. It is also NOT because the opposition forces are small, weak and divided.

I have a simple answer to explain  the inexorable dominance of the PAP over the last 51 years. I call it my Business Theory of Singapore Politics.

BUSINESS THEORY OF SINGAPORE POLITICS

My contention is that winning at elections to gain political power is the same as marketing a product successfully to make a sale. So, PAP and Opposition politics are like competitor products in a specific market; and voters are like fickle customers looking out to satisfy their needs and wants.

Whether knowingly or not, PAP has mastered the art of political marketing. In short, they know how their customers (voters) think and what they want, they know the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors (opposition politicians), they understand the market (how politics work), they have a unique selling proposition (their winning formula), they create publicity effectively (control of the mass media), they are consistent (they never change), they are focused (not distracted by truth or morals) and they build credibility (great track record of winning elections and achieving prosperity). Their political product was developed based on known demand.  So, is it any surprise that they are so successful? No. They know right where the demand is and they go after it.

On the other hand, the opposition does not have a coherent marketing strategy. They developed what they suspect is a good political product. They hope that people will one day discover how good their product is. So, while waiting for demand to increase, they spend most of their time engineering it. They keep telling customers (voters) how bad the competitor's product is, but forget to make efforts to understand their customers' (voters') needs and their dislike for change. So, the opposition has it upside down.

There is another factor at play. PAP has an inherent advantage in having an existing monopoly of the market and is the authority controlling the rules of market transactions (redrawing of constituencies, declaring changes in SMC or GRC status, timing election date, etc). The high barriers of entry into the political game consisting of high costs, the need for manpower resources and grassroots support add another layer of advantage to the PAP political machine.

The essential difference between them is that PAP came up with its product after understanding the needs and nature of the voters; whereas the Opposition has a product for which it tries to create demand. Opposition politics is a product in search of a market, so they put themselves out there and then pray that they win. If they don't win, they just complain about their difficulties, tries to talk about ethics and morality and play the victim.

That's why it is no surprise that PAP won 70% of the votes in the 2015 General Elections while opposition supporters call the 70% idiots and continue to be puzzled by the results. As long as the Opposition are still scratching their heads, they will get nowhere.