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Parliament 2023

Jellandross

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inlinesix

inlinesix

Hypersonic
On 5/27/2023 at 10:52 PM, Kopites said:

If don't look beyond your nose you won't understand his stand.

 

https://mothership.sg/2023/05/leong-mun-wai-confrontational-label/

Leong Mun Wai brushes aside 'confrontational' label, says he's doing his 'basic duty' in Parliament

Quoted.

Leong first pointed out that "confrontational" is a term "coined by some analysts".

He said it depends on how people look at it.

"If you think that every time I pursue a minister for a definitive answer, and every time I answer the speaker in order to get an opportunity to talk, that is confrontational, then I cannot say anything."

"YOU CANNOT JUST SIT DOWN, right?"

He said he thought that was the "basic duty" of a parliamentarian.

"You cannot just ask a question, the minister didn't answer you, and you just sit down, right? You have to ask another question, right?"

He better learn from his last brush of elimination.

Otherwise, he will have ZERO chance of finishing his term

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Kopites

Kopites

Supersonic
On 6/2/2023 at 12:01 AM, Benarsenal said:

KJ and Lim Tean tag team wor. Next election will be sibeh entertaining liao 😆

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/general-election-alliance-lim-tean-peoples-voice-reform-party-peoples-power-democratic-progressive-opposition-3530861

Irregardless of opp credibility and capability my vote will still go to any opp.

Same for those vote pap for the sake of voting pap.

Incumbent or opposition are all the same "politician".

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Kopites

Kopites

Supersonic
On 4/26/2023 at 11:35 AM, Throttle2 said:

Yup always a play of words.   

They will always win. 😁

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Blueray

Blueray

Hypersonic
On 7/4/2023 at 3:17 PM, 13177 said:

Must define properly what is urgent medical needs, cause many walk-ins would tell you their case is urgent. 

yup. cos a lot of times ministars say concept only. never think of workflow and downstream impact. classic examples;  the return tray and 5c plastic bag ministars. 

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inlinesix

inlinesix

Hypersonic
On 7/4/2023 at 3:17 PM, 13177 said:

Must define properly what is urgent medical needs, cause many walk-ins would tell you their case is urgent. 

On 7/4/2023 at 3:21 PM, Blueray said:

yup. cos a lot of times ministars say concept only. never think of workflow and downstream impact. classic examples;  the return tray and 5c plastic bag ministars. 

How to define a medical condition?

It is a judgement call.

This is to address senior citizen unable to book next day appointment (that is open at 10pm the day before)

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Mkl22

Mkl22

Supersonic
On 7/4/2023 at 3:21 PM, Blueray said:

yup. cos a lot of times ministars say concept only. never think of workflow and downstream impact. classic examples;  the return tray and 5c plastic bag ministars. 

Like east coast plan. Wtf! 

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Shibadog

Shibadog

Turbocharged
On 7/6/2023 at 7:49 AM, inlinesix said:

🤦🏻‍♀️
Parliament rejects PSP motion to abolish GRC system

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/parliament-rejects-psp-motion-to-abolish-grc-system

coming from the guy that is perhaps best known for blurting out "mdm president" twice when addressing the then-speaker of the house and then laughing it off. 

 

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Windwaver

Windwaver

Turbocharged

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/grc-system-used-for-benefit-of-pap-and-should-be-abolished-say-psp-s-leong-mun-wai-and-hazel-poa

GRC system used for benefit of PAP and should be abolished, say PSP’s Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa

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SINGAPORE - Group representation constituencies (GRCs) were introduced into Singapore’s electoral system in 1988 to ensure a minimum level of minority representation, but have moved so far away from their original purpose that they should be abolished, said Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Non-Constituency MPs Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa on Wednesday.

The numerous changes made to the GRC system over the years have resulted in undesirable consequences, chief among them being to entrench the dominance of the People’s Action Party (PAP) at the expense of opposition parties, they added.

This has hampered the development of a more balanced political landscape, and Singapore should look at other ways to ensure minority representation instead, said the two PSP NCMPs during the debate on a private member’s motion they had filed calling for the abolition of GRCs.

Political parties contesting a GRC must field multiracial teams of candidates. The Government has said this ensures minority representation while avoiding campaigning and voting along racial lines.

However, said Mr Leong, there is no running away from the perception that the GRC system is also being used against the opposition.

He said the ruling PAP has tweaked the system to its advantage, for instance, by increasing the maximum number of members in a GRC team from three to four to six over the years.

While the Government has said GRCs were enlarged to facilitate the setting up of community development councils and ensure economies of scale in the provision of grassroots and other social services, this could have been done by joining up two single-member constituencies (SMCs) instead, said Mr Leong.

“Many Singaporeans believe that the PAP Government expanded GRC sizes to hamper the opposition’s electoral chances after a strong showing in the 1991 General Election,” he added, citing the four seats that opposition parties won in that election.

The varying sizes of GRCs also provide maximum flexibility for the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee to redraw boundaries in a way that can be advantageous for the ruling party, he said.

This was a point also raised by Leader of the Opposition and Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh.

Joining the debate, he said a fundamental concern of his party regarding the GRC system is how it has been used to gerrymander.

He cited Fengshan SMC being absorbed into East Coast GRC in 2020, and Joo Chiat SMC absorbed into Marine Parade GRC in 2015, after the PAP and the WP had close fights in these constituencies in previous general elections.

“That is not an imaginary issue, it’s a real issue. It has happened repeatedly and that’s a hallmark of the way the PAP has employed the GRC system,” said Mr Singh.

His party has called for GRCs to be abolished, to be replaced by SMCs.

“Every constituency which is a tight fight between the PAP and WP, what happens? It’s gone.”

He said this has led to cynicism about the system, even though most agree with its principal purpose of ensuring multiracial representation.

To this, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean said accusations of gerrymandering in the world go back 200 years, and had existed well before GRCs were created.

He added that GRCs that have been won by the opposition never have their boundaries changed, and suggested that Mr Singh ask the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee to make them SMCs.

Ms Poa said that besides the edge that the GRC system gives the PAP, the system is also riddled with weaknesses, such as allowing for vacant seats to be left unfilled when MPs quit midterm.

She noted that Jurong GRC would soon have a vacant seat as Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has said he will step down from politics to run in the presidential election.

This also happened in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC in 2017, when then Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob stepped down to contest in the presidential election in 2017, she added.

Since by-elections do not have to be called in such instances, residents in these constituencies end up being under-represented and underserved, she said.

“Does the PAP intend to regularly repeat this? Running in a general election is an inherent promise to serve the residents for a term of five years. Breaking that promise is not something that should be taken lightly,” she added.

“This is analogous to having the terms of a contract changed materially and unilaterally midway through by one party, but the other party remained bound to the contract until expiry. In any other context, this would not have been accepted.”

Citing figures from the 1980s and 1990s, Ms Poa said the GRC system made “hardly any difference to minority representation” but led to a huge increase in walkovers, where the incumbent party wins a constituency because it is uncontested.

Before the introduction of GRCs, 16 minority MPs were elected in GE1984, making up 20.3 per cent of all elected MPs, she cited.

After the introduction of GRCs, minority MPs made up 19.8 per cent of all elected MPs in GE1988, 21 per cent in GE1991 and 22.9 per cent in GE1997.

In comparison, 38 per cent of seats in GE1984 were uncontested, a proportion that dropped in GE1988 to 13.6 per cent when there were only three-member GRCs.

However, after GRC sizes were increased to four and then six, the proportion of uncontested seats jumped to 50.6 per cent in GE1991, and 56.6 per cent in GE1997, she said.

She proposed two alternative methods of ensuring minority representation.

The first method is an NCMP scheme for minorities, similar to the current NCMP scheme which awards seats in Parliament to the best-performing losing opposition candidates at a general election, so as to ensure a minimum number of opposition MPs.

Ms Poa said under PSP’s proposal, minority candidates will contest in SMCs. If too few of them win, then losers with the highest percentage of votes can be appointed NCMPs to ensure adequate minority representation in Parliament.

The second method she proposed is to adopt a hybrid electoral system with some proportional representation.

In this system, each voter will have two ballots – one to vote for a candidate in their local SMC, and another to vote for a party at the national level.

Parties must field candidates in the SMCs based on a racial quota of at least 50 per cent Chinese, 12 per cent Malay and 6 per cent Indian and other races.

If too few minority candidates are elected at this stage, the party will have to choose minority candidates to fill up the seats allocated to them through the national vote.

However, Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing, who is also the Minister-in-charge of the Public Service, said there were drawbacks to both methods.

He warned that under the NCMP system proposed, Parliament could end up with a party dominated by MPs of the racial majority, while minority MPs end up as NCMPs.

He also said that the experience of other countries has shown that in systems with proportional representation where seats are allocated to parties, people campaign on sectoral interests.

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