SDP establish 14-member CEC to lead party against PAP regime
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Democrats establish 14-member CEC to lead growing party
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Singapore Democrats
At a time of expansion and growing confidence, the Singapore Democrats have elected a 14-member Central Executive Committee to lead the party into the next general elections.
At its biennial party conference held last week, cadre members came together to re-dedicate their efforts to work for the cause of reform and democracy in Singapore.
The party's top four posts remain unchanged. Mr Gandhi Ambalam retained the chairmanship and Mr Francis Yong continues to serve as the Vice-Chairman.
Dr Chee Soon Juan and Mr John Tan were re-elected as the Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General respectively.
A change was made in the post of Treasurer which was taken up by Mr Gerald Sng, a Marketing Manager, who contested in the 2006 elections. Deputising him is Assistant Treasurer Mr Jeffrey George, an engineer in the oil-rig industry.
After a keenly fought elections, the following six were elected into the executive body: Ms Chee Siok Chin, Ms Lilian Chia, Mr Johnny Ho, Mr Mohd Isa, Mr Jufrie Mahmood, and Mr Sylvester Lim.
This year saw a couple of “new” faces added to the line-up: Messrs Jufrie Mahmood and Sylvester Lim. Mr Jufrie, a party stalwart who was once “loaned” to the Workers' Party when the late J B Jeyaretnam was the secretary-general, returned to the SDP's leadership.
“I came back because I have confidence in the present leadership of the SDP,” the opposition veteran said, “and I think that the party is moving in the right direction. The growth in its ranks attests to this.”
The other first-timer is Mr Sylvester Lim whose quiet demeanour belies a fierce commitment to the ideals of democracy and justice.
“We are excited about what lies ahead and we are determined to work for change and for a government that genuinely cares for the people,” Mr Lim said.
Anticipating the intense work ahead, the newly elected leadership intends to co-opt two more members into its fold. They are Mr Laurence Lai and Mr Warren Eswaran. Mr Lai served in the previous CEC. Mr Eswaran, 25, is a member of the Young Democrats and has been with the party since his National Service days.
“Warren's inclusion in the CEC is a reflection of the increasing interest young Singaporeans are taking in us,” Chairman Ambalam noted. “We want to ensure that our Young Democrats are actively involved in the party's direction and development.”
The Young Democrats, the SDP's youth wing, will also shortly elect its leaders.
The new CEC has expressed its determination to continue expanding the party in numbers as well as capability to reach out to Singaporeans. It will rely on the Internet, as it has in the past, to call on Singaporeans to step forward and help spread the message of working towards a free, open and just Singapore. (Watch video of Dr Chee's address to party cadres here.)
Photo:
(Standing L-R) Sylvester Lim, Jufrie Mahmood, Chee Siok Chin, Lilian Chia, Johnny Ho, Gerald Sng
(Kneeling L-R) Chee Soon Juan, Francis Yong, Jeffrey George, Gandhi Ambalam, John Tan, Mohd Isa
(Laurence Lai and Warren Eswaran are not in the photograph) -
Why the SDP is expanding
http://www.yoursdp.org/index.php/news/
Why the Singapore Democratic Party deserves our support
Written by Ng E-Jay
30 July 2009The first SDP event I attended was the gathering at Hong Lim Park on 01 May 2007 welcoming Dr Chee Soon Juan and Ms Chee Siok Chin after they had completed a 2-day, 120km walk to mark Labour Day and to highlight the plight of Singaporean workers.
Looking at the exhausted but determined faces of Dr Chee and Ms Chee, and hearing the short but edifying address Dr Chee made left me with the impression that perhaps, unlike the terrible vibes that the party constantly receives from the mainstream media, the SDP was a party of substance, that perhaps it was a party with a message worth listening to.
I was not wrong.
Over time, as I got to know the party, its members, its ideas and its political philosophy better, I found myself agreeing more and more with its vision and its values.
The SDP is an opposition party that has been on the receiving end of a concerted torrent of negative Government propaganda, fueled by a compliant mainstream media that would stoop as low as need be to vilify, demonize, and ridicule the party.
I constantly wondered why after having had their names dragged through the mud so many times, SDP’s leaders soldier on with their cause, never angry nor feeling victimized by the situation, but ever determined to get their message across to Singaporeans.
I took a look at SDP’s performance at the previous two General Elections. It was not pretty, to say the least. The SDP only managed to obtain 20.36% of the valid votes cast in the constituencies they were contesting in during the 2001 General Elections. For the 2006 General Elections, they obtained an overall 23.23% of the valid votes cast.
I wondered why, after having been trashed at the polls and after having been laughed at not only by PAP supporters, but even by supporters of other opposition parties, the SDP soldiers on, believing in what they are doing, trusting that they would be vindicated one day.
After some time, I found the answer. It is about unyielding leadership, having conviction in their values and what they believe in, and having the stoic determination to press on with the good fight, out of an unbounded love for Singapore and for Singaporeans.
That is why the Singapore Democratic Party deserves our support. That is why I am a supporter.
Many critics have speculated that the SDP is not interested in participating in elections because it is not wooing the electorate over with bread-and-butter issues, and because its participation in civil disobedience and its focus on democracy and human rights issues have alienated it from voters.
This is despite the fact that the SDP has stated categorically on its website that it remains committed to participating in elections and winning the hearts and minds of Singaporeans.
With the mainstream media deliberately censoring news and comments from the SDP, it is no wonder that many people remain unaware of the activities the party is organizing and engaging in, and its stand on various issues.
The truth is, the SDP has always paid close attention to bread-and-butter issues like jobs for Singaporeans, our CPF, and the cost of living, and suggested workable alternatives to our disastrous Government policies.
But the SDP has also correctly recognized that to campaign effectively for bread-and-butter issues, we need democracy in Singapore, without which we would be merely going around in circles and championing those issues only on terms dictated by the PAP.
Without transparency and without a means of making the Government accountable to the people, we would only be able to obtain token concessions from time to time, but we would never be able to compel the Government to act in the people’s interest.
The SDP is displaying true leadership and moral courage by committing to participate in elections even though they know the PAP and the mainstream media will resort to all ways and means of fixing them and tarnishing their image in the eyes of voters.
I feel that the SDP is correct in remaining committed to elections, because elections are a good opportunity for the party to make its presence felt and a good chance for the party to build awareness and cultivate the ground.
The SDP must also show that it cannot, and will not be intimidated by the underhand, undemocratic tactics employed by the PAP.
Consistent participation in elections is also a way of showing the electorate that despite insurmountable odds, it is fit and ready to lead, that it is willing to do so not because it is easy, but because it is right.
But beyond elections, I believe that the SDP also wants to build an enduring legacy for itself, a legacy of championing the principles of democracy, of social justice, of human rights, of transparency and accountability of a Government to its people.
I believe that the goal of the SDP is not just to do well in the next 1, 2, 3 or even 5 elections, but to be at the forefront of the wave of democratic change that must inevitably hit Singapore’s shores one day, no matter how long it takes.
The SDP is not afraid of being dissolved by the PAP because it knows that what binds its members, supporters and friends together is not the party vehicle, but its values, its shared beliefs, its convictions, and its commitment to championing a more free and just society.
The PAP can and will most likely use more and more sophisticated methods to marginalize the SDP, to alienated them from voters, and to discourage others from working with them and collaborating with them to build a better Singapore.
But I also believe that eventually, the truth must prevail, because the causes championed by the SDP are just and right.
There is little doubt in my mind that if the SDP continues the good work it is doing, it will leave behind an enduring legacy of being part of the democratization of Singapore, and that its work, its activities, its articles and writings will also form an enduring record for future generations of Singaporeans to reflect on.
Bloggers, activists, friends and supporters of SDP should also try their best to be part of this legacy by openly supporting the party and penning their thoughts, feelings and ideas on the party and its role in the democratization of Singapore.
http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=3467
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Finally, SDP is going to field an elite team that is going to change history.
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wha! opposition so early rally on net liao...
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Originally posted by Singmarine:
Finally, SDP is going to field an elite team that is going to change history.
Really? u think they can change history? -
History has already been achieved through this approach by the SDP to select their Executive Committee.
The SDP has shown that even as Democracy may bring a competitive approach in their decision process, it has allowed the best team to surface to lead their Party.
Compare this with the PAP way in which a select elite group will appoint individuals to be members of an exclusive Cadre Corp that is separate from the larger general party membership; and with members from this exclusive Cadre Corp given the right to "nominate and vote" on another select group of personalities - selected by the Party Elite and not taken from the Cadre Corp - to be "elected" to form the core of the Elite Party "Executive Committee".
The entire process in the PAP is conducted in secrecy at every separate levels, and the process of party politics is not open to every PAP member.
This is the manner in which the PAP has governed Singapore and the Singapore Reserves - through secret behind the scene manipulation of rules and legislations that have resulted in 57 years of hardship for Singaporeans, and the loss of US$100 Billion from our Reserves without any sense of accountability.
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Singaporeans Hardship for 57 years??? prove it?
Accountability?? it is a recession men, what more do you want when afterall, you dun even foot a cents for it. You understand investment or not?? you understand risk taking or not??
If SDP wins 5 seats in the next election, i say, history is changing, but if it is forming their own EXCO, that is nothing.
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Originally posted by angel7030:
Singaporeans Hardship for 57 years??? prove it?
Accountability?? it is a recession men, what more do you want when afterall, you dun even foot a cents for it. You understand investment or not?? you understand risk taking or not??
If SDP wins 5 seats in the next election, i say, history is changing, but if it is forming their own EXCO, that is nothing.
No lah,Singaporeans no hardship...
Singaporeans Love The Joys Of Labour...Until They Die...
Joys of North Korea!
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At least enough to get a few GRCs....
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Originally posted by PoThePanda01:
No lah,Singaporeans no hardship...
Singaporeans Love The Joys Of Labour...Until They Die...
Joys of North Korea!
If Labour is joyful, production will rise..we all should work and play happily. -
The looks of the 14 SDP warriors is enough to deter the toughest politician.
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Originally posted by angel7030:
Singaporeans Hardship for 57 years??? prove it?
Do we need to prove it to a fallen angel - when the fallen angel has to work in a Bar all night ?
Let's hear from you when you have finished 57 years working at your father's Bar.
Or are you too drunk to realise that you have been drinking too much to forget your troubles ?
We can accept the fact that drunks are in a constant state of denial.
Accountability?? it is a recession men, what more do you want when afterall, you dun even foot a cents for it. You understand investment or not?? you understand risk taking or not??
Should Singaporeans not expect the minimum standards of accountability from the millions of dollars paid from tax payers money to the PAP Politicians who claim to be the best talent, and deserve to be measured with the best in the private sector ?
Only a drunk will believe that "you dun even foot a cents" in a recession - did you pay for your share of the recession, or did you invest with the objective of making losses ?
Do you not realise that it is a big risk to talk to one who is a drunk ?
If SDP wins 5 seats in the next election, i say, history is changing, but if it is forming their own EXCO, that is nothing.
To a drunk, taking 5 shots down simultaneously would have been a big achievement, what other events can be more historic.
Does a drunk know what history is about ?
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hello, 14 ops member cannot hor, this round they only allow 8 only.
u all go long jam pass and decide who wanna go in.
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i remember last election their own cec members never turn up at the rally and half the chairs on stage empty
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We all know PAP is scared of SDP...just watch when the 14 SDP members march into the Parliment!!!
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not walk over meh, Marching lor..left right left right..
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Originally posted by Atobe:
Do we need to prove it to a fallen angel - when the fallen angel has to work in a Bar all night ?
Let's hear from you when you have finished 57 years working at your father's Bar.
Or are you too drunk to realise that you have been drinking too much to forget your troubles ?
We can accept the fact that drunks are in a constant state of denial.
Should Singaporeans not expect the minimum standards of accountability from the millions of dollars paid from tax payers money to the PAP Politicians who claim to be the best talent, and deserve to be measured with the best in the private sector ?
Only a drunk will believe that "you dun even foot a cents" in a recession - did you pay for your share of the recession, or did you invest with the objective of making losses ?
Do you not realise that it is a big risk to talk to one who is a drunk ?
To a drunk, taking 5 shots down simultaneously would have been a big achievement, what other events can be more historic.
Does a drunk know what history is about ?
SDP is not going to get anything from calling people who gives their views and helps as drunken.
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so many ppl are busy Q up to buy properties,
LV, posh eating places
where got time for SDP?
Zz also no time liao
Sorry hor Wall street went up yest hor
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In the last GE, SDP never failed to achieved a thundering roar of at least 20% of those constituency votes...just count if all the 20% of each constituency voters come togther that will be hundered of thousands votng for SDP!!
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anythingh against the pap and to freed sg out of freaks foreigner is a good act.
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Originally posted by Singmarine:
In the last GE, SDP never failed to achieved a thundering roar of at least 20% of those constituency votes...just count if all the 20% of each constituency voters come togther that will be hundered of thousands votng for SDP!!
Sounds more like a irritating sqeak to Singaporeans at large. I would rather support other alternative parties than give my vote to the SDP. -
Kenneth Jeyaratnam seems like a better choice to me.
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Originally posted by noahnoah:
so many ppl are busy Q up to buy properties,
LV, posh eating places
where got time for SDP?
Zz also no time liao
Sorry hor Wall street went up yest hor
no lah, i still eating chee cheong fun leh, if they go for SDP, i may end up eating tou huay and yew tiao...please hor...i only know my behind garden wall. -
Originally posted by Stevenson101:
Kenneth Jeyaratnam seems like a better choice to me.
a pity for his father JB ar? -
I would rather support other alternative parties than give my vote to the SDP.
Like which party and why?