Prime Minister Lee took the trouble to announce the new electoral rule of "cooling off period" half a globe away recently. The main reason is that PAP is afraid that voters will vote irrationally after being emotionally charged in opposition rallies the day before.
PAP actually preempted questions about such act as self-serving by pointing out that there are other places who practice such cooling off period as well. However, Singapore is a rather unique political entity with its mass media being ranked side by side with many ill-democratic third world countries. How could it make comparisons to first world political entities in this instance? There are certain pre-requisites for such rule to be applied FAIRLY. Singapore will fail for the two conditions:
1) An independent Press. All local press is tightly controlled by the government via holding controlling management shares in these entities.
2) Independence of civil service and statutory boards. PAP has openly declared that PAP = government and government = PAP in the past. It would mean that it will not see itself differently from the civil service and statutory boards. Even the tax-payer financed People's Association has shamelessly declared that it has symbiotic ties with PAP as the ruling party.
It is only reasonable to expect PAP to utilize all the machineries under its control to do up last minute campaigning on its behalf. eg. getting grassroot organizations like RC and CCC to canvass for votes on their behalf. PAP candidates who are usually appointed as heads of such organizations could well attend all activities organized by these organizations during that cooling-off day to continue their campaigning under the guise of "grassroot activities". It has happened before in 2006 whereby PAP candidates have been attending various activities organized by PA grassroot organizations during election campaigning time.
Thus it is only reasonable to conclude that such electoral rules under such ill-democratic political system here in Singapore is only self serving for PAP.
If PAP is that serious about rational and informed voters' choice during polling time, it should have declared the election date 3 or even 6 months in advanced. This is to allow the mass media to give enough exposure to each political parties the opportunities to present their parties' positions on various political issues so to allow voters to have closer scrutiny on them.
Most modern democracies, even parliamentary democracies, have stipulated dates for elections well in advanced. The practice of announcing snap elections just less than 4 weeks before going to poll is not an act that augur well with the notion that the ruling party is concerned about "emotional" or even "irrational" voting.
Workers Party Chief MP Low Thia Khiang has it right on the dot that PAP could use its position as the government to make additional announcement on policies to counter opposition parties' attacks on its past policies failures in its effort to sway voters opinion. This will not be surprising as PAP has always put that arrogant view that Singapore government = PAP and vice versa. I mean it could only happen in Singapore that a ruling party could arrogantly announce that voters will only have priority in HDB upgrading as means pork barrel politicking even before the elections is being concluded!
I mean, slightly more than 50% of seats have been contested in GE 2006 but yet, PAP has been putting out such arrogant call to voters that they will only get priority in various government upgrading services if and only if they voted for them! Does PAP really care about "rational" and informed choices? Apparently not. They are only interested in "FEARED" and "SCARED" votes, that's all.
This is all evident with the track record of PAP's past campaigning, right from 1988 to 2006. Their only campaigning tactic is to take one opposition candidate as whipping boy and start to use all machineries available to go into gutter politics of painting them black, putting labels on them etc. 1988, Francis Seow targeted as "womanizer". 1991, Jufrie as "Malay Chauvinist". 1997, Tang Liang Hong as "Chinese Chauvinist". 2001 Dr Chee as "liar" and the "where is our money" saga. 2006, the all famous James Gomez saga.
They have never been interested to debate on important policy issues at all, except of throwing out pork barrel politicking threats of no HDB upgrading if Singaporeans do not vote for them. Does this track record speak well of PAP's concerns about "rational" and "informed" voters' choice? Apparently not. Their past actions and records for the past 20 years in electioneering is all about Scare Tactic, personal attacks on opponents and mudslinging. What "rationality" are we talking about here? There is no rational live TV debates on various issues because PAP has declined all challenges to live TV debates. PAP did not fight on the platform of debating on any policy issues raised by the opposition parties.
If PAP is really interested in "rational" voting, then I would suggest that the last day of campaigning should be reserved for national LIVE TV policy debates being carried out in replacement of mass rallies. That would be a last campaigning methodology that would be FAIR to everybody, including voters as well as contestants.
But I seriously doubt that PAP will take up this challenge because they are not really politicians that could argue and debate well in public places. They could only live in the comfort of their ivory towers making policies with a very narrow perspective without the need of the true baptism of political challenge by anyone else.
It seems to be a forgone conclusion that such self serving, unfair rule will set in for the next elections. One intriguing question is why now? Has the ground shifted to such dangerous zone that PAP needs such added mechanism to ensure that it will not lose more seats?
The whole package of electoral changes is of great interests. I remember that the Prime Minister has mentioned in GE 2006 that he will have problem in finding time to deal (pardon his exact word "fix") with a parliament that has 10 or more opposition members. But now, we are seeing PAP increasing the number of NCMP, practically the number of opposition members to 9! Why?
The key lies with the so call P65 voters. PAP has shown its worry over those voters who are born after 1965. This group of voters have not gone through the political turmoil of the 1950s and most importantly, have not enjoyed full benefits from the economic success of the 1970s as well as cheap REAL SUBSIDIZED HDB flats.
By the time they are ready to buy a HDB flat to form up their family unit, they found themselves paying 6 or even 10 times more than their parents just for a decent, sometimes smaller, HDB flat. They are the ones who suffered the brunt of 1998 financial crisis, 2003 economic downturn due to SARS and the present financial crisis.
This group of voters are relatively well educated than their parents. They are more internet savvy and apparently, more demanding on the government of the day. They are more worldly traveled and well learned in what is happening overseas. Most importantly they will form more than 50% of the voters cohort by next elections and they will be the main force behind any "Swing Votes".
Although PAP understand the "potential danger" of this group of P65 voters swinging against them, but it seems that they do not really understand the fundamental needs of this group of voters. The PAP didn't understand what they desire to see in an elections.
This group of voters will not vote blindly for any opposition candidates, neither will they succumb to PAP's scare tactics and unfair electoral practices. Most importantly they value FAIR PLAY as well as a good balance of power. They are definitely not that kind of "irrational voters" that PAP wants to subdue by having that cooling off period. They are ready to take the chance of voting for opposition parties if they are convinced that the candidates are passionate and decent in pursuing their political cause. They are very rational voters who understand their priorities in making political choices.
PAP's change of the election rule may backfire on them as it would be regarded as an unfair practice as well as an insult to this group of voters' intelligence. Any pork barrel politicking will fail badly on this group of voters. This group of voters wanted to see more policy debates, not mudslinging during elections. This group of P65 voters wanted more FAIR rules and treatment to all political parties. If they cannot get fair reporting from the mainstream media, they will definitely turn to alternative sources of information which will include but not limited to the new media.
If there is a "cooling off period" without a balance of information feed, most likely this group of P65 voters will turn to the internet for information. This may not be a bad thing for opposition parties and will definitely backfire on PAP.
I am not really against the idea of cooling off period suggested by PM Lee basically because I think it is going to be advantageous to the opposition movement. Of course the PAP will make sure that they will have the last say in the whole campaigning by using all means to bombard the voters with all sorts of messages during the eve of polling day, but I have confident in our matured voters to be more sophisticated than what PAP think they are.
The only musing I have gained from this saga is to witness how naive and irrelevant PAP is. Action speaks for itself. PAP has never been concerned about "rationality" or keeping voters well "INFORMED" of all the choices they could have. Whoever is advising them on this scheme has totally missed the point about the potential P65 Swing voters. What they want is more policy debates, not some dubious "cooling off" period.
I always tell my little daughter that if she always insists in winning each and every games she plays by changing every rules favorable to her, she must well don't play any. Win and loss are just a norm for any game. It seems that PAP is behaving like a kid who only want to win in every political contests they participate in. Going to the extend of changing all boundaries and rules to maximize their chances of winning. Why do they need to be so burdened in doing all these things? No matter what they say, almost everyone in Singapore understand deep in their hearts that this is just another "Kiasu" (afraid to lose) rule that they are putting in to safe guard their own interests.
I will give the same advice to PAP as I did to my daughter. Just don't need to continue this silly contest since what perceived by PAP as "rational" is just, vote for PAP. Just turn this country's constitution into a Monarchy with all members being appointed by the Monarch. That will save a lot of trouble for the PM Lee in wasting his time trying to "fix" opposition. Save a lot of money and resources in conducting such an election with farce rules. Then maybe we will declare Singaporeans will live happily forever thereafter.
Goh Meng Seng
Election "Cooling of Day" - Cool?
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Polling day cooling off period is just another distraction
Written by Ng E-Jay
03 December 2009In yet another move to distract voters from the critical issues at hand, PM Lee has proposed an extra day of non-campaigning as a cooling-off period just before Polling Day, to be implemented at the next General Election due in 2012.
He made this announcement after attending a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad and Tobago (in Spain) earlier this week.
Under the new proposal, all campaigning will be disallowed 24 hours before Polling Day, including mass rallies, door-to-door visits, and the display of party logos and symbols. The only exceptions will be party political broadcasts which are televised on the eve of the polls, as well mainstream media reports on the election.
The Straits Times listed countries like Australia, Indonesia, Italy and Mexico as all having some variation of this feature in their electoral systems, with anything from one to three days of campaign silence before the final vote. The ironical thing about the Straits Times listing however is that with the exception of Mexico, the other countries have a free and independent press.
While Mr Lee acknowledged that the Internet remains a grey area, he emphasized that political party websites will be bound by the new rules, and he even suggested that websites whose authors can be readily identified should adhere to these restrictions too.
He said: “On the Internet, it’s grey and also the policing is not so straight-forward but even then, in principle we should say today is a quiet day. I cannot control several million videos on youtube but your website, what you’re putting up in your own name, I think that should end the day before the cooling-off day.” (Channel News Asia, “PM Lee proposes extra day of non-campaigning before Polling Day“, 01 Dec 2009)
Obviously the PAP is not going to implement policies that will benefit the Opposition. PM Lee has mentioned that the cooling-off period “would give voters time to reflect rationally on issues, after the emotional high of election campaigning“. Implicit in PM Lee’s proposal therefore is the assumption that swing voters who vote for the Opposition are often emotional, irrational, and are acting merely in response to the heat of the campaign.
By contrast, the PAP has always made known that they think people who vote for them tend to be calm, collected and logical. You can see this during every election campaign, where PAP candidates often describe their electioneering as non-emotional and rational.
But whether or not this is actually true, the fact remains that PM Lee’s suggestion of a cooling-off period is just another distraction that ignores the pressing issues of the day.
As it stands, Singapore does not have a free and independent media. According to the Press Freedom Index compiled by Reports Without Borders, Singapore currently ranks 133 out of a total 175 countries surveyed, not much better than countries like Zimbabwe, Malaysia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, all countries notorious for maintaining an iron grip on the press which is only allowed to report favourably for the ruling party.
It is well known that the mainstream press in Singapore is fully controlled by the Government. By only allowing mainstream press reports on the election 24 hours before polling begins, the PAP is effectively shutting out the Opposition and only granting a voice to itself.
But that is not the only woes we face. The election process in Singapore itself is neither free nor fair, because elections are administered by the Elections Department which is housed directly under the Prime Minister’s Office, and they have the authority to redraw constituency boundaries based on non-transparent criteria which is never disclosed to the public. The PAP makes all the rules and leaves the Opposition no choice but to follow them. There is no independent elections commission to oversee the election and ensure there is no gerrymandering or unfair practices carried out by any political party.
Without an independent mainstream press and without free and fair elections, a cooling-off period before polling day only disadvantages the Opposition even further because the Opposition is effectively prevented from reaching out to the masses while the mainstream media has free reign to report according to the dictates of its owners.
Naturally, opposition parties have criticized this proposal heavily. But the Opposition should regard this proposal as a mere distraction and realize that the work of galvanizing support from the masses must be an ongoing effort that cannot be restricted to the election campaign itself.
The Singapore Democrats have responded forcefully to this latest round of chicanery by the PAP. They suggest having
- an independent elections commission to run and oversee elections, not the current set-up controlled by the Prime Minister’s Office,
- a free and pluralistic media that reports fairly on all contesting parties,
- enough time (at least 3 weeks) for campaigning.
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作者:��蚬
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ã€�在解释决定在投票日之å‰�增设“冷é�™æ—¥”çš„ç�†ç”±æ—¶ï¼Œæ�Žæ€»ç�†è¡¨ç¤ºè¿™ä¹ˆå�šçš„最大作用在于让选民能够从激动的情绪ä¸å†·é�™ä¸‹æ�¥ï¼Œç»�过深æ€�熟虑å�Žæ‰�投下神圣的一票。
“我们认为这个å�šæ³•æœ¬èº«æœ‰ä¸€å®šçš„å¥½å¤„ã€‚å› ä¸ºåœ¨ç»�过激动和情绪化的竞选活动之å�Žï¼Œé€‰æ°‘应该有时间冷é�™ä¸‹æ�¥ï¼Œç�†æ€§åœ°æ€�考竞选期间所出现的å�„ç§�政è§�和课题，分æž�当ä¸å�Œä¸ªäººæ”¸å…³çš„利害关系，然å�Žæ‰�带ç�€æ²‰ç�€å’Œæ¸…醒的æ€�路去投票。” 】
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Originally posted by heathers:
MediaCorp is state owned, I don't expect objective reporting from them.
For example, during 2006 GE, how often do u see the camera pointed towards a crowded WP rally, or any other rally by opposition parties on TV?
Journalists reporting on the site of opposition parties almost always stand before rundown kopitiams with drunks in the background, while those reporting on site of PAP almost always report before an uplifting environment. It could be a blatant attempt at swaying public confidence, could simply be coincidence. Who knows?
You'll have to know those who work in the news and current affairs dept for MediaCorp to know what exactly it is they do.
Think it a good and effective idea to help people understand and know that local media are under their control and thus they produce lots of propaganda for the ruling party. This way more will vote the ruling party out.
For eg, one of the mediacorpse"s 9 pm drama had the script "we have good govt". This was mentioned in the show a couple of times. Pure propaganda!
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Originally posted by Alp:
Seriously speaking, whatever they are doing right now isn't helping the citizens on the common ground. It's doing more harm than good. And, I believed they know it as well. Those past events that happened irreversibly have become one of the biggest scandals in sg history. It's a sad thing to hear how many people do actually know and care about it.
Precisely, we need politicians who are sincere to serve on the ground without any form of prejudice, not a jumbo pay check delivered on golden wheels to justify their committment to serve.
I share the same sentiment. They cannot afford to care about the harm lest this pose an obstacle to them to achieve what they want for self serving.Like I said before, if they are only interested to make lots of money, politics is not for them. They should go do business. In Singapore or any other country, people do not need businessmen to run the countries.
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Garament despo. I can bet, within that 24hours "cooling off", MSM will blare bullshit nonstop.
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I hope PAP will not use the "cooling off" day to badmouth and cause harm to the oppositions.
It is unlucky for people of Singapore to have such a ruling party.
Waiting for the day we will be free from their oppression.
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I read in other forums that people will actually use the cooling off period to go surf the internet for political news about the parties since no more campaigning on that day.
Go figure.
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Originally posted by charlize:
I read in other forums that people will actually use the cooling off period to go surf the internet for political news about the parties since no more campaigning on that day.
Go figure.
good -
This cooling off period rule is like hanging flags in August for national day.
They die die want to tell you what you can or cannot do even though it is a ridiculous rule.
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Originally posted by charlize:
I read in other forums that people will actually use the cooling off period to go surf the internet for political news about the parties since no more campaigning on that day.
Go figure.
Ya lor, speaker's corner will be very hot on that cooling day lor.
But, don't know why during the cooling day, the internet connection might suddenly go haywire.
Then how ?
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cooling off day to vote wisely lol. this chap is a joke. It doesn't affect me for sure. And for the thinking savvy young generation, i don't think it affects them either.
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Vote in those good oppostions and reduce the power of the PAP,wake them up!This should give the ruling garmen plentiful cooling time to reflect back and think about where their policies went wrong and how to start making amend.
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after election
prices up up up
salary same still can laugh - must said heng never drop
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Dec 4, 2009
Why S'pore doesn't need a cooling-off day just yet
I REFER to Tuesday's report, '24 hours to cool off before Polling Day'. As a Singaporean who has voted in the past three general elections, I find that Singapore's democracy exercise is a quiet one. Compared to our neighbouring countries, we score 100 per cent for orderliness and 5 per cent for anxiety. So I would say there is no need for a cooling-off day on the eve of polls.
Some voters' hearts may go out to the opposition parties but on Polling Day, they vote for the People's Action Party (PAP). Why is this so?
I would compare the elections to a football match. You weigh the PAP players' strength, teamwork, game strategy, professionalism and brand image against the opposition players' lack of strength, teamwork, strategy, brand image and track record on the national front with only emotional support from fans. You know the winner even before the game has started.
We should not have opposition parties for the sake of having them, but rather different voices from a cross-section of society. The move to have nearly one-fifth of non-PAP voices in Parliament is good enough. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Let us wait for the day when we have a similar pack of players on both sides.
Joshua Selvakumar
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Originally posted by Seowlah:
Ya lor, speaker's corner will be very hot on that cooling day lor.
But, don't know why during the cooling day, the internet connection might suddenly go haywire.
Then how ?
Have you visited other local forums that are quite "Hot" ?
Recently, a lot of reports about bad connectivity and inability to enter those forums on some days.
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How will the “cooling off” law be enforced in cyberspace?
OPINION
The “cooling-off” day proposed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to be introduced in the next election has stirred considerable interest in blogosphere with many netizens wondering how the new law will be enforced in cyberspace.
All mass rallies, door-to-door visits and public display of party symbols will be banned on the “cooling-off” day on the eve of polling day itself to enable voters to make a “calm” and “rational” decision.
Prime Minister Lee did not spell out clearly the circumstances under which the offenders will be prosecuted under the law or its penalties except that he hoped the spirit and principle of the “cooling-off” period would be upheld by Internet users.
“I can’t control several million videos on YouTube. But your website, what you are putting out in your own name, I think that should end on the day before cooling-off day,” PM Lee added.
Does the new law cover the following: -
1. Political commentaries posted on personal blogs.
2. Discussions on the elections in internet chatrooms.
3. Photos of the elections.
4. Videos of rallies, interviews and documentaries uploaded on Youtube.
5. Cartoons, parodies and satires.
For all intent and purposes, the law will be impossible to implement on the ground unless the PAP moves in to close down all the offending sites either overtly or covertly.
Anonymous bloggers will still be writing articles on the election, netizens will be flaming one another in the forums and Youtube will be filled with video clips recorded days before the “cooling-off” day.
It is far more practical to target the websites of political parties as well as established blogs with a sizable readership whose owner’s identity is already known.
Among the political parties’ websites, only SDP has a substantial readership to speak of.
SDP is the first political party in Singapore to make use of the new media to get its message across.
Soon after it announced its decision to utilize podcasts to reach out to the media, the government banned the its use during election time (the ban has now been lifted)
The readership of SDP’s website has increased since the last election and is expected to doubled on the eve of the election.
The “cooling-off” day will probably have a detrimental impact on the SDP’s campaign since the mainstream media is unlikely to give it much publicity, if any at all.
During the 2006 elections, blogger Mr Brown caused the PAP considerable embarrassment with his “Bak Chor Mee” parody which went on to be one of the most watched videos during the campaign period.
Under the new law, Mr Brown will be banned from posting any such satirical pieces on his popular blog on the eve of polling day to prevent it from “swaying” public opinion.
Blogger and gay activist Mr Alex Au whose photos of the huge turnout at the opposition rallies will also be prevented from posting similar photos on his blog “Yawning Bread” on the “cooling-off” day.
While no details have been divulged yet, the penalties for such offenses may be a hefty fine or even imprisonment to deter potential “trouble-makers” from breaking the law.
After all, an election is a “serious business” according to PM Lee whose outcome should not be left entirely to chance or determined by raw emotion.
The PAP can well afford to ignore blogs run by anonymous bloggers with a low readership and those set up during the election itself because they are not going to have exert any influence on the electoral result.
As the Malaysian experience have shown, the new media is only able to have an impact if it has a readership which is comparable to that of the mainstream media.
For example, Malaysiakini has a higher online readership than all the other mainstream newspapers controlled by the government such as New Straits Times, The Star and Utusan Melayu.
Besides Malaysiakini, there are also other semi-professional and amateur sites with a high enough readership to challenge the mass media – Malaysia Today, The Malaysian Insider, Merdeka Review and The Nut Graph to quote a few.
Though the Singapore new media still lags far behind its Malaysian counterparts, “freak” events do happen during the election as Mr Brown’s “Bak Chor Mee” which took the PAP entirely by surprise had amply demonstrated.
In fact, given the “kiasu” nature of the PAP, it will not be a surprise if the “cooling-off” day is extended to another two to three days before polling day itself to give it an additional cushion from the expected storm of negative publicity in the new media.
Mr Brown, Alex and other Singapore bloggers will have to decide for themselves if they are willing to pay the price by posting politics-related stuff on their blogs on the “cooling-off” day.
Despite another blatant attempt to manipulate the electoral system to its benefit, the new law will only affect swing voters who have not made up their minds.
To the many Singaporeans who have already decided who to cast their votes for, it will matter little if the “cooling-period” is a day or a week.
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Sign up for GST Credits, Senior Citizen's Bonus
By Channel NewsAsia
Posted: 03 December 2009 1335 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singaporeans will have until the end of this month to sign up for their 2009 GST Credits and Senior Citizens' Bonus.
So far, 97 per cent of eligible Singaporeans have signed up.
Those who have not can do so through the internet at www.gstoffset.gov.sg, or fill up a form available at any Community Centre, Community Development Council or CPF Service Centre.
Those who do not sign up by December 31 will still be eligible for next year's GST Credits.
However, there will be no retrospective payment of the GST Credits and Senior Citizens' Bonus.
Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...022248/1/.html -
Originally posted by charlize:
Have you visited other local forums that are quite "Hot" ?
Which forums are hot?
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Originally posted by angel3070:
Which forums are hot?
You see those articles being posted in sgforums recently?
A lot of them came from those "hot" forums.
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Originally posted by charlize:
A lot of them came from those "hot" forums.
Which forums exactly?
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Originally posted by angel3070:
Which forums exactly?
Temasek Review, The Online Citizen, Mr Brown to name a few.
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And also sammyboy.com
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Rationalization is a human's system of internalising one's fear.
The more you rationalise, the more one fear. The more one's fear, the more he has to vote 'responsibly'.
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Originally posted by charlize:
Have you visited other local forums that are quite "Hot" ?
Recently, a lot of reports about bad connectivity and inability to enter those forums on some days.
Ya, have visited a number of these "hot" sites, both government and opposition sites.Both sides are getting ready for hot, hot debates now.
Even in sgf, can also observe the propaganda too eg Angel3070 has toned down and rarely curse LKY in red for the time being and spread more news on the opposition eg the NSP council election yesterday.
Just hope that internet connection will not go haywire suddenly during the election period or some hot, hot sites will get the messages that these websites are inaccessible for some reasons.