Singapore Democrats

Thanks SDP for this great article that gets to the real underlying concern of the whole Budget issue, that is, the overall non-transparent way our Government operates that is only hinted/aluded to by blogs like my own (Sgpolitics.net) and by parties like NSP, but not expounded with the level of clarity and focus as THIS article.

US President Barack Obama has kicked off his first 100 days (our glorious honeymoon!!) very well. His enhanced freedom of information act will enable citizens to get information faster with less red tape.

In Obama's own words:

QUOTE:

The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable. And the way to make government accountable is make it transparent so that the American people can know exactly what decisions are being made, how they’re being made, and whether their interests are being well served.

The directives I am giving my administration today on how to interpret the Freedom of Information Act will do just that. For a long time now, there’s been too much secrecy in this city. The old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over. Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information but those who seek to make it known.

To be sure, issues like personal privacy and national security must be treated with the care they demand. But the mere fact that you have the legal power to keep something secret does not mean you should always use it. The Freedom of Information Act is perhaps the most powerful instrument we have for making our government honest and transparent, and of holding it accountable. And I expect members of my administration not simply to live up to the letter but also the spirit of this law.

ENDQUOTE

SDP is a better opposition.It can propose alternative plan.Look at the WP,I don't have to say anything, you guess!!

After reading SDP's proposal, how i wish this is our BUDGET 09.

I am surprised it took 30 PAP piglets to cook that kind of Budget 09, and they have the nerve to shout "bold and courageous". My goodness, there is really a madness resonating the island. Why do sound people want to think without conscience.

The Budget proposed by SDP is simple and neat and straightforward, most of all---tangible. This is the gist of solving a problem and not snaking here and there which monies would return back to the same strongroom under the same keeper.

i have no words to explain the stupidity among the Budget 09, is singapore a factory?

Everybody in white is talking NOBLY about using the reserves, almost everybody is oh so proud !

But let us touch our heart, do these PAP MPs and Ministers really know how much are our reserves? Where are the monies kept ? Does nathan really have a key or is it just a fairy tale to fascinate the voters.

Goh Cok Tong was gibbering about the three "NO" to drawing the reserves, who he is trying relate to becos common men dont understand what are singapore's reserves? Many men in the streets do not understand either.

with all due respect, Goh chok Tong should educate the public what are past reserves and what are present reserves and where are they kept ? And why the people in white only talk about the past reserves? Have the reserves been audited ? These are relevant questions PAP MPs should ask at parliament!!!

Singapore blows billions and billions into the financial system overseas for many reasons voters dont understand or have no such intelligence to inquire.

if singapore is really for the locals, based on it gigantic reserves, our healthcare and education like CUBA, could have been free for its people long time ago. Our public housing would have been much cheaper and paying monthly mortgage installment would be a breeze. There would have no hardship when there is economic crisis.
So who brings the burden ??


sadly, singapore is running like Havanna going back to past where casinos and prostitution are going big time soon.

Dr Chee could have been a man in white, a yesman now, drawing out -of -moon salary if he had decided to be one. But he takes the road less travelled. A road where his people can see the real world.

i dont know what the voters think, i think the singapore voters will deserve Dr Chee too late. This is sad story becos if the mind is continued to be inculcated to live in someone past and yet it is the future we must face, how can people be innovative ?
You see why the locals are reminded that they need a dose of FT to squeeze out graduate stock.

did you suddenly read Majie story and vietcong uprising ? What is happening with our mass media?

look around you, what has become of singapore now?? Proud of HDB flats? When you are hungry, you can knock out a piece of tiles to make Bah Kut Teh?
You are happy becos you are asset rich (300K for 4 room flat) ?

Budget 09 is like a poor-man budget but stupidity still vote for it.
May be the voters dont deservs Dr Chee, they deserve small men.

Well, singapore story will not stop here, we are only less than 50 years old. We have now the massive good-economy orientated new citizens pro-PAP (many dont serve NS ) but we still have at least 35 to 40% anti-PAP however diluted they are.

Well, All bad things will come to an end. There is always divine retribution hovering over evil people.

God help singapore and DR Chee !

Bravo SDP, keep up the good work . Now you're sounding even more like a REAL opposition party and showing that you can come up with the sound alternative policies demanded of any government-in-waiting. Will the incumbent reason and argue against your suggestions in public? I very much doubt it given that your commonsense solution flies in the face of its sacred no-welfare-under-any-circumstances dogma and holds up to public scorn once more the embarrassing riches they pay themselves.

Take freezing GST for instance. What if after 2 years the sky hasn't fallen, the economy ticks along just fine, public finances haven't suffered much at all — won't there be some very red faces in government circles? Won't it then be politically impossible to restore? The PM personally swore blind that the last increase was essential, to help the poor no less. If the experiment turns out to expose his appallingly poor judgement for all to mock, it will be another stick to bash the PAP with at the ballot box. Can't have that, can we?

And unemployment handouts/vouchers...tut, tut. As I recall, it was like squeezing blood from a stone to get a mere $30 increase for the needy last time, was it not? [i]"How much do you want? Do you want three meals in a hawker centre, food court or restaurant?"[/i] - Vivian Balakrishnan, loudly. Cue more collective cabinet red faces all around if there's any hint of a U-turn.

Reverse the transport/services cost hikes that were rammed down people's throats a mere 9 months ago? Hmmm. Wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting they weren't truly called for and only the likes of SMRT and Comfort did benefit? Oh dear, that would be awkward.

These eminently sensible SDP initiatives march the PAP's sacred cows smartly over to the hamburger machine, which is why they'll be studiously ignored. It's a nice shot across the bows though!

PAP, PAP, isn't it time for you to go? You are making our lives more and more miserable. We don't need PAP to govern us because they only think of money, money, money!

Of coz everybody needs money but PAP style is like, selling their daughters to gain/get more money. Really, it seems more like it. The biggest pimp in the world - PAP - Pimp Ala Pope. Acting like angels when they actually are Satan in disguises.

F*@^ PAP!!!

Just look at the crap budget, this is what we get for a 1 party system, they can dish out rubbish and have the controlled media sing praise over it, follow by their army of paid commentators to say how lucky we are to have such great leaders.

This is a nation of bull shitters.

The PAP is in power for half a century. Where are we now? Close to an economic contraction of minus 5%. We have lost both our political and economic rights.

Great work indeed by our "benevolent" PAP!

The political, economic and social control in Singapore of the citizenry by the PAP is intolerable.

There is no way for us to articulate our grievances except in cyberspace.

The newspapers, radio and TV remain impotent under the jackboot of a tyrannical regime steeped in corruption, nepotism and cronyism.

Hi,
can you explain how "Bus and MRT should be reduced by 30 percent with immediate effect. "
will help maintain economic activity?

this is going to aggrivate commuters more with overcrowded trains, not to mention the scores of new commuters that have adopted public transit after giving up their private transport.

AB

Judging by the absence of bootlicking PAP scum on this website, one can only conclude the recession is so bad that the ministry of propaganda has to retrench some of its dogs, some of whom have to balek kampung to their home country. Or maybe if the Government followed its own advice, they sent them for retraining to get PhDs in reality distortion from Baghdad Bob/Comical Ali. (remember him?)

Why bother, Dr Chee? He doesnt have to be a yes-man, all he needs to do is to apply for asylum in the West, as PAP alleges that the West is his patron. Dont be a fool like Barak Obama in cleaning up Bush's mess. (in Mandarin: Shou Lan Tan Zi)

Its the following truism that perpetually enforces my belief in democracy: the people elect the leader they deserve.

[quote=abalchan]Hi,
can you explain how "Bus and MRT should be reduced by 30 percent with immediate effect. "
will help maintain economic activity?

this is going to aggrivate commuters more with overcrowded trains, not to mention the scores of new commuters that have adopted public transit after giving up their private transport.

AB[/quote]

Hi abalchan, before I even start telling you why I think this will work, I hope to point you to the root of this argument. You should believed in democracy since you question SDP's proposal, right? I mean it is very clear that Singaporeans have questions and hope to get answers to proposal like this which is going to affect our lives. But even if I spend all my time debating with you on SDP's proposal and convinced you that it's going to work, so what? Will the present government heed advice from SDP or anybody else even if it's good for all of us? And why is it that no Singaporean can question the pap about this budget that they approve which is going to affect us directly? Can't you see, every single problem that we face will not be address in the parliament as long as there is no freedom of speech in Singapore. I have many questions for the pap and I have seen many unjust treatment happening around me. But where is the channel???

[quote=Ted][quote=abalchan]Hi,
can you explain how "Bus and MRT should be reduced by 30 percent with immediate effect. "
will help maintain economic activity?

this is going to aggrivate commuters more with overcrowded trains, not to mention the scores of new commuters that have adopted public transit after giving up their private transport.

AB[/quote]

Actually the price is not going to deter or encourage people from taking public transport one way or another, because there is no cheaper alternative and it is a monopoly.

Its the way that SMRT uses its money that should be put to the vote. I am satisfied that they increased the number of trains and now that more foreigners/PRS have left Singapore, trains and traffic should ease. On a personal level, I think they have built too many MRT stops and should introduce seating sections for working adults/students traveling from one end to the other end to plug in their laptops etc (charge more of course).

I was listening to a foreign podcast on the effects of President Obama's initiatives on the wider world, and learnt that Canada's opposition Liberals were the first to impose the same kind of check and balance on the ruling conservative party there.

The Canadian Liberals demanded from the Conservatives that they submit quarterly reports on [b]exactly[/b] how much and when the ruling Conservatives were going to commit to the government spending that they pledged to in the Canadian Parliament during their budget debates.

Guess what?

The normally arrogant Canadian Conservatives submitted!

But I will be remiss if I don't tell your readers the complete truth: Canada is right now under a minority (Conservative) government and they can be taken down at any time by the Liberals working together with the other parties in opposition.

Why - if the Canadian Conservatives were so cocksure that their Budget was the right thing to do in these hard times - were they so willing, and almost immediately, to submit to the Liberal demands?

This is the beauty of having sufficient checks and balances in place, the exercise of accountability that will serve ALL Singaporeans, divorced from the type of ideology that the PAP continues to cling on to despite protesting otherwise.

[quote=Ted]
[i]Hi abalchan, before I even start telling you why I think this will work, I hope to point you to the root of this argument. You should believed in democracy since you question SDP's proposal, right? I mean it is very clear that Singaporeans have questions and hope to get answers to proposal like this which is going to affect our lives. But even if I spend all my time debating with you on SDP's proposal and convinced you that it's going to work, so what? Will the present government heed advice from SDP or anybody else even if it's good for all of us? And why is it that no Singaporean can question the pap about this budget that they approve which is going to affect us directly? Can't you see, every single problem that we face will not be address in the parliament as long as there is no freedom of speech in Singapore. I have many questions for the pap and I have seen many unjust treatment happening around me. But where is the channel???[/i][/quote]

hi Ted,

i hope my reply is formatted correctly.
i assume you wrote the article, judging from your reply.

in any case, i don't see why you are diverging from the question. the PAP wants to continue living under a shell. It is for u, me and the SDP to rise above their rhetoric and propose better alternatives. We must be the change.

Many look to the SDP for leadership, and CSJ is providing it with avenues like this site.

so, if you can explain what is meant by the line i highlighted, i'd appreciate it.

Anil Balchandani

[quote=uncleversg]
[i]Actually the price is not going to deter or encourage people from taking public transport one way or another, because there is no cheaper alternative and it is a monopoly.

Its the way that SMRT uses its money that should be put to the vote. I am satisfied that they increased the number of trains and now that more foreigners/PRS have left Singapore, trains and traffic should ease. On a personal level, I think they have built too many MRT stops and should introduce seating sections for working adults/students traveling from one end to the other end to plug in their laptops etc (charge more of course).[/i][/quote]

Thanks uncleversg for your reply.
but its a little too late to highlight that the MRT stations are too closely spaced. i don't believe the PAP had too much to do with it.

Your other suggestions on personalized seating is well intentioned, but at the prices offered, its standing room only.

regards,
anil balchandani

This is fresh on US President's bold actions. This is what our government should review on the current government salary:

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Wednesday launched a new bid to tame Wall Street excess, clamping a half million dollar salary cap on executives of stricken finance firms who plead for taxpayer bailouts.

Striking a populist note, the president warned he could not tolerate huge "bad taste" bonuses paid out to fat cat corporate bosses and big spending on luxuries, while job losses and economic woes stalk ordinary Americans.

The president also promised the Treasury would next week unveil a new strategy designed to free up frozen credit markets, in an effort to ignite lending and consumption as the worst economic crisis since the 1930s bites.

"What gets people upset - and rightfully so - are executives being rewarded for failure, especially when those rewards are subsidised by US taxpayers," Obama said at the White House.

"For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis is not only in bad taste - it's a bad strategy and I will not tolerate it as president."