Singapore Democrats

"This is because the media is controlled by the PAP and will give the ruling party more opprtunity (sic) to disseminate its news while the opposition has no such means."

SDP repeatedly prides itself on its ability to bypass the ruling party's control of the MSM through its mastery of the alternative media.

Complaining is just a (further) indication that it has run out of imaginative ideas to reach the electorate. More importantly, it should worry about what messages it wants to convey rather than raise hue and cry over the restrictions over the means.

"If the PAP really wants a cooling-off period all party political broadcasts and news reports should also be banned during this time."

It would mean a total blackout on all news: including TV, Radio and newspapers.

How wonderful to have such quietness and peace.

Nothing the PAP Govt does is to benefit the other political parties nor even the voters. It is everything to do with their very own survival and to survive well i.e. to get their usual 75% so as to continue to control the constitution.
What we have here is a rather desperate PAP and their leader LHL. He knows the days of his papa and mentor at age 86 are numbered. His confidence is now shaky and he must think of ways and means however unethical to ensure his big victory at the coming polls to continue business as usual.
But will the 66.6% allow him this time around?

Hello, why the need for cooling period
1) PAP did a good job, they seen how Malaysian opposition members line up along the road cheering the their party. This play an important part influncing on the incoming voters (see you tube)

2) PAP did their homework. The Malaysia politcial tsunami happened with the help of "New Media" (see malaysiakini.com) With this "Cooling Period Policy" they now create a new tools to supress the New Media she now had to respect the feeling of Singaporean.

3) PAP did their homework. We may see the Opposition Website crash boom bang

All credit to them, they had the brain

But not all is lost, we need to create our very own counter measure.

Again, you know Opposition are not united, and they always let the cat out of the bag too earlier.

Not to expect the PAP to do something such as this is not being realistic. As a matter of fact we should expect some other desperate measures such as this from now till electios are called.

This blacking out of the Opposition by the main stream media, particularly of the SDP, is nothing new. I just watched on the tv the featuring of the PAP and the other opp parties. They are trying to reinforce the misconception that the SDP no longer exists.

So when come elections, when more and more voters see that the SDP is not only alive but also kicking hard, the msm will go to town during the cooling off period to try and convince voters that what they saw was in fact an illusion. That, I think is the PAP's medus operandi.

But this is the age of the internet and the SDP has many friends and linkages. Come what may the SDP's message to bring about change will be heard and heard loud. We shall overcome!

Lee Hsien Loong is reported to have said that known websites, that obviously include SDP's, will be barred from reporting on the election campaign during the eve of polling and on polling day itself.

Why is this restriction when the PAP bootlicking SPH and MediaCorp are allowed to mouth their sycophancy of the PAP that is riddled with corruption, nepotism and cronyism?

SDP seems to be effectively reaching out to the electorate through its groundwork, especially with its newspaper the New Democrat and other activities.

It's only the PAP and its MPs seem to suffer from disconnect with the electorate. This is clear from the occasional attacks on the so-called elected members of parliament by angry voters, including acid throwing and attempted burning of the hated PAP.

It’s the PAP that is afraid to face the people, but it creates the myth of invincibility through the castrated media and by its total control of state organs and government institutions.

Since 5 solid decades of relentless and authoritarian control of the state-media, the ruling party has never established any election rules that are fair to all political parties, this is just another “wayang-tactic” to further enhance their grip of power on this tiny island, so, as the head of state of this "litter-red-mark", when travels abroad, he can achieve emperor treatment by other heads of states and rub shoulders with those most powerful and rich high-net-worth people around the world! Now, you can envision why he die-die must hold on to the power, even putting aside all his dignity and integrity!

[color=red]"This blacking out of the Opposition by the main stream media, particularly of the SDP, is nothing new. I just watched on the tv the featuring of the PAP and the other opp parties. They are trying to reinforce the misconception that the SDP no longer exists."[/color]

Perhaps Jufrie missed the ST article quoting opposition members' views on this issue. Mr Ambalam was given his own paragraph-worth to express his views on the cooling period, like everyone else. [b]Jufrie should be happy to note that the SDP exists (in the eye of the MSM)![/b]

Of course, if Jufrie deliberately avoids the ST and other MSM mouthpieces, he would not be aware when SDP members are quoted and given a fair share of the airtime.

Anyway, if the MSM fail or refuse to quote SDP's views or report on its activities, the party only has itself to blame. It's response to media queries are often crass and boorish. It is not that the MSM wants to paint the SDP as non-existent, but that its responses are often irrelevant and badly slanted towards its own agenda.
[b]
SDP is better off curtailing its acrimonious approach to the MSM and trying to paint itself as a victim of being a media exile. [/b]

Hello, Counter Measure using proxy war
Mr Lee:"All opposition party must respect this Cooling Off Day. All opposition must control your political website. You just had take your chances and to put your trust in CNA

Can't used your website, then borrow others website for example Yawning Bread. On the 9th day (shhh top secret) if they found, you know PAP is going to "block that route" too.

Along the way, PAP place more "road blocks" stopping your route.
Can't voice your explaination, the right to response, your counter-arguement. Let "yawning bread commenters" post it on their website on behalf of your political party.

***On the 9th make sure your hyper-link to yawning is ready to go

Where is our Hollywoods tv stars Mr Low and Ms Lim. Navie, Innocent and plain Stupid.

By the way, Jufrie was referring to MediaCorp, PAP's broadcast outfit that left out SDP's rebuttal to Lee Hsien Loong's "cooling-off period" fraud.

There's no MSM and what we have in Singapore is a PAP propaganda rag under the jackboot of its master. A former deputy prime minister is firmly in charge of SPH with ISD operatives masquerading as reporters/journalists to make sure there is no reports damaging to the "reputation" of the corrupt, nepotistic and crony PAP regime.

SDP does respond to media queries but not to the castrated PAP mouthpieces that call themselves MSM.

BryanT
"SDP repeatedly prides itself on its ability to bypass the ruling party's control of the MSM through its mastery of the alternative media.

Complaining is just a (further) indication that it has run out of imaginative ideas to reach the electorate. More importantly, it should worry about what messages it wants to convey rather than raise hue and cry over the restrictions over the means."

If someone breaks one of your legs to prevent you from running fast, and despite that setback, you trained yourself to hop fast in one foot, does that mean you don't mind the person to break your the other leg again? Or that you bear that person no ill will for breaking you first leg and will not sound out this person's act to others?

All it takes for evil to grow is good men to say nothing.

Independent Commission to oversees election - question is how independent is independent?

Since anyone that has some degree of repute will all be classified as Government man in Singapore, we might as well get a bunch of PRC and Indian nationals across all the Socio-economic classes to be Commission can consider independent or not?

Either that, we have to invite Americans who claim they are democratic but are highly reputed to sabotage elections e.g. Afghanistan elections.

(Independent Commission to oversees election - question is how independent is independent?)

The composition of an independent commission can be worked out. For example, the commission could include, among others, representatives from the opposition.

The commission should be an independent body and not a department reporting, as the case is now, to the prime minister who is also a candidate in elections. Presently, it's like a player or the captain of a team deciding the rules and regulations of a match without the referee, linesmen and proper goalposts.

Certainly an independent commission is far better than a department conducting “elections” that are nothing but an exercise to "fix" the opposition and "engineer" the results.

PAP running scared and need to make all sorts of changes to the system just to stay in power. The beginning of the end of PAP just like the LDP Japan after 50 years of rule.

The cooling period is a good sign that the PAP is desperate and anxious to stop the opposition from gaining entrance into parliament. This is a excellent opportunity for the opposition to unanimously reject the 18 places reserved for the unsuccessful candidates in the next elections to gain entry into parliament thru the “backdoor”.

TR has just published an article “Opposition will consider using internet to reach out to voters on cooling-off day” in which opposition parties were queried on their plans to overcome the proposed restrictions.

The conclusion was rather ineffectual – that “the opposition has not dismissed the idea of using the internet to reach out to the voters on the “cooling-off” day which will be introduced in the next general election.”

As a corollary, I want to add on to Jufrie’s point that the MSM is “trying to reinforce the misconception that the SDP no longer exists.” As part of the alternative media, it seems that TR did not see fit to seek SDP’s view. This is despite SDP’s prominence (among opposition parties) on the internet.

I hope it is not an indication that even the alternative media is ignoring SDP as well.

Anyway, TR did one of the opposite party members a disfavour by quoting him as having “planned to use the “cooling-off” day to do some administrative work.” That is either being deceptive or defeatist.

What is this TR? There are hundreds of websites and blogs disseminating views and ideas of both the PAP and the opposition. There are also sites that claim to be neutral. This is the media culture that one wants to see in the so-called MSM that is effectively under the jackboot of the PAP.

If the PAP thinks that it is a party of the people, with the best ideas and solutions to the problems faced by the masses, then it should not be afraid of alternative views. It shouldn't have resorted to putting a former deputy prime minister as head of SPH and ex-ISD operatives as reporters/journalists to control and manipulate the minds of the people. In other words, turning the media into a pure propaganda rag.

Let the people be free to decide for themselves what they want based on the Constitution and the National Pledge.

As the SDP statement here says, let's have "a free and pluralistic media that report fairly on all contesting parties,"

'Cooling-off' period, eh? Don't they say that if you can't stand the heat you ought to get out of the kitchen?

'Eh, this cyberspace thing is damn dangerous man, look at what it did to our Malaysian partners in crime. Those buggers are now in the ugly position of having to toss their opposition off (tall buildings) when sodomy doesn't do the trick. We suck bad, man, really bad. It's getting so bloody anarchic we cain't hardly control it. Fact is we're so hopeless we're even reduced to paying hard-up retirees to seed lame commments on dissident sites on our behalf. Now how sad is [i]that[/i]? We've lost the cyber battle, sir, but we can win the war.'

'I have a cunning plan. Look, if we blindfold them and stick our fingers in their ears for a day before the election, what's left of our pig-brained citizens surely will never notice that we're leading them by the lift-upgrade to the slaughter-house just like last time. Remember our inspired wheeze to ban podcasts last election after the 'mai hum' catastrophe? Worked like a charm! And how about our 'longevity insurance' double-boiled scam? That worked so well nobody noticed us washing our hands of all responsibility for our elders. And the best part is we used the pathetic residue of their own CPF contributions to do it too - absolute genius!'

'I say again sir, if there's one thing we can rely on every time it's our indigenous sheeple's simple-minded predictability. Their myopic inability to look past the ends of their noses has never failed us yet. And come 2017 they'll be a minority drowning in an ocean of Mandarin foreign talent anyway so they won't matter any more. It's gonna be bye-bye tired, uncompetitive, kampong chickens and thanks for your generous 50 years of delicious sharks fin/birds nest/abalone soup, baby!'

'It's really easy, all we need do is to keep cams and mikes away from your accident-prone son and his 3 stooges and we're guaranteed a 100% mandate just like bro Than Shwe had. Oh yes, and before I forget, we need to ban all footwear in the presence of ministers to counter shoe-throwing hotheads. That ought to do it for 2011. [i]Pau chiak[/i] I say!'

Why stop at cooling off? May as well totally freeze it - ban party campaigning altogether.
Singaporeans are so damn fearful, they will obey the ban absolutely.

Yes, there is thematic consistency in all that I am about to post from here on, but it will reveal itself only eventually.

I wrote this post on this thread with the recent PAP announcement in mind of the great need we have for a cooling period during the elections period:

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/12/high-court-grants-rare-stay-of-execution-appeal/

110) Robox on December 4th, 2009 4.14 am:

Arthur on December 4th, 2009 1.41 am said this:

Re: “It is probably only in TOC where you can find outrageously irrational people blaming drug addicts for their own situation…”

I suspect that by “irrational”, he only means “emotional”, and this is as good a time as any to address this typically extremist rhetoric of the fascist types.

Yes, the issue of the death penalty *IS* an emotional one: Does anyone here know anyone else – including themselves – who wasn’t emotionally affected by the death of someone close to them?

The issue of the death penalty had only better be an emotional issue; we lose our humanity otherwise when we think of human life as a clinical issue that affects no one emotionally.

(As a side note, I would like to say at this point that I find the posts in this thread discussing this issue in economic terms to be extremely offensive; human life CANNOT be measured in terms of dollars and cents. If it can, then please tell us what you – or better yet, your mother – are worth in terms of dollars and cents. Or stop.)

But back to my point: How can we – Abolitionists – be accused of being irrational when we are presenting our arguments based on the evidence we have from studies already conducted, and while the pro-murder* people have nothing to counter us with? Is there NO rationality in academic studies? If there isn’t, then why are wasting all our resources on the seemingly meaningless pursuit of academic studies?

No, I suspect that Arthur, like so many other like-minded people, thinks that being *emotional* is the opposite of being *rational*. When have fascists ever stopped taking all the nice names to falsely describe themselves leaving us with nothing nice to call ourselves?

He’s dead wrong!

The opposite of “rational” is *IRRATIONAL*, and not *EMOTIONAL*; you can be rational AND emotional at the same time but you can never be simultaneously rational AND irrational.

Tell us where we have been IRRATIONAL. I would appreciate your contribution to this debate better.

Footnote:

* Anecdotally, I have consistently found a strong correlation between the pro-murder camp and the pro-lifers in the debate on abortion – go figure their internal self-contradiction; I wonder if declaring and proving one’s religion should be made mandatory in this debate to ascertain if there are any vested interests.

Now read this.

Take note of the difference in dates between when I wrote my post above and when this was written.

Also note the strangely coincident theme.

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/12/the-treason-of-reason/

((Why stop at cooling off? May as well totally freeze it - ban party campaigning altogether.))

A very good suggestion indeed! Since PAP rallies during campaigning are a total washout, rallies and door-to-do-visits must be banned throughout the "election" period. As it's no rally permits for opposition in normal times are given because of "public order" concerns, the ban should become total to avoid "people becoming disorderly"!

Door-to-door visits have to be banned too to prevent any mishap, such as acid throwing and attempted burning of PAP candidates.

“Law and order” should be the paramount consideration in our incorruptible, accountable and transparent PAP that even its adversaries grudgingly acknowledge for its clean government!!

The concept of the “cooling off” period is often used in countries where the consumer law guarantees the customer has the right to cancel a deal, get a refund or both within a stipulated period. Consumer usually has a short period of time to make up their mind about the products they have purchased.

In matrimonial law, some countries require the married couple to wait for a “cooling off” period to complete before a divorce proceeding can be taken place. This is obviously to make the parties involved in realising the decision they will be embarking on.

In politics, a recent example of a “cooling off” period was of the ex-Russian President Vladimir Putin who cannot run again for the presidency after holding the position twice in a row under the Russian constitution. Mr Putin will need to wait for four years from the end of his last presidency to the end of his successor’s period, to become the President of Russia again if successful. In the European Union, the EU commissioners when they leave office, they face a one-year "cooling off" period before they can accept any lucrative posts in the private sector.
The political application of “cooling off” period in these countries is more about fending off political mismanagement, nepotism and fraud etc.

Comparatively, what Junior Lee has proposed in the one day “cooling off” is similar to the concept being applied to consumer right. There is only one day to “cool off” and voters are likely to be pressured in making up their mind. The intention is more probable to be “hard selling” PAP than reassuring voters.

How nice. During the cooling off period I can read The Straits Times and watch Mediacorp everyday to know more about who to vote.... How thoughtful ...