SDP calls on supporters to prepare Road to 2016

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Sunday, 15 May 2011

Singapore Democrats

The Singapore Democrats held a dinner at Fort Canning Centre last Saturday night to thank our campaign workers during GE 2011. Nearly 400 members and volunteers turned up at the get-together.

Dr Vincent Wijeysingha who was the canididate for the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC thanked our guests and called on them to continue to help the Party on the 'Road to 2016' when the next general elections is expected to be held.

Principal Election Agent, Mr Jeffrey George, also addressed the audience. He highlighted many of the inconsistencies in regulations and procedures emanating from the Elections Department especially during Polling Day. This caused much confusion and inconvenience to the Party's operations and poll monitoring.

Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan spoke next and called on the volunteers and new members to build on the foundation of the Party by working the ground.

"There is no shortcut. We need to work and work hard," he said in his presentation. "We need to invest our time on the ground. We need to expend our energy. That's the only way that we are going to get things done and earn our support."

He also laid out plans for the SDP to step up its ground work in the constituencies that the Party had contested in with one addition: Tanjong Pagar GRC.

"Let us get to the ground and let us convince the people of Sembawang, Holland, Bukit Timah, Bukit Panjang, Yuhua and, if I may add, Tanjong Pagar that we are worthy of their support, worthy to be their political leaders, and worthy to be their public servants."

This would close a geographical corridor that the Democrats will be working on: from Sembawang GRC in the north, to Holland and Bukit Timah in the middle, to Tanjong Pagar in the southern part of the island.

Dr Chee also announced plans to form sub-committees to design and implement programmes that would streamline the Party's ground work as well as serve residents in the constituencies.

Some of these include community services, communications, training and development, policy studies, fund-raising, and ground operations.

The community services sub-committee will look into progarmmes that would, for instance, provide legal and medical assistance for needy families. Other ideas include reaching out to youths who may otherwise feel dislocated from the community. This can be done through programmes that would facilitate their involvement and integration in community affairs.

The communications sub-committee will, among other things, look into getting the SDP's message directly across to the residents as the Party's news is still heavily censored by the state media.

The policy studies group will identify problem areas in the PAP's policies, study them and write the Party's alternatives programmes. This will further strengthen our position as constructive opposition party capable of producing realsitic and workable solutions for our country's problems.

The Party will also look into providing training sessions through the training and development sub-committee to develop the potential of our members and volunteers. This will enhance the effectiveness of the party in our internal operations as well as our rapport with the public.

Many among the dinner attendees signed up as members. Among them were professionals in various fields with skills and expertise which we hope to tap for the various sub-committees.

As the venue was filled to capacity last night, we will be contacting more of our volunteers for another get-together.

We encourage our supporters who may not have had the chance to volunteer for our campaign during the GE but who would like to get involved, to email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . There's no time to waste, let's get busy on the Road to 2016.

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Comments (11)

Mon 16 May 2011 11:58 AM | compassion republican - The Road Ahead looking into the crystal ball

You need to build up your base, your foot soldiers of 400 members is not good enough for a decent fight
We are looking at 5,000 grassroots enough to take on a GRC contest. (look at Hougang Stadium, look at their grassroots supporter that night)
How do you manage, to grow, to retain your brightest talents, to energize your members, to fired them up during the non-election period, to allow some youth leaderships to emerge, allow constructive and healthy debate, organize events with the public like American Tea Party movement that is growing with excitement
PAP Party had about roughly 10,000 grassroots members under their wings

You Shape Up or You Loose Out
Having a strong base, a strong grassroots allow you to market, to deflect untruth report by maintstream media, your ability to raise funds, to organize big events to capture the electrical atmoshpere the can-do spirit

The Social Media had bring out a new dimension
The "Popular Contest" like it or not, having Nicole Seah was a blessing. PAP Marine Parade suffer with Ms Tin Pei Ling. The ( likealibilty O meter ) before the General Election is very critical to sense how the public view her in the Online Community before you offically introduce her as a candidates
The study of why Nicole Seah is so welcoming, it a hot topics to anaylse the X+Factor why her recevied 60,000 likes while Ms Tin only had 3,000 likes

Mon 16 May 2011 1:49 PM | Ningxin

I am very excited that you plan to contest in Tanjong Pagar GRC for 2016 elections. However, Reform Party announced recently that they also plan to contest there too:

"At GE 2016, the Reform Party and I will not abandon the residents of Radin Mas and Pioneer. We give notice now, today, that we will be fielding candidates there and in West Coast and Tanjong Pagar GRCs—even if it means a three-cornered fight."

http://thereformparty.net/blog/2011/05/12/a-thank-you-letter-and-apology-to-the-residents-of-pioneer-and-radin-mas/

Do you plan on speaking to them about this? I'd hate to see a three corner fight, and would gladly pick SDP over RP any day.

Mon 16 May 2011 5:33 PM | Prime Citizen

Good luck with it. Singapore is in many ways a huge economic success, and much of its system can and should be emulated. But its no coincidence that the Chinese Communist Party sees Singapore as a model of how an authoritarian political party can run a prosperous society without too much opposition.

It must also be pointed out to those who are blinded by the obvious prosperity of the island that it achieves this to a large extend by dumping all its toxins (often quite literally) across the Causeway into Malaysia, and uses its neighbours as a source of cheap and disposable labour - the treatment of casual workers from Malaysia and Indonesia is quite appalling and often nakedly racist.

Its often stated by the Singaporean government that full democracy is not consistent with Sinocentric culture. The proof this is wrong is Taiwan, which is quite similar in its historic development (and ethnicity) to Singapore, and is equally prosperous and successful, but has managed a transition to a vibrant democracy (one which the West seems determined to sell out to the Chinese government).

I wish the many democrats in Singapore well - it is in everyones interest that Singapore joins the arc of democracies in Asia. It doesn't do the West much credit that it turns a blind eye to the nature of Singapores government, treating it as an equal to the democratic governments of other Asian countries, when clearly it is not so.

Mon 16 May 2011 8:04 PM | compassion republican - LIVE streaming from the rally 2016

2016 will be a new ball game

Who need the Mainstream Media ??? when you had Online Media Communciation to every family in Singapore
Invest in the technology
Invest in the hardware
Invest in beaming LIVE Streaming SDP Daily Rally into every Singaporean into every homes
(now you can combat every untrue report from the Mainstream Media, now you can combat if Dr Chee went on stage or not)

The is a Game Changer, the ability to reach out to the masses had arrived, the capbilities to share 12 minutes of videos around had arrived, the technology to spread your message into the thousands and millions

Tue 17 May 2011 9:10 AM | Prime Citizen

Good and fair policies dare to let opponents to question and doubt until all agree to try out. Hope the real democrat dare to stand up again in the true spirit of altruism . Here I stand!

Tue 17 May 2011 9:39 AM | Tan Tai Wei

Many like myself must have silently admired how Chee and his sister, and the party chairman, who long had laboured to keep SDP going against impossible odds, and eventually forced into the sidelines by being bankrupted and criminalised, have continued (and will continue) to labour behind the scenes, willing to put other persons, mostly very recent at the scene, into the forefront on the electoral stage and tv screen. And all this, despite the chance being very remote of their ever being redeemed from their disqualification.

Compare that with others who quit at their first electoral setback, or resigned when not listened to, or appointed.....

Tue 17 May 2011 10:19 AM | Tan Tai Wei

Just to add this to my above remarks.

At the first SDP rally, I saw Chee Siok Chin, not allowed to be on stage, only standing sweaty in a tent behind the stadium crowds, selling edibles trying to earn some money for the cause.

Tue 17 May 2011 12:37 PM | Stanley - Wah my picture up there LOL!

Wooohooo I dunno what to say! Stomps feet! (posted by administrator ''Dennis He'')
Thanks for this event, personally it was a reunion dinner for me. And thanks for the pictures. Think will volunteer for community or communications now..

Low battery, shaky hands, no tripod; these can not stop a candid camera from capturing the wit & charisma of Dr Vincent. I wanted to stand up and cheer but realise its not a rally lah lol...

SDP thank-you night: Dr. Vincent Wijeysingha (14 May 2011, 8.13pm)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfWJEmGdqUA

Tue 17 May 2011 12:56 PM | leoman

-------------
Tan Tai Wei Just to add this to my above remarks.

At the first SDP rally, I saw Chee Siok Chin, not allowed to be on stage, only standing sweaty in a tent behind the stadium crowds, selling edibles trying to earn some money for the cause.
--------------

siok chee selling EDIBLES?? or u mean "drinkables".
i know she said like curry puff. soooo nice, she eventually "let the cat out of my bag".
Now, jaslyn hates me, she didnt get to taste it.
heheheh

Regards,
hush-hush

Tue 17 May 2011 2:06 PM | compassion republican - Investing Hardware & Software

2016 will seen a SDP TV ???
Something like FOXNEWS, I like fox and friends
9 nine day rally campaign shown LIVE STREAM
Daily live internet progammes on
1) Live Stream Rally Speech
2) Analyse that night speech, main message and also the flaws PAP Party policy introducation
3) Next day (Talking Points) what was said on PAP Camp, what the Maintstream Newspapers said discussion
3) In house New Anchor live Telecast candidates on the coffee shops, HBD void deck, house to house, bus stop, MRT station, hawker centres, food courts, public places campaigning
4) Introduction of Opposition Candidates, on SDP TV intereview, about a "Personal Close Up" to get to know the Candidates well
5) Group Expert Penalist invited to give their expert views during the busy campaign every day
6) Glen Becks, we could had a Chee Perspectives Talkshow. Where myth, dirty tricks, bias reports, half true reports, twisted reports come to the light

Will we see a SPD 9 days TV on the internet??? on 2016. Well, start doing it, start distributing flyers about your website

Wed 18 May 2011 4:51 AM | N Stang - Send your troop to attend to Blk 686B

KBW, The leader @ Sembawang GRC sending just the inexperience newly elected MP Vikram Nair to visit residents after the Dead body found in Blk 686B Woodlands water tank.

As a supporter of SDP, I feel it will prepare your Road to 2016 if SDP show concern/take action for woodlands residents safety & health at this critical moment, especailly those who stay in Block.