Saturday, November 24, 2012

The Paramountcy of Opposition Unity

The question of opposition unity is an indispensable element in facing the PAP in GE2016. In the last General Election in GE2011 there was a three-cornered contest in the Punggol East SMC. Ii was a straight fight between PAP and the opposition in all the other constituencies which showed a credible unity among the opposition. In GE2016 there should not be any three-cornered contest to show complete unity among the opposition. 

The possible entry of Chee Soon Juan, Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party, into the fray in 2016 will be a welcome development since his bankruptcy has been annulled leaving him free to stand in elections again. That he has stressed the importance of opposition unity in the next GE in 2016 is a timely reminder to opposition parties to sink whatever differences they may have in the larger interest of the public, the electorate sympathetic to them.

It is mind-boggling if there cannot be complete unity in the opposition camp in facing the PAP in GE2016. The present prognosis of the political situation is assessed to be in favour of the opposition because of the iniquities of the PAP policies and the opposition parties should not overlook this golden opportunity to nurture this favourable development to their political advantage when GE2016 comes around.This has not escaped the attention of the PAP leadership who are working strenously  to try to salvage the unfavourable situation by introducing such novelties as the National Conversation in order to appease the Singaporeans' wrath.

The Workers' Party with the largest number of opposition MPs in Parliament is naturally looked upon as proactively providing the lead in co-ordinating the various opposition parties into a solid united front in facing the PAP in GE2016.The next GE is not too far off and now is the right time to start to work the ground so that nothing will go amiss before GE2016. It is hoped that in order to replace the so-called formidable PAP Government in the next General Election or at least to capture a considerable number of GRCs, which is not impossible in the current political climate, opposition parties, especailly the Workers' Party, will transcend their parochial interest for the more noble altruistic political objective.

Opposition parties cannot fail to observe the universal dissatisfaction of Singaporeans against the iniquitous policies of the PAP and should, if not capitalise on them, at least play them up to their own advantage. Workers' Party surprisingly has not been very vocal in this respect; so it will have to buck up if it wants to retain the  voters' confidence in its performance. In order to divert Singaporeans' attention from PAP iniquities, PM Lee Hsien Loong flexes his external muscles by his narcissistic performance on the regional stage like the recent ASEAN Summit. Could it not be compared to the similarity of a death-throe?

1 comment:

Gary said...

The so-called 'National Conversation' is nothing more than a RED HERRING thought up by the crafty govt to buy time, to distract and is a delaying tactics.

It is intended to stave off any criticism that the govt is not doing anything substantive about the hardships many Singaporeans are facing vis a vis the mishandled economy and still appearing to be 'doing' something about it. CERTAINLY, TALK IS CHEAP AND FREE, AND IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY REALISED IT, THERE IS LITTLE SUBSTANTIVE DONE WHERE IT MATTERS MOST - HEALTH COST, HOUSING COST, FALLING WAGES AND JOBS.

It cunningly threw in a few side shows with minor 'tweaks' to the wages of cleaners, property laws, medical charges for PRs, etc, to BUY TIME and distract the lack of serious action to right policies that have gone very awry.

Don't be surprised if the conversation would prove to be draggy and dissipated over time to wear out the citizens attention span. Don't be surprised too, if the govt would sensationally implement some popular policies to swing voters nearer to GE 2016.