Written by Our Correspondent
At least three opposition parties have expressed their interest to contest in Tampines GRC in the next general election helmed by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan who is becoming an increasingly reviled figure in Singapore due to his failure to curb the sky-rocketing prices of HDB flats which is causing tremendous hardships to ordinary Singaporeans, especially first time home buyers.
According to a Straits Times report today, the National Solidarity Party, Singapore Democratic Party and Reform Party may be contesting in Tampines GRC though the latter’s Secretary-General Kenneth Jeyaretnam declined to comment further when contacted this week.
Leaders from the opposition believe that rising unhappiness on the ground over the hike in the prices of public housing will give them a chance against the incumbents led by Mah Bow Tan.
Mr Mah first took part in the 1984 elections when he lost unexpectedly to SDP’s Mr Chiam See Tong in Potong Pasir. He subsequently entered Parliament in 1988 via Tampines GRC where he had held ever since.
Under his charge, the prices of HDB flats have rocketed over the last few years, contributed partly by inadequate number of new flats being built in the face of rising demand fueled by mass immigration during the same period of time.
Though Singapore was supposedly to be in recession in 2009, the prices of resale flats increased by 8.2 per cent with median COVs doubling to $24,000.
New launches for Build-to-order (BTO) flats are grossly over-subscribed, an indication of how severe the housing shortage crisis is.
Instead of acknowledging his mistakes and seek to rectify them, Mr Mah lashed out at first-time home buyers for being “choosy” and asked them to be “realistic”. He later admitted that he was “caught off guard” by the spike in prices as well.
Despite evidence suggesting otherwise, Mr Mah is adamant that HDB flats remain “affordable” to Singaporean and urge “Singaporeans to play their part by buying a home within their means.”
Quoting the affordability benchmark of 30 per cent used frequently by HDB to show that HDB flats remain affordable to ordinary Singaporeans, Mr Mah said a family with a monthly income of $3,000 can buy a flat worth up to $250,000 and spend only 30 per cent of their income every month on the mortgage.
“Similarly, a family with a monthly income of $4,000 can afford to buy a new flat worth up to $333,000 without spending more than 30 per cent a month on the mortgage. This means they can comfortably buy any of the flats offered in the latest BTO projects this month,” he added.
However, Mr Mah fails to take into account the bank interest rates and inflation over the years which will lead eventually to the family spending more than 30 per cent of their monthly income on the mortgage.
Furthermore, after depleting their entire CPF for these over-priced 99-year leasehold HDB flats, they will have little or no savings left for their retirement.
It appears that Mr Mah and his colleagues are unable to comprehend the hardships and sufferings of ordinary Singaporeans, especially first-time home buyers who are under great stress to afford a roof over their heads.
Besides Mr Mah, his colleagues are equally unsympathetic towards the genuine concerns of Singaporeans. Ms Grace Fu, the Senior Minister of State for National Development claimed that rising prices of HDB flats help to “create wealth” for Singaporeans.
Law Minister Shanmugam said he had a “hunch” that Singaporeans are the “culprits” for the predicament they find themselves in today.
While many Singaporeans are unhappy with Mr Mah, it is unlikely they will cast their vote for the opposition if they field a weak team there without any concrete plan for the nation.
Political anaylst Eugene Tan told Straits Times in an interview that “it would be a ‘narrow and self-limiting’ strategy for any opposition party to pick an electoral ward based on the minister’s portfolio.”
“It will have some effect only if housing is a problem with Tampines GRC voters, thus making it ‘a useful lightning rod. To make the ‘national issue’ strategy effective, opposition parties have to raise the same issue across all constituencies they are contesting and give concrete alternative proposals,” he added.
The rising costs of public housing linked together with the relentless influx of foreigner will be the single most important issue in the next general election.
The opposition has to come together under a common umbrella standing on a common platform with a common manifesto and alternative vision for Singapore like Malaysia’s opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat to stand any chance of denying the PAP its traditional two thirds majority in Parliament.
By Sue-Ann Chia and Kor Kian Beng from Straits Times
TAMPINES GRC is shaping up to be a hot spot in the next general election, with at least three opposition parties keen to contest the five-MP constituency.
What draws them is the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) anchor minister helming the group representation constituency – National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.
Why? They are convinced there is some unhappiness on the ground over housing and the contest would give them the opportunity to hit out at housing policies, particularly the affordability of public housing.
The first to stake its claim is the National Solidarity Party (NSP) which considers Tampines GRC its turf as the party has contested there four times, in the 2006, 2001, 1991 and 1988 polls.
The Reform Party had also declared its interest in the ward publicly last year, though its secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam declined to comment further when contacted this week.
Instead, he said the party has been active in the north-western areas of Hong Kah GRC and Choa Chu Kang.
The Straits Times understands that the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has approached the NSP, saying it may be keen to contest in Tampines GRC.
The Workers’ Party (WP) has been spotted in the area too.
When asked, the WP’s organising secretary Yaw Shin Leong pointed out that Tampines GRC falls within ‘the north-eastern corridor’, where the party has been active since the 2006 elections.
In fact, the party has been holding regular community walkabouts and house-to-house visits in wards in the northern, north-eastern and eastern areas, he said. They include constituencies such as Aljunied GRC, Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, Tampines GRC and Hougang.
‘It’s not surprising if people think that we are eyeing Tampines GRC,’ he added.
Mr Yaw said the WP will not contest the ward ‘unless there are compelling strategic reasons like long-term party growth expansion’, since the NSP has contested there before. Opposition parties adhere to some form of a gentlemen’s agreement to prevent three-cornered fights that would dilute their vote share.
The NSP’s Goh Meng Seng, who is likely to lead a team in Tampines GRC, does not intend to budge. ‘By hook or by crook, we will go to Tampines GRC,’ said Mr Goh, who was in the WP team in Aljunied GRC in the 2006 elections.
He also sees value in taking on Mr Mah, who has been in Tampines GRC since 1988, to highlight housing issues, such as rising HDB flat prices and reverse mortgage of homes to provide seniors with a stream of income in their retirement years.
‘HDB affects 80 per cent of Singaporeans. It is a key factor in our life,’ said Mr Goh, 39, a businessman.
‘Voters must send a clear signal to the ruling party that they want change or don’t want certain policies. They can do that only with their votes.’
If it means booting out a minister, voters should not be afraid to do so, he said, adding: ‘This is about extracting accountability from the ruling party.’
Since Tampines GRC was formed in 1988, the NSP has contested it at every election except in 1997, which saw the PAP team getting a walkover.
Asked about the opposition challenge, Tampines GRC MP Ong Kian Min said: ‘They are interested because this is a small and compact space. With their limited resources, it helps when they don’t need to spread out to cover the area.’
Read rest of article on Straits Times
what the fuck are they doing ??? 3 opposition groups against PAP ? are they trying to get Mah Bow LAN to stay on or what ?
The opposition has to come together under a common umbrella standing on a common platform with a common manifesto and alternative vision for Singapore like Malaysia’s opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat to stand any chance of denying the PAP its traditional two thirds majority in Parliament.
I agreed with this statement.
wha, why so early talk about election liao???...Uncle Goh said, let recover the economy of this country first before talking about election.
Talking is foc lah.
opposition had learned their mistakes
to win, one cannot simply attack their competitor weakness/weakspot
they must unite - all for one, one for all
come up with concrete solution and feasible proposals in order to win more votes
afterall, voters are all Singaporean
so, Singaporean interest and welfare must always come first - otherwise why must i vote for you!
i beg to different,
A united opposition may wins the election, as unity equal strength, however as person who see thing beyong the election, I see a problem in a united opposition front.
As man, unlike woman like us, tends to have greed and power savy, a united opposition will split after wining the election, each opposition will be aiming to be the leader and take control, eventually this will lead to internal fighting resulting in civil war and internal strife rather than taking care of the country day to day function.
Originally posted by angel7030:i beg to different,
A united opposition may wins the election, as unity equal strength, however as person who see thing beyong the election, I see a problem in a united opposition front.
As man, unlike woman like us, tends to have greed and power savy, a united opposition will split after wining the election, each opposition will be aiming to be the leader and take control, eventually this will lead to internal fighting resulting in civil war and internal strife rather than taking care of the country day to day function.
this is your personal assumption!
can you predict the future!
ans is a big no.
Originally posted by angel7030:i beg to different,
A united opposition may wins the election, as unity equal strength, however as person who see thing beyong the election, I see a problem in a united opposition front.
As man, unlike woman like us, tends to have greed and power savy, a united opposition will split after wining the election, each opposition will be aiming to be the leader and take control, eventually this will lead to internal fighting resulting in civil war and internal strife rather than taking care of the country day to day function.
Opposition can talk, but sporean want action too.
tampines is a relatively affluent area. considering that it's been contested every election and mah bow tan has been voted back in every time...
... if the people of tampines wanted him out, he would have been out long ago. whoever can afford a flat in tampines alr don't belong to the unhappy group.
Originally posted by AH TRUTH:this is your personal assumption!
can you predict the future!
ans is a big no.
This is not a prediction, it is foresight, our MM had thought us about foresight, he claimed that he can see the future ahead by 20 to 30 years, and so far, he is quite right, the americans take him like a fortune teller, but he said fortune teller talks with no fact, for us, we base on satistics, facts and knowledges to get a good foresight of what is coming.
History built what it is today, what happen today (thing like opposition united), will create the future, be it a peaceful or war torn future, it is up to now.
History and shown us that before LKY came into power, he was himself an ally of the opposition, in those days, the oppositions join forces to seek self government and independency, and after getting what they wanted, LKY climb himself to power without remorse, therefore, i foreseen if the opposition won, someone will fight all his way to the top again, and he struggle with others will cause so much pain and suffering for Singaporeans, civil struggle among top people will cripple our economy completely leading to more and more problem. LKY took nearly 15 years to stablise this country, imagine how long will the next one takes.
Lots of die hard fans....
Originally posted by angel7030:
This is not a prediction, it is foresight, our MM had thought us about foresight, he claimed that he can see the future ahead by 20 to 30 years, and so far, he is quite right, the americans take him like a fortune teller, but he said fortune teller talks with no fact, for us, we base on satistics, facts and knowledges to get a good foresight of what is coming.History built what it is today, what happen today (thing like opposition united), will create the future, be it a peaceful or war torn future, it is up to now.
History and shown us that before LKY came into power, he was himself an ally of the opposition, in those days, the oppositions join forces to seek self government and independency, and after getting what they wanted, LKY climb himself to power without remorse, therefore, i foreseen if the opposition won, someone will fight all his way to the top again, and he struggle with others will cause so much pain and suffering for Singaporeans, civil struggle among top people will cripple our economy completely leading to more and more problem. LKY took nearly 15 years to stablise this country, imagine how long will the next one takes.
"keep up the good work" - angel 7030
So, for the sake of the Citizens of Singapore, i beg all to forgo power and let PAP rules continue, after all, let there be peace.
Originally posted by angel7030:So, for the sake of the Citizens of Singapore, i beg all to forgo power and let PAP rules continue, after all, let there be peace.
If they rule, make sure they can reduce bills and more rebates.
Originally posted by angel7030:So, for the sake of the Citizens of Singapore, i beg all to forgo power and let PAP rules continue, after all, let there be peace.
granted they have made singapore safe and peaceful all these years. but they've also manipulated the system to work in such a way that even if singapore isn't safe anymore, you can't do anything to them.
i don't want to vote them out too, but i want to keep them on their toes.
Originally posted by angel7030:So, for the sake of the Citizens of Singapore, i beg all to forgo power and let PAP rules continue, after all, let there be peace.
who are you?
are you insane?
why you make this type of comment?
how dare you?
Originally posted by likeyou:
If they rule, make sure they can reduce bills and more rebates.
Ok, i will bring up to them provided we have a deal here.
PAP will reduce bills and give more rebates,
Opposition will not contest in any wards, and let there be a walk over on all wards.
On hindsight, I will try to convince PAP leaders to take care of those earlier years political prisoners, compensate them and perhap give them an award of recognition.
If agree please sign below with your credentials
---------------------------------------------
Originally posted by angel7030:
Ok, i will bring up to them provided we have a deal here.PAP will reduce bills and give more rebates,
Opposition will not contest in any wards, and let there be a walk over on all wards.
On hindsight, I will try to convince PAP leaders to take care of those earlier years political prisoners, compensate them and perhap give them an award of recognition.
If agree please sign below with your credentials
---------------------------------------------
ha ha ha
joke of the month
Originally posted by sir_peanuts:
granted they have made singapore safe and peaceful all these years. but they've also manipulated the system to work in such a way that even if singapore isn't safe anymore, you can't do anything to them.i don't want to vote them out too, but i want to keep them on their toes.
Sir,
It is nice to hear that, perhap our present ruling party had gone abit too arrogance in their ruling, especially those younger ones, we shall diliberate that in our meeting. Hopefully, they will tone down abit, but rest assure that there is no intentation to offend anyone, as said, Singapore will always come first.
Originally posted by AH TRUTH:
who are you?
are you insane?
why you make this type of comment?
how dare you?
If you are new here, you will know more of this longinchjohn aka angel7030 more. YOu will know why it comes here.
Originally posted by AH TRUTH:ha ha ha
joke of the month
For peace.
Originally posted by angel7030:
For peace.
try to act as if you have the power. Suggest you join mediacorp for acting.
I donch care opposition win or PAP win.
I just sick of the Lee family.
No more LEE please.