LIM Swee S: Wants a more "holistic" approach to "engage" Sg

• shanfan

  9 Jun 11, 15:55

  Lim Swee Say wants a more ‘holistic’ approach to ‘engage’ Singaporeans

  June 9th, 2011 | Author: Temasek Review

  PAP Minister without portfolio and deputy chairman of its People’s Association (PA) wants to adopt a more ‘holistic’ approach to ‘engage’ Singaporeans.

  Speaking at a community event yesterday, Mr Lim laid down a new road map for the PAP grassroots organizations to extend their reach and influence to more Singaporeans, describing the process as being ’same same but different’.

  “As we organise these activities, the focus now will have to go beyond just getting the residents to come together to interact, but more importantly, to find ways to sustain this interaction so that overtime, there’ll be greater emotional connection in our community,” he added.

  He also shared how the CCs and RCs had tried to rope in young Singaporeans to be their grassroots volunteers by unlikely tie-ups such as a joint project between the Clementi Citizens’ Consultative Committee and the online gaming community in Singapore.

  Though the PA is supposedly a statutory board funded by taxpayers’ monies, it is actually a PAP organization which enables it to mobilize grassroots resources and support to serve its partisan interests.

  All the board members of the PA are PAP ministers and MPs including its Chairman PM Lee and Dr Janil Puthucheary, an ex-Malaysian who was granted citizenship only 2 years ago.

  The grassroots organizations are also used by the PAP to establish a foothold in non-PAP wards. For example, though the PAP lost Aljunied GRC in the 2011 election, its 5 losing candidates have been appointed ‘grassroots advisers’ there.

  Unable to attract more young Singaporeans into its fold, the PA has been mass-recruiting new citizens and PRs of late. According to a report in the state media last year, more than 20 percent of grassroots leaders are new citizens and PRs, one of whom is the infamous YPAP leader from India Sinha Shekhar who boasted about subletting his HDB flat for rental income while living in a condominium on the YPAP Facebook.

  The PAP is unlikely to face a serious challenge to its political hegemony so long the PA remains under its control. As PAP supreme leader declared proudly not too long ago:

  “All CCCs, CCs and RCs are part of the PAP.”