1/17/2015

GE2015/16 – Rules of Engagement defined?




Everyone is in anticipation of the next General Election that could be called anytime now, if not in 2015 then must be in 2016. All the political parties have been busy making plans and arrangements and strategising on how to engage in this once every 5 year battle for the right to form the govern and run the country. PAP, being the ruling party and the one in the know on when the election would be called, is in the best position to execute its election plans as it is calling the shot. Everyone is watching and second guessing what is in the mind of the PAP and the election date that is closely guarded. Their best hope is to watch the moves of the PAP, what they are saying and doing, to have a feel of when the GE will be called. And there are many signs surfacing over the last few months.

The latest political move is the letter by Chan Chun Sing to the Huffington Post attacking the Post for allowing Chee Soon Juan’s letters to be published. What is more important is the text of the letter, what it said and what are the implications. Chee Soon Juan is going to play a central figure in the next GE if he is qualified to contest and all the big guns of the PAP will be trained at him. This letter is perhaps the first cannon shot fired ahead of the GE and would set the tone of the debate, the mood, tactics and rules of engagement.

Taking the hints from this letter, the PAP has in a way set the standard of what can be said, what would be said, and what is fair game. Let’s take a look at the content of the letter, I have deleted the less relevant to allow the key items to stand out.

“Your website has given Dr Chee Soon Juan considerable but undeserved attention and space. You perhaps believe that he is a weighty political figure in Singapore. He is nothing of the kind.
Dr Chee has stood for elections thrice – and lost badly all three times, once receiving just 20 per cent of the vote.
The party he now leads, the Singapore Democratic Party, was once the leading opposition party in the country. …
Indeed, it was Mr Chiam who brought Dr Chee into the SDP in 1992. He mentored the younger man and promoted him. Dr Chee then proceeded to betray Mr Chiam, isolate him and force him out of the SDP, ….
In 1993, Dr Chee was dismissed from the National University of Singapore for misappropriating research funds and for other serious misconduct, including surreptitiously recording conversations with university staff.
He has been sued for defamation not only by ruling party politicians,…
And in 1996, Dr Chee and three of his associates were convicted of perjury by Parliament tor submitting false statements to a Special Parliamentary Committee. … It is because of these and other failings that Dr Chee is a political failure – not because he was persecuted,… voters do not regard its leader as an honourable man.
Dr Chee was disqualified from contesting the last two General Elections because he was declared a bankrupt in 2006 for failing to pay damages for libel to former Prime Ministers Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong. ….
Sincerely,
Chan Chun Sing
Minister for Social and Family Development, Singapore
Some commentators have called this name calling or character assassination. (Full test of the article is available in all the main media and also at TRE). The letter was about Chee Soon Juan as a person and his character in question. It was about him as not honourable, a bankrupt, ungrateful, and misconduct. It related his affairs and encounters with politicians, govt officials and his employers that are negative.

As they said, food for the gander is food for the goose. Are these the lines drawn by the PAP as acceptable fodder for the GE campaign whereby political parties can dig out everything they could find about their political opponents and to use them freely in name calling and character assassination to win the votes? These were thought to be the OB lines in the past where anyone crossing them would be condemned as mean, unethical, hitting below the belt, dishonourable or unacceptable.

Now that Chan Chun Sing, signing off as the Minister for Social and Family Development and using them to attack a potential political opponent, does it signal to the opposition parties that they can do likewise? Of course they need to say things that are factual or risked being sue for defamation. Maybe immortals are flawless and blameless and there is nothing that the opposition parties could find to use in the GE. That may give Chan Chun Sing and the PAP the confidence that they could widen the OB markers to accommodate more juicy stuff and the washing of dirty laundry during the heat of the election rallies.  

The election rallies are going to be very interesting and going to be very well attended when all kinds of personal information would be aired to down an opponent. Insults, insinuations, name callings, sneerings, badmouthing, exposing personal gaffs etc etc are permissible? It would be good if the rallies could be put on live telecast. One thing for sure, youtube and webcast, mobile videos etc etc would be made available in all the blogs and websites to share the good stuff and great stuff of the election one upmanship, with many red faces to show.

This GE election rally must be something to look forward to, could be more exciting and part of the SG50 celebration.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

"This GE election rally must be something to look forward to, could be more exciting and part of the SG50 celebration."
RB

But then do u remember what kaki lang WP Teochew Ah Hia already said, and it is worth repeating, that majority Sinkies (aka 60%) are very scared they accidentally vote PAP out in a GE because WP is not ready to be govt?

In fact, just a day or so ago, PM Lee also reminded as much that Sinkies want PAP to govern Singapore.

Be that as it may, so how exciting can the next GE be, u tell me lah?

Anonymous said...

“There’s desire for alternative views, but basically Singaporeans want the PAP to govern Singapore. And if you ask the opposition party, whether it’s the Workers’ Party or SDP, nobody says: ‘Vote for me, I will form the Government, I will be the Prime Minister, I will run this place better". Nobody.'
PM Lee

100% tiok. If even WP Teochew Ah Hia dare not say, who else in opposition dare to say, u tell me lah?

Even the gunho Aung Juan Soon Chee , much as he may want to become PM, but because his party and followers are not strong enough to make him even confident of winning a seat next GE, let alone become PM.

Anonymous said...

"And if you ask the opposition party, whether it’s the Workers’ Party or SDP, nobody says: ‘Vote for me, I will form the Government, I will be the Prime Minister, I will run this place better". Nobody.'
PM Lee

Ho say liao! I think PAP can just use this statement alone to campaign in next GE and 93% chance PAP can again win the 60% or even more liao! Why more? Because more new Sinkies since GE 2011 mah, tio bo?

Anonymous said...

LSL will still be the PM. In case
of getting less than 50% a coalition will be formed with WP.
Teachew ah Hia will be the minister of Manpower and the woman will be properly a Mayor and
the rest will be ordinary MP. Since if they are then part of the establishment they can be appointed and Directors of GLC etc.
Everybody will be happy.The question is What about ask?

Anonymous said...

In case of getting less than 50% a coalition will be formed with WP.
Anon 11:58 am

Tiok. And that will be the worst possible scenario for PAP, by having to count WP win as a PAP win.

Best scenario : PAP win all.

Worst scenario: WP win = PAP win

What about daft, suffering Sinkies? Win or lose?



Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Aiyah please lah redbean...the PAP is known for being "election sensitive" trigger-happy folk who react to every little small thing.

Talk abot kia su kia si...that's the PAP lah. They'll attack anyone they perceive (their perception---often flawed) as a political threat. And LHL has made it clear that the PAP intends to be in power for at least another decade or so.

So IMO cut this minister a bit of slack lah. He's just exercising his freedom of speech and expression. However, it is strange, as you put it, that he used his title of office to respond in the HuffPo...IMO that was a WRONG MOVE. The fuckers at the HuffPo, including the boss Arriana are not the "kow tow" types who will "cower" at the obvious attempt to bloat his social status. Many would even call this guy a "boaster cock".

When people fuck up, allow them to fuck up lah. Don't be too quick to point out their mistakes. IMO, I want them to make more mistakes :-)

Anonymous said...

Daft Sinkies sure to vote for PAP. And everything will be as per normal.

Virgo 49 said...

WP coalition with PAP or WP or PAP wins all immaterial as long we have CSJ and TJS and many others yo make parliament move lively.

At least got noises of point and trust and not three quarters ponteng and sleeping and bored.

No need NMP s like Calvin Cheng and chiak liao bee.

Anonymous said...

redBEAN Ah Chek
There are 8 individual comments above but most of them appear to be the work of just 1 fella !?!

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Not just one lah. But one could have posted a few comments.

Anonymous said...

When a honorable man doesn't agree with what was written. He counters it with intelligent and persuasive arguments. That at least is the social convention of a man of letters.

But in this most curious of cases, this fellow went and heckled the editors of Huffington and even had the unabashed temerity of demanding why they had given Dr Chee the bandwidth they did.

To subtract further from his apparent lack of character in being able to manage himself and others effectively, he hangs himself further by mounting a cheap character assassination attack.

Meanwhile what was written by Dr Chee stands.

Our young are a future. The deserve good role models. How sad.

Darkness 2015

Anonymous said...

Never get a sheep to do a foxes job. It will be a very disappointing and embarrassing enterprise. Yesterday a group of regular Huffington readers asked me about this fellow - I told them, he's just a nobody....never ever heard of him before.

I was ashamed for Singapore and Singaporeans.

Darkness 2015

Anonymous said...

I think Kee chiu may have read RB blog.

Because the style that Kee chiu wrote to Huffington about Chee, looks like he was reading and following one regular commentator in RB blog. This commentator also likes to post a few comments together, or asking and then answering his own questions.

b said...

Surprised that a minister so free to get himself involved in a popular but 'gossip' website. Taxpayers monies very well spent on his wages, hor?

As a minister of social and family development, if he is so free, he should spend his time to improve the fertility rate lah. Writing about things like that cannot improve fertility rate lah.

Anonymous said...

... and also repeatedly sticking labels onto some oppo chiefs.

Anonymous said...

PM material? spore sure kong kar keow.

Anonymous said...

He gone berserk.

Anonymous said...

Is it true?
Ah Sing is the potential 2nd Generation of seat warmers for PM Lee's son?
True or not ah?
Can this actually happen or not ah?

Anonymous said...

In an interview with reporters recently, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was asked about his successor.

Q: Is your future successor currently in the Cabinet? Because you have said you want to hand over before you are 70 years old, so is it also likely that you hand over to your successor mid-way in the next term, so you have to give him a little time to prepare?

PM: Yes, he may already be in the Cabinet, but it is not entirely certain, because I will bring in some MPs and some new people with leadership calibre in the next General Election. Therefore, we should be able to find a successor between this election, the previous election and the next election.

Anonymous said...

I think, many of the ministers must have seen this letter and they all agreed that it was a damn good letter to send to Huffington Post or thought it a wise idea. But some might know this was trouble and just pretended that it was a good letter and went with the flow.

For this letter to pass muster and to go to an international media like the Huffington Post in the US is a sure sign of insanity.

Anonymous said...

Kee Chiu will still win, even if he fights 1 to 1 with Ah Chee next GE.

Because except for Aljunied, Hougang and maybe also Punggol East, 60% will only vote for a party which is ready to be govt, but too bad, Ah Chee's party is not ready. So Ah Chee will not win, and most likely he will also retire from politics after next GE.

Anonymous said...

Under SDP, even Hainan Ah Ko also could not win, so how can Ah Chee win, u tell me lah? This I think Kee chiu also knows. That's why from the way he wrote to Huffington about Ah Chee, Kee Chiu really sees Ah Chee no up at all.

Anonymous said...

"For this letter to pass muster and to go to an international media like the Huffington Post in the US is a sure sign of insanity."
Anon 9:09 pm

Tiok. But it is perfectly OK if Kee chiu had posted his letter as a comment in RB blog.

Anonymous said...

" I think, many of the ministers must have seen this letter and they all agreed that it was a damn good letter to send to Huffington Post or thought it a wise idea. "
January 17, 2015 9:09 pm

Chan Chun Sing is a Cabinet Minister.
Do you think he acted alone?
Or do you think the entire cabinet including PM Lee all agree and kee chiu to send the letter?

If PM Lee is unaware that Chan Chun Sing sent out the letter.
Then do you think PM Lee is losing control of his Cabinet Ministers?
And if you lose control of your Cabinet, does this mean that you are losing control of your government?
Yew.
What do Yew think?

Anonymous said...

Then do you think PM Lee is losing control of his Cabinet Ministers?
Anon 10:33 pm

But do the Sinkie opposition become ready to be govt because PM Lee is losing control of his Cabinet Ministers?

If not, will 60% want to vote PAP out?

And if not, what's the issue for PM lee losing control of his Cabinet Ministers?

The said...

/// Taking the hints from this letter, the PAP has in a way set the standard of what can be said, what would be said, and what is fair game. ///

Nah, what new standard? This is business as usual and the normal PAP modus operandi. They can bad-mouth and say all kinds of nasty things about the opposition. But the minute the opposition do likewise, they will be sued till bankrupt.

Anonymous said...

The only purpose of this silly letter is to provoke Chee to draw him out firing and then to sue him again.

Chee has so far refrained from doing so and is not falling into the trap.