Thursday, May 10, 2012

Haste Makes Waste

Shortly after returning from his leave of May 1 to 6, the Prime Minister instructed President Tony Tan to issue the writ of election on 9 May for nomination day to be 16 May, to be followed promptly by actual polling day on 26 May. After all the delay tactics, court room drama and all, the obscene haste to rush the by-election through with minimal time for the electorate to vet the potential candidates merely confirms the incumbents have not changed their form or style of politics. Either that, or they are assuming the promises of GE 2011 to "do a better job" have already been forgotten.

Curiously, the Returning Officer for the Hougang by-election Yam Ah Mee has approved the use of 9 symbols by candidates: scroll, bicycle, ship, tree, flower, horse, hen, rhinoceros and bird. Are they attempting to detract from the highly anticipated clash of symbols between the lightning bolt and the hammer? If so, they might as well add the following symbols already deployed for the pork barrel politics - bowl of porridge, hearing aid, wet market.

They are also probably counting on the short term memory of the average Singaporean voter. Especially folks who have forgotten about the racist humour of one PAP Member of Parliament Choo Wee Khiang:
"One evening, I drove to Little India and it was pitch dark but not because there was no light, but because there were too many Indians around."
That quip was made during a 1992 session of parliament.

Two years earlier, the same Choo was fiddling with the books. The law caught up with him only on June 7, 1999, when he pleaded guilty to a charge of abetting his brother-in-law to cheat a finance company by issuing false invoices worth $1,000,000 in 1990. In a statement on his stepping down prior to sentencing, then Acting Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he was saddened by Choo's resignation and that Choo "has done the right thing." Note the regret was about his resignation, not the transgression of law.

That kind of history didn't bother the guys who made him President of the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA), a tenure which he abused by incurring three counts of corruption and one of criminal breach of trust. From 2005 to 2007, Choo was alleged to have charged his personal airfares, expenses, phone bills to the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) and received gifts of S$1,500 and US$600 from Chinese coaches and players.

For the sake of the people of Hougang, this Choo better not take on the guise of a scroll, bicycle, ship, tree, flower, horse, hen, rhinoceros or bird. Given the short times allocated for the by-election, it's easy to make a mistake.

35 comments:

  1. Tattler,
    you are the best!

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  2. hmm those symbols are meant for Independents (if any).it is routine procedure to issue such symbols for any election.

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  3. I say give him a table tennis bat. History is to be remembered and not repeated.

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  4. Tatler

    What a baseless insinuation unless you are yourself helping all your extended families to the 5th cousins level.

    The candidate is a nephew and to wit quite removed.

    What codswallop

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    Replies
    1. Hey Dumbass Onion,

      It is Tattler not Tatler!

      And nephew is a lot closer than any 5th level cousins, you obviously haven't heard of 'birds of the same feather...'

      "Choo Wei Khiang didn’t need a yellow ribbon project to integrate back into society, he was literally handed gold for an illusory sporting success and had his past brush with the law conveniently forgotten. If found guilty, we’d have even less reason to be proud of the much decorated silver medal, earned not just through the mercenary labours of a foreign talent scheme, but dirty cash as well." - http://everythingalsocomplain.com/2011/12/08/ex-mp-choo-wee-khiang-charged-with-corruption/

      Delete
    2. Oh how Profound!

      We should bow in humble adoration to you and your incisive words.

      We are not talking about immediate family if you wish to tar as such

      Likewise I believe your stated party is in business unlike nephew who was in public sector.

      Unless there is evidence, you are severely in my opinion maligning people.

      Delete
    3. Wow! You can write so fcuking well, can't wait to read you blog! My guess... millions of hits from day one... guaranteed from the 60.1%!!!

      Delete
  5. What Choo Wee Khiang did was criminal yet he was allowed to just resign and get his pensions. YSL did not do anything criminal but just indiscretion of his personal life but WP sacked him after due process was given for him to account for himself. Which is the more transparent and accountable party???? Pretty Obvious.

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    Replies
    1. The Kings & Queens of Unaccountability are demanding others to Account. What fish! Why don't they account to Singaporeans on our GIC & Temasek mystery before accusing others!

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  6. Hougang voters got free porridge and hearing aids in the months leading up to the by elections.

    Just before elections;
    100,000 FELDA voters in Malaysia will each receive S$6,100 in cash and also shares in a company which will soon be listed.
    Straits Times
    9 May 2012,
    Page A4.

    Singaporean voters sure are cheap and easy.

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    Replies
    1. If they think porridge can buy votes, they are wrong. WP will win.

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  7. The political party that created the problem.
    Closing down the Hougang wet market.

    Will now give you the solution.
    Build you a new wet market.
    With taxpayers' money.
    But in exchange, you must now vote for them.

    What codswallop.

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  8. Appropriate symbols for the Hougang by election:

    A bowl of porridge.
    A hearing aid (for deaf frogs?)

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    Replies
    1. How about a piece of cloth? Think they cut from the same cloth?

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    2. Couldn't agree with you more, a nasty piece of dirty cloth!

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  9. Think PM is bi-polar? One minute he drags his feet, another minute he calls for one. One moment he said Choo did the right thing. Another moment he said Yaw did the unaccountable thing. Mind you the formal is criminal, the latter is discretion. In anyway, I am just happy that HGers are getting a chance to vote for someone to represent them in the parliament.

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  10. I think missing the Boot symbol. So it's all codswallop to boot would have extra meaning for DC. Especially all that porridge, hearing aids and wet market nonsense they like to claim they have done. Roll out the same thing in ALL the constituencies for ALL elderlies island wide, then I believe PAP is truly doing the right thing because is the right thing to do. Otherwise, just doing it now prior to by election and only for HG residents, clearly goes to show they are trying to right those wrong things they failed to do as a Govt to win votes for votes sake.

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    Replies
    1. The unspoken question over the free porridge and hearing aids.

      As Vikarm Nair would say;
      "Where is the money coming from?"

      Is it taxpayers' money?
      PAP money?
      generous donors?

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    2. Well I like to know if Subhas Annand is providing his legal clinic as pro-bono or is he paid for by PAP using taxpayers money? Anyone?

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  11. Useless Cook5/10/2012 11:55 AM

    This MCP MP wanna-be who once said 'if wife is unable to cook, no use, must choose one that can do things for you"..tsk tsk. Looks like this wife can only cook porridge...actually he didn't even cook, he outsourced the cooking to the temple. Alamak..useless crook.

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  12. All I can say is I hope WP will regain this seat.

    Hope I won't be disappointed!

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  13. Take a dash of codswallop, a whole of tommyrot, two tablespoons of horsefeathers and hogwash, and you get the propoganda the ruling party is spewing, them and their 136 (formerly 154 media)

    But they don't do it so openly now, mind you, they are trying to be subtle about it (well, as subtle as a train wreck) in asking rhetorical questions and taking the moral high ground, all the while forgetting that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

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    Replies
    1. "By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise" - Adolf Hitler

      Enough of their horseshit and hubris already. So vote wisely Hougang. Don't want to be a Potong Pasir which may be removed from the electoral map in 2016.

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    2. They can remove the wet market where it used to be a potent ground for WP they can also remove PP from electoral map. Then they come back and propose a new market at twice the cost but with their own moles running it..who doesn't know their tactics.

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  14. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpc8zt3M-gA&feature=player_embedded

    This video shows how PAP play their race.

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  15. I think in his haste to support Desmond Choo, DPM Tharman apparently said DC has the full support & backing of the PAP during campaign, and if he's elected. In other words, if you people didn't choose 'wise lee's" PAP candidate, you get NO support from the govt (that is run by MIW aka PAP). So yeah, it's a lot more subtler these days than to say "you have to repent" or "there must be a differentiation of treatment". In other words, they go about their affairs as a party in one big orgy for members-only. So much for inclusiveness and moral high ground.

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  16. Why does Desmond Choo need to lobby hard now for a wet market in the 1st place, no vote for PAP means no wet market for Hougang?

    All this while all along with no wet market, the interests of Hougang residents IS not that important afterall ?

    In these days, why does PAP still need to resort to these kind of cheap & dirty tricks ? LKY or to be exact PAP now no more standard anymore ?

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    Replies
    1. That popular wet market was demolished lah and moved to Aljunied when GY & gang were still running the place. So residents have to go there and buy..so WP followed them to GRC. The rest as they say is history. Now they know how sore the residents are, they want to build another wet market..maybe this time with CCTV for sure, and their own people...

      A vote for PAP is a vote for another 400,000 FT/migrants, ever increasing cost of living, tax-payer funded public-listed private company for transport, minimum wage for part-time MPs but no minimum wage for full-time workers....they will say it is the highest denominator of voters 60+% that give them the endorsement and their policies.

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  17. Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes
    Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.

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  18. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfAzc8FWypc

    See how many times Desmond Choo says he's his own man, and how he thinks yaw is a closed chapter, but in PM Lee's view, that is an unfinished chapter. We will all just have to sit and watch how media and pappies will write this fictional script.

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    Replies
    1. I love the way Tharman plays the role of the protective father.
      Standing next to the newbie son Desmond Choo. In case Choo makes a mistake.
      Jumping in to quickly answer tricky questions like the court case on Hougang.

      Don't you just love this Desmond Choo?
      Free porridge and free hearing aid because he loves the Hougang people.
      Not because he wants to buy the votes.

      There is only one man in PAP.
      And he is THE man.
      Albeit somewhat ancient now.
      The rest are just eunuchs riding on THE man's coat tails.

      Delete
  19. He should be more concerned with national issues and giving accountability to citizens on issue like this

    http://christopherbalding.com/2012/05/09/the-mess-that-is-singapore-part-i-explaining-the-debt/

    instead of playing usher for a contestant don't you think?

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  20. A boy said "I love you" to a girl he met. He said "I love you" to the next girl he met. "I love you" he said, to every girl he met. The girls who believe him are daft. He then said to the daft girls, "I'll get you good paying jobs. Give me your passports and I'll get visas and air tickets for you". Those daft girls did not end up as maids in foreign lands. They worked hard and the pimp took their hard earned money to pay himself and his sycophants millions $$$ and told the girls, "Be more productive to clear your debt sooner and when you have saved enough for your air ticket, you can go home". But they never got home because the pimp came up with new excuses to withhold their so called savings and make them work harder.

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  21. CPF - O$P$

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