Now that election time is around the corner, here's some interesting stuff on Singapore Politics.


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A selection of net opinion from BigO Magazine:--

"Do you want to waste your vote on someone who is at the bottom of the learning curve? Pay them thousands to begin their 'Lessons into the Hardship of the Poor Singaporeans'?"
- Monkeyyou on the net talking about the new PAP candidates.

"The ban on rally in CBD has nothing to do with Sept 11...The real reason is that the majority of the people in the financial sector are
so ****ing fed up with PAP that they will not hesitate to show open supports for the opp rally. Workers in the financial sector are the
worst hit this round..."
- Chintsewang on the net

"Didn't they have [CBD] rallies in the so called 'turbulent' '60s? A period when the so-called communism was a so-called 'great threat'.
When so-called 'racial riots' was all over the shop in a non-GRC Singapore."
- Bohemian_SG on the net.

"Tharman 'not a yes man'. Does this mean he admits PAP all along has a bunch of YES men?"
- Roti_Con on the net.

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THE MIRROR OF OPINION: Some recent quotable quotes
============================

"Whatever affects the opposition party, also affects the PAP - it's a fair game."
- Gerard Hooi, Young PAP Internet editorial coordinator on the new rules for e-campaigns, nation-builder press Oct 22 2001.

"How about a free press then? What are you afraid of?"
- The Mirror of Opinion, Oct 22 2001.

+++

"If [$ingapore] were really a nanny state, then all the wards would have run off somewhere else. The fact is, not only are they happy to
live in $ingapore, but many others wish to come and live in $ingapore."
- General Lee Hsien Loong, in the nation-builder press, Oct 5 2000.

"Study and work overseas, but come back to $ingapore. If you don't and this country loses top talent, it will descend into mediocrity and will no longer be able to provide a safe and prosperous home for people says PM Goh Chok Tong."
- The nation-builder press, Apr 13 2001.

"Very poor co-ordination of propaganda."
- The Mirror of Opinion, Oct 21 2001.

+++

"The Singapore Democratic Party will pay salaries to the jobless, said its chief yesterday, but ask him how, and he turns coy."
- Ex-ISD agent Chua Lee Hoong, nation-builder press, Oct 24 2001.

"When the government offered to lend Indonesia US$10 billion, did you ask where the money came from?"
- SDP chief Chee Soon Juan, Oct 24 2001.


"It is not in the people's interests, in the nation's interest, to detail our assets and their yearly returns... There is total accountability."
- SM Lee Kuan Yew, nation-builder press, Apr 27 2001. The GIC sits on US$100 billion of $ingapore's reserves. Mr Lee has only revealed that "the returns are adequate".

"Chee Soon Juan's explanation is also adequate."
- The Mirror of Opinion, Oct 24 2001.



[Visit http://www.bigo.com.sg/thisweek/images/gic.jpg for a clearer
view]


And what happened to this $10 billion investment?

"Good time to prove [SingTel] sceptics wrong."
- Nation-builder Tammy Tan on why paying $10 billion for goodwill in buying Optus was a good deal, March 27 2001.

"850 Optus staff may lose their jobs today."
- The nation-builder press, Oct 10 2001. Optus said it would miss its 'profit forecast'.

"Will SingTel write down Optus investment?... the Australian phone company['s] perceived value has fallen by up to 43 per cent since
March."
- The nation-builder press, Oct 24 2001.

"What if the sceptics are right?"
- The Mirror of Opinion, Oct 24 2001.

+++

"$ingapore slips two notches to rank fourth in global competitiveness."
- The nation-builder press, Oct 19 2001.

"And after the ministers wanted a pay rise from $27.8 million to $34 million a year. Why aren't we paying our monkeys, peanuts?"
- The Mirror of Opinion, Oct 19 2001.

+++

"Laid-off? Your health bills can be cut again by up to half says General Lee."
- The nation-builder press, Oct 19 2001.

"Please sir, I want some more."
- The Mirror of Opinion, Oct 19 2001.

+++

"SIA share of Air New Zealand losses revised downwards to $286 million."
- The nation-builder press, Oct 19 2001.

"Not a great way to fly - downwards."
- The Mirror of Opinion, Oct 19 2001.

+++

"$ingapore to grow by 7% this year: Experts."
- The nation-builder press quoting NUS economists, Jan 6 2001.

"Singapore economy could grow by 4.4% next year: NUS."
- The nation-builder press quoting NUS economists again, Oct 24 2001.

"It is a bold - and incredible - assertion for a man armed only with a doctorate in physiological psychology from the University of Georgia, facing off against the many trained economists the government is consulting."
- Ex-ISD agent Chua Lee Hoong commenting on Chee Soon Juan, nation-builder press, Oct 24 2001.

"4.4 in Cantonese is 'see-see'. Translated: Die Die. Prophecy?"
- The Mirror of Opinion, Oct 24 2001.

+++

"... with politicians like Dr Chee around, I can understand why the PAP government feels the need to ensure that the reserves it works
hard to build are locked up securely..."
- - Ex-ISD agent Chua Lee Hoong commenting on Chee Soon Juan,
nation-builder press, Oct 24 2001.

"$1 billion in Mindef irregularities due mainly to human error; 10% attributed to fraud..."
- The nation-builder press, Oct 13 2001.

"10% of $1 billion is $100 million. Why is there no public inquiry over the missing millions in Mindef?"
- The Mirror of Opinion, Oct 24 2001.

+++

"Suppose that the secondhand car you bought kept breaking down. Would you buy another from the same dealer? The same question might apply to economic forecasters. A year ago, most expected the American economy to grow by 3.5% in 2001. By early this year, they thought that a sharper slowdown, but still a soft landing, was likely; even in early September, almost all still ruled out a recession. Today, however, most believe that a recession was already under way before Sept 11. When these same people confidently tell you that this recession will be short and mild - indeed, that it will be one of the mildest in 50 years - why would you believe them?"
- The Economist, Oct 13 2001

"Vote for more good years."
- The Mirror of Opinion, Oct 13 2001.

+++

"SM Lee calls on Chiam, Low to run in a GRC... if they are serious about forming a viable alternative.."
- The nation-builder press, Oct 21 2001.

"If they truly believe opposition parties are 'spoilers', why don't SM Lee stand in Potong Pasir and General Lee in Hougang to defeat their opponents."
- The Mirror of Opinion, Oct 21 2001.

+++

"If they [the opposition] are serious, they must grow. They can't just be spoilers."
- SM Lee Kuan Yew, the nation-builder press, Oct 21 2001.

"JB Jeyaretnam has already lost everything except his life. It is more pertinent to ask whether the PAP believes in 'building a democratic society... based on justice and equality.' Otherwise what kind of society are you building?"
- The Mirror of Opinion, Oct 21 2001.



Because I'm too lazy to type everything myself, I'll just quote Shawn:

"On the subject of apathy - I reckon it's an appropriate response to unfairness. And there's much in the upcoming elections that hint at a smidgen of unfairness. Aren't 9 days an appallingly short period of time for an opposition party to carry out its hustings? Hasn't the one contentious ward of the previous election been gerrymandered to avoid a repeat? Has the ruling party shown a willingness to use the judiciary to smother democracy? Is the election deposit of $13,000 a check on democracy? Isn't the mandatory voting system a violation of a person's right not to vote - which should be as equally inviolable as his right to vote?

You answer the questions. How do neutral foreign newspapers report our election? Because the term "landslide victory" isn't going to be enough"

The "Mirror of Opinion" does ramble and become irrelevant (and just plain petulant) sometimes, but it does make some good points.

And I, who live in Lower Delta, am part of Tanjong Pagar GRC. My sister's workplace, TCS (Braddel Heights, which was won only narrowly by the PAP last election) is part of... drumroll. Marine Parade GRC! Well done.

Though the opposition seems to have trouble even filling in a simple form (one page, 5 blanks). Not sure about the technicalities of needing a Justice of the Peace to witness the filling in and such.