Feb 6, 2010
I REFER to Thursday's letter by Dr Jason Wong, 'Having more single seats will help the PAP'. I feel his reasoning is somewhat myopic and he has made certain assumptions which may not be accurate, stemming from observations of polling results in Singapore in the past.
First, he mentioned that maintaining 'vulnerable' group representation constituencies (GRCs) such as Bishan-Toa Payoh and Tampines may be detrimental to the People's Action Party (PAP), as opposed to converting the 10 seats in these GRCs to single member constituencies (SMCs).
Even though in the next general election, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC may be led by Mr Chiam See Tong (unanimously the strongest opposition figure based on his track record in Potong Pasir over the past 25 years), an opposition victory is unlikely. In 1997, led by the late Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam, the Workers' Party still lost in Cheng San GRC. Moreover, the opposition has not come close to winning Tampines GRC in the past 20 years, bearing in mind that the greatest opposition threat in the east was in Eunos GRC 22 years ago.
Second, Dr Wong seems to suggest the PAP may have a better chance of winning SMCs when this may not be the case as younger and less experienced PAP candidates may be pitted against opposition heavyweights who have worked the ground over the years. If the number of SMCs is expanded, these less experienced PAP candidates may no longer have the 'shield' of contesting a GRC led by a PAP heavyweight.
However, I agree with Dr Wong's suggestion to increase the number of SMCs as this will aid the ruling party in quashing criticism that many PAP newcomers become ministers without a proper 'fight'. More important, it will also address the age-old criticism of the GRC system being just an excuse to win more seats by the winning party, as a multiracial nation like Malaysia does not resort to GRCs to ensure that minority MPs are represented in Parliament.
Robin Chee
[Malaysia does not resort to GRCs to ensure minority representation. But is the M'sian system better? Their BN coalition of UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other smaller parties leads not to a strong govt, but a weak compromise. The ethnic enclaves create pockets of opportunity where a minority candidate from any party has a chance, but leads inevitably to race-based politics that are hobbling the progress of the country when it is not tearing it apart.
To adopt the "M'sian solution" would mean creating race-based political parties, and entrenching the politics of race and all the disadvantages if not hazards of such an approach. Proposals to increase the number of SMCs should be welcomed, as well as reducing the size of GRCs. Originally, GRCs were just 3 members, but they eventually grew to 6-member super-GRCs. Such GRCs were steep obstacles for the opposition and raised suspicions about the PAP's intent and motives.
In the next election, we would probably see 14 SMCs, and about 10 GRCs of 4 wards each, and 6 GRCs of 5 wards each (Assuming 84 wards as per current). ]
I REFER to Thursday's letter by Dr Jason Wong, 'Having more single seats will help the PAP'. I feel his reasoning is somewhat myopic and he has made certain assumptions which may not be accurate, stemming from observations of polling results in Singapore in the past.
First, he mentioned that maintaining 'vulnerable' group representation constituencies (GRCs) such as Bishan-Toa Payoh and Tampines may be detrimental to the People's Action Party (PAP), as opposed to converting the 10 seats in these GRCs to single member constituencies (SMCs).
Even though in the next general election, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC may be led by Mr Chiam See Tong (unanimously the strongest opposition figure based on his track record in Potong Pasir over the past 25 years), an opposition victory is unlikely. In 1997, led by the late Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam, the Workers' Party still lost in Cheng San GRC. Moreover, the opposition has not come close to winning Tampines GRC in the past 20 years, bearing in mind that the greatest opposition threat in the east was in Eunos GRC 22 years ago.
Second, Dr Wong seems to suggest the PAP may have a better chance of winning SMCs when this may not be the case as younger and less experienced PAP candidates may be pitted against opposition heavyweights who have worked the ground over the years. If the number of SMCs is expanded, these less experienced PAP candidates may no longer have the 'shield' of contesting a GRC led by a PAP heavyweight.
However, I agree with Dr Wong's suggestion to increase the number of SMCs as this will aid the ruling party in quashing criticism that many PAP newcomers become ministers without a proper 'fight'. More important, it will also address the age-old criticism of the GRC system being just an excuse to win more seats by the winning party, as a multiracial nation like Malaysia does not resort to GRCs to ensure that minority MPs are represented in Parliament.
Robin Chee
[Malaysia does not resort to GRCs to ensure minority representation. But is the M'sian system better? Their BN coalition of UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other smaller parties leads not to a strong govt, but a weak compromise. The ethnic enclaves create pockets of opportunity where a minority candidate from any party has a chance, but leads inevitably to race-based politics that are hobbling the progress of the country when it is not tearing it apart.
To adopt the "M'sian solution" would mean creating race-based political parties, and entrenching the politics of race and all the disadvantages if not hazards of such an approach. Proposals to increase the number of SMCs should be welcomed, as well as reducing the size of GRCs. Originally, GRCs were just 3 members, but they eventually grew to 6-member super-GRCs. Such GRCs were steep obstacles for the opposition and raised suspicions about the PAP's intent and motives.
In the next election, we would probably see 14 SMCs, and about 10 GRCs of 4 wards each, and 6 GRCs of 5 wards each (Assuming 84 wards as per current). ]
No comments:
Post a Comment