A few curious points about Sembawang chief's words.

"To reach out to 140,000 voters, when they've never been here (Sembawang GRC), it's difficult. So we know they'll be just using rallies and of course they hope to have a debate with my team, then they're on national TV - straightaway, they reach out. So I can understand why they prefer this tactic."

~~ Khaw Boon Wan explained why a public debate with opposition party is unlikely to happen. 24-Apr-2011.

1. Isn't public debate a good opportunity to prove the credibility of the opposition, or rather the lack of it, once and for all?

Why the concern over the opposition reaching out to the voters?
The opposition only indulged in hifalutin talks and baseless accusations, don't they?
Can they strike a chord with the common voters?

As one deceased US President said, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."

2. Will a debate undo one's ground work of over 6 years?

3. Could it be futile to engage in public debate as you believe the election as a forgone conclusion?


One question shot to mind when hearing some said the opposition is rarely seen on the ground during normal times: Does the opposition require police permit to walk the ground so to not infringe illegal gathering rule or whatever laws applies?

GE2011: If I vote for the opposition, the government will blacklist me.

We always hear stories of some people being dis-advantaged because they voted for opposition in an Election. But we never know who they exactly are.

While it may not be true, the rumour persists.

Understandably, the ruling party will not pull out all the stops to debunk this.

So here we go again.
Who got "condemned' at work in a government-linked organisation after voted for opposition?
Whose kid is denied entry to preferred school due to the parent's political choice?
Which couple has tried for years and never been successful in any new HDB flat ballot because each of them failed to vote for the ruling party? ...


Reference:
1. http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/04/three-local-myths/
2. http://fbshare.me/AbFGA

Ask not what your country can do for you; Ask what you can do for your country.

Mah_comment_on_lower_land_cost_for_HDB

You can't handle the truth !

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

~~ Colonel Jessup in "A Few Good Men", 1992.

Netizens reacted in doves after hearing PM Lee spelt out people who supported the ruling party are favoured for national programme which are public funded, over those who didn't.

We could only say this: You cannot handle the truth.

One advantage about single party system of government is policies are drafted and implemented more efficiently without much opposition or debate. Hence the impact on people whether positive or negative will be felt quickly. How good the policies are relies heavily on how wise the group of people who drafted the policies are.

While in a multi-party system, policy implementation will take longer time as you are expected to debate and convince majority of parliarment to pass the policy. The policies have to withstand the acid test before the people can felt it.

You choose which one is better suited here.