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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Get rid of the old farts and 拍马屁

I used to have this thinking that the PAP will never loose a GRC but it has happened and now I am more than convinced that come the next general election, be it 2016 or earlier, the PAP is going to lose at least 1 more GRC, if not more. 

It is not just the fact that the PAP is not listening to the public; not the 6.9 million population fiascicsso or the inept handling of the transportation, housing and other policies. What I believe is going to happen to cause the PAP to lose more seats, be it GRC or SMC, is the misinformation that the PAP government is getting everyday which will cause them to read the grounds wrongly, come up with a wrong strategy and volia.... a defeat that they should but never see coming, like what has happened in Aljunied and Punggol East.

 How did I come to this conclusion? 

I was at a lunch hosted by an ex-minister over the Chinese New Year period.  The lunch was attended by a number of his grass roots leaders. I walked around and could not help but "eavesdrop" on the conversation of these grass roots leaders. Most of them are in their fifties and sixties. Without fail, almost everyone of their conversation was centred on how sad and unlucky that the ex-minister had lost in the GE. . They were whining and going on about how the PAP has lost despite the "good feeling" on the ground. And this is coming, like almost 2 years after the election!

On another occasion, I talked to someone else who was working in the town council and know both the MP and the grassroots well. His opinion was that they had lost because the old farts who were always surrounding the MPs in their walkabout, at the MPS were not telling the MP the truth. Like the eunuch in old China, they thought they were protecting their "bosses" from bad news.

Many of us are also familiar with the sight of cleaners scouring and cleaning up a neighbourhood whenever a Minister comes visiting. The old farts likened it to cleaning up the house before a guest come visiting. But the way they went about it, they literally camouflage every blemish, every speck of dirt so much so that whatever the Minister or MP see is a beautiful perfect world, not the litter infested place. There was one time I was at Redhill and I saw these cleaner scrubbing the floor tile with a tooth brush on the floor outside the RC Centre. Unable to resist my curiosity, I asked him why he was doing that and he said his boss had asked him to do so because MP coming!

Another friend, who is a helper to an MP, told me what goes on at those dialogue sessions whenever Ministers comes around. He said the helpers will enlist a few people to ask questions. These questions have to be submitted before hand for screening. And during the questions and answers time, the helpers will only pick these people so that there will be no "surprise" questions for the Minister.

Last but not least, another friend once worked part time in a organisation under the PA. His job was to monitor the movement of all the Ministers attending grassroots functions and mobilise sufficient "participants". This is to ensure that whatever the Ministers appear, there will always be a big crowd to welcome him.

So my point is, with all these old farts hiding the truth and our main stream media not daring to write the truth, how does the PAP know the actual feeling on the grounds? With these type of "generals" helping them to fight the war, I certainly have no doubt the PAP will lose more seats come the next election. With "friends" like these, the PAP certainly don't need any enemies!

So for the next GE, if the PAP wants to stem the loss, they first thing they need to do is to get rid of these old farts or 拍马屁 and turn to the younger more internet savy people for help.

4 comments:

  1. " He said the helpers will enlist a few people to ask questions. These questions have to be submitted before hand for screening. And during the questions and answers time, the helpers will only pick these people so that there will be no "surprise" questions for the Minister. "

    Hi,
    You may like to know that the latest 'innovation' of these grassroots sycophant is to plant someone (so far I have only see males) behind a minister or VIP and in full view of the TV camera
    NODS his head to whatever point the politician is making to the press. The wayang is so obvious because the obsequious nodding of the head was so mechanical and often out of sync with what the minster, MP or whatever was saying that it is impossible to miss. You can watch out for it the next time on TV news.





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  2. If the PAP ministers really want to know the truth from the ground, look no further than the spates of bloggers out there. While there are a few extreme views, there are many good, balance and constructive ones. If these ministers really want to know ... One wonder if they really want to know the truth, and one wonder if they can handle the truth.

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  3. you really remind me of the last election, when certain minister comes to visit my block. One of these farts coming running around telling me that the minister is going to pass my flat in a moment, as though as telling me to put on a fake welcome simile and prepare for photo-taking. I don't give them a damn, and tell them "i don't have time for such nonsense.". Do their farts really benefit me and the nation ? Your answer is as good as mine for these YES-man and YES-miniStar. If they are opp party, I will have welcome them with free drink.

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  4. Great post Koh.....that's why I 'resigned' from MPS liao....I don't want to 'waste' my precious time volunteering just to fulfill other people' 'agenda' :( Sad but indeed honestly honestly true......lots and lots of 'wayang' at the ground and I hope more MPs attend functions/events unannounced and certainly not with big entourage too.

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