Skip to main content

A $1000 Justice Question? And the Transition World.


[If found guilty, the AHPETC is liable to a maximum $1,000 fine for the regulatory offence.]#1
The trial dispute between National  Environment Agency and Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council is over a $1000 fine.  If we consider legal fees, time spent and administrative costs from both sides,  adding them together it certainly costs more than $1000.

In pragmatic Singapore, especially for businesses, it is cheaper to pay the fine or issue a warning letter.  NEA, representing the PAP government and WP-led AHPETC must have seen the gains over costs. Both hopes to gain political  points over the trial.    
The dispute over the ‘unlicensed’ trade fair is after all a justice problem. $1000 cannot settle the dispute even after the Courts make its final ruling later.   In paper, the trial is  closed and a justice is made.   However, it will remain an issue and how public see and judge it will be another level of justice. Will social media change the perception of justice?  Who is more afraid of the perception gap  between a justice decided by the Courts and a public justice influenced by social media?    
[people would have to recognise that the big shifts are sparked by social media and information technology.]#2
The world is in transition as claimed by former Foreign Minister George Yeo. And social media plays an important role in this transition.   Yeo also said Singapore was well placed to meet this new reality. Really?  We don’t know. Yeo is optimistic that Singapore will meet the challenges of  this transition as a ‘free city’.   Perhaps, as an ex-PAP minister, he has more inside views of how the PAP see the transition and how the PAP view the new reality of justice.

Some claim even NEA wins the case, the PAP government is still a loser. Then, why is the PAP so stupid to begin the trial? Why doesn’t NEA just issue a warning letter? Perhaps, warning letter is ‘justice no enough’, like the famous ‘money no enough’.  The PAP wants the money as well as wants the justice to be carried out.
Is this a good strategy for a new reality in the world of transition?   
In the trial case, the PAP seems to depend on the Courts, the Institutions to make the judgment, to decide the justice. However,  in a new reality, justice is done through institutional and non-institutional means, like social media and public opinions.  
["You have to depend on others. And so I go around and I play the student, I ask questions, I ask for help. I ask how I can be helpful...You create an energy field where there are multiple nodes of activity and you yourself constitutes only one node, hopefully a node which will grow in importance," he said.]#2
To continue to run Singapore, the PAP has to depend on others, on social media and most importantly to be a student.   This is a new reality. Can the PAP make through the transition?   
#1
#2

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sub-standard PAP and the Singapore education system

I make a 'policy shift' when I hear the debate of right politics, constructive politics and sub-standard opposition. My original aim is to discuss about “Su Dongbo, Zhang Juzheng and Singapore education system”. The discussion will end with a sub-standard PAP, in particular from the assessment of the quality of PAP potential candidates. Another policy shift is to discuss it like a play, a drama and make it more entertainment rather than a sub-standard political discussion. Act 1 Gangster’s demand Imagine a sense in the Hong Kong's gangster movie (or a godfather movie), the gangsters' master is shouting at his poor opponent and demand him to give a price for his wrong act. The poor guy without any resources can only offer his body or his service to work for the master. Back in his own chamber, the master is still not satisfied and continues to shout 'don't play, play, you think you are hero, you think you are tiger, or superstar or acting ...
275 comments
Read more

EBRC objectives: Stop “Out of Aljunied”, Stop SDP Breakthrough and “Negative-Asset” Ministers.

First of all, we have to congratulate the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee for creating more competitions, especially, multi-cornered competitions in the East. When making changes, EBRC aims to achieve 3 goals: To prevent “Out of Aljunied” for Workers’ Party.  This is the most important objective. To prevent Singapore Democratic Party making any breakthrough in the North and Central.   To look for a solution to retire “negative-asset” ministers or reduce PAP damages. From the reported claims from different political parties, we will expect multi-cornered contests not only in single constituencies but also in group representative constituencies. The PAP hopes to have a repeat of 2011 Presidential Election. Then Tony Tan won the Presidency when he got only 35% of the votes, a narrow win.However, a win is still a win. He did in even in the very last minute, after recounts of votes.    How to achieve multi-cornered contests? By i...
65 comments
Read more

Is Prism Project Another Central Planning of the PAP?

There are 3 scenarios under the Prism Project#1 of Institute of Public Policy.  However, it looks more like the central scenario planning of the People’s Action Party. From the instructional menu of Prism Project Primer #2, participants were guided to a situation in 2022 and they have to imagine, within the Primer framework, to come out with 3 possible scenarios in Jun-Aug 2012.  2022. What a coincidence! Not long ago, PM Lee declared that he would like to hold the prime minister post for another 10 years. The other coincidence is the similarity between the 3 scenarios and the candidates of PE2011. How competitive and sustainable are the 3 scenarios to the people of Singapore and to the PAP?   Will the scenarios produce competitive and sustainable Singapore, Singaporeans or the PAP?  Perhaps, as what the Chinese say: planning cannot always catch up with changes.   And planning sometimes turns out the wrong, bad and unexpected results, espec...
50 comments
Read more