否极泰来 Piji Tailai

  From Pritam Singh to Cheong Yip Seng. One cannot go international, not even to Malaysia. One wants to make ST international, providing a Singapore narrative? We are in an era of “1.5 party” Singapore. Clearly, the PAP has not recognised the “0.5”.  Only the PAP ministers are allowed to give views in foreign countries, in their official capacities.   We need to get used to the “1.5”.  Foreigners, foreign governments must know the “0.5” in Singapore.  Otherwise, they will miss the thinking of ⅓ Singaporeans, especially the young who are the future of Singapore.   And yet Cheong suggests making the Straits Times international, against the western bias, with the Singapore narrative.  With OB maker in mind,  without the “0.5” input, how accurate will the Singapore narrative be, another PAP thinking?  The PAP does not want the “0.5” to be heard overseas. They are also unwilling to promote Singapore's narrative internationally.  The...

  工人党没有抱负、志向低，还是向新加坡的政治现实妥协？ 马来西亚比较开明的前部长凯里，在新加坡大选后，在他的播客中，表示工人党野心太小，志向不高，只要30%议席，根本没有组织政府的企图心。过后，工人党秘书长毕丹星，再上节目，进一步说明立场。 自从一党独大以来，从来就没有一个在野党，竞选超过一半议席。 反而，还想利用补选策略胜出。从早期的竞选不到一半议席，一直发展到竞选全部议席，对于选民来说，已经是很大的突破。不过，在凯里看来，我们的政治好像还处于幼儿园。 凯里也提到，在野党没有组成联盟，一起对抗行动党。这也是政治现实，在野党里，人人都要当老大，人人都自认比其他人聪明，更加能够打倒行动党。你看看选前的两个小党联盟，就明白了。比较大的三个政党，也一样无法妥协，或者不愿协商。 问题是，新加坡选民会不会认同凯里的说法？组成强大联盟，对抗行动党？ 新加坡的整套政治教育，就是无人可以取代行动党 。这点国阵就做不到。大马选民认为国阵可以被取代，这就给其他政治联盟带来希望。而这个过程，以安华作为例子，也斗争了好多年。如果追溯到1987年的巫统大分裂，时间更加长。 新加坡政治，其实没有什么大风暴 。或许，这是评论家说的顺利的权力转移，从第一到第四代。 凯里如果拿马来西亚的政治标准来看新加坡，那很可能就是不了解新加坡，对于政治的现实看不清楚。就如他在上一次大选，形象好，高人气，也无法胜选。 那么，新加坡人是否要等到行动党大分裂后，才有机会变天？没有人知道。不过，从今年大选成绩看，这条路似乎很遥远、漫长。因为，得票率已经告诉了一切。如何把行动党得票率降低，降到像国阵那样不到50%。因此，只能是潜移默化，年轻人带头慢慢的认定国会制衡的重要性。一种质量的提升？

  One divided country fighting another divided country… self destruction? One is not a stable country where the prime minister is under investigation for corruption, except maybe the military.  The population is also divided by negotiation or non-negotiation, war or no war.  The other one has not been stable since the fall of the Shah.  Internal conflicts, mistrust, foreign and internal actors are all over the country, non-stop.   Both have a long history. Will they cut short their history by self destruction themselves?  Perhaps yes. Perhaps No.  Big brothers, who have their own internal problems, are watching.  They are calculating how to benefit from the act of self destruction.  Interesting to watch but sad to see the ending - no winners!          Have they ever considered their people's welfare?

  大选的正能量？现象？趋势？(5/5) 大选成绩：老的满意，少的不满·。 习惯性投票的过去，现在，未来？ 调查显示，56%的人满意大选结果。比行动党的65.57%得票率低。满意者来自老一辈，而不满意者属于年轻一代。这是不是与习惯性投票有关？老一辈只想找闪电，找不到可能乱画成了废票。年轻一代，目标清晰，会分辨，和老一辈的养成习惯投票不同。 支持行动党的人为何，不对大选成绩给予更加高的满意度？让满意度拉高到60%以上？看来，支持者只在乎寻找闪电，而不在乎满意度。习惯性投票的心态，对于行动党短期有利，长期不乐观。随着习惯投票给行动党的选民老去，而年轻一代逐渐成为主流选民，行动党的基本票源，会出现根本性变化。 与其说，年轻人不满大选成绩，不如说行动党对于基本的生活费，以及相关的组屋价格，医药，就业机会，消费税等，提供不了满意的解决方案。这些课题，不容易解决，一时之间也解决不了，甚至，到了下一次大选，问题依然存在。几十年累积下来的贫富不均问题，不是一个五年就能解决的。 从老一辈习惯性寻找闪电，到年轻一代习惯性的要有选择，新加坡的选举氛围、气候，已经进入了另一个阶段。外面的世界加速变化，内部的政治，经济，人口，社会，文化，也在进行潜移默化的改变。行动党需要适应；在野党，两党制，多党制，也不是完全没有机会。你准备好了吗？

  Votes and Confidence Salary and Dignity  Same thinking in a different way? From salary to vote, new KPI.  You need a strong mandate, high vote share, then you can stand tall with confidence when facing foreign leaders. Few years back, Lim Wee Kiak compared salary and dignity.   “If the annual salary of the Minister of Information, Communication and Arts is only $500,000, it may pose some problems when he discuss policies with media CEOs who earn millions of dollars because they need not listen to the minister’s ideas and proposals, hence a reasonable payout will help to maintain abit of dignity.”  On 27 May, the Straits Times’s headline: Strong mandate from GE2025 boosts Singapore’s standing: PM Wong.   “Had he been re-elected with a reduced mandate, PM Wong said, perceptions of Singapore among foreign leaders would have been different.” Representing a country and representing a ministry depend very much on how high votes you get and how high salary ...

  大选的正能量？现象？趋势？(4) 许通美：通往两党制， 只有工人党候选人有机会胜选， 独立人士也不行。 许通美接受访问，新加坡正逐步走向两党制。选民已经认清，工人党与其他在野党不同，只有工人党候选人才有机会胜出。虽然和陈清木、淡马亚是好朋友，许通美认为，他们只有在工人党旗下，才可能获胜。这样说虽然不中听，但是，他还是要这样分析。他强调，如果要胜选，只能加入工人党。 这次大选，独立人士的表现比一些小党来得亮丽，这是否意味独立人士在将来有机会胜出？许通美不这么认为，竞选时需要庞大的后援、支持，个人如果没有政党的团队，很难胜出。以美国两党为例，其他候选人根本无法胜出。 因此，许通美预测，除了工人党，其他在野党没有前途。对于在野党来说，这样的预测，是不是一大打击？没有前途，只有参与，凑凑热闹。只有政治参与，让人觉得议会民主，但是，却无法参与讨论国事、方向、未来。 谈到行动党大胜，他认为一方面是黄循财个人的声望，另一方面归功于特朗普的贸易政策。这次大选，也没有出现负面政治，个人形象攻击等。候选人互相问好，大家为新加坡的利益，未来而竞争。新加坡政治也反对外来干涉，理性处理宗教、语言问题。

  Perhaps, NUS is telling you not to believe everything in the books.   Mencius said “Believing everything in the Book of Documents is worse than without that book.”   Perhaps, NUS is trying to express in a direct but wrong and respectful way. First, Yale-NUS College is no more and so is its value and teaching.   Singapore or the authority has assessed there is no demand or necessary for such a college.   So, it is not to believe in such a liberal teaching. Second, the western-style of education may be less relevant in the future world, be it theories in economics, politics, technology or public administration. If we follow these books blindly, perhaps it is better not to read them.    Third, the new cabinet is called a reshuffle . Despite having a strong mandate, Singapore now has an oversized cabinet which seems to be in transition. If you look at the cabinet as a book,  you may miss out on the development, changes later....