A wise move

I said before that it is possible for the oppositions to win two GRCs and that the PAP also thinks so and is prepared for it. The recent announcement that nine seats will be given to the oppositions seems to support my view.

This is a wise move. It helps PAP MPs and Singaporeans to psychologically prepare for it and the PAP to save face if the oppositions really win one or two GRCs. It could say 'we have anticipated this and reserved seats for them'.

The oppositions should not keep on harping about abolishing the GRCs. GRCs are necessary. The two WP MP and NCMP know very well in their heart that without the GRC minority candidates may not get elected. I have already elaborated on this in an earlier post.

One of the reasons why some people don't vote for the opposition is that the opposition doesn't have the strength or ability to form the government. These people do not agree completely with the PAP policies but they do not want to vote an opposition just for its own sake.

I would say the WP, for example, should make governing Singapore as its long-term goal and work towards it.

Foreign-born Ministers?

I said it is possible for the oppositions to win GRCs, but not because the PAP is complacent or slackening. It is just that some people think it is better to have more opposition MPs. Check and balance, accountability and transparency, they say. To do that you must have quality MPs.

I think the PAP also thinks it is possible for them to lose GRCs. So I believe they are prepared for this. Don't forget they always think long-term. I feel it really doesn't matter much. Unless there are some capable ones who perform very well, if not the oppositions MPs will just make more noise, the media will be very excited but after a half a year and a few sessions the excitement will die down.

Capable people who want to see changes in certain things they don't agree with are more likely to join the PAP. Because they agree more with the PAP than with the Oppositions and it is easier to get the changes inside the party than by opposing it. Or the ministers could convince them that what they do is best for the Country.

Of course there are people who say whatever the PAP does is wrong. I guess they are those with personal reasons, or those who just dislike the PAP or those who think freedom of speech is the only thing that matters even if they have to sleep on the street or eat bread crumbs.

With more and more foreigners becoming citizens, shouldn't the parties start recruiting able people from these foreign-born citizens. I'm not surprised if the PAP has already done so. In the future one or two ministers could be these citizens or their children.

Non-Chinese PM and GRCs

Non-Chinese PM

Even if we choose to have a non-Chinese PM, I don't think it necessary means that we are less race-conscious or more race-blind. There can only be one PM and I think we all agree that we let the best person do the job. There will still be other Chinese ministers.

Now, if we have no Malay or Indian ministers and the Malays and Indians don't mind, then we are really race-blind. Or if we have no Chinese ministers and the Chinese don't mind.

If this were to happen I believe everyone would mind because it is not a good thing. I feel that completely race-blind is not a good thing.


GRCs

If all our constituencies were single-seat and we really don't care about race, then we vote for the best candidate in each case. It could happen that in each case or in most cases the best turns out to be Chinese. Then we would have very few, or none, MPs from the minority races.

Then maybe we can have NCMP only from the minorities but I think no one likes that. Or we can stipulate that certain constituencies can only be contested by candidates from the minorities. Again I think no one likes that. So I think the better way is still GRCs.

GRCs are advantages to the PAP only because the oppositions do not have enough good candidates. There are quite a number of single-seat wards, how come the oppositions only won two seats. The same reason too. If the oppositions have enough good candidates, they have equal opportunities. Then they will not oppose GRCs, they may even like them.