If PAP loses GRCs, it will weaken Government

If PAP loses GRCs, it will weaken Government
It will also impede leadership renewal, warns DPM Wong Kan Seng
by Tan Yo-Hinn 04:46 AM May 04, 2011
SINGAPORE - Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng says the loss of a few Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) will have serious implications and severely weaken the current Cabinet.

He was responding to comments by Singapore People's Party (SPP) candidate Benjamin Pwee on Monday night that even if three GRCs were won by the Opposition, the People's Action Party (PAP) would still retain the majority in Parliament, and the ship will not sink.
Speaking to reporters after his walkabout in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC yesterday, Mr Wong said Mr Pwee's comments show his lack of understanding.
"Imagine the ministers that you lose have portfolios, have responsibilities and then you've got to find, six or five new ministers from among those who are elected to fill those posts," said Mr Wong.
"Now is that an easy thing to do? He (Mr Pwee) has not been involved in high levels of government thinking and process, so he does not understand how this Government works."
Mr Wong added that many of the constituencies have promising new PAP candidates who can go on to form the next leadership team. If they do not get elected, it will impede the leadership renewal that is necessary to bring Singapore forward.
Turning to the hustings, he noted that Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC has not seen a contest since the GRC was formed in 1997 and many among the 122,472 residents are voting for the first time.
He urged them to cast their votes wisely, as the SPP team contesting the ward lacks the know-how of running a town council and its multi-million-dollar sinking fund.
He added that the five-member SPP team was "over-estimating" itself when it said it could do a better job than the incumbent PAP team there, which recently announced a five-year renewal plan worth S$500 million.
Mr Wong said residents in the GRC have been "very positive and warm". He cited the example of a young man who quizzed his team at the Braddell MRT Station last Friday on issues such as accountability and security and was "satisfied" with the response.
The Deputy PM also touched on comments by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong during a walkabout in the Aljunied GRC on Monday, where the PAP team is helmed by Foreign Minister George Yeo.
Mr Goh felt that should Mr Yeo's team lose to the Workers' Party in the hotly-contested ward, it would be a "very big loss" as a replacement would not be easy to find.
SM Goh was quoted as saying that for Mr Wong, "you can say he let (Jemaah Islamiyah leader) Mas Selamat escape. (But) George Yeo, what has he done to deserve this?"
Said Mr Wong: "That is just SM Goh's personal opinion, and if you heard the Prime Minister three years' ago ... his views are very clear as to what needs to be done and I don't need to repeat what the Prime Minister had said of me. If he didn't think I could contribute, I wouldn't be here."
Two months after Mas Selamat's escape from the Whitely Detention Centre on Feb 27, 2008, and amid a clamour from some quarters for heads to roll at the Home Affairs Ministry, which Mr Wong helmed, PM Lee Hsien Loong had told Parliament he had full confidence in the minister.
"The minister and top management were not to blame for what has happened. DPM Wong, as the minister, and the director of ISD both continue to have my full confidence," Mr Lee had said.
http://www.todayonline.com/SingaporeVotes/EDC110504-0000375/If-PAP-loses-GRCs,-it-will-weaken-Government

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