Sunday Times: Govt must account to voters, says Low

ELECTION '06

WP chief says plans for HDB lifts and public transport short-sighted

Nicholas Fang


WORKERS' PARTY candidates (from left) Lian Chin Way, Mohammed Rahizan Yaacob, Sylvia Lim and Low Thia Khiang facing voters at the Yishun rally yesterday - issues ranging from public transport to a national unemployment insurance plan were raised.
PHOTO: EDWIN KOO

WORKERS' PARTY chief Low Thia Khiang last night questioned why so much money was now being spent to upgrade lifts in HDB flats and make public transport more disabled-friendly.

If these facilities had been better designed at the start, the funds now being spent could have been saved, he said, asking who should be held accountable for the waste.

Speaking at a rally in at an open field at Yishun Avenue 11, he emphasised the need for the Government to be accountable to voters for the things it has done over the past few years.

On the issue of lift upgrading in HDB flats and how it is good for residents, he said: "My question is, who was responsible for building flats without lifts stopping at every level in the first place?"

He also said that when the MRT system was first built, there had been calls for it to be made user-friendly for the disabled and the aged but these calls were ignored.

"Now, so much money is being spent to put in...fixtures like lifts and ramps. Who is accountable for such short-sightedness in planning?"

If voters were unhappy about such issues, voting an opposition contesting the General Election gives them another option, said Mr Low.

"At the end of the day, it's about having a choice, just as you know that competition in a market gives consumers a better choice.

"I ask you to vote for the WP. We will ask hard questions in Parliament."

A total of 11 speakers spoke at the rally, including WP chairman Sylvia Lim, Mr Gopal Krishnan, Mr Abdul Rahim, Mr Yaw Shin Leong, Mr Lian Chin Way, Dr Poh Lee Guan and Mr James Gomez.

First-time candidate Brandon Siow suggested introducing a national unemployment insurance plan.

Such a plan, which he said in the party manifesto, would provide retrenched workers with a regular payout from an insurance company while they were looking for another job.

Mr Siow, who is contesting in the East Coast GRC, said: "Today in Singapore, there is no such thing as job stability. Many of us are paid daily on contract and are lucky to be employed.

"Singaporeans are not lazy. We want to work, we want money to feed our families and pay our bills. But what happens when we can't pay our bills?

"A national unemployment insurance plan means we will still have money to pay bills and feed our families," he said.

He added that the plan could be funded from Central Provident Fund deductions or co-funded by employees and employers.

Mr Low wrapped up the 2 1/2 hour rally by saying that no government was above making mistakes and hence needed to be balanced and checked by a credible opposition.

Sunday Times: PM: Come clean; Gomez: I'm sorry

ELECTION 06

Workers' Party candidate finally admits he did not submit minority candidate form to Elections Dept

Sim Chi Yin


PHOTO: EDWIN KOO
'Please accept my sincere apologies if my actions on April 26 caused any distress or confusion to the staff of the Elections Department.'
- MR GOMEZ, at the Workers' Party rally last night (above)

MR JAMES Gomez admitted last night that he had not submitted his minority candidate form and apologised to the Elections Department for suggesting that he had done so.

He gave the statement after the People's Action Party (PAP) repeatedly asked him and his party to come clean on the matter.

At a rally in Nee Soon East, the Workers' Party candidate for Aljunied GRC read out a prepared speech, saying that he failed to hand in his form on Monday because he was distracted by his busy schedule leading up to Nomination Day.

"Please accept my sincere apologies if my actions on April 26 caused any distress or confusion to the staff of the Elections Department," he said.

His party secretary-general Low Thia Khiang had invited him on stage at the rally in Yishun Avenue 11 to "set the record straight".

Mr Low said: "I have spoken to James Gomez and found out what happened. They (the PAP) are making a mountain out of a molehill."

He added that if the PAP thought he would be intimidated by its big guns and "duck the issue", they had made the wrong judgment.

The statements from the WP last night came after PAP leaders had spent the past two days urging Mr Gomez and his party chiefs to tell the full story.

At the heart of the controversy was an assertion by Mr Gomez on Wednesday to the Elections Department that he had submitted his minority race candidate form and that he had not received any confirmation. He asked the department to check and warned of "consequences".

When told later that a security camera recording showed he had not handed in his form and had instead put it in his briefcase, he said he would get back to the department if there was further information.

Then on Nomination Day, he brushed off reporters, saying he did not discuss "election administration over the media".

The Elections Department then released the recording and a transcript of his conversation to leave no doubt about the integrity of the electoral process. But Mr Gomez maintained he had not "reviewed any of these items".

Yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the PAP team in Aljunied GRC asked Mr Gomez to take the issue seriously and urged Mr Low to view it with the "utmost seriousness".

"(The) best thing is just to come clean and tell Singaporeans what happened...was it a mistake, was it not a mistake?" said Mr Lee, speaking after a walkabout in Anchorvale Link.

"I think it's a serious matter for the Workers' Party. It's not just a Gomez matter, but a matter which the WP has to take seriously."

The PAP's first assistant secretary general Wong Kan Seng, who in his role as Deputy Prime Minister oversees the Elections Department, also stressed that the issue went beyond Mr Gomez.

"It concerns the sort of political party that the WP is, and the standards of accountability and transparency that it upholds," he said at the PAP's headquarters in Bedok yesterday afternoon.

He added that Mr Low had said, when introducing his party's candidates, that they all meet the criteria of credibility, capability and character.

But he wanted to know what WP would do now that the issue had been raised and seriou s questions were being asked.

"Singaporeans deserve answers to these important questions, from a party that aspires to become a First World opposition."

If it were a PAP candidate involved, Mr Wong said, the party would have immediately investigated, gotten to the bottom of things and directed the candidate to immediately and publicly clear the air.

And if the explanation was not satisfactory, it would withdraw the candidate and apologise immediately.

At the WP rally last night, the crowd broke in applause when Mr Low read Mr Gomez's apology in Mandarin. The WP chief said he had spoken with Mr Gomez and found out it was an oversight.

"The Workers' Party is fair. We are prepared to apologise. We are not unreasonable people."

Speaking to The Sunday Times later, Mr Low said the party did not apologise earlier because it did not think it was an issue. It was "an innocent mistake" and Mr Gomez's honesty was not in doubt, he added.

simcy@sph.com.sg

Channel NewsAsia: WP's Brandon Siow suggests co-payment, with deduction from CPF for unemployment insurance

SINGAPORE VOTES 2006



SINGAPORE : Workers' Party candidate Brandon Siow, part of the opposition party's team for East Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC), has pushed for unemployment insurance, as mentioned in the party's manifesto.

He was speaking at the party's rally in Nee Soon East on Saturday.

He said, "This is a national unemployment insurance plan. Now what does this unemployment insurance do? What it means is that when we are retrenched, during the time it takes for us to retrain and to find another job, we will be paid a regular payout from our insurance company. This way, when we're looking for a new job, we will still have money to pay bills and feed our families.

"Now how can we pay for this insurance? There are many ways; we can deduct it from CPF, the same way we deduct our medical insurance, and why not, CPF is after all our own money. Or we could have a co-system, maybe employees pay 1 percent and employers pay one percent.

"There are many ways of looking at it. But the principle is that I would urge the government to consider seriously consider an unemployment insurance plan." - CNA/ms

Channel NewsAsia: WP team for Ang Mo Kio GRC prepared to lose to PM Lee's team

SINGAPORE VOTES 2006


Yaw Shin Leong

Worker's Party's Yaw Shin Leong, who is leading the party's fight in Ang Mo Kio GRC, has said he and his team members are prepared to lose their battle against the People's Action Party team helmed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

He was speaking at a Workers' Party Rally on Saturday night.

"In some quarters, my team is considered as the 'dare to die' team. Let me make this clear. Life is sacred, life is precious and politics is serious. More importantly, my courageous team-mates and myself are mentally prepared to lose but that does not mean we are push-overs. It's because we have confidence in you, the people of Singapore," said Yaw Shin Leong, WP candidate for Ang Mo Kio GRC.

Meanwhile, PAP's candidate for Ang Mo Kio GRC Wee Siew Kim said PAP has delivered its promises and will continue to do so for the refurbishment of Ang Mo Kio town centre, if he is elected.

"The crown jewel of our estate renewal strategy is Ang Mo Kio Town Centre - the centrepiece of our entire town refreshment program. It will incorporate an air-conditioned bus interchange that is linked underground to the MRT station. By the first quarter of 2007, you will have a brand new mall in Ang Mo Kio Town Centre. Yes, again we have delivered on our promises, and no one else, and not the Workers' Party for sure, will deliver this," said Wee Siew Kim, PAP candidate for Ang Mo Kio GRC. - CNA /ls

Channel NewsAsia: WP's Low slams PAP for comments over Gomez's minority certificate issue

SINGAPORE VOTES 2006

By Joanne Leow



The Workers' Party (WP) has criticised the People's Action Party (PAP) for raising the issue of Mr James Gomez's minority certificate application to the Elections Department.

Both WP Secretary-General Mr Low Thia Khiang and Mr Gomez responded for the first time on the issue at a rally on Saturday night.

Mr Low said: "If the PAP thinks that I will be intimidated by their big guns and will duck the issue, they have made a wrong judgement. I have spoken to James Gomez and found out what had happened."

He said the PAP was trying to use the issue to discredit the WP's candidates especially the Aljunied team.

Mr Gomez also read out a statement during the rally to set the record straight.

He said: "I have a statement to read - I refer to my claim for the submission of my application for a minority certificate at Elections Department on 26th Apr 2006. I wish to confirm I did not submit the said application on the 24th Apr 2006 due to distractions caused by the busy sechedule leading up to Nomination Day. Please accept my sincere apologies if my actions on 26th Apr 2006 caused any distress or confusion to the staff or the elections department. I thank you."

During the same rally, WP chairman Sylvia Lim rebutted the PAP's comments that the opposition does not have tried and tested candidates - including those who can take on an international role.

Ms Lim, who is part of the WP team for Aljunied GRC, says potential and sincerity matters too.

She said: "As for myself, he asked whether I can negotiate Free Trade Agreements like George Yeo. First question we should ask is how important negotiating free trade agreement is to becoming a good MP to your residents. The first argument which they always like to use is - don't vote for untested Workers' Party candidate - vote for an incumbent, experienced MP. Now ask yourself - does this mean you should never vote for new candidate? What if the new candidate is good, is full of potential and is sincere?" - CNA/ch

Channel NewsAsia: WP's Gomez admits he did not submit form to Elections Dept

SINGAPORE VOTES 2006


James Gomez (L) and Low Thia Khiang (R)

SINGAPORE : Workers' Party candidate James Gomez has admitted that he did not submit the minority certificate application form to the Elections Department as claimed earlier.

He read out a prepared statement on this during the party's rally at Nee Soon East.

"I have a statement to read. I refer to my claim for the submission of my application for a minority certificate at Elections Department on 26 April 2006. I wish to confirm I did not submit the said application on 24 April 2006 due to distractions caused by the busy schedule leading up to Nomination Day. Please accept my sincere apologies if my actions on 26 April 2006 caused any distress or confusion to the staff or the Elections Department. I thank you," said James Gomez, WP candidate for Aljunied GRC.

Mr Gomez had come under attack by PAP leaders in the past few days for his silence on the issue. They had criticised him for his lack of accountability.

Saturday night's admission came a day after the Elections Department released a transcript and footages from a security camera recording of his visit to the department.

These were filmed on the day Mr Gomez insisted he had submitted his application.

"If the PAP thinks that I will be intimidated by their big guns and will duck the issue, they have made a wrong judgement. I have spoken to James Gomez and found out what happened," said Low Thia Khiang, Secretary-General of Workers' Party.

He said the PAP was trying to use the issue to discredit the WP's candidates especially the Aljunied team.

After the rally, Mr Low was asked if he thought this issue had been settled.

"I think it has been settled. We came out clean and we made it clear. James has sincerely apologised for causing this distress to the Elections Department. I think we are fair people, we are not someone who is trying to make things difficult. It's an unfortunate misunderstanding, it’s an incident and we are open about it," said Mr Low. - CNA/ls

Weekend TODAY: Young, bilingual Lian banks on WP's coin

GE2006

TOR CHING LI
chingli@newstoday.com.sg

WORKERS' Party (WP) candidate Lian Chin Way, 36, knows the odds are stacked against him in the single member ward of Nee Soon Central.

"I know it's going to be a very steep uphill battle, but I will do my best to offer voters a choice," said Mr Lian, an election debutant, who joined the WP last September.

The business manager is now pit against election battle veteran and incumbent People's Action Party MP Ong Ah Heng after a last-minute change in plans.

Mr Lian, who had been working the ground in Aljunied GRC, said the swop was part of his party's election strategy.

He said: "I may be relatively new to the ground myself but my party is not. We have been active in Nee Soon for three years now."

He has been actively working the ground for the "past couple of weeks". Mr Lian sees his bilingualism and "humble grassroots background" as qualities that will put him in relatively good stead for the working and lower-middle class electorate at Nee Soon Central.

One of the things the University of London graduate hopes to bring about is a waiver of the Goods and Services Tax for some basic food items such as rice, milk powder, flour and oil.

Does he think his youthful image will help him? Said Mr Lian: "I hope people don't vote for me because I am younger but because of the values of the WP. We are offering Singaporeans a choice, for the long term prospects of Singapore."

---

NEE SOON CENTRAL

WHO WILL LEAD THE WAY?


TREVOR TAN
PAP's Ong Ah Heng (right), 62, and his Workers' Party opponent Lian Chin Way (left), 36.

FACTS ABOUT NEE SOON CENTRAL:

• Number of voters: 23,152, mostly working-class.

• Last election: 2001. This would be its fifth consecutive election contest.

• PAP's Ong Ah Heng took the ward back from Singapore Democratic Party's Cheo Chai Chen in the 1997 GE. In 2001, he beat SDP's Ling How Doong with 78.52 per cent of the vote.

Weekend TODAY: WP's 'suicide squad' volunteered for the job

GE2006

THE Workers' Party (WP) line-up that will vie for votes with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's team in Ang Mo Kio GRC were volunteers and were not "assigned" the battleground, party chief Low Thia Khiang said on Friday.

"I managed to convince my party to send a team to Ang Mo Kio. More importantly, we managed to get a team who are prepared to go to Ang Mo Kio," Mr Low said. "Every candidate must have the motivation and must be prepared to go. I didn't assign."

He also countered Mr Lee's comments that his team in Ang Mo Kio is a "suicide squad".

A "gan si dui" is better than a "pa si dui", he quipped in Mandarin. Translated, it means: A suicide squad is better than having a team that is afraid of dying.

To those who felt that the WP candidates for the People's Action Party stronghold have a "defeatist attitude" because they have already conceded they would lose, Mr Low said that just because they are contesting in constituencies that are ruling-party fortresses - where they have no real chance of winning - does not make them defeatist.

"We have a mission and they will execute the mission to provide a choice to voters in Ang Mo Kio and residents of the former Cheng San (where some voters have been absorbed by AMK GRC)," he said of his Ang Mo Kio team.

Mr Low, who is defending his Hougang seat this election, was speaking to reporters at a coffeeshop in Aljunied GRC - just across the road from his Hougang ward - where he and his party colleagues took a break after a 90-minute walkabout through both constituencies. - ANSLEY NG

Weekend TODAY: It's about checks & balances: WP

GE2006

LEE CHING WERN
chingwern@newstoday.com.sg


COMPARING NOTES: Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim and WP secretary general Low Thia Khiang confer with each other at a rally on Friday night.

THE Government is made up of humans and humans have weaknesses, which is why Singaporeans cannot issue the Government a "blank cheque", said Workers' Party (WP) secretary-general Low Thia Khiang, at his party's rally at Aljunied on Friday night.

"Let the WP have a chance to check the Government, to tell the People's Action Party (PAP) that they had better do the job properly or come election time, the people will hold them accountable," he said.

Citing the scandals that have plagued the National Kidney Foundation, China Aviation Oil and Accord Customer Care Solutions, Mr Low said that the most important governance is not internal but external.

"The Workers' Party is a responsible party. We do not oppose for the sake of it," he said. "If we disappoint you, never mind. The PAP will surely send their candidates back to contest the next election and you can give (the ward) back to them. But first, you must give us a chance to see if we can deliver or not."

Aljunied GRC team leader Sylvia Lim added that sincerity is what drove WP candidates to contest in the GE.

"Above all, nobody had to persuade us to enter politics. We did not have to attend tea parties. We are not reluctant," she said. Ms Lim also defended the WP manifesto, which asked for a non-conditional social safety net, which the PAP had termed a "time bomb".

Said Ms Lim: "The PAP minister said they would only be able to do this if they have a surplus. So why is it that in an election year, they can run a deficit to give out money?"

Mr Low also said that people do not give the WP enough credit for its ideas. He pointed out that in its 1994 Manifesto, the WP had recommended that the Ministry of Education cut class size. Former Education Minister Lee Yock Suan then dismissed the idea, he said.

The WP had also suggested that Medisave and MediShield were not the answers to healthcare and proposed an insurance scheme instead. Mr Low said that it has taken the PAP 10 years to do this.

WP's Aljunied GRC team member, Mr James Gomez, has taken up the issue of a First World opposition raised by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

Mr Gomez maintained that the government is not of First World standard even though Mr Lee had pointed out that under the PAP, Singapore had been ranked highly by many international economic agencies.

Mr Gomez said: "Singaporeans and Singapore are First World. There is no doubt in my mind, but it does not mean that the Government and the PAP are First World. Don't claim credit. Singaporeans and Singapore are First World, and this is the message I want to leave with you today: You are First World, Singapore is First World but the PAP government is not."

Channel NewsAsia: WP candidate tells voters to vote for opposition in GRC

SINGAPORE VOTES 2006

By Joanne Leow

SINGAPORE : Workers' Party candidate for East Coast GRC Eric Tan has told voters that it is safe to vote for the opposition - even in Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs).

Mr Tan says: "If we win a GRC, you got nothing to lose. You know why? Because a GRC has at least 110,000 people, alright? Can they afford to punish 110,000 people? ... Very difficult. They will try to win you back because it is so important, and guess what? We will try to retain our seats, you will be king of the road." - CNA/de