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I've had friends telling me that SDP and Dr Chee are troublemakers. I've also had friends who tell me that SDP has turned over a new leaf and is not the troublemakers that they once were. Recently, I've had the chance to talk to the "troublemakers" about this and think that maybe I can do my part in spreading their message.
They have always believed in having an open and accountable government. In an ideal world, there would be civil societies and activists to give pressure on the government when they do something wrong. Unfortunately, during the 1980s and 1990s, civil societies and activists in Singapore are non-existent, and SDP at that time had seen actions by the government then that they felt was wrong. With the absence of civil societies, and despite knowing that it is to the peril of their own political career, some members took it upon themselves to be the activists of the day.
They protested about a few issues, got branded as troublemakers, their character assassinated by the mainstream media and even got thrown into jail. But they have never given up on a better Singapore, and until today, are still members of SDP. They still are trying hard to get into parliament, so that they can more help shape Singapore into a better place.
Singapore now has a vibrant civil society environment and those members no longer need to be activists. They can now concentrate on being the politician they are and try to win votes, so that they can get into parliament and better help the poorer people of Singapore. As such, that is why there is this perceived change in SDP. They didn't change their ideals. They just get to channel their efforts to the preferred method.
They have always believed in having an open and accountable government. In an ideal world, there would be civil societies and activists to give pressure on the government when they do something wrong. Unfortunately, during the 1980s and 1990s, civil societies and activists in Singapore are non-existent, and SDP at that time had seen actions by the government then that they felt was wrong. With the absence of civil societies, and despite knowing that it is to the peril of their own political career, some members took it upon themselves to be the activists of the day.
They protested about a few issues, got branded as troublemakers, their character assassinated by the mainstream media and even got thrown into jail. But they have never given up on a better Singapore, and until today, are still members of SDP. They still are trying hard to get into parliament, so that they can more help shape Singapore into a better place.
Singapore now has a vibrant civil society environment and those members no longer need to be activists. They can now concentrate on being the politician they are and try to win votes, so that they can get into parliament and better help the poorer people of Singapore. As such, that is why there is this perceived change in SDP. They didn't change their ideals. They just get to channel their efforts to the preferred method.
3/17/2015 03:45:00 PM
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Even the staunch anti pap guys were shaking their heads at sdp when the by election happened
This is a group with ideas but no practical application. And no way to go about achieving them beyond telling people how they're going to do it
Dr chee himself was accused of forcing out CST
Adding to his poor reputation.
And as had as the mass media tries to smear him or so as opposition supporters claimed
Everyone was stunned by his shouting in public at former pm Goh
How can someone who has no political guile and have no understanding of the people he wants support from, be counted on?
I assume you meant the Punggol East BE. They were getting a lot of demands to not participate in the BE, and that is what they did. And I dare say, the support for them from the Punggol East Residents have been very good, and they stand a great chance of winning if they had gone ahead with it. They only pull out because a lot of their supporters wanted them to.
"This is a group with ideas but no practical application"? But of course! This is what they have been working hard to correct. To get the practical application. And their ideas were not exactly new. They were implemented with success in some way or other in various other countries.
Dr Chee was accused of forcing out CST. You can refer to this link for what really happened.
http://yoursdp.org/publ/the_truth_about/chiam_39_s_exit_from_the_sdp/part_1_the_truth_about_chiam_see_tong_39_s_departure/11-1-0-16
The GCT shouting incident is another smearing incident by the mainstream press. What really happened is again, quite different from what we see on TV and print.
Up to you to believe what they say. You say that they are lying to get themselves out of trouble. But if you know those people personally, you won't think so.
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