Archives of Parliamentary Excerpts, Press Releases, and Speeches
4 October 2008
JBJ in Memorial
21 January 2008
Speech in Parliament by Chiam See Tong on HDB upgrading
22 October 2007
Amendment of the Panel Code
5 October 2007
Press release on Myanmar's Military Junta
22 May 2007
Parliamentary Debates
9 April 2007
Speech in Parliament by Chiam See Tong on Ministers' salary hikes
4 February 2007
Speech during MP's dialogue session by Lim Bak Chuan on GST increase
Singapore is like a sampan floating in the sea.
When the tide comes up, the sampan will rise when the tide goes out the sampan will sink with the ebbing tide.
This makes Singapore vulnerable to what is happening in the world. Singapore must always be alert and be on its toes for the tide can suddenly change,and good opportunities come our way and reap the investments that are available. Singapore therefore must maintain its good infrastructure, govern by a strong and efficient democratic government, check by a strong opposition .It will make sure that the government not be allowed to degenerate into an authoritarian one. The political system must be changed to one giving maximum representation that will strengthen our society and all our lives
The present GRC system must be abolished, if that is not possible then it must be modified from its present size of 5 or 6 to 2 member GRCs comprising 1 ethic member and 1 Chinese member and the 2 member GRCs be limited to 20.Going by the present number of parliament seats there would be 40 single seat constituencies now. Bigger GRCs are not needed because two member GRCs can produce the optimal number minority-race MPs while maximizing meritocracy in Singapore electoral system.
They must be a free and plausible media where more news of the opposition is allowed.
This also includes the activities of the two incumbent opposition
MPs. The views of the opposition must be heard more by the public.
This is in line with the changed world.
The United States of America has, for the first time, elected an African American to be its President . Our political system must evolve with the times.
To meet the challenges of India and China and to protect ourselves against protectionism, Singapore must take concerted efforts to embrace Malaysia, we should aim to have an economic Union with Malaysia. With the total population of about 27 million between the two countries, we can build an internal market of our own. This, to a certain extent enables us to fight protectionism.
In his speech, our President has said, amongst other things, that we must have social cohesion. Social Cohesion is about arousing the emotions of people to feel a sense of togetherness, unity but government policies do not reflect this especially in regard to Opposition MPs They practice one country two system policy in regard to CIPC funding for community works and no proper amenities to hold their mps although they are legitimately elected.
Lastly, in order to have gracious living, we must also inculcate good values to our young ones by teaching them to have humility, compassion and kindness.