"Mr Lui was a good minister..."
It's too late for that now.
Was this because of his failure as a minister? Was PAP trying to play the sympathy card?
I think not. To leave the government just 9 years after being voted in as an MP seems premature, especially for a Singaporean minister. Even if the minister does a horrible job, it is atypical for the PAP to sack them (remember Mah Bow Tan and his housing policies?). After all, he could have simply be reassigned a ministry. It also is illogical for PAP to throw away a minister just for a bit of sympathy. With the added negativity of the minister resigning, the transport minister portfolio already plagued by persistent MRT breakdowns and fare hikes will become a poisoned chalice.
The real reason why Lui Tuck Yew quit was because his bosses at PAP humiliated him. His bosses deemed him to be liability (because of the transport issues) and dissolved his ward. Lui Tuck Yew was supposed to be the joint anchor minister of Moulmein-Kallang GRC but the wise elections department decided to dissolve Moulmein-Kallang to form Jalan Besar GRC, which he would not be part of. Worse still. they hived off large sections of his own ward, scattering the Moulmein PAP branch all over Singapore - Bishan-Toa Payoh, Holland Bukit-Timah and Jalan Besar.
This is Moulmein in 2011:
And this is Moulmein in 2015.
The ward previously extended from Tessensohn Civil Service to MacRitchie Reservoir to Balestier Road. This election, it extends from Tekka Mall to Whitley Road and then to United Square. 2015 Moulmein ward does not even include Moulmein Road!!!
The Moulmein ward now inherited by ex-police deputy commissioner Melvin Yong is a tiny fragment hiding inside Tanjong Pagar GRC.
The decision to redraw Lui's ward was probably also in view that the Worker's Party would be contesting Moulmein-Kallang again. Hiding Moulmein in Tanjong Pagar GRC is an assured way to keep the ward in PAP hands, especially in view that it is being contested by the Walls ice cream party (SingFirst) that no one really takes seriously.
In the larger scheme of things, these measures displayed a lack of trust in Minister Lui to hold his own and of course blatant inconsideration for the scattered residents of Moulmein who are now the real nomads this election. The branch leaders of Moulmein who have worked so hard in this ward now have to see they built over the years snatched away from them. If this isn't humiliation for a minister, I don't know what is. Well, there was Lawrence Wong humiliating himself at the CNA forum but that's another story. This humiliation is the real reason why Lui Tuck Yew quit.
For those who are concerned about our dear minister's well-being, fear not. He is still well alive and kicking. He was last seen setting up posters in the Moulmein area as a regular PAP volunteer. And he looks much happier now.
- Disgruntled Constituent
A new perspective on the resignation. Just try not to use strong words like "humiliated", you might be the next Roy Ngerng or Amos Yee, albeit with a brain.
ReplyDeleteThe ability to define and redefine boundaries is too powerful to be a partisan tool, potentially harming not only other parties but also individuals in the party. The Parliamentary Elections Act should be amended, in my opinion, such that the delimitation of electoral boundaries be placed under the President's control, while having permanent review by the Judiciary. The candidates should also have the rights to challenge the delimitation in court.
This may not be foolproof as the separation of powers is blurred in SG. Furthermore, power (money) imbalance between candidates also affects the fairness in court challenge. However, this system will become fairer as opposition parties grow (or even become the government) in the future, preventing both PAP and Opposition government to ... fuck around.