It has been confirmed Ong Ye Kung will be contesting the next election in Sembawang GRC instead of Aljuneid.
Sembawang GRC voters would do well to scrutinise the latest PAP parachutist. Who is Ong Ye Kung?
According to Wikipedia, Ong is currently a director at Keppel Corporation, a government-linkedcorporation. He was previously the Dy Sec-Gen of NTUC, SMRT independent director and CEO of WDA. In short, Ong does not have any private sector experience and his career is totally dependent on the PAP government and its flawed policies.
The NTUC as everybody knows is a pseudo workers’ union. It is directly responsible for cleaners’wage decline, in real terms, by about 40 % from 2000 to 2012. The WDA is as good as a recruitment agency for unskilled/low skilled workers.
Ong has worked in the Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Trade and Industry. Ong was part of the team which “helped to develop the LTA White Paper” and also helped to establish Singapore’s LTA. In short, he was part of a system which promoted increased transportation costs ie COE, ERP, etc. Ong later became the Principal Private Secretary to PM Lee.
Ong’s meteoric rise in the civil service has probably convinced him that PAP’s system, withmultiple failures in housing, healthcare, education and transportation, is working fine.
Ong was parachuted into the Aljuneid GRC in the 2011 election and touted to be of ministerial calibre. Despite riding on three ministers’ coattails ie George Yeo, Lim Hwee Hua and Zainul Abidin, Ong became part of Singapore’s history with PAP’s loss of a GRC.
Aljuneid voters apparently believed the PAP was self serving and not serving Aljuneid residents as claimed. It appears Aljuneid residents have given the PAP and its grassroots 5 years to repent. Likely more.
In a recent interview on Mothership.SG, Ong claims “a PAP-led Government has shown results in terms of policies and implementation”. But the reality is public hospitals have prioritised medical tourism over citizens’ health needs, the severe hospital bed crunch will take about a decade to resolve, affordable resale public housing is still years away, our education policies favour foreigners without basic English, etc.
Before being elected, Ong has already spoken from an ivory tower like other PAP politicians. A politician who is divorced from ordinary Singaporeans’ reality is likely to maintain the status quo of flawed policies.
In the same interview, Ong claims that he has been “asked by Minister Khaw Boon Wan” to assist him in Sembawang. Ong should know that he is more familiar with the issues of residents of Aljuneid GRC as he has been ‘volunteering’ for about three years. If Ong is the best person to serve Aljuneid residents, he should have politely rejected Khaw’s invitation. Any PAP grassroots leader parachuted in to take over Ong in Aljuneid will be the second best person. This is a lose-lose situation for Sembawang and Aljuneid residents should the PAP be elected.
Perhaps Ong has figured he does not stand any chance against the Workers’ Party? Perhaps the PAP has already given up on contesting the Aljuneid GRC and will sacrifice all its pawns, like maybe even transferring Tin Pei Lin from Marine Parade GRC to Aljuneid?
Ong also seems to think highly of Minister Khaw for some baffling reasons. Some facts which Sembawang GRC electorate should note:
Khaw Boon Wan failed Singaporeans as the Health Minister from 2004 to 2011. From 2001 to 2011, our hospital beds decreased from 11,936 to 11,394. During the period, hospital admissions increased from 384,054 to 469,445 and the population increased by 1,100,000. Citizens are also neglected because public hospitals are being used for medical tourism. The government’s focus has always been the bottom line, not citizens’ welfare. Healthcare is increasingly affordable.
After his abject failure at the Health Ministry, Khaw was rotated to the MND. What is Khaw’s achievement at the MND? So far, Khaw has promised to deliver about 100,000 new HDB units by 2016. But the issue of unaffordable housing is still years from being resolved. To be fair to Khaw, the monumental problem was created by his predecessor, Mah Bow Tan. Khaw’s role as MND minister is therefore only to resolve a PAP-created issue.
Is there really anything Ong could learn from Khaw’s failure at the Health Ministry and his zero achievement as MND minister?
As sincere as he may appear to be, Ong does not possess any idea to lift the lot of low wage Singaporeans. “We believe that for workers to have their wages to go up, the best way is drive forproductivity”. video link Although the government has failed in its drive on productivity for decades, Ong still insists on tying productivity to wage gains. Most employers do not and never will share their increased profits with workers. If productivity has been increasing, we would not be having this problem today!
Ong seems to be parroting his ex NTUC colleague, Lim Swee Say, (many see as an toothpick picking failure) who has been using the productivity mantra for years to depress wages.
CPF is currently the biggest issue. Voting for another PAP yes-man will only entrench the opacity in our system. CPF members who have been affected should consider their choice of candidate very carefully. If not for their interests, at least their children’s.
Conclusion
It is shocking for Ong to jump ship at a minister’s request, leaving his supporters to work with the second best PAP grassroots leader. In other words, Ong is a quitter.
If the PAP is elected, chances are CPF issues which affected tens of thousands of Sembawang GRC electorate will never see daylight.
Ong’s career is totally dependent on the PAP which runs our country on a for-profit basis. If Ong is voted into Parliament, chances are he will maintain the status quo.
Aljuneid voters did not reject Ong and three other ‘disconnected’ PAP ministers for no rhyme or reason in 2011. If Ong has indeed learnt from his former GRC team mates, it must have been all the wrong things or the PAP would not have been booted out.
PAP is now offering its Aljuneid reject to another GRC. There are no reasons for Sembawang GRC electorate to accept PAP’s loser.
Phillip Ang
*The writer blogs at http://likedatosocanmeh.wordpress.com/