Punggol by election - I told you Chee Soon Juan can't be trusted

Just in a short time after the shackles of bankruptcy have been unchained from him, Chee Soon Juan is back to his ever hostile move to tear the opposition apart. I told you that he can't be trusted. He is not interested in Singaporeans. He is not interested in the opposition cause. Power crazed guy.

SDP to contest Punggol East if there is a by-election

Chee does what he does best - backstabs others to advance his own personal agenda.

Extract from above link:

It's shaping up to be a five-cornered fight in Punggol East, should there be a by-election for the single seat ward.

On Thursday, the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) signalled its intent to contest the seat.

The ward was left vacant after its MP Michael Palmer resigned, following an extra-marital affair.

The SDP said it has a slate of qualified candidates, and will decide on a name in due course.

At a news conference on Thursday, SDP's Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan ruled himself out as a potential candidate.

Dr Chee explained that he is not eligible to contest in an election until 2015.

He was given a fine in 2010 which disqualified him from participating in any elections for five years.

Dr Chee said the party had drawn up comprehensive policies which address the concerns of Singaporeans, and it looks forward to put these policies before the voters of Punggol East.

These include introducing a 'Singaporeans First' policy where Singaporeans are given priority in employment.

The party also wants to scrap the Medisave, Medishield, and Medifund systems and introduce a National Health Investment Fund, which it said will make health care more affordable.

Dr Chee said the party has been building up its machinery especially after the last General Election, and its resources have expanded.

He indicated that the SDP will begin its outreach to Punggol East residents right after the New Year.

Dr Chee said it's important to prepare early even though Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hasn't decided on whether to call a by-election.

The Constitution does not require the prime minister to call a by-election within any fixed time frame.

The SDP is the latest opposition party to declare its interest in Punggol East, following the Reform Party and the Singapore Democratic Alliance.

The Workers' Party has said that it should have priority to contest, due to its earlier involvement in the constituency during last year's General Election.

The SDP though remained firm in its stand.

Dr Chee said his party hasn't met with the other opposition parties to discuss the matter.

"We will be getting into talking with everyone. We will work towards that and how that will result, we're not sure. But as I've said, we're intent, we've got our hearts set in contesting this by-election and we will move ahead with it," he said.

- CNA/de

This is not the first time Chee has staged a hostile move against fellow opposition parties and/or members. Let's recall that it was Chee who masterminded the overthrow of Chiam from SDP as the Sec Gen in the 1990s. Here is an article about that incident I wrote - Chee Soon Juan and Co more interested in selves than opposition cause

In the article above, I showed how Chee and SDP try ever so hard to explain why Chiam was ousted. Very unconvincing argument, by the way. If at all, it serves to show the vindictiveness of Chee to get Chiam out, so that he could usurp the Sec Gen post himself.

Extract from above link:

Here is Part 2 - Part 2: Chiam's expulsion - What really happened?

Mr Chiam duly showed up at the party's office on the evening of 6 Aug to answer 16 charges brought against him. In the course of the hearing, Mr Chiam did not express any regret about his talk at the SPC. Instead he maintained that he was only speaking the truth when he questioned the integrity of the CEC members. He then accused the CEC members of being biased and insisted that the hearing was not conducted in a fair manner.

After the hearing, which lasted more than three hours, the 13-member CEC debated the course of action to take against our former leader. Three questions were posed:

1. Did we find Mr Chiam's explanations acceptable? The response was a unanimous no.

2. Did we agree that he ought to be disciplined? Everyone said yes.

3. Finally, what disciplinary action did we want to take: Expulsion, suspension or demotion?

Let's pause for a while. Note that:-

a) The CEC of the SDP then, were only concerned with their own party's interest. The three points above (coloured blue) only centred on the party's interest.

There was no consideration of the fact that if Chiam were to be expelled, he would have to vacate Potong Pasir Constituency. He would also be out of Parliament. To the SDP (which was headed by Chee) then, that was a non-issue.

b) The CEC could have given lesser punishment that could have saved Chiam's position as MP of Potong Pasir. But they did not choose it, but instead went for the harshest one.

Incidentally, Chiam contested his case in court and won - and Potong Pasir remained in opposition hands. Ironic that it was Chee and gang's actions that would have regressed opposition's cause, while a govt arm, the courts, that helped the opposition remain in Potong Pasir!

Article continues below...

It was an agonising decision to make. We were acutely aware of the consequences if we decided to expel him. But Mr Chiam left us no choice because he would have continued to criticise us through the years given his stance. Where would that leave the SDP then?

The arguments went back and forth until close to five the next morning. In the end, 11 of the 13 chose expulsion including me. Two opted for demotion.

But even after the decision was made - and this is an important point that readers must note - we still wanted to avoid having to expel Mr Chiam.

What a twisted, convoluted hot air talk. They wanted to avoid expelling Chiam, but they voted 11 to 2 to expel him. You mean the CEC took a resolution but did not want to execute that resolution? Why pass that resolution then?

Is this not just a show, a wayang, to tell the public that they were "compassionate" and that even when they had a loaded gun, they did not want to pull the trigger? But they pulled it because of Chiam?

Come on! There were OTHER forms of punishment to mete out other than expulsion. A fine, a demotion, a suspension, a censure, a bar from meetings, suspension of benefits, blah, blah, blah....


My Conclusion -

I have to say that sadly after reading all the explanation, I am still not convinced. True, Chiam has gone off the line. But for the CEC, led by Chee, to expel him meant that Chee and gang did not for one moment think about the cause of the opposition. Expulsion from SDP would mean Chiam would lose his MP seat.

To me, what Chee is saying in all the explanation is that the SDP (and Chee) are more important than the Potong Pasir residents who voted for Chiam.

Potong Pasir residents voted him in, but Chee, together with 10 other irresponsible SDP CEC members, decided that he should be out. Yes, that's 10 individuals who did not care for tens of thousands of Potong Pasir residents who voted him in.

To Chee supporters, if that is what you call "sincere", then I think you need to re-calibrate your moral judgement that has gone bonkers.

As I final note, I would like to say it is only poetic justice that after nearly twenty years, the SDP led by Chee, is still grappling, trying to get back into Parliament.

To Chee, it doesn't matter that WP had worked hard for this constituency at Punggol. He just wants that seat badly. Ever since he took over as Sec Gen of SDP about 20 years ago, his party has not won a single seat in Parliament. He wants that seat for his party so badly, if he has to betray others again, he would.

If Chee could betray Chiam, the chief of SDP then, as well as the people of Potong Pasir, the constituents who voted for Chiam and SDP then, who is the WP, or for that matter, the people of Punggol East to this backstabber?