Vikram Nair may be a newbie PAP MP who entered parliament by riding on the ‘coat-tail’ of a heavy-weight minister in Sembawang GRC, but he certainly speaks as if he is some ‘big shot’ in the PAP.
Speaking at a press conference hosted by the Institute of Policy Studies yesterday to reveal the results of a survey which showed a drop in public support for the ruling party, Vikram Nair rejected criticisms that the PAP is out of touch with Singaporeans.
“When people say that the members of Parliament are disconnected from the ground, or don’t want to engage with the people, I find it hard to believe.” he said, obviously still living high up in his own ivory tower.
He then paraphrase an infamous quote used by PAP supreme leader Lee Kuan Yew:
“We do what we think is right and sometimes, people won’t be happy.”
During an interview with the Straits Times in 1987, Lee was reported to have said callously:
“We decide what is right, never mind what the people think.”
Mr Vikram’s team obtained 63 percent of the votes in the recent election, a drop of almost 15 percent in votes compared to the 2006 election.
Instead of reaching out to Singaporeans who did not vote for the PAP, he dismissed them nonchalantly:
“Don’t focus too much on the 40 percent that didn’t vote for you. We have to remember and keep in mind the interests of the 60 percent that did.”
Mr Vikram should be reminded that in head to head contests between the PAP and the next best performing party Workers’ Party, the PAP only manages to garner 53 percent of the votes against WP’s 47 percent which implies that its overall percentage of the votes will be much lowered if WP had contested in more constituencies.
With such cocky, arrogant and insensitive newbie MPs like Vikram Nair around, the PAP can be assured that it will continue to lose the votes of young Singaporeans in the next general election.
Speaking at a press conference hosted by the Institute of Policy Studies yesterday to reveal the results of a survey which showed a drop in public support for the ruling party, Vikram Nair rejected criticisms that the PAP is out of touch with Singaporeans.
“When people say that the members of Parliament are disconnected from the ground, or don’t want to engage with the people, I find it hard to believe.” he said, obviously still living high up in his own ivory tower.
He then paraphrase an infamous quote used by PAP supreme leader Lee Kuan Yew:
“We do what we think is right and sometimes, people won’t be happy.”
During an interview with the Straits Times in 1987, Lee was reported to have said callously:
“We decide what is right, never mind what the people think.”
Mr Vikram’s team obtained 63 percent of the votes in the recent election, a drop of almost 15 percent in votes compared to the 2006 election.
Instead of reaching out to Singaporeans who did not vote for the PAP, he dismissed them nonchalantly:
Mr Vikram should be reminded that in head to head contests between the PAP and the next best performing party Workers’ Party, the PAP only manages to garner 53 percent of the votes against WP’s 47 percent which implies that its overall percentage of the votes will be much lowered if WP had contested in more constituencies.
With such cocky, arrogant and insensitive newbie MPs like Vikram Nair around, the PAP can be assured that it will continue to lose the votes of young Singaporeans in the next general election.
