The way that PM Lee has reacted to the results of GE 2011 and the responses given have been interesting.
The removal of 5 heavyweights Cabinet Ministers (not including the loss of George Yeo) along with a closely followed announcement of reviewing of Ministerial pay demonstrated how serious PM Lee percieved the erosion of support for the PAP.
The initial days seem to suggest that perhaps after numerous empty rhetorics of "listening to the citizens" that this time, it might just be for real. Or is it ? Only time will tell if the leopard has truly changed its spots.
I believe that the desire to change from PM Lee is genuine but will he be successful doing it ?
My biggest concerns/fears from these recent actions are:
- Is it a knee-jerk reaction to appease the negative public sentiments. Was the shuffling and musical chairs so quickly really necessary ? Was there proper contingency planning ? Many have expressed the abruptness of such changes which was out-of-character for PAP.
- Will the old habits come back after the dust has settled? This translate to whether there is a steely will to effect change. Make no mistake, 60% of Singaporeans voted for PAP for a reason - They are happy with how PAP is running the country. I will venture a guess that many are in the civil service. For PM Lee to see through the change, alot of lives will be affected, especially in the civil service - Will they take kindly to the changes of attitudes and possible reduction of compensation or will they put up a wall of resistance? It is definitely a delicate balancing act for PM Lee, no doubt.
- With the new "we will listen" posture taken up by most new MPs, have they veered too much too soon in "listening" to the citizens to a point where they begin to adopt a populist approach ? They may have already dug a hole for themselves by setting up the expectations of their constituents in being more consultative. Being consultative is great but it is not always the right approach as is being autocratic - Both approaches are correct when it is called for by the situation.
- With the "new found" power, do our citizens know how to exercise their voice responsibly? Personally, I agree with the view that our electorate remains young and immature - One need to look no further than the example of calls for bi-election for Potong Pasir when the GE Elections results were not even a day old. Will our citizens revert to their old habits of "just complaining" and never being satisfied when something doesn't go their way? (There is a distinct difference in lending our voices to logic and common sense versus throwing tantrums when things doesn't go according to our wishes)
- Are PM Lee's actions driven out because he recognized that the government is not serving its citizens well or because he needs to quickly gain back the lost votes for his party ? (While both intents are not mutually exclusive, it will tells us if the government has seen the errors of its ways or that it is just responding through survival instincts for the party)
- Is his ENTIRE Cabinent and government aligned with him on his new path? Jimmy Lee seems to suggest that it might not be so http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/civil-servants-call-pm-changes-populist-measures-spp-121911506.html
As I said, only time will tell us if the change is truly real and coming from the right place.
Fortunately, that time is now as the 1st real test to gauge whether the new attitude of PM Lee's government is genuine has presented itself, although it did catch many by surprise. It is none other than the latest announcement from LTA on the trials for the New GPS ERP System.
Motorists raise concern over proposed new ERP system
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is looking for new ways to implement the electronic road pricing (ERP) system without the physical infrastructure marked by the existing iconic -- and controversial -- blue-and-white gantries dotting Singapore, but a proposed approach is raising concern among motorists.
The LTA on Tuesday awarded tenders for trials to develop the next generation of the ERP system, which will embrace the global navigation satellite system (GNSS), a technology that makes use of satellites to determine the position of a vehicle.
The agency said that while the current gantry-based ERP system has served well, congestion will become more extensive and it may become impractical to continue installing ever more physical gantries to manage congestion.
Motorists responded to the news unfavourably. 35-year-old business manager Eddrick Tan slammed the new system, claiming that the traffic congestion problem will still persist.
He told Yahoo! Singapore: "It doesn't address the traffic congestion issue at all. The current system has highly visible gantries and the fees shown on the board could be seen at least a hundred metres away, giving sufficient time for motorists to think twice before driving through an ERP gantry. But the new satellite ERP system could create confusion among motorists because of its complex nature, thus undermining its effectiveness."
"Moreover, using satellite tracking intrudes one's privacy," he added.
ERP gantries have become a sore point for many Singaporean motorists who believe that the fees imposed and the wide coverage are excessive and do not curb congestion.
Taxi driver Ong Boon Keng said the new system could allow the government to collect more toll revenue.
"Without a physical gantry, some motorists might be 'tricked' into driving into an ERP-marked area," he said. "And I think that it's unfair to also include the fees that are calculated based on the distance clocked. We motorists might end up paying much more."
An expert Yahoo! Singapore spoke to revealed that the Global Positioning System (GPS) does not provide 100 percent reliable coverage, particularly in Singapore where cloud cover, trees, and high-rise buildings are ubiquitous. All these will affect the accuracy of satellite tracking, said Dave Ang, a technical engineer for Cisco Systems.
In a press statement, LTA added that the development of the project is in its very preliminary stages and that the next generation ERP system, if technically feasible, is still some years away before it is ready to be launched and implemented.
Under the tenders awarded, each party will be given seed funding of $1 million "to design, develop and demonstrate technological solutions" for the new system. This includes on-road testing and may involve the installation of roadside equipment in order to facilitate testing.
In addition to charging motorists only according to where they go, the improved system could also take into consideration the distances they clock.
The four companies selected by LTA are Kapsch TrafficCom; MHI Engine System Asia & NCS; ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems) & IBM Singapore; and Watchdata Technologies & Beijing Watchdata System.
The trial starts in June this year and will last for 18 months.
According to the LTA, Singapore is not the pioneer country in the world to explore satellite navigation technology to curb road congestion.
In January 2005, Germany introduced a road toll system on its 12,100 km expressway network for all trucks with a weight of 12 tonnes and above. The toll is calculated according to the actual distance travelled by the trucks on the autobahn, number of axles and the emission category.
The system employs a combination of mobile communications technology (GSM) and GNSS for automatic road toll collection. The modes of payment for the toll charges include both pre-payment and monthly billing.
I have indicated in an earlier post that many do not agree with the current transportation policy of vehicle ownership. A quick recap of the post:-
- COE is the ultimate solution - congestion is a function of the car population and the capacity of the road network. Reduction of congestion comes with reducing car population or expanding the road network. Any other solution is temporal at best.
- COE Bidding - The current system encourages irresponsible bidding. Get every individual/company to pay at the price they bid. No one wants to hear of themselves getting something at a higher price than someone else. Companies who bid higher will become less competitive as their cost of business rises up.
- ERP - Traffic flow congestion is temporal and is dependent on timing (peak/non-peak hours). It doesn't solve the problem. It MIGHT alter people's travel behaviour but it is at the expense of other more important matters like spending more time with family.
Frankly, I am surprised at the announcement as it shows that either Minister Liu has not gotten round to reviewing all the projects his Ministry is looking into or if he did, has not recognized the potential furore that it will create when the citizens of Singapore hear about it. Whichever way you look at it, it doesn't put Minister Liu in a good light - He is too slow ! (in action or in mind)
The ball is now firmly in Minister Liu Tuck Yew's (and PM Lee's) court to see if he is indeed listening to the citizens of Singapore.
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