Comment: No Debate on HDB?

Mah Bow Tan has refused to engage the opposition parties in a televised debate on housing issues in Singapore. His reason: the Government’s position on housing is clear. That’s a load of hogwash. Yes, we all agree that the Government’s position is clear – to sell land at market value to developers who will then pass on the high cost to consumers (HDB and non-HDB dwellers alike) so as to boost the reserves. Of course, the PAP leaders are always so proud of their very hefty reserves. Since most of the consumers have been, are and will be Singaporeans, it is indeed a real moral and political issue whether the PAP should be making huge profits in this way from the people that have voted them into office and to whom they have professed to be accountable.

The equally worrying issue is why the PAP leaders have consistently refused to engage in televised debates with the opposition parties. The only reason that I can think of is that they sorely lack the debating skills and experience to do so. The highly-structured question-time style in Parliament seems to have prevented them from developing such debating skills and experience. And they probably fear that they will lose face when Singaporeans see that they lack the debating skills on national tv. All their oratory flaws and shortcomings will be made so obviously clear. And the PAP-controlled media will not be able to help them to do damage control in a live tv debate. Already, one can see how some PAP leaders are quite incapable of answering questions from the media and even from some university undergraduates – instead of answering the simple questions, they end up giving inadequate and irrelevant answers.

Politicians in other countries seem to have no problem and no hesitation to engage in televised debates with each other. That’s simply part and parcel of what politics is about. Unfortunately, in Singapore, the PAP politicians have been cloistered, insulated, protected and molly-coddled by the systems and rules that they have put in place. The GRC system gives them an easy way into Parliament and the highly-structured “debates” in Parliament have not allowed them to develop and hone their debating skills. Yes, we really need to do something to achieve a First World Parliament. We are still quite far from that goal.