An accountable Parliament

General election may be held in Singapore during the next six to 12 months. It is important for Singaporeans to vote wisely for a candidate who can best represent their views in Parliament. It is preferable for the elected MP to be able to be a full time MP, as much time is needed to understand the views of the people and to initiate and  debate legislation in Parliament.

The candidate should be quite well educated but need not be a corporate leader. It is more important that the candidate should be sincere, competent (as an elected leader) and be willing to serve the people. There are at least two members of the current parliament that meets this description. We need to have more elected leaders of this type.

At election time, the mainstream media will focus on the negative aspects of some candidates. The voters should be aware of the bias of the media and understand that it takes a lot of personal sacrifice and courage for some candidates to stand for election to be a voice of the people in parliament. We should look at their positive aspects and be ready to give them a chance.

The above views are shared by the majority of the people who participated in a survey held a few motnhs ago. The results of this survey are shown here.

The aim is to have a Parliament that reflects the views of the people and to approve legislation and government policies that are good for the country and the people.

Tan Kin Lian