Sunday 1 May 2016

"I hope he wins..."

A comment on Chee's aspiration to surpass PAP-run Town Councils (from FB):


I hope he wins. It would be a triumph of oratory over ability, style over substance, and passion over professionalism.
I hope he wins. It would be a vindication of all who have confused hope for strategy, delusion for dreams, idealism for principles, and theory for reality.
I hope he wins. It would be a fairy tale ending for an otherwise tragi-comedy-of-self-inflicted-errors-and-missteps story. We all love happy endings.

I hope he wins. It would mean that he would have a chance to show Singapore how he would run things. A chance for him to show his true abilities. A chance for him to show that all it takes is one man full of ideas and ideals to show what can be done contrary to hard-won expertise, and proven experience. A chance for him to show how one man can be better than a team. Because I grew up with the WWF (now WWE), when the good guys were individualists like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior, and the bad guys were "teams" like "The Hart Foundation", with "managers" who scheme and "strategise".

I hope he wins. Because I don't live in Bukit Batok. 

Well, I must say his ego has not been dampened.

Surpass PAP-run town councils?

When WP town councils are unable to meet standards?

In effect, he is saying he would run the BEST town council in Singapore. Even Low Thia Khiang when he was running just Hougang SMC, or Chiam See Tong when he was running Potong Pasir, never had the arrogance to say that they surpassed or were better than PAP-run town councils.

It is hyperbole like this that should make us suspicious.

Firstly, should we believe that as a completely new and inexperienced MP, he would be able to "top the class" in his first term? Arrogance? Ego? Or Delusion?

Secondly, After 20 years, were Chiam or Low able to climb up the rankings to be top town councils? If they could not in the first term or so, that is understandable. But surely after almost (or more than) 20 years, they might have learned some pro-tips? Again, arrogance, ego, or delusion?

Thirdly, it is either a brave man, a confident man, or a fool to claim that he can win the prize, when the impartiality of the judges may be in question. Even if you truly believe that the PAP and the civil service are separate and one is not controlled by the other, surely you must have doubts as to whether that independence is truly complete. So would the MND give an opposition held Town Council the highest rating? Either a) he is truly confident in his ability, and the independence of MND, or b) he has not considered this because he has not thought this far ahead, or he has not thought at all, or his delusions of grandeur precludes any spare capacity to think, logically, rationally, or reasonably.

He has said that he would set concrete milestones and deadlines for himself and his team. And that the people can hold him accountable for not meeting these milestones he has set.

I've seen enough people weasel out of concrete deliverables and air tight contracts to make me suspicious when a Houdini asks us to examine the locks and ropes.

I would be more impressed if he promises not to make excuses like "MND were out to get me!" Or, "the PAP got their contractors to boycott me!"

But the reality is, if I were to run an opposition town council, I would expect the deck to be stacked against me. I would NOT be making stupid challenges that would just be attracting... AH... I see it now.

By making such outrageous claims and challenges, he is actually setting himself up to fail. But talking big, he is bound to fail (simply because he talked too big, and also because the establishment will be out to get him), and when he fails, he will have "evidence" of sabotage or bullying, and that will be his excuse and his sympathy card for the next election.

So I would be more impressed if he also promises that if he is unable to meet the concrete deliverables, he would not make any excuses and promises not to run for elections ever again. Now THAT would be a worthwhile promise.

Except... based on his glucose fasting fiasco, I expect that he would find a way to weasel out of those promises as well.




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