Noted socio-political activist Gilbert Goh released a wishlist for 2020 last week, listing the changes he wishes would take place in Singapore in the new year. Mr Goh said he wishes the opposition would form a coalition and that he hopes that more people would vote for the opposition at the polls to serve as a check and balance for the Government.
In a Facebook post published on 1 Jan, Mr Goh shared that he wishes that the opposition parties would “finally unite and form a coalition to take on the incumbent in the coming election.”
He also wished for Singaporeans to “vote in sufficient number of opposition to provide a check and balance to the incumbent so that no laws and legislation can be easily allowed through without a proper debate.”
Interestingly, days after Mr Goh expressed his wish to see an opposition coalition, four opposition parties revealed plans to register an alliance.
The Reform Party (RP), Singaporeans First party (SingFirst), People’s Power Party (PPP) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are planning to register a coalition by the end of this month, ahead of the upcoming General Election, and have invited other opposition parties to join them.
Mr Goh further expressed a desire to see Singaporeans be able to “voice out their grievances courageously despite the threat of suppression as that is the only way to win over tyranny” and for Singaporeans to “see ourselves as one people – Singaporeans – not Chinese, Malay, Indian or Eurasian so that we can stay united and support one another despite our differences.”
The activist’s remaining six wishes for 2020 are to see the:
Delinking of PSLE school results certificates to unpaid school fees by parents so our children will have the dignity of receiving what is due to them;
Implementation of a minimum wage for the low-income earners so our people can have the dignity of earning a decent wage for the hard work put in than constantly relying on hand-outs;
Employment for all Singaporeans first before approving further work permits unless it’s a job that no Singaporean can perform;
Limit (in) the duration of a Prime Minister to a maximum of two terms so there is a proper succession plan;
A proper pension plan in place to take care of our elderly folks after they retire – currently too many of them toil in low-end jobs trying to survive; and for
National service to be further reduced to 12 months and the army gradually evolve into a professional one so our young men can have a good head-start in their field of study or career.
A career counsellor who runs the transitioning.org support site for unemployed and underemployed Singaporeans, Mr Goh is perhaps most well known for the protests he organises, championing the rights of Singaporean workers. His most famous protest could be his stand against the government’s 2013 Population White Paper that targeted a 6.9 million resident population.
Mr Goh also has experience working with local opposition parties. He rose to prominence in 2011 when he contested Tampines GRC under the National Solidarity Party ticket in that year’s General Election (GE). In the 2015 GE, Mr Goh ran as part of the Reform Party’s team contesting Ang Mo Kio GRC. Mr Goh and his colleagues lost both the 2011 and 2015 GEs. -/TISG
https://www.facebook.com/goh.gilbert/posts/10159368977838975