Agence France Presse November 22, 2001 SINGAPORE See also: Lee
dynasty tightens its grip on Singapore Think Centre founding member Anbarasu Balrasan said the group will focus on backbenchers rather than ministers and other high-profile MPs, noting that many of them had sailed into parliament as part of multi-seat teams. The three opposition MPs -- two elected, and one who got in by virtue of a best-loser clause -- will also be rated. "We need to put some pressure on these backbenchers because at the end of the day, we don't want anyone to go into our parliamentary system on a free ride," he said. The PAP took 82 of the 84 seats -- including 55 that were not contested -- and boosted its share of the votes cast to 75 percent, from 65 percent in the 1997 polls. It has ruled Singapore since 1959. Think Centre president Sinapan Samydorai said: "We would like to do something like a ranking system of the backbenchers to see how they perform, what they bring up or what they do not bring up." A 10-member committee of Think Centre members, academics and intellectuals has been formed and will assess the backbenchers' performance in parliament, town councils and constituencies as well as their influences on ministries, with the help of volunteers. Independent academics, intellectuals, grassroot leaders and political observers will audit the reports to be published every three years, Balrasan said, adding that only Singaporean citizens would be involved in the project. Balrasan said Think Centre was not setting itself up against the government as it understood that Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had "great and difficult job at hand ... We see this as helping him." "It is done in good faith," he added. Samydorai said: "We have been an independent nation for 40 years. I think it's time for them to take responsibility into their own hands for themselves." |
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