Is LHL as chair of the PA 'illegal'? Shouldn't the PA be classified as political association too?

Is LHL as chair of the PA 'illegal'? Shouldn't the PA be classified as political association too?

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President Barack Obama wrote:

By S Ramesh | Posted: 14 February 2011 1621 hrs
SINGAPORE: The Online Citizen is not a passive website which simply hosts social or political commentaries by individuals, says Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...110648/1/.html

Is LHL as chair of the PA 'illegal'? Shouldn't the PA be classified as political association too?
Isn't the 'People's Association' (PA) actually an illicit extension of the PAP, a covert lynch pin, tightly wrapped around the the Prime Minister's little finger?.

- '‘Adviser over MP’ raises many questions'[ST, 22Oct2009][alt link]: "PAP MPs are appointed as advisers to the grassroots organisations in their wards by the People’s Association (PA). In the two opposition wards, the PA picked the PAP candidates who contested but lost in the wards in the last two polls as the grassroots advisers."

- 'Advisers and MPs have different roles' Lim Yuin Chien, Press Secretary to the Ministry of National Development [ST,27Oct2009]: "the government-appointed adviser, his main role is to assist in implementing national programmes, such as government campaigns, and HDB's upgrading programmes, including the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP)... Opposition MPs cannot be appointed advisers, because they do not answer to the ruling party."

- 'Grassroots Organizations should stay non-partisan'[TR, 03Nov2009][alt link]: "By appointing PAP candidates as grassroots advisers in Opposition held wards, the government is effectively bringing partisan politics into governmental institutions. Using the PA as a vehicle for PAP candidates as grounds to gain political capital so that they may fight their next battle with more goodwill, the governmental risks costing itself the position of Singapore as a Parliamentary Democracy; and put Singapore in par with communist states like Cuba, China and North Korea."

Whilst "Civil service rules bar officers from the administrative service from doing so (joining a political party)." [10Feb2011: 'Civil service high-flier may enter politics'] "However unlike most stat boards, whose chairmen are usually the permanent secretary of the parent ministry or some other senior civil servant, PA’s chairman is none other than the Prime Minister([link])." [10Oct2009: 'How PAP uses taxpayer-funded grassroots for political gain']

Already, Singapore operates a unicameral parliament, which by definition: "Unicameral legislatures are also common in Communist states such as the People's Republic of China and Cuba" [wiki]

Next, Singapore's GRC system of election (also known as Party Block Vote (PBV)) is defined by the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network as: "As of 2004, PBV was used as the only system or the major component of the system in four countries—Cameroon, Chad, Djibouti and Singapore".

Perhaps in threatening Singaporeans to vote PAP, by warning that he would "spend all my time thinking what's the right way to fix them, to buy my supporters votes, how can I solve this week's problem and forget about next year's challenges" [May2006: 'PM Lee says countries worldwide respect and admire Singapore's proven system'], PM LHL made a Freudian slip in speaking from personal experience.

The 'god of wealth' has eclipsed all good sense and prudence amongst Singaporeans, gambling is the new 'work' and theft is 'gain'.

References:
- 'Mammon': "Mammon is a term, derived from the Christian Bible, used to describe material wealth or greed, most often personified as a deity." [Wikipedia: Mammon]
- 'How PAP uses taxpayer-funded grassroots for political gain': "The People’s Association (PA), a statutory board under the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, was set up in 1960 to counter the influence of Chinese clan associations and unions on working class Singaporeans.
Like all other stat boards, it receives a yearly grant from the government to run its programmes and cover operational costs. In FY2008, PA received $280 million from taxpayers, and another $23 million in “operating income”. It spent a total of $320 million last year.
However unlike most stat boards, whose chairmen are usually the permanent secretary of the parent ministry or some other senior civil servant, PA’s chairman is none other than the Prime Minister ." [G.Giam, 10Oct2009]
- 'Freedom for Sale': "Don’t risk real freedom for short-term material gain.. Our civil liberties are in jeopardy and we are to blame. We have reduced democracy to the right to make and spend money... (in return for) a temporary blanket of security and what turned out to be an illusory prosperity" [The Times, 7Sept2009]
- "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."-- Benjamin Franklin

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