专访刘程强 看尽反对党起落,知道问题所在

Translated by Donaldson Tan

This is a non-verbatim translation of Xin Ming report 《新明日报专访刘程强 看尽反对党起落,知道问题所在 》 dated 9 April 2011.

(2011-04-09) ● 叶伟强 报道

Low Thia Khiang at Riverdale Plaza during a walkabout

Low Thia Khiang at Riverdale Plaza during a walkabout

刘程强在2001年5月27日从工人党助理秘书长,升上秘书长的职位,至今已担任秘书长将近10年。他说,接管工人党后,他在党内做出了3大改革。

  ●记者:你当上秘书长之后所做的三件最重要的事是什么?

  ●刘程强:主要是从党的架构去做改变,中层要能和中央配合及协调,让延伸出去的每一只手能够自由发挥,这些延伸出去的每一只手,也必须与中央配合。第二件重要的事就是维持党的纪律。然后就是慢慢的换新血。从中层到领导层都要换血。工人党这些年经过相当大的蜕变。

  ●记者:谈到纪律,相对于其他反对党,工人党的党员,包括党主席,可以说很少与媒体接触,据知,他们也不被允许随便对外发言,您为何要控制得这么紧呢?

  ●刘程强:我没有控制,控制得了吗?我从政30年,看过各反对党起起落落,我当然知道问题的纠结在哪里。我知道应该如何搞好工人党,才不会让选民失望。

  参加一个政党的首要条件是,你是加入一个团体,你不是一个个体。你要保持一个“个体”的话,很简单,你就去当一个独立候选人,你要怎样去做,那是你的事。可是,团队有团队的做法,你要有心理准备去做一件共同的事。

  在找人的时候,我们会找那些能够明白政治大局的人,大家有团队的精神,懂得组织。我并没有去控制,而是要大家能够理解我们在做什么。

刘程强:91年大选获胜 主要原因是没接受报章访问

  ●记者:您对媒体向来不怎么友善,为什么?

  ●刘程强:是,我常叫媒体不要来访问我,我难、你也难。1991年大选,开票当晚,知道成绩后,记者在计票站外访问我,问我觉得自己为什么会获胜,我回答他们,因为我没有接受你们的访问,没有被抹黑。我觉得,媒体的报道并不公平。

  其实,媒体是导致我从政的一个关键,政府当初要关闭南大,我们写了很多文章去报馆,但是,一个字都没有刊登出来,当时那种冰冷的感觉……

  很多时候,记者可以证明他们访了我,我也确实接受了访问,但是,我的答案会出现在哪一个句子后面,就是他们的选择了,所以。我不是白痴。

  现在的情况不一样了,有互联网,你不报,网上的讯息还是会流传。

不热衷网上交流 人与人之间还是面对面比较真实

  ●记者:您是怎样的政治家?

  ●刘程强:我不知道,我觉得有什么得去做的,我就会去做。

  ●记者:林瑞莲过去5年来,华语进步神速,她说,她有聘请老师教她华语。过去几周,我们在电视新闻上看到您用英语回答记者的提问,也是对答如流,您也聘请了补习老师学英语吗?

  ●刘程强:没有,我没有特地去学,但是,我没得选择,现在的年青人都说英语,华校生都已经没有了。没有办法,被逼,但我知道我还是不行,还好党内大家都很谅解我。华文和英文的思维毕竟不一样,所以很难改变,遇到要翻译就很糟糕,我试过接受访问到一半就放弃的例子。

  ●记者:您最近找的候选人也有不少是英文背景的……

  ●刘程强:没有办法,那要问华文背景的人跑到哪里去了。

  ●记者:你预计自己还会从政多久?

  ●刘程强:不知道,人生无常,我能活多久都不知道,我的基因不是很好,我的父母亲很年轻就去世了,所以,这个就别去想了。

  ●记者:你有一个社交网站Facebook的户头,可是,您并不活跃,您平时有密切留意网络动向吗?

  ●刘程强:我的Facebook户头并不是我自己在更新的,坦白说,我确实并不热衷于通过社交网站与人交流沟通,我还是比较传统,我相信人与人的交流,很大的程度上必须真实、必须直接接触。社交网站比较适合朋友圈子。

后港学生问总理:后港人可否少缴税?刘程强赞他, 有后港精神

  ●记者:一名居住在后港的学生,在国大肯特岗论坛上询问总理,为什么后港的居民因为对议员的选择不同,就处在不利的地位,那么,后港居民是否能缴少一点税,或是减少国民服役时间……您对这名后港学生的发问,有什么看法?

  ●刘程强:这个学生真的很有‘后港精神’,敢敢讲出来问总理,问得很好。不过,总理的回答也是事实。当然,我可以理解,翻新工程不可能一次过在全国进行,我们也不知道翻新计划的先和后,是有意还是无意,但如果是根据不同选区的支持度来考量,那就值得商榷。

  上次大选,国务资政吴作栋在后港说,要推出不知道多少亿的计划,那又怎么样?这样的政策是很有分化性的,也难怪那个学生会认为“我是新加坡人吗”,这应该是他们的权利,却让他们感觉被“惩罚”。

  ●记者:年轻选民或许会希望在住屋环境方面,得到更好的待遇和提升……

  ●刘程强:我们还是可以管理我们的环境。如总理所说的,基本设施还是有,只是翻新工程要排队。后港20年来也没有变成贫民窟。我常和对我的居民说“等久就会有”,这是时间的问题。

LTK: I know what’s wrong with Opposition

Low Thia Khiang (LTK) was promoted from Assistant Secretary General to Secretary General of the Workers’ Party (WP) on 27 May 2001. He has held this position for the last 10 years. According to him, the Workers’ Party has undergone 3 major reforms under his leadership.

WP has undergone 3 major reforms

Xin Ming: What are your 3 most important achievements as Secretary General of the Workers’ Party?

LTK: The most important achievement is re-structuring of the party leadership to facilitate the cooperation and coordination between central leadership and middle-tier leadership, between central leadership and every party member. The second achievement is maintaining party discipline. The third achievement is the gradual renewal across middle-tier and central leadership structures. The Workers’ Party has undergone major transformations over the years.

Xin Ming: On party discipline, unlike the other opposition parties, we observe that there is very little contact between WP members (including the Chairman) and journalists. We understand that they are forbidded to speak to outsiders on party matters. Why do you control the party so tight?

LTK: I don’t control. Do you think it is possible for me to control? I have been in politics for 30 years. Having seen the rise and fall of many opposition political parties. I know where the crux of the problem is. I know how I should manage the WP in order to minimise the electorate’s disappointment.

Rule No. 1 of joining a political party is that as a member of the organisation, you are no longer an individual. You have to maintain a united front in terms of conduct and speech. If you are an independent candidate, you are free to do whatever you want as it is your own business. However, a team has its own way of doing things and as a team player, you must be prepared to do things together.

On eligibility of membership, we seek out to find people who can understand the strategic picture of our political environment, have team spirit and understand the organisational need of the Workers’ Party. I don’t control members, but members must be able to understand what we as the Workers’ Party are trying to achieve.

LTK: Key reason for 1991 GE Victory is my refusal to accept media interview.

Xin Ming: Why are you unfriendly to the Media?

LTK: Yes, I often reject approaches by journalists. It is difficult for both me and you. After the results of the 1991 General Election was announced, many reporters approached me asking why I won the General Election. I told them it was because there was no opportunity for smear campaign as there was no media interview about me. At that time, I felt reporting in the media was unfair.

Media bias-ness is one key reason why I am in politics. When the PAP government first announced its plan to shut down Nanyang University, we wrote in a lot of letters to the media about it, but none of the letters were published. How do one not feel sceptical about the Media after that experience?

There were also times that I accepted media requests for interviews. However, it remains the journalist’s perrogative on where my answers would appear in the news report. I am no fool. However, times have changed. Even if you don’t report, the news will still spread online.

Meeting people face to face is more authentic

Xin Ming: What kind of politician are you?

LTK: I don’t know. If I feel something must be done, I will execute it.

Xin Ming: Sylvia Lim’s command of the Chinese language has improved considerably over the last 5 years. She credited this to taking Chinese language classes. In the last few weeks, we observed on television that you answered fluently in English to questions fielded by journalists. Have you been taking English classes too?

LTK: No, I didn’t take any English class. However, I cannot avoid speaking English. Nowadays, young people speak English while Chinese-educated people are increasingly rare. My command of the English language is not superb, but party members have been very understanding towards me. English and Chinese thought are structured differently, so it is difficult for me to code-switch. There were also times I aborted interviews half-way because of this.

Xin Ming: Many WP candidates are English-educated…

LTK: We have no choice. Where have the Chinese-educated Singaporeans gone to?

Xin Ming: How long more would you be in politics?

LTK: I don’t know. I don’t even know how long more I would live. My family medical history is not fantastic. My parents passed away at a young age, so I do not give any thought on this.

Xin Ming: You are hardly active on your Facebook account. Do you monitor online political sentiment?

LTK: My facebook account is updated by someone else. I am not accustomed to online interaction. I am more traditional. I prefer face to face interaction. Social networking is more suitable for use between friends.

On student who asked PM Lee whether Houngang constituents pay less tax, LTK praised him for having the Hougang spirt.

Xin Ming: During the recent Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum, a student who lives in Hougang asked the Prime Minister if Hougang constituents should pay less tax or serve lesser time for their National Service considering that Hougang is penalised for electing a non-PAP Member of Parliament. What is your take on his question.

LTK: This student is courageous and has the Spirit of Hougang. His question is a good one, but I can understand the Prime Minister’s answer. Estate upgrading cannot be carried out in one sweep across the country. We are not privy to the formulation process and execution phases of estate upgrading by the HDB. However, if the decision is based on political support for the ruling party, then there is room for discussion.

During the last General Election, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said he intends to push forward a multi-million dollar upgrading program. So what? Such policies are divisive. No wonder the student said “Am I a Singaporean?” This is supposed to be a right, but it has become perceived as a penalty for Singaporeans.

Xin Ming: Young voters may aspire for more amenities and improvement in residential environment…

LTK: We are still capable of managing the estate. Just as what the Prime Minister had said, the basic amenties and infrastructure are there, but we still have to queue for our turn. For the past 20 years, Hougang did not degenerate into a slum. I often tell residents that that it is a question of time. If they wait long enough, they will get it.