Firstly, there was this “commercial decision not to air the Olympics“–an argument made by our Minister of Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu. Then disgrunted Singaporeans made a lot of noise, and Medicorp eventually brokered a deal with Dentsu to air it. After Schooling won our first Olympics gold medal, it became such that ministers start to happily say that hey man, they played a part in helping Joseph get his gold medal! Check:
Lee Bee Wah
about 5 months ago
Congrats Joseph Isaac Schooling! Everyone in Singapore is so excited and proud right now! I watched it at Singapore Swimming Association and everyone is cheering like crazy!
I'm glad I asked MINDEF to let elite male athletes defer their NS. Both you and Quah Zheng Wen have used the deferment wisely and done us proud.
Team Singapore #oneteamsg #Rio2016
(Photo: The Straits Times)
MP Lee Bee Wah however is not the first ruling party member to claim credit for the Olympic Gold. PAP-controlled President Tony Tan took the gold medal off Joseph Schooling and put it around his neck to pose for a photo.
Photo of Tony Tan and Joseph Schooling from Today OnlinePAP Minister of Social and Family Development Tan Chuan Jin has already caught the first ticket home with the gold medal, when the other Singaporean Olympic representatives are still competing.
Most embarrassing of all is PAP Minister Grace Fu, who have earlier refused to pay for the broadcast license for airing the Olympics live on television. She has earlier commented that Singaporeans can celebrate on the delay telecast. Singaporeans could have missed watching the historic moment Singapore won Olympic Gold live if not for a last minute turnabout decision made by the government:
