Mr LHY, I have deep respect for your father and all that he did for SG. Like many fellow Singaporeans, I am sadden that your sibling rivalry has blown out of proportion and caused harm to SG’s reputation.
I have never met you but I have heard good things about how you treat people at work. That you have a very sharp mind.
I wish your involvement with SG politics could have taken a very different route. And I do also hope, you and your family can consider the detriment brought to SG, each time your family issues Are brought to the lime light.
I am in my 40s, a Singaporean, married with 3 kids. Grew up in a HDB, served NS and paying CPF...
I belong to the silent majority. The group of Singaporeans who are deeply grateful to all that SG has achieved together thus far, but are far too apathetic politically to speak up.
I spoke to a few Singaporeans in their 20s and early 30s. I could sense there is much quiet discontent about the recent failings of the government.
With Oxleygate, Presidency Controversy, Covid-19 Response, now TCB-LHY... I sense PAP may lose many votes, especially amongst the younger Singaporeans...
I will share my views, point by point, from your recent speech.
“Singaporeans will have to go out to vote on 10 July when they would have preferred to stay safe from the risk of getting COVID-19. Almost three months after lockdown began, new cases still remain stubbornly in the three-digit range, a result of the PAP’s poor handling of the pandemic. The resulting economic damage could have been avoided.”
Most Singaporeans I know are happy to be out and about actually. In fact, many are happy to get out to vote and enjoy the rest of the day with their families on 10 July.
Many has jumped on the bandwagon to say that the SG government has failed in its Covid-19 handling. I personally don’t see how.
Yes the infection numbers is high compared to neighboring countries, but its mainly confined to the dorms and hardly within the Singaporean community. Sorry for being the selfish Singaporean that i am. My mother continues to go to the market, my kids get to go to school and my wife and I work from office alternate weeks. In my opinion, I think the government has done brilliantly in their handling of COVID 19 specifically for Singaporeans.
Bless our foreigner worker friends and I wish them well. Their current predicament lies in the faulty polices that allowed 20 workers living in a room. This is a policy issue that needs to be addressed surely. But pls do not confuse the handling of COVID-19 with a policy failure that is ultimately responsible for the high infection rate in the dorms. My contractor told me his workers are not having the worst of times at the dorms actually. Good food, fast WiFi, no need to work but continue to get paid. Plus their lives working in SG will get better post COVID-19.
Lastly, despite the high number infection numbers, SG’s fatalities are a world-class low and our healthcare system held up well throughout.
How then, is this “poor handling”? It sounds more like hindsight to me to say that the damage to the economy could have “been avoided”. I wonder how you would have done differently to avoid such a unprecedented crisis, and in the form of a speedy pandemic. Your sister has medical background and you have a large following online. If you had a good solution, i wish you had brought it up on your FB page then.
Like my scholar friend said: “with hindsight, a 2, 5 offsuit can also crack a pocket ace”. Most readers probably wont understand what i just wrote. Conversely, most viewers of your speech wont dive into the details of the situation you highlighted and take your word for it as you are LKY’s son. Many Singaporeans will really think that the government screwed up over covid-19, when in fact they handled it brilliantly. I feel a man of your intellect and access to info should make a more considerate statement, than to jump on the common opposition bandwagon.
“Retired senior civil servant Philip Yeo once put it bluntly: the government is suffering from ‘Eunuch Disease’. There are no leaders that possess the spark, only ‘paper shufflers’ who ‘exist to keep the emperor happy’. “
This i agree. I too hope that there are more Philip Yeos in the government. Daring smart folks with a clear vision and brute determination to make good for Singapore. I admire Mr Philip Yeo and I don’t know what happened to him. Read somewhere he had some public dispute with your sister?
The other guy i loved in the government was Mr George Yeo. Smart, kind, articulate and warm. But my fellow Aljunied voters got caught up with their emotions and voted him out. So after losing such a brilliant foreign minister, is Aljunied GRC better for it? I don’t know but Aljunied GRC seems like its progressing like the rest of SG, no? But we did lose a brilliant man to the Kuok Group. I think Mr George Yeo listed a company for Robert Kuok. If only Mr Yeo had remained our Foreign Minister and he could probably have brought in many more billions of investment into SG than working for an already very rich man.
“Conflicts of interest are rampant throughout government. PAP leaders and MPs are related or very closely associated to key persons all over - at Temasek, the Auditor-general, the Attorney-general to name a few. There is so much “ownself check ownself”. “
Funny, you brought up conflict of interest. I was told by my siblings to help sort out my mum’s will, but i totally refused and defer the responsibility to my uncle instead. Less potential issues going forward i think.
Your father is PM, your brother is PM and you were Singtel CEO. You brought Singtel from a local company into one of the world’s biggest telco conglomerate, owning important assets across the globe. When you were at F&N, you grow the company so much that the shareholders were richly rewarded, when Thaibev bought over. So what is wrong with getting good people into good positions, regardless if they are friends or family, to work hard for SG? SG only has people. No resources, no land. Just a group of very hardworking people working together, allowing minor sacrifices, like letting the smart ones lead us... this is how SG stayed ahead... Meritocracy, not charity, not bumiputra.
In Singapore, regardless if you’re born in a HDB, you work hard, you are smart, you can become a George Yeo. If one is not smart, but works hard, one can still make a decent living, like me. If one is not smart and don’t work hard, then you are a slacker, perhaps you are better off being in a neighboring country.
Singapore has no room for free loaders. Politicians should also not promote sexy thoughts being able to freeload in SG because of our Reserves. Our GDP/ Reserves (thus being able to afford SAF) is the only reason we have water to feed our families. Not some contractual obligations (please arh my innocent fellow Singaporeans)...
“There is only narrow group-think that prevails in today’s PAP government, lacking rigour in discussion and debate on policies that shape our country. Singapore has suffered greatly as a result and people are angry and frustrated.”
I agree partly on the group-think part. However i am not sure if having more opposition can help. I definitely don’t agree that SG has suffered greatly. We are one of the most awesome countries in the world. Folks from all over the world are queuing to join us as Singaporeans. “... people are angry and frustrated.” This, I believe, represents only a very small group of the population in Singapore... actually a particular group which exists in every country in the world, including Bhutan or Brunei. I honestly don’t think most Singaporeans are that unhappy.
“In this COVID-19 election, the people of Singapore must seek accountability. We must vote for change. We must create a first-world parliament to strengthen the DNA of collective leadership in Singapore. We need to vote for our future and for our children’s future, and not for past PAP glories. There are many men and women, old and young, of considerable calibre, passion and compassion in the alternative line-up who can help build a stronger, better Singapore.”
Yes we should seek accountability, and thus i feel Singaporeans should reward the government with plenty of votes for their awesome handing of Covid 19!
Name me one country that has a first-world parliament with so-called collective leadership. I cant. I know with more opposition comes more bickering and things stop getting done after a while. Look at USA and Mr Trump. He is the biggest opposition guy that won from out of nowhere. Is USA better now than ever? The theory of having more opposition equals better policies remain unproven. China has one party and India has many parties. My China unit trusts is worth 3 times higher than my India one now and not that many years have past.
I believe in Darwin’s survival of the fittest. While PAP is able and in power, they will do everything it takes to make it hard for others to beat them. Likewise, when the Opposition eventually assume power, i too would expect them to do the same. Regarding the part on passion and compassion, i think all parties can have passionate folks, but being selfish as i am, i rather a George Yeo or a Tharman working for me in government, then the probably very passionate Independent PHV guy who nominated himself again this election.
“I have been privileged to meet some of them, and I know they will bring the diversity that we so desperately need. A truly diverse parliament is a win for the people of Singapore.”
You have been away most of the past year i think so i don’t know how many you met recently. I am sure there are quality folks in the opposition. But please do prove to us and let me know how a truly diverse parliament can be a win. Refer to my previous paragraph.
“This election is our opportunity to end the status quo of the supermajority. We can have our voices heard in Parliament. The PAP is no longer listening. The PAP vision of meritocracy has become a fiction. Instead of space to grow and prosper, our citizens are slowly suffocating from fear and stress. Singapore has become a country where we have very little say in how we live. There is little space in Singapore to be what we want to be, to say what we want to say, to grow, to prosper.”
Sorry but i cant help but sense a bit of over generalization and fear mongering... If PAP dont listen, how then is it so tough to get Singapore PR in SG now? If PAP dont listen, how come MRT is bought by Temasek and now smoother new trains are running. I think PAP listens but do need some time to implement change.
For those citizens whom you say are “suffocating from fear and stress”, i think most Singaporeans are not like that. For those who are worried, its because of the state of the global economy that has brought about hardships, something which i dont think any party in Singapore could have avoided. And in SG, if PAP, with all its power and might, cant avoid the economic downturn. I dont see how any other political parties could. So please present concrete proposals instead of just telling people that its the government’s fault. I am keen to see your proposals.
“Many Singaporeans feel they are running a rat race in a maze designed by the government, which decides who to dispense rewards to. The chosen few are given a nice big slice of cake. For those who are not scholars or generals or privileged, there are only crumbs.”
I mean, if my son is one day a general, i would expect him to be well paid and get all the important jobs. This is because he probably worked hard in school and in life to get there. Like in a meritocracy.
If all he does is to play PS4 all day and end up being a say PHV driver, I mean how can i blame SG for it? I blame myself for now kicking his ass enough to work hard like those scholars do.
Most of the government leaders i know fought their way through school and won top student awards. They deserve their roles in society.
If my son is the top scholar and still end up as a PHV driver, then i will definitely need to vote in the opposition.
“In this maze, the PAP government of today can create dead-ends, move walls, close off the exits. It can wield POFMA to silence, and defamation suits to ruin and bankrupt, those who disagree. It can choose to retain a long outdated discriminatory law. It can prosecute a single person for an illegal public assembly. Indeed, during Covid-19, it is investigating 2 young persons who separately stood up in public on concerns about climate change.”
Any laws can be applied to many scenarios. Picking and choosing extremes is a way to implant sexy & catchy ideas into people’s head. POFMA is a lousy but necessary way to prevent such bad things from happening. So far the government has not abused it. If they do, they too will lose in the court of public opinion. So i am not that afraid of our, so far pretty responsible, government be using that on us. They may say use it on actual terrorists on FB and i will definitely be fine with that.
POFMA is like a gun. Society is happy giving policemen the gun. We trust the police to use the gun wisely. Police can shoot a drunk wielding a parang near a kid. But if the police starts shooting people for not wearing masks. The people will revolt. So as long as POFMA is used properly, Singaporeans are cool about.
“The PAP can change the Constitution and deny Singaporeans a chance to elect the president. It can do this because the PAP has an overwhelming majority of the seats in Parliament.”
“It can crush HDB owners’ dreams. It can sit on CPF savings. It can hike GST at will to raise revenue for a government that has undisclosed billions in secret reserves. It can expose us to the risk of COVID-19 by prioritising politics over our lives. It can dismiss the risk of infection in crowded dormitories for foreign workers.”
(This i have lots to say but sorry my kids need me now) ...to be continued...
“When decisions produce poor results, the government can selectively use statistics and surveys designed to trivialise our fears, and imply that our concerns are unfounded. It can baldly tell us, “In Singapore, no one will be left to walk his journey alone.”
“When he ascended to become Prime Minister in 2004, Lee Hsien Loong promised.“We will continue to expand the space which Singaporeans have to live, to laugh, to grow and to be ourselves. Our people should feel free to express diverse views, pursue unconventional ideas, or simply be different. We should have the confidence to engage in robust debate, so as to understand our problems, conceive fresh solutions, and open up new spaces,” “Ours must be an open and inclusive Singapore.”
“He has not kept his word. Singapore should not be a maze where people are denied a say in how the country’s riches are shared, where those who struggle and sacrifice every day have no voice.”
“The PAP is in control of the maze, and it does not care. Make your vote in this COVID-19 election count. Choose a Singapore where the daily struggle and sacrifice pays off for all, not just for the ‘natural aristocracy’.”
“For Singapore’s future, this has become an imperative. We must vote to end the super majority.“
“Singapore wants different.“
