This is my response to Mr Syu Ying Kwok’s letter to the Straits Times Forum page published on 08 July 2008 (print edition).
In the letter entitled “Five years? MM Lee’s estimate was optimistic”, Mr Syu argues that with modern telecommunications and banking infrastructure which allows trillions of dollars to be transferred out of Singapore in an instant if the current leaders and their policies change overnight, Singapore’s success might be undone within “within weeks”.
He says emphatically that “it is naive to assume that all human beings can be trusted to do the right thing, and that we should appeal to the public by their conscience and sense of fairness.”
But isn’t this precisely the reason why we need a strong, credible Opposition to check on the Government in Parliament, or even a Opposition that is ready to form the next Government should the current one become corrupt and/or complacent?
Mr Syu has acknowledged implicitly that it is naive to assume human beings can be trusted 100% of the time. The same goes for the Government as a whole. That is why checks and balances are so necessary, and that is why a strong Opposition presence in Parliament is needed, an Opposition that is capable of taking over the reigns of power should the incumbent become manifestly unfit for office.
The one paragraph in Mr Syu’s letter that truly startled and shocked me was the paragraph on NSP member Mr Tan Lead Shake.
Mr Syu said, “Recently, opposition politician Tan Lead Shake made headlines after a tragic event in his family. But what chills the bones is the fact that in the past three elections, an average of more than 20 per cent of the electorate voted for him or anyone else who stood for election with little consideration of his credentials or abilities.”
I find Mr Syu’s remarks disgusting and repulsive.
Mr Tan Lead Shake is going through an extremely emotional time with the loss of his brother. It is a personal crisis, not a political one. Why is there a need to unceremoniously drag out this family crisis and relate it to Mr Tan’s political history? How in the world are these two even remotely related? Why is there a need to mention Mr Tan’s family crisis in connection with his credentials and his supposed poor showing at the polls?
Even if Mr Tan had performed poorly at the polls, it is unjustified of Mr Syu to accuse him of having poor credentials or abilities. That is for each individual voter to decide, not for Mr Syu to speak on behalf of the electorate.
In the letter entitled “Five years? MM Lee’s estimate was optimistic”, Mr Syu argues that with modern telecommunications and banking infrastructure which allows trillions of dollars to be transferred out of Singapore in an instant if the current leaders and their policies change overnight, Singapore’s success might be undone within “within weeks”.
He says emphatically that “it is naive to assume that all human beings can be trusted to do the right thing, and that we should appeal to the public by their conscience and sense of fairness.”
But isn’t this precisely the reason why we need a strong, credible Opposition to check on the Government in Parliament, or even a Opposition that is ready to form the next Government should the current one become corrupt and/or complacent?
Mr Syu has acknowledged implicitly that it is naive to assume human beings can be trusted 100% of the time. The same goes for the Government as a whole. That is why checks and balances are so necessary, and that is why a strong Opposition presence in Parliament is needed, an Opposition that is capable of taking over the reigns of power should the incumbent become manifestly unfit for office.
The one paragraph in Mr Syu’s letter that truly startled and shocked me was the paragraph on NSP member Mr Tan Lead Shake.
Mr Syu said, “Recently, opposition politician Tan Lead Shake made headlines after a tragic event in his family. But what chills the bones is the fact that in the past three elections, an average of more than 20 per cent of the electorate voted for him or anyone else who stood for election with little consideration of his credentials or abilities.”
I find Mr Syu’s remarks disgusting and repulsive.
Mr Tan Lead Shake is going through an extremely emotional time with the loss of his brother. It is a personal crisis, not a political one. Why is there a need to unceremoniously drag out this family crisis and relate it to Mr Tan’s political history? How in the world are these two even remotely related? Why is there a need to mention Mr Tan’s family crisis in connection with his credentials and his supposed poor showing at the polls?
Even if Mr Tan had performed poorly at the polls, it is unjustified of Mr Syu to accuse him of having poor credentials or abilities. That is for each individual voter to decide, not for Mr Syu to speak on behalf of the electorate.
