He has received harsh criticism from Singaporeans for his remarks. I think that anyone from the PAP, maybe with the exception of Lily Neo and Denise Phua, will be harshly criticized for saying Singaporeans are not generous. Coming from a govt that practices extreme parsimony towards the poor, sick and elderly, such remarks invite a backlash. Just recently, the Singapore govt refused entry to a group of refugees experiencing prosecution back home - the 40 refugees were part of a group of 200 whose boat capsized, 160 from the group drowned leaving survivors who lost their families. The crew on a Vietnamese merchant ship found these 40 survivors struggling in the open sea, rescued them and took them aboard their ship. To accommodate these 40 survivors, the captain did what any human being would do share his crew's food and water with these survivors. As supplies ran low, the captain requested permission to enter to our ports to restock.
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http://singaporemind.blogspot.sg/2012/12/charity-and-singaporean-govt.html